McNair Family Papers: Finding Aid mssMcNair
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
June 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. McNair family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifts of James Birtley McNair, 1955-1965.
Biographical / Historical
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Processing Information
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.
Arrangement
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.
General
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
Box 1
Thomas McNair : Correspondence and business records
1760-1836
Box 2
Thomas McNair : Correspondence and business records
1837-1838
Box 3
Thomas McNair : Correspondence and business records
1839-1842
Box 4
Thomas McNair : Correspondence and business records
1843-1849
Box 5
Thomas McNair : Ledgers
1838-1842
Box 6
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1831-1859
Box 7
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1850-1859
Box 8
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1860-1879
Box 9
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1880-1886
Box 10
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1886-1889
Box 11
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1890-1894
Box 12
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1895-1899
Box 13
Thomas Speer McNair : Correspondence and papers
1900-1914
Box 14
Thomas Speer McNair : Letter books
1867-1901
Box 15
Thomas Speer McNair : Letter books
1879-1891
Box 16
Thomas Speer McNair : Letter books
1887-1895
Box 17
Thomas Speer McNair : Letter books
1895-1901
Box 18
Thomas Speer McNair : Surveyor's field books
1855-1881
Box 19
Thomas Speer McNair : Diaries
1848-1869
Box 20
Thomas Speer McNair : Diaries
1870-1889
Box 21
Thomas Speer McNair : Diaries
1890-1901
Box 22
Thomas Speer McNair : Masonic papers
1856-1871
Box 23
Thomas Speer McNair : Masonic papers
1872-1879
Box 24
Thomas Speer McNair : Masonic papers
1880-1947
Box 25
Thomas Speer McNair : The estate of W. R. Maffet [unsorted]
Box 26
Thomas Speer McNair : The estate of W. R. Maffet [unsorted]
Box 27
Thomas Speer McNair : Miscellaneous business correspondence
[unsorted]
Box 28
Thomas Speer McNair : Maps [unsorted]
Box 29
Thomas Speer McNair : Miscellaneous manuscripts and ephemera
[unsorted]
Box 30
Thomas Ferguson McNair : Correspondence and letter books
1889-1901
Box 31
Thomas Ferguson McNair : Diaries
1889-1901
Box 32
Rebecca Sharon McNair : Berkeley scrapbook
1904-1908
Box 33
William Righter McNair : Correspondence, A - L
Box 34
William Righter McNair : Correspondence, M - Z
Box 35
William Righter McNair : Diaries
1897-1919
Box 36
William Righter McNair : Diaries
1920-1929
Box 37
William Righter McNair : Diaries
1930-1935
Box 38
William Righter McNair : Photographs and ephemera
Box 39
Jean Ferguson McNair : Correspondence
1884-1919
Box 40
James Birtley McNair : Correspondence
1901-1941
Box 41
James Birtley McNair : Correspondence
1942-1964
Box 42
Family records [unsorted]
Envelope 1-2
Thomas F. McNair: Princeton University photographs
undated
Folder 1
Manuscripts, accounts, financial records
1838-1880
