Oak family register, 1906

PDF page 79, printed page 71

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TO CALIFORNIA
71
did
his cousin, Leander, two years
his
senior, but the protests
of his parents prevailed, and he continued his college course to
'65.
His autobiography again tells the story
:
"In
July,
1866, he went
to
California by steamer from New
Jersey, and took a position as clerk
in charge of a grain ware-
house in Petaluma.
But sickness, hitherto unknown, forced him
to give up the place
; and
his
life was saved only by the kind
attentions of Mr. Williams, his classmate at Dartmouth, and his
sister,
Mrs.
Laura
J.
Barstow.
On
partial
recovery
he was
forced again to resort to teaching, and in 1867 taught one term as
principal of the Haywards public schools, and one term as assist-
ant—acting principal—of
the Napa
Collegiate
Institute.
After
months of idleness, and on the point of engaging another school,
he obtained in 1868 a position as office editor of the San Francisco
Occident, in which
I believe he gave tolerable satisfaction to all
concerned—except
perhaps
the
readers.
He
also
edited
then
and later some guide books and other minor publications issued
by the publishers of the paper.
"Early in 1869 he became Librarian of the Bancroft Library of
San Francisco, a position which he held
for
18 years to
1887.
Besides his duties as librarian, he was Superintendent of the
lit-
erary industries, carried on in the institution and resulting in the
publication of the Bancroft Works in 39 volumes.
Of these he
was also
the author of
10 volumes
as follows
:
In the Native
Races, Vol.
I, Chap. Ill, on the 'Columbians'; Vol,
II, Chap.
II,
'General View of Civilized Nations'
; Chap. XVII, 'Aztec Picture-
Writing'; Chap. XXIV, on "Maya Hieroglyphics'
; Vol. IV, "An-
tiquities,'
the
entire volume; and
Vol.
V,
'Primitive
History,'
Chap.
II - X, on Nahua annals and the
earliest Maya records—
also some other small matters, making in the Native Races 1597
pages out of a total of 4000.
In the History of the Pacific States
Mr. Oak wrote seven and a
half consecutive volumes on the
annals of the Spanish Northwest, as follows :.. North Mexican
States
I, the entire volume
; Arizona and New Mexico, the entire
volume
;
California,
I-V,
five
entire
volumes
;
and
Northwest
Coast
I, first half on maritime explorations.
Also of id. II, Chap.
XV-XVI, on the 'Oregon Question'
; Central America
I, Chap II,
'Summary of Geographical Knowledge and Discovery'
; and Cali-
fornia VI, Chap. XX, 'Mexican Land Titles.'
Two sets of these
writings have been bound
separately with new
titles, and an
nnpublished pamphlet on the authorship of the entire work and

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