Guide to the Leonard McKay Research Papers, 1793-1991
Guide prepared by Daniel Jarvis
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
San José State University
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
Special Collections 5th Floor
4th and San Fernando Street
San José, CA 95192-0117
Phone: (408) 808-2064
Email: research@sourisseauacademy.org
URL: http://www.sourisseauacademy.org/
©2011 Sourisseau Academy for
State and Local History. All rights reserved.
Leonard McKay Research Papers,1793-1991
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
San José State
University
Contact Information:
- Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History
- San José State University
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library
- Special Collections 5th Floor
- 4th and San Fernando Street
- San José, CA 95192-0117
- Email: research@sourisseauacademy.org
- URL: http://www.sourisseauacademy.org/
- Collection processed and guide prepared and encoded by:
- Daniel Jarvis
- Date Completed:
- April 2011
©2011 Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Leonard McKay Research Papers
Date (inclusive): 1793-1991
Date (bulk): 1850-1991
Collection Number: ECS03.02
Collector:
McKay, Leonard Mortimore,
1921-2006
Extent:
Containers: 12 boxes and 4 filing cabinet drawers
Volume: 11.5 cubic feet
Physical Location: Series I is housed in vault 1 in the Sourisseau Academy file cabinets ECS 8.1
to 8.4. Series II is located in vault 2 for cold storage, in the Gordon panoramic
negatives cabinet 3. Series III is housed in vault 1 in the Sourisseau Academy shelf
range 34, shelves 34C.3 to 34C.6.
Repository:
Sourisseau Academy for State and Local
History,
San José State University
San José, California 95192
Abstract: The Leonard McKay Research Papers consist of photographs and
papers that document the history of the Santa Clara Valley region. These materials
were gathered by the late printer and historian Leonard McKay during his personal
research into the history of the region. The papers include approximately 2100
original and reproduced slides and negatives depicting agrarian and urban life,
technology, and local events. The papers also include Spanish, Mexican, and American
civil records, locally created scrapbooks, and a large assortment of topical
research files. Collectively, these pictorial and textual resources form a
significant body of research material spanning the late 18th- to 20th- centuries,
documenting economic, cultural, and social development within San José and
the Santa Clara Valley region.
Language:
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Sourisseau Academy. Neither the original
photographs nor the digital images held by the Sourisseau Academy may be
reproduced, published, or used on the Internet without the expressed, written
permission of the Executive Secretary. Permission for publication is given on
behalf of the Sourisseau Academy as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also
be obtained by the researcher. The credit line, "Courtesy of the Edith C. Smith
Trust Collection, Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History" must accompany
any such use.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Leonard McKay Research Papers, [Box number]: [Folder
number], Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San José State
University, San José, California
Acquisition Information
The Leonard McKay Papers were donated to the Sourisseau Academy by the Edith Corinne
Smith Trust in 2007.
Biographical Note
Leonard McKay, Jr. was born to Leonard Mortimore McKay, Sr. and Eugenia Adelina Nenn
on October 21, 1921 in San José, California. He was born to a family with
pioneering roots in the Santa Clara Valley and a tradition deeply entwined with the
printing press. After managing the family printing business for 37 years, Eliza
“Bessie” Smith sold the business to her grandson Leonard McKay Jr. in 1956. McKay
and Bessie also agreed to revert to the original company name, the Smith and McKay
Printing Company (1). McKay ran the Smith and McKay Printing Company until 1983,
when he sold ownership to his son David. In 1986, he opened Memorabilia of San José
and operated the business until his retirement in 2003. Beginning in the 1960s, he
started to exclusively collect art created by Santa Clara Valley artists such as
A.D.M. Cooper, Andrew Putnam Hill, and Louis O. Lussier. To this day, the ensemble
of art collected by McKay remains a distinctive record of social and cultural memory
in the Santa Clara Valley. From 1994 to 1995, McKay served his community and fellow
Rotary members as president of the San José Rotary Club. Following his passion for
local history, McKay was active in the Santa Clara County Pioneers, History San
José, and served several terms on the board of the Sourisseau Academy for
State and Local History. On October 17, 2006, McKay passed away in Santa Clara,
California. (1)
The Trailblazer (Quarterly Bulletin of
the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County)
, Volume 39, Number 3,
September, 1998
Indexing Terms
The following terms may be used to index this collection.
Personal Names
McKay, Leonard
Mortimore, 1921-2006
Calloway, Hank,
1911-1995
Campbell, Lawrence A., b.
1907
Crummey, John D.,
1878-1976
Loomis, Patricia,
1920-2010
Renzel, Ernie, 1907-2007
Sabatino, Murphy, d.
2010
Subjects
Agriculture
Agricultural machinery
Business
Industries
Technology
Scrapbooks
Geographic Names
San José
(Calif.)
Santa Clara
(Calif.)
Santa Clara County
(Calif.)
Santa Clara Valley
(Santa Clara County, Calif.)
Scope and Content
The Leonard McKay Research Papers consists primarily of reproduced and original
photographs, public records, scrapbooks, and thematically arranged research files.
