Courthouse Docket- A House Divided: the Lathrop, Connor, and Mansfield Families in the Civil War
Many people know the history of the Civil War at a national level, but they don’t know how this event ricocheted across California, San Mateo county, and the Victorian parlors of Redwood City. For the Lathrop, Connor, and Mansfield families, the Civil War played out across public debates and domestic spaces. Their stories reveal the complicated nuances of California politics – public servants harbored pro-slavery views and Union generals pursued lethal campaigns against Mormons and Shoshone. In many homes, Chinese domestic servants contemplated the place of immigrants in a nation that was dedicated to a new birth of freedom. These engaging characters reveal much about our county’s past, and challenge us to think with our histories today.
Tatiana Irwin is associate professor of history at College of San Mateo, where she teaches California history and U.S. history. She is also a foundation instructor in the Honors Project and serves on the President’s Advisory Committee for the San Mateo County History Museum. Her past work in public history includes the Campbell Historical Museum, California Historical Society, and the Society of California Pioneers. She holds a graduate degree in U.S. history from San José State University and recently completed a certificate in digital humanities through UC Berkeley. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in history from UC Davis, with a focus on California history, borderlands, transpacific histories, and material culture.
