Phillips (Lee) Collection, 1890-2020

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Summary

Creators:
Morrison, Chris, Phillips, Lee Allen, 1871-1938, Phillips, Catherine Coffin, 1874-1942, and Morrison, Lucille P., 1896-1991
Abstract:
This collection primarily contains the papers of Lee Allen Phillips, Catherine Coffin Phillips, Lucille Phillips Morrison, along with business records and research into the history of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the Delta Reclamation.
Extent:
20 linear feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lee Phillips Collection. D-668, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the business records and personal papers of Lee Allen Phillips and the Phillips family. The collection was originally compiled as part of the Catherine Coffin Phillips Library, a family archive set up and maintained by Lee Allen Phillips' daughter Lucille and grandchildren, before it was donated in 2020.

The business records include correspondence, papers, and ledgers relating to companies Phillips was involved in, including California Delta Farms and Peco Valley Investment Co. They also include information about different islands in the Delta and land deeds.

The Phillips/Morrison family papers include family genealogy research, biographies for various Morrison and Phillips family ancestors, and the papers of Lee Allen Phillips, Catherine Coffin Phillips, Wayland A. Morrison, Lucile Phillips Morrison, and some papers from Wayland and Lucile Morrison's children (primarily Keith Morrison and Patricia Myers). It also includes legal papers regarding the inheritance of the Lee Allen Phillips estate.

This collection also includes materials compiled by the Catherine Coffin Phillips Library about the history of the Delta, including pamphlets, articles, binders full of research, etc. pertaining to Delta History Exhibits that existed within the library. There is a large selection of enlarged photographs, some of which are also included in this collection, others are reproductions of photographs held by other institutions. There are also vhs tapes, cassette tapes, and film reels pertaining to both the library exhibit and the history of the Delta.

Biographical / historical:

Phillips, Lee Allen

Born in Ashton, Illinois on August 24, 1871 to Magdelina Wetzel and Milton Eaves Phillips, Llewllyn (Lee) Allen attended college in Kansas and Indiana, graduating with an undergraduate degree from DePauw University in 1892, and his law degree in 1894. He then relocated to Southern California where he married Catherine Coffin on December 19, 1895. They had two daughters, Lucile Gertrude (1896) and Katherine Louise (1905). Katherine grew up to become a pilot and married Herbert Godfrey Day. Lucy married Dr. Wayland Morrison and became a children's writer ("Lee A. Phillips,"5-6). From 1902-1907 the Phillips family lived in Stockton, in a house that Phillips built. In 1907 Phillips built another mansion in Beverly Hills, where the family lived from 1907-1914. They then moved to Berkeley Square in L.A., where Phillips built the largest house in Los Angeles (at the time), spanning approximately 26,000 square feet. Phillips remained there until his death in 1938. ("Lee A. Phillips," 1-4).

Phillips originally moved to Southern California in part due to his relationship with Frederick H. Rindge. Rindge was a devout Methodist, who played a substantial role in the lives of the Phillips family. He brought Dr. Milton Phillips, a Methodist minister, to Southern California to be the Dean of the University of Southern California, in 1892. Phillips's brother Orville was also given a post as a science professor at USC. Phillips worked for Rindge as a bill and rent collector, until he passed the California Bar and joined the law firm of Cochran, William and Phillips. Phillips continued to work with Rindge even while employed at his law firm, working on issues pertaining to water reclamation in Los Angeles. Following Rindge's death in 1905, Rindge's company Conservative Life Insurance Company merged with Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Lee Phillips served as Executive Vice President and Treasurer there from 1907 until 1933. ("Lee A. Phillips," 5). At one point there were 25 companies or corporations that he had some connection with ("Lee A. Phillips," 5).

From 1902 to 1912, Phillips primarily worked on the Delta Reclamation of tracts of land near the San Joaquin and Sacramento River. A 1905 trip to Holland allowed Phillips to study the dike system. He founded California Delta Farms, supervised Ringe Land and Navigation Company, and managed to reclaim 100,800 acres of land ("Making the Delta Bloom"). "He also organized the Empire Construction Company, controlling a fleet of dredgers used in construction of levees for the purpose of reclamation of various properties. (McGroarty 21).

When Phillips died, on January 7, 1938, his wife and daughter, Catherine Phillips and Lucile Morrison, took on active roles at his primary company, Lee A. Phillips, Inc. until its dissolution on December 31, 1949. ("Lee A. Phillips," 5).

