Description
The Reid Family Papers,1827-1961 (bulk
1846-1916), document the personal and professional lives of several members of the Reid
family. This collection includes material related to Bernard J. Reid's 1849 overland journey
to California from Missouri, including his personal diary from the trip. The records consist
of correspondence, business documents, poetry, journals, annotated books, photographs,
newspaper clippings, and maps. This collection is arranged into four series: Series I.
Bernard J. Reid Papers, 1840-1961 (bulk 1840-1904); Series II. Ambrose Reid Papers,
1871-1935 (bulk 1871-1916); Series III. Reid Family Diaries, Books and Miscellanea,
1843-1940 (bulk 1861-1918); and Series IV. Reid Family Photographs,1849-1902 (bulk
1860-1880).
Background
Bernard J. Reid was born April 24, 1823 in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish
immigrants. At the age of seventeen, B.J. Reid became the teacher of the district school at
Pleasant Unity, Pennsylvania. When he was nineteen, he moved to Clarion, Pennsylvania where
he taught school and did land surveying. The following year, he and his brother John C. Reid
founded and published The Iron County Democrat, which later
becameThe Clarion Democrat.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.
Extent
9.17 linear feet
(23 boxes)
Restrictions
Materials in Archives & Special Collections may be subject to copyright. All requests
for permission to publish from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the University
Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Archives & Special
Collections as the owner of the physical materials, and is not intended to include or imply
permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. Copyright restrictions also
apply to digital reproductions of the original materials.
Availability
The collection is open for research. There are no restrictions.