The historian Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832-1918) was the first major collector of American documentary materials and the first historian of the Far West.

Hubert Howe Bancroft was born in Granville, Ohio, on May 5, 1832. He attended a local academy, was tutored by his mother, and planned to go to college. When he realized that the costs were too high for his parents, he left home at the age of 16 to work in his brother-in-law's bookstore in Buffalo, N.Y.

In 1852 Bancroft accompanied a consignment of his brother-in-law's books to California, where his father and brother had already gone. While there, Bancroft learned of his brother-in-law's death. After disposing of the books, he worked at odd jobs and then established a bookstore in Crescent City, Calif.

At the request of his sister, Bancroft returned to New York State. Unhappy there, he soon returned to California with another stock of books...