Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Vandevort (John W.) collection
mssVandevort
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: John Wesley Vandevort collection
Identifier/Call Number: mssVandevort
Physical Description:
5.42 Linear Feet
(13 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1865-1898
Abstract: The collection consists chiefly of letters, with some manuscripts and documents related to John Wesley Vandevort and his Pittsburgh
holdings in the steel industry.
Language of Material: The material is in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item] John Wesley Vandevort collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of D.V. Bell, 1949.
Collection was roughly organized by Huntington staff sometime after 1949. In June 2019, Gina C Giang re-housed the collection,
created a finding aid, and added the financial records (boxes 12 and 13), which had previously been separated and handled
as ephemera.
John Wesley Vandevort (1837-circa 1898) was a native of Pittsburgh and an associate of Andrew Carnegie in the firm of Carnegie
and Kloman. In 1885 he moved to Pasadena, California, for his health, and in addition to his continuing interests in the iron
and steel industries, he participated in Pasadena social and civic affairs and San Diego real estate projects.
The collection consists chiefly of letters, with some manuscripts and documents related to John Wesley Vandevort and his Pittsburgh
holdings in the steel industry. There are also seven diaries related to Vandevort's tours of Europe and a 1878-1879 trip around
the world with Andrew Carnegie (2 pocket diaries). Correspondents in the collection include: Henry Phipps (102 letters) and
Andrew Carnegie and/or his wife Louise (8 letters). The collection also has a letterbook containing typewritten letters of
an 1865 European tour by John Hallen Franks and thirty-six letters addressed to John Wesley Vandevort's brother, Robert T.
Vandevort. There are also materials about the Johnstown Flood of 1889. Included are financial records such as accounts, bills,
receipts, and statements.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Johnstown (Cambria County).
Industrialists -- United States -- Correspondence
Iron industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Steel industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Voyages around the world -- Diaries
Europe -- Description and travel
Pasadena (Calif.) -- Social life and customs
Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Business records -- Pennsylvania -- 19th century
Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Financial records -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century