A Currier and Ives print of Abraham Lincoln's family, which hung in a Redwood City mansion from 1867, inspired the research that College of San Mateo history professor Tatiana Irwin will present at the San Mateo County Historical Association's annual meeting on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
Irwin's keynote, "A House Divided: The Lathrop, Connor, and Mansfield Families in the Civil War," traces how political divisions over slavery, Reconstruction and immigration played out inside one Peninsula home and the families who lived there across decades. The talk begins at 1 p.m. at the San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors.
The house at the center of the story is Lora Mundi, built in 1863 for Benjamin G. Lathrop, the first clerk, recorder and assessor of San Mateo County. His wife Mary bought the lot in 1858 and named the property Lora Mundi, which the family translated as "beauty spot of the world." The house is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and was moved in May 2019 to 701 Hamilton Street, adjacent to the museum.
"We do a disservice to history and what we can learn from it to reduce Lathrop to either an anti-corruption crusader or a slaver. People were not one thing," Irwin told the San Mateo Daily Journal in a July 15 interview.
Irwin, a sixth-generation Californian who grew up in Sunnyvale, has taught full time at College of San Mateo since 2015. She is pursuing a PhD in history through UC Davis and a certificate in digital humanities through UC Berkeley.
Her research uncovered layers of household life that census records reveal but textbooks often skip. Two Chinese domestic servants named Ah Pong and Ah Kee lived at Lora Mundi during the Connor family's occupancy in the 1860s and 1870s. Women drove key decisions: Mary Lathrop purchased the land, and Johanna Connor ran the household while her husband, Union Gen. Patrick Edward Connor, served in Utah.
The event is open to the public. Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation sponsors the annual meeting. For details, residents can visit historysmc.org or call 650-299-0104.
Upcoming community events
- Saturday, July 25, 1 p.m. — San Mateo County Historical Association annual meeting and keynote by Tatiana Irwin. San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City. $6 adults, $4 students/seniors.
- Sunday, August 2, 1 p.m. — Victorian Days Walking Tour: "A Creek Runs Through It." Meet at the Burlingame Caltrain station, 290 California Drive. Free, no RSVP required. The half-mile walk covers downtown Burlingame to El Camino Real, exploring how Burlingame Creek once shaped the area.
