Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Frank McGregor Papers
- Dates:
- 1862-1915
- Creators:
- McGregor, Frank.
- Abstract:
- This collection contains family correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera of American Civil War soldier and Ohio floral shipping merchant Frank McGregor (1838-1920), including letters from McGregor about his experiences during the Civil War.
- Extent:
- 97 items + ephemera in 3 boxes and an oversize folder
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Frank McGregor Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, and ephemera of Frank McGregor.
The Correspondence series is arranged chronologically and contains letters from Frank to his family members, most notably his sisters and to Susan, about his experiences during the Civil War. Also included in the series are letters from Frank and Susan to their children when they traveled around Europe in 1892 visiting such cities as Rome, Glasgow, Oban, Dingwall, Edinburgh, London, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Venice, Florence, Naples, Interlacken, and Paris. There are also letters from their children, most notably their daughters Bertha, Grace, and Olive, as they traveled around the United States.
The Manuscripts series is arranged alphabetically and contains a typed collection of letters written by Frank McGregor titled "Letters to the Folks at Home from Frank McGregor of the 83rd Regiment O.V.I. Army of the Mississippi." The letters date from 1862-1865 and span McGregor’s time in the Civil War. Also included, is a short composition written by Susan B. McGregor recalling details about a story her mother, Olive W. Wilder liked to tell about going to a ball.
The Ephemera series is arranged alphabetically and contains such items as a photocopy of images of Frank and Susan, pamphlets from the annual reunion of the survivors of the 83rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry, a copy of a questionnaire about Frank’s military service, biographical information about Frank McGregor, a copy of a newspaper dated September 22, 1864, and a copy of the book Dearest Susie: A Civil War infantryman’s letters to his sweetheart (1971) which is signed by the book’s editor, Carl E. Hatch.
The Oversize Folder contains two sepia photographs: one is a headshot of Frank McGregor and the other is what appears to be the 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Francis "Frank" McGregor (1838-1920) was born to Peter McGregor and Christine Ross on June 19, 1838, in Nottinghamshire, England. He was one of ten children and lived with his grandparents in the northern part of Scotland until he was 13 years old. In 1850, he moved with his family to the United States where they settled in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1862, Frank joined the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. He served for three years in the 83rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E. Frank is credited with participating in eleven important battles and never being wounded. Throughout his service, he wrote detailed letters about the war to his immediate family and to Susan "Susie" Brown, a school teacher who later became his wife.
In 1865, Frank was in Galveston, Texas, where he received an honorable discharge from the Army. Afterwards, he returned home and established a career in business supplying seeds and plants to the retail trade. Eventually, Frank moved to Springfield, Ohio, where he and his brother, David, formed a partnership and established McGregor Brothers. They built a one hundred and twenty-five thousand square foot greenhouse and created a general floral shipping business, selling both wholesale and retail.
On June 28, 1866, Frank married Susan Brown in Lockland Hamilton, Ohio. The two had seven children: Allan, Bertha, Grace, Harold, Helen, Olive, and Robert. During the latter part of their lives, Frank and his wife traveled extensively, visiting such countries as England, Belgium, Germany, Scotland, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France. In addition to his business career, Frank also served on the board for park commissioners. Frank died in 1920 in Clark, Ohio.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from William Reese Company at Cowan's auction, June 24, 2009.
- Arrangement:
-
The papers are arranged in the following series: 1. Correspondence (Boxes 1-3); 2. Manuscripts (Box 3); 3. Ephemera (Box 3); 4. Oversize Folder.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2009
- Date Encoded:
- Machine readable finding aid encoded by Diann Benti in August 2017 from PDF finding aid originally in the Huntington Digital Library.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Terms of access:
-
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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Frank McGregor Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191