Zoeth Skinner Eldredge (October 13, 1846 – 1915) was an American banker and amateur historian of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
Eldredge was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
. He appears to have self-published at least two books on the local history of
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. His two-volume history of San Francisco was reviewed as containing "fairly readable essays" that were "distributed somewhat capriciously between text and notes". The reviewer also notes that "the author has not by any means confined himself to the subject" described by the book's title.
A map printed without attribution in his book ''The Beginnings of San Francisco'' in 1912 has been the center of significant controversy among San Francisco history researchers. The map, apparently created by Eldredge, shows the "now vanished freshwater lake" upon whose shores the city was supposedly founded. Later research showed that the lake was confused with another early San Francisco location, and probably never existed, except as a tidal lagoon called Mission Creek.
Selected works
*
*
*
*
* ''History of California: The Rise and Progress of an American State'' (editor), 5 volumes, New York : The Century History Company, c.1915.
References
External links
Zoeth Skinner Eldredge*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldredge, Zoeth Skinner
Historians of California
1846 births
1915 deaths