Aside from the broad topics of agriculture, community members, and architecture,
these materials document many aspects of life in San José and the Santa Clara
Valley, the bulk of which dates from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth
century. It is important to note the majority of the photographs in this collection
are reproductions. Many of the photographs were in a state of degradation, were rare
prints, or privately held when McKay copied them. Thanks in large part to his
efforts, these photographs remain available to the public. The research files
compiled by McKay include newspaper clippings, brochures, magazine articles, and
privately and publically produced research reports. The scrapbooks assembled by
McKay and others include a large assortment of news clippings from the San
José Mercury and other regional newspapers. Several of these scrapbooks cover
a wide variety of themes or issues, while others focus on a particular institution,
such as the San José Rotary Club. Some of these scrapbooks are also creations
of important figures in regional history, like politician and former San José
mayor Ernie Renzel, or former president of the Food Machinery Corporation, John
Crummey. Also included are abridged translations of Spanish and Mexican legal
records from the pueblo era of San José and meeting minutes for the Common
Council of the City of San José, edited to include only council items
relating to the city fire department. As an eyewitness to the natural and inevitable
evolution of his community and region, McKay gathered and produced these historical
resources to document the people, places, buildings, and events he thought
significant to the cultural and historical development of San José and the
Santa Clara Valley region.
Arrangement of the Leonard McKay Research Papers
The research materials are arranged into three series:
- Series I: Research Files, circa 1850-1991
- Series II: Negatives and Slides, circa 1850-1991
- Series III: Scrapbooks and Records, 1793-1852, 1860-1983
Series I
Research Files,
circa 1850-1991
Scope and Content Note
This series consists of research files compiled by Leonard McKay and arranged
alphabetically by topic. The files broadly address subjects on the history,
culture, and politics of the Santa Clara Valley, but the focus is especially
keen on the local individuals, families, and businesses that have shaped
life in the valley. Most research files consist of newspaper clippings,
brochures, magazine articles, but some also include privately and publically
produced historical research reports. An inventory of the
research files
is available in PDF format on the
Sourisseau Academy's webpage. Series I is housed in vault 1 in the
Sourisseau Academy file cabinets ECS 8.1 to 8.4.
Series II
Negatives and Slides,
circa 1850-1991
Scope and Content Note
This series contains original and reproduced negatives and slides gathered or
created by Leonard McKay. A small number of negatives were loaned out by
McKay and never returned to him. Fortunately, the majority of the images he
assembled remain in their original state of arrangement. These images focus
on the history, events, communities, and people of Santa Clara Valley.
Specific depictions include adobe structures photographed by Alice Hare,
historic commercial buildings such as the New Century Block, and industrial
and commercial enterprises like the Food Machinery Corporation. There are
also numerous portraits of individuals, families, and business leaders noted
for their contributions to industry, commerce, culture in the Santa Clara
Valley. An inventory of the
negatives and slides
is available in PDF format on
the Sourisseau Academy's webpage. Series II is located in vault 2 for
cold storage, in the Gordon panoramic negatives cabinet 3
Series III
Scrapbooks and Records,
1793-1852
1860-1983
Scope and Content Note
The items in this series were constructed and gathered to document aspects of
history, culture and civil governance in San José. Boxes one to four
contain scrapbooks created solely by local historian Hank Calloway. Boxes
five and six house scrapbooks created by individuals such as Leonard McKay,
Hank Calloway, John D. Crummey, and Ernie Renzel. Box seven contains a set
of abridged minutes for the San José Common Council, created by
former San José Fire Department Chief, Lawrence A. Campbell. These
records duplicate every meeting minute Campbell could locate that addressed
business concerning the city fire department or fire prevention. Box eight
houses copied translations of Spanish and Mexican legal records produced by
the juzgado during the pueblo era of San José. These records were
originally translated and edited by Paul D. Nathan in 1966. Series III is
housed in vault 1 on the Sourisseau Academy shelf range 34, shelves 34C.3 to
34C.6.
Box 1, Folder 4
Vol. 6: 1951,"Centennial"
Box 3, Folder 15
Vol. 17: 1975-1976, Signposts by P. Loomis
Box 3, Folder 16
Vol. 18: 1976-1977, Signposts by P. Loomis
Box 3, Folder 17
"East SJ-Holy City-Round-Up days":
1988-1990
Box 5, Folder 24
Ernie Renzel’s Scrapbook, 1937-1990
Box 5, Folder 25
John Crummey’s Rotary Club Scrapbook, 1935-1943
Box 5, Folder 26
News Clips of Old San José
Box 5, Folder 27
McKay Scrapbook of El Dorado St., José Theater, and Wade
Family
Box 5, Folder 28
California Pioneer Book of Obituaries, 1850's to
1900's
Box 6, Folder 29
Calloway Clippings, 1934-1944
Box 6, Folder 30
California Pioneer Scrapbook, 1964
Box 6, Folder 31
Murphy Sabatino Bicycle Racing Scrapbook, 1930's to
1940's
Box 6, Folder 32
Kate Townsend Obituary Scrapbook
Box 7, Folder 33
SJFD Book 1: 1850-04-13 to 1870-12-05
Box 7, Folder 34
SJFD Book 2: 1870-12-06 to 1877-08-06
Box 7, Folder 35
SJFD Book 3: 1877-08-07 to 1883-08-30
Box 7, Folder 36
SJFD Book 4: 1883-09-01 to 1893-05-29
Box 7, Folder 37
SJFD Book 5: 1893-05-29 to 1900-09-04
Box 7, Folder 38
SJFD Book 6: Further Research and SJFD Timeline
Box 8, Folder 39
Spanish Records Book 1: 1793-1833
Box 8, Folder 40
Spanish Records Book 2: 1833-1852
