Center for Sacramento History

Brown, Waldeier, and Bridenstine families collection, ca. 1860-1973, bulk 1888-1949

Guide to the Brown, Waldeier, and Bridenstine families collection, ca. 1860-1973, bulk 1888-1949

Summary

Creators:
William Henry Brown, Elizabeth Wise Brown, Josephine Elizabeth Wise Waldeier, Bonita May Waldeier Bridenstine, Dorothy Bridenstine Delaney.
Abstract:
The collection documents four generations of one family with roots in Sacramento starting in the mid-1800s. The bulk of material dates from 1888 to 1949 and includes marriage records, school records, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts. Of special note are photographs of Riverside Transfer Co., located at 1024 6th Street in Sacramento, which Josephine Wise Waldeier ran from 1908 to 1927. Photos show the interior and exterior of the business, plus staff, including members of these families.
Extent:
2.56 linear feet: two manuscript boxes, one flat oversize box. Also includes artifacts.
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], MS0029, Center for Sacramento History.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection documents four generations of the Brown, Waldeier, and Bridenstine families, through marriage records, school records, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts. The bulk of material dates from 1888-1949. Of special note are photographs of Riverside Transfer Co., located at 1024 6th Street in Sacramento. Opened in 1908 by William Brown and his stepdaughter Josephine Wise, Josephine ran the company until it closed in 1927, making it an early woman-run business. The photos show the interior and exterior of the business, plus staff, including members of these families. Also of particular interest is Josephine Wise and Albert Waldeier's 1889 marriage certificate with tintypes of them mounted into it. The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Biographical / historical:

The family this collection documents has roots in Sacramento starting in the mid-1800s (see family tree at archive.org/details/MS0029FamilyTree). The first generation of the family is Elizabeth Wise Brown (1849-1941) and her second husband William Henry Brown (ca. 1846-1925). Elizabeth came overland to California with her family from Iowa when she was three years old, settling in Stockton before she moved to Sacramento as a young woman. Her parents were George and Nancy Phipps, and she had one sister, Jane, and one brother, George Phipps Jr., who also lived in the Sacramento area. George Jr. lived in Walnut Grove when he died in 1933 and was a bridge tender and farmer at Georgiana Slough.

Elizabeth was first married to William Wise, whose family owned land in the Delta region, but he died in 1866 shortly after the birth of their daughter Josephine Elizabeth Wise. Elizabeth married William Brown in 1873. Family lore says William was a Pony Express rider from Joplin, Missouri. When he and Elizabeth married, he was a ranch manager and race horse breeder and trainer at the Burns & Waterhouse horse ranch near what is now the Sacramento Executive Airport. The family lived at the ranch for some time before purchasing a house at 1315 Q Street in Sacramento in 1904.

In 1908, William and stepdaughter Josephine opened Riverside Transfer Co. at 1024 6th Street in Sacramento. Josephine managed the company until it closed in 1927. She married Albert Waldeier in San Francisco in 1889 and they had one child, Bonita May Waldeier (born ca. 1890, died 1958). The Waldeiers divorced in 1891, and Josephine next married Austin C. Peterson in Sacramento in 1896; they divorced in 1900.

Bonita grew up at the horse farm and the house on Q Street. When younger, she worked alongside her mother at Riverside Transfer and she attended Sutterville School. Bonita married Roy Robert Bridenstine (born circa 1891, died 1973) and the two had one child, Dorothy (born 1923). Dorothy lived at the family home on Q Street for at least some of her childhood. She attended Sutter Junior High School and Sacramento High School, then married Robert Delaney.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Joan Dahmen, 2019 (accession 2019/017)
Arrangement:

Series 1. Papers and photographs, ca. 1860-1973, bulk 1888-1949

Series 2. Artifacts, ca. 1885-1930

Physical location:
Archival records: SP SV 7:L:6; artifacts: SP SV 30:C:04, 30:D:04, 42:J:04, 46:K:05, 59:B:04, 60:E:01.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Indexed terms

Names:
Riverside Transfer Co.
Burns & Waterhouse
Bridenstine, Bonita May Waldeier
Bridenstine, Roy Robert
Brown, William Henry
Brown, Elizabeth Wise
Delaney, Dorothy Bridenstine
Waldeier, Josephine Elizabeth Wise

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

All requests to publish or quote from private manuscripts held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], MS0029, Center for Sacramento History.

Location of this collection:
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95811, US
Contact:
(916) 808-7072
csh@cityofsacramento.org
Website
Series 1. Papers and photographs, ca. 1860-1973, bulk 1888-1949
Contents
A Bride's Cookbook : A Gift from the Merchants of Sacramento, ca. 1915
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 11
Abstract of title for 1315 Q Street (Brown family home), 1917
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 1
Bonita Waldeier and Roy Bridenstine marriage license, 1918
Containers:
Box 3, Folder 4
Bonita Waldeier's school books, 1870-1899
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 2-4
Other descriptive data:

Books have Bonita's name and the date she presumably used the book written on the inside cover, plus marginalia. She used the books from circa 1901-1907. Books include Lessons in language (California State Series, 1899); First book in English (1894); Revised English grammar (California State Series, 1896); The juvenile definer (1870); New third reader (California State Series, 1895); Advanced arithmetic (California State Series, 1887); and Elementary geography (California State Series, 1890).

