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McNair Family Papers
mssMcNair
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: McNair family papers
Creator:
McNair (Family)
Identifier/Call Number: mssMcNair
Physical Description:
35.24 Linear Feet
(42 boxes, 2 envelopes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1760-1964
Date (bulk): 1835-1943
Abstract: A collection of papers related to the
McNair family of Pennsylvania and California.
Language of Material: Materials are 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]. McNair family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of James Birtley McNair, 1955-1965.
The McNair family were descendants of Thomas McNair (1737-1830) a native of the Parish of
Donaghmore, County Donegal, Ireland, who came to America and settled in Hanover Township,
Lancaster (now Dauphin) County, Pennsylvania. His son Thomas McNair (1790-1847) fought in
the War of 1812, and from 1820 to 1840 was a merchant and contractor in Berwick,
Pennsylvania. The most prominent among the next generation of McNairs, were Thomas Speer
McNair (1824-1901) a prominent Pennsylvania civil and mining engineer and civic leader and
Thomas Ferguson McNair (1869-1901) the city solicitor for Hazleton, Pennsylvania. In 1899,
Thomas Speer McNair purchased a ranch in Glendora, California, and after his death in 1901,
his family moved to Southern California. His children included: Anna Agnes McNair
(1867-1922) who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and taught in Los
Angeles, Glendora, and Pasadena schools; William Righter McNair, M.D. (1874-1935) who ran
several successful businesses and practiced medicine in Glendora and Los Angeles; Jean
Ferguson McNair (1876-1955) who served as a public health nurse in Los Angeles and Pasadena;
Rebecca Sharon McNair (1884-) who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and
headed the school and order departments of Los Angeles Free Library; and James Birtley
McNair (1889-1967) who was a botanist and chemist.
A collection of approximately 5000 items from 1760 to 1964, which is related to multiple
generations of the McNair family of Pennsylvania and California. The collection consists of
family correspondence, diaries, business records, legal papers, scrapbooks, estate papers,
photographs, prints, and ephemera. Included in the collection is material for Thomas McNair,
Thomas Speer McNair, and his children: Thomas Ferguson McNair, William Righter McNair, Jean
Ferguson McNair, Rebecca Sharon McNair, and James Birtley McNair. Subjects covered in the
collection include: Princeton University; University of California, Berkeley; Irish American
families; Pennsylvania commerce, education, history, mining, and railroads; Freemasons;
Southern California citrus industry, and history; World War I and World War II. Notable
people in the collection include, among others: Simon Cameron, Ernest Dawson, and Charles
Fletcher Lummis.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa 1970. Olga Tsapina created a Word finding aid
in 2003; in 2020, Gayle Richardson created the electronic finding aid.
Organized in the following series: 1. Thomas McNair; 2. Thomas Speer McNair; 3. Thomas
Ferguson McNair; 4. Rebecca Sharon McNair; 5. William Righter McNair; 4. Jean Ferguson
McNair; 5. James Birtley McNair; 6. Family records.
Former call numbers: mssMcNair Boxes 1-42; mssMcNair Boxes 1-5; mssMcNair Boxes 6-29;
mssMcNair Boxes 30-31; mssMcNair Boxes 32, 39; mssMcNair Boxes 33-38; mssMcNair Boxes
40-41.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Botanists -- United States
Chemists -- United States
Citrus fruit industry -- California
Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania -- History
Freemasons -- Pennsylvania
Irish American families -- Pennsylvania
Physicians -- California
Railroads -- Pennsylvania -- History
World War, 1914-1918
World War, 1939-1945
California -- Social life and customs --
20th century
California, Southern -- History -- 20th century
Pennsylvania -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century
Pennsylvania -- History
Pennsylvania -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Business records -- United States
Diaries -- United States
Ephemera -- United States
Estate papers -- United States
Family papers -- United States
Legal documents -- United States
Letter books -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Photographs -- United States
Scrapbooks -- United States
Baird, Mary McNair, 1798-1864
Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889
Dawson, Ernest,
1881-1947
McNair, Ann, 1781-1841
McNair, Anna Agnes, 1867-1922
McNair, Donald Wallace, 1880-1944
McNair, James Birtley,
1889-1967
McNair, Jean F. (Jean Ferguson), 1876-1955
McNair, Rebecca S. (Rebecca Sharon), 1884-
McNair, Thomas, 1737-1830
McNair, Thomas, 1790-1847
McNair, Thomas F. (Thomas Ferguson), 1869-1901
McNair, Thomas S. (Thomas
Speer), 1824-1901
McNair, W. R. (William Righter), 1874-1935
Princeton University. Students
United States. Army Nurse
Corps