McGuire family book collection, 1833-1977

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Summary

Creators:
McGuire family
Abstract:
The McGuire family lived in the Upper Ojai Valley for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nancy Darrah and William McGuire were married in 1875 in Ohio. William entered the milling business with Thomas Clark and bought 262 acres in the Upper Ojai. All eight of Nancy and William's children were raised on their ranch. Their son Thomas was born in 1882 and lived on the ranch his whole life. This collection consists almost entirely of the McGuire family's personal books and reading material. The types of monographs include cookbooks, home economics manuals, textbooks, primary-level readers for mathematics and grammar, novels, and manuals on milling and agricultural methods. The books primarily belonged to Thomas McGuire and his siblings.
Extent:
2.57 Cubic Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], McGuire family book collection, (Collection MVC083), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists almost entirely of the McGuire family's personal books and other reading material. The types of monographs include cookbooks, home economics manuals, textbooks, primary-level readers for mathematics and grammar, fiction, and manuals on milling and agricultural methods. The books primarily belonged to Thomas McGuire and his siblings. In addition, there is a leather wallet containing photographs and receipts.

Biographical / historical:

The McGuire family lived in the Upper Ojai Valley for much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nancy Darrah and William McGuire were married in 1875 in Ohio. They moved to California due to William's poor health. They lived on Ventura Avenue in Ventura when they first arrived. Once William's health improved, he entered the milling business with Thomas Clark and bought 262 acres in the Upper Ojai. William was also known as Billy. He served as mayor of Ventura from April 14, 1907 to September 21, 1908, and was a member of the county highway commission, when the first improved highways were built. He died at 77 years of age in May 1923.

Nancy and William raised all of their children on their ranch. Their children were Corena (1876-1962), William (1877-1952), Carrie (1879-1881), Thomas (1882-1965), Myrta (1880-1977), Sarah (1884-?), Claus (1887-?), Bernice (1889-?), and Shirley (1891-1971). Thomas was born and lived on the ranch his whole life. He married Anna McGuire, and they had two daughters, Louise and Ruth. Thomas died at the age of 83 in 1965. Anna died in 1990.

Acquisition information:
John Stanewich; gift; 1994.
Processing information:

Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.

Arrangement:

This collection has no series and the books are roughly in alphabetical order by author's last name. Several of the books had post-it notes. However, it's not clear if these post-its were attached by the donor or previous staff. All the text on these notes has been reproduced in the Scope and Contents notes.

Physical location:
Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior to your visit.
Physical facet:
(2 boxes)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. All requests to access materials must be made in advance by contacting the Research Library staff via email: library@venturamuseum.org.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the museum does not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], McGuire family book collection, (Collection MVC083), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.

Location of this collection:
100 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001, US
Contact:
(805) 653-0323, ext 320
library@venturamuseum.org
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