Dorothy Bridenstine and Robert Delaney vacation records, 1945-1949
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 5
Other descriptive data:

Includes hotel invoices and receipts from the Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco, Claremont in Berkeley, and Pine Inn in Carmel. Also includes a Pine Inn brochure.

Dorothy Bridenstine and Robert Delaney wedding announcements and photographs, 1943
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 6
Dorothy Bridenstine's class photos, diplomas, and school programs, ca. 1933-1937
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 7
Other descriptive data:

Includes Dorothy Bridenstine's Sutter Junior High School class photos (ca. 1933-1934), diploma (1934), and assembly program (1934); Sacramento High School diploma (1937); and Sacramento High School 60th class reunion program (1997). Her yearbooks from Sacramento High School (1934-1937) are housed with CSH's yearbook collection.

Family histories by Dorothy Bridenstine, undated
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 8
Family photographs, ca. 1860-1940
Containers:
Box 1, Folder 9, Box 3, Folder 1
Other descriptive data:

Photos show the Browns, Waldeiers, and Bridenstines throughout their lives. Includes tintypes. When known, names are noted with photographs. Among the candid and posed shots of family and friends are a photograph of William H. Brown with a horse at what is presumed to be the Burns & Waterhouse ranch, the family home at 1315 Q Street, and Dorothy Bridenstine surrounded by her dolls, one of which is included in Series 2. Artifacts. Oversized photos are in box 3, folder 1.

Josephine Wise and Albert Waldeier marriage certificate with tintypes, 1889
Containers:
Box 3, Folder 5
Josephine Wise and Albert Waldeier marriage license, 1889
Containers:
Box 3, Folder 2
Josephine Wise and Daniel Peterson marriage and divorce records, 1896-1900
Containers:
Box 3, Folder 2
Native Sons of the Golden West Admission Day Celebration dance cards, 1888
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 1
Other descriptive data:

Two copies from Santa Cruz Parlor No. 90; one has "Josie Wise, Albert Waldeier, San Francisco, California" written on it. See related ribbon in Series 2.

Newspaper clippings, 1915-1942
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 2
Other descriptive data:

Clippings include notices about a birthday party given for William Brown at Burns & Waterhouse; William and Elizabeth Brown's 50th wedding anniversary party (1923); Mr. and Mrs. George W. Phipps' 50th wedding anniversary (1925); Bonita Waldeier winning a car in a popularity contest (1915); and Dorothy Bridenstine as a member of the Beta Kappa Chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority (1942).

Obituaries and funeral record books, 1933-1973
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 3
Other descriptive data:

Includes obituaries for Elizabeth Brown, her brother George W. Phipps Jr., and Bonita and Roy Bridenstine. Also includes Elizabeth's funeral record book and one page from Bonita's funeral record book.

Panama-Pacific Exposition postcard and official publication, 1915
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 4
Other descriptive data:

See related decorative fans in Series 2.

Photograph of J. Wise's tule farm on Andrus Island, ca. 1890
Containers:
Box 3, Folder 1
Photograph of Roy Bridenstine in World War I frame, ca. 1917-1918
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 5
Postcards, 1907-1910
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 6
Other descriptive data:

Many are addressed to Bonita Waldeier and show Sacramento city and country scenes, in addition to several that show draft horses and carts.

Riverside Transfer Company photographs, ca. 1903-1911
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 7
Other descriptive data:

Photos show interior and exterior of the business, plus employees including Josephine Wise Waldeier, William Brown, and Bonita Waldeier

Thoroughbreds, property of Burns & Waterhouse, San Francisco, Cal., 1900
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 8
Other descriptive data:

This book was owned by William Brown; his name is written in the inside cover. Cover title: Catalogue of thoroughbreds, Burns & Waterhouse, San Francisco, Cal..

William Brown State Fair special ticket and poll tax receipt, 1895-1896
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 9
World War I parade photographs, ca. 1917-1918
Containers:
Box 2, Folder 10
Other descriptive data:

Several photos show Roy Bridenstine in uniform, and one shows Roy and Bonita standing together.

Series 2. Artifacts, ca. 1885-1930
Contents
Children's organ made by Estey Organ Co., undated
Containers:
Object SP SV 60:E:01
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/011.

Child's rocking chair, undated
Containers:
Object SP SV 59:B:04
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/010.

Decorative fans, ca. 1915
Containers:
Object SP SV 42:J:04
Other descriptive data:

Three fans found with the Panama Pacific Exposition booklet. Accession numbers 2019/017/007-009.

Doll, ca. 1900
Containers:
Object SP SV 30:D:04
Other descriptive data:

A photo of Dorothy Bridenstine with this doll is included in Series 1, in the Family Photographs folder. Accession number 2019/017/004.

Fan with “Trusts Candies & Ice Cream 728 K Street” printed on it, ca. 1915
Containers:
Object SP SV 42:J:04
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/006.

Jacks with ball and bag, undated
Containers:
Object SP SV 30:C:04
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/005.

Native Sons of the Golden West Admission Day 1905 souvenir decoration, 1905
Containers:
Object SP SV 42:J:04
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/002.

Native Sons of the Golden West Admission Day 1888 ribbon, 1888
Containers:
Object SP SV 46:K:05
Other descriptive data:

Accession number 2019/017/003.