Biography
Richard Waring served as Stanislaus (Calif.) County Recorder (1931-1965). In this post, Waring was able to study at first hand documents relating to the land acquisitions of 19th c. cattle barons, Charles Lux (1823-1887) and Henry Miller (1827-1916). Miller was the last surviving partner in the firm of Miller & Lux, which once owned the greater part of the San Joaquin Valley, as well as lands in Oregon and Nevada. Lux and Miller were German immigrants who first worked together as San Francisco butchers during the 1850s. For many years the two purchased cattle lands in the Central Valley, acquiring many of these acres from U.S. Army veterans and others who preferred cash to land options, until, with 1.4 million acres, they had become the state's largest landowners. After the firm was dissolved (1900), attorneys for the estate had the record of the distribution of the firm's property published in a single volume and distributed to county recorders throughout California. Richard Waring had this volume microfilmed and gave the original hardcopy to the University of the Pacific. Waring also donated materials he had gathered on Henry Miller and Charles Lux.
From the guide to the Waring (Richard) Miller & Lux Collection, 1900-1986, (University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections)
