Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan Family Genealogical History, circa 1932-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Roberts, Frances Bacon; ; Bacon, George H.; ; Jenner, Bertha Crockett
Title
Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan Family Genealogical History
Dates
circa 1932-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.25 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0049bacon (collection)
Summary
The Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan families all arrived early in the Puget Sound area. This collection consists of two histories of the families and one memoir describing their experiences.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

The Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan families were some of the early settlers in the mid to late 1800s in the Puget Sound area, including present-day Bellingham and Whidbey Island. Frances Bacon Roberts is a descendent of the Crockett and Donovan families who came to Puget Sound in the early 1850s and 1873, respectively. Born in 1907, Roberts grew up in Bellingham, attended the University of Oregon, and then taught for one year. She married in 1934 and then worked as an Employment Service interviewer. She wrote "The Crocketts, the Donovans and Their Times: A History of Two Pioneer Families" sometime after 1972.

Bertha Crockett Jenner grew up in Seattle and married Ernest Jenner in 1901. She spent many summers of her youth on Whidbey Island with her grandmother and extended family where she heard many of the stories of her family related in "Over Uncertain Trails," written in 1940.

George Bacon was the first of his family to arrive. His memoir, "Booming and Panic-ing on Puget Sound" written circa 1932, describes his experiences in the town of Whatcom from 1889 to 1897. Bacon, born in 1867, was a resident of Illinois before he moved to Whatcom. During the years covered by his account he engaged in land speculation, a logging enterprise, and lastly in the loan business. He died in 1937.

The three authors are related: George H. Bacon, the author of the published memoir, is the father of Frances Bacon Roberts. Bacon’s wife is a first cousin of Bertha Crockett Jenner.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of two histories of the families, one by Frances Bacon Roberts and the other by Bertha Crockett Jenner, and one published memoir by George H. Bacon. The documents convey what life was like for the families, who were some of the early settlers in the Puget Sound area. In addition, the accounts describe familial relations, local industries, and the local economy.

The family history written by Frances Roberts, "The Crocketts, the Donovans and Their Times: A History of Two Pioneer Families," begins with the Crockett family in France in 1643 and the Donovan family in Ireland in the 1850s during the potato famine. However, her history focuses upon life on the frontier as experienced by the settlers of the Puget Sound area when it was still the Washington Territory. Samuel Crockett was the first of the Crocketts to settle on Whidbey Island in the early 1850s. Charles Donovan came to live in the town of Sehome in 1873 as a telegraph operator. The family members' involvement in coal mining, the stringing of the telegraph, and the expansion of the railway line are related in the history.

Written in 1940, Jenner's history, "Over Uncertain Trails," recounts the journey her ancestors, the Crocketts, made to Whidbey Island in 1852 and the Chamberlains, to the Oregon Territory in 1857 and then to Seattle in 1881. The narrative includes excerpts from letters and diaries as she describes the journey the settlers made and the experiences they and she had living in the Puget Sound area.

Bacon’s reminisces in "Booming and Panic-ing in Puget Sound," written circa 1932, describe the economic and social life in and around the town of Whatcom during the boom years of the early 1890s leading up to the panic of 1893. He concludes his story in 1897 when the local economy began to turn for the better.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan Family Genealogical Histories, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Bacon, Crockett, and Donovan Family Genealogical Histories is organized in accordance with the following series arrangement.

  • Series I. Crockett and Donovan Family History, circa 1972.
  • Series II: Bacon and Chamberlain Family History, 1940.
  • Series III: Bacon Memoir, circa 1932.

Acquisition Information

Provenance unknown

Processing Note

One preservation copy made of the memoir, Booming and Panic-ing on Puget Sound.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I:  Crockett and Donovan Family History, circa 1972Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
The Crocketts, The Donovans and Their Times: A History of Two Pioneer Families
circa 1972

Series II:  Bacon and Chamberlain Family History, 1940Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/2
Over Uncertain Trails (2 copies)
1940

Series III:  Bacon Memoir, circa 1932Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/3
Booming and Panic-ing on Puget Sound
circa 1932
1/4
Booming and Panic-ing on Puget Sound (preservation copy)
circa 1932

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Coal mines and mining -- Washington (State)
  • Frontier and Pioneer Life -- Washington (State).
  • Land speculation --Washington (State)
  • Logging --Washington (State)
  • Overland journeys to the Pacific.
  • Pioneers -- Washington (State)
  • Railroads -- Washington (State)
  • Telegraph -- British Columbia
  • Telegraph -- Washington (State)

Personal Names

  • Bacon, George H.--(George Hunt) --Archives. (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Bellingham (Wash.) -- History
  • Oregon National Historic Trail -- History.
  • Puget Sound Region (Wash.) -- Economic conditions.
  • Puget Sound Region (Wash.) -- History
  • Seattle (Wash.) -- History
  • Washington (State) -- History -- 19th century.
  • Whidbey Island (Wash.) -- History

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Bacon, George H. -- (George Hunt) -- 1867-1937.-- Booming and panic-ing on Puget Sound. (creator)
    • Jenner, Bertha Crockett. --Over uncertain trails. (creator)
    • Roberts, Frances Bacon --1907- --Crocketts, the Donovans and their times. (creator)