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This paper examines the fate and later impact of missionary linguistic works from Alta California, showing that the details of their histories can shed light on the external forces that often shaped the creation, preservation and dissemination of early descriptive works. Documenting the unexpected paths that many of these manuscript works took after they were written provides an understanding of the circumstances under which scholarship was produced and shared within and beyond the mission realm, and how the profound societal changes that characterize the 19th century in California affected the fate of these works. Tracing the influence of these missionary linguistic works also illustrates how they have remained relevant and useful to later studies of indigenous languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]