Catherine Coffin Phillips

Catherine Louise Coffin was born in 1872 in Oakland, Illinois. The daughter of Tristram Sanborn Coffin and Susan (Winkler) Coffin, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern College of Kansas in 1893 and a Master of Arts in 1895 from DePauw University. Catherine and Lee Allen Phillips most likely met at DePauw University and in 1895 they married and moved to Los Angeles.

Catherine was an avid writer and researcher of California history. She built an extensive collection of books on California that was later expanded upon by her children and grandchildren. Of those approximately 4,000 volumes, UC Davis will be receiving around 1,500 volumes for their rare book collection. Catherine wrote five books on California History: "Cornelius Cole, California Pioneer and U. S. Senator", "Portsmouth Plaza, the Cradle of San Francisco", "Through the Golden Gate, San Francisco 1769-1937", "Coulterville Chronicle, The Annals of a Mother Lode Mining Town", and "Jessie Benton Fremont, A Woman Who Made History." Mrs. Fremont was a political activist, writer, and wife of John C. Fremont, a US senator from California, military officer, and explorer. Catherine and Mrs. Fremont were neighbors, and the Phillips's were instrumental in taking care of Mrs. Fremont after her husband's death left her destitute. Catherine and a group of society ladies got together and had a house built for Mrs. Fremont where she remained until her death in 1902.

Catherine Coffin was on the board of directors for numerous organizations, including the Children's Hospital, the Historical Society of Southern California and Scripps College. She was also a sponsor of organizations such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Women's University Club, the Women's Athletic Club, The Ebell of Los Angeles and Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Beta Kappa sororities. In 1937 she received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from DePauw University. She died in 1942 of liver cancer.

Lucile Phillips Morrison

Lucile was born in 1896. Lucile married Dr. Wayland Morrison, a surgeon. They had four biological children, Wayland Lee, Richard Holt, Lee Allen, and Keith Norman, and adopted Patricia at the age of ten. Lucile got her bachelor's degree at Vassar College in 1918 and a Master of Arts in Psychology at George Pepperdine College in 1958. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from California School Professional Psychology in 1978. Lucile became a psychologist and a children's author. Her books include "The Blue Bandits", "The Lost Queen of Ancient Egypt" and "The Attic Child." She was named "Woman of the Year, Marlborough School Los Angeles 1979; and was recipient of Ellen Browning Scripps Associates award in 1976. She served on numerous boards and was Director of the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles from 1921-1944. She was the president and founding member of Duarte Community Service Council of California from 1946-1948 and served in other positions on the board until 1957. Lucile died on January 1, 1991 at the age of 94.

Sources

[Biography, Lee A. Phillips, California Plutarch (multiple copies) Folder 11:21 page 236] Lee Phillips Collection. D-668, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

"Catherine Coffin Phillips Preserved California History." Larchmont Chronicle. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://larchmontchronicle.com/catherine-coffin-phillips-preserved-california-history/.

["Lee A. Phillips: The Human Dynamo of Constructive Finance by E. Hardy Pelham" Folder 11:31, page 5. ], Lee Phillips Collection. D-668, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

"Lucile Phillips Morrison." prabook.com. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://prabook.com/web/lucile_phillips.morrison/1699699.

["Making the Delta Bloom" Folder 12:7 ] Lee Phillips Collection. D-668, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

McGroarty, John Steven. Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea : With Selected Biography of Actors and Witnesses to the Period of Growth and Achievement / John Steven McGroarty : V. 2. vol. 2. Illinois: American Historical Society, 1921, 1921. Print.

Acquisition information:
This collection was donated in 2020 by Chris Morrison.
Processing information:

Collection processed in 2024 by Elizabeth Wood

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into four series:

1. Corporate Records 1.1 Correspondence and Records 1.2 Ledgers 2. Phillips and Morrison Family Papers

2.1 Personal Papers 2.2 Lee Allen Phillips Estate Papers

3. Delta History

4. Multimedia Materials 4.1 Photographs 4.2 Exhibit Photographs and Oversized Materials 4.3 VHS, Cassette, and Reels.

Physical location:
This collection is stored off-site at the Northern Regional Library Facility. Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections in advance.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections, University of California, Library, Davis 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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lee Phillips Collection. D-668, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
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