The Pellerano Family was originally from Italy and immigrated to the United States sometime in the last half of the nineteenth century. Nicholas Pellerano was a licensed pharmacist-turned-banker who attended Santa Clara College from 1888-1891 and Heald’s Business College of San Francisco in 1891. Nicholas was at one point the vice-president of the Bank of America in San Jose and when he died, he was on the advisory board of the San Jose office of Bank of America. His sister Pedrina appears to have run Pellerano’s Pharmacy alongside him, as her name was listed along with his in directories for the business. Nicholas Pellerano married Marie Wempe during a trip to Europe. His sister Clorinda Pellerano married Angelo Boitano and his other sister, Mary Pellerano, married Gerhardt Wempe in 1903. This collection includes material from the Boitano and Wempe families.

Bibliography

"National Institute of Pharmacy." The Western Druggist XIX. No. 1 (1897): P. 143. Google Books (Accessed Sept. 30 2015)

"Prominent Banker Is Called." San Jose News, June 10, 1944, Evening ed. (Accessed Sept. 30 2015)

"Wealthy Business Man Wins San Jose Belle." San Francisco Call, June 18, 1903. (Accessed Sept. 30 2015)

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.

Bibliography

Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)

McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.