Finding aid for McGuire family book collection, 1833-1977. MVC083

Finding aid prepared by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.
This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura County Community Foundation.
Museum of Ventura County
May 2022
100 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
library@venturamuseum.org


Contributing Institution: Museum of Ventura County
Title: McGuire family book collection
Creator: McGuire family
Identifier/Call Number: MVC083
Physical Description: 2.57 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1833-1977
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.
Physical Location: Stored off-site and advance notice required for timely retrieval. Please contact the Research Library reference desk prior to your visit.
Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Access

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.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

John Stanewich; gift; 1994.

Processing Information

Processed by Krystell Jimenez, 2022.

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.

Scope and Contents

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.

Organization and 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.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Home economics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
Cookbooks
Textbooks
Readers (Elementary)
Agriculture
Photographs
McGuire family -- Books and reading

Box 1

Primary Number Lessons (California State Board of Education: California State Series of School Text-Books) 1887

Scope and Contents

Name written in front cover: Drayrtie (?) McGuire, Ojai District, CA. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 8.
Box 1

The Care and Use of the County Archives of California (Owen C. Coy) 1919

Box 1

La Belle-Nivernaise (Alphonse Daudet) 1893

Scope and Contents

Reprinted from the edition of "Contes de Daudet" and edited by A. Guyot Cameron Henry Holt and Company. Name written inside cover: Shirley McGuire.
Box 1

A Primary History of the United States for intermediate classes (Thomas F. Donnelly) 1885

Scope and Contents

Name written inside front cover: Cora McGuire, Ojai District, January 1891. Had note attached that read: School book No. 1.
Box 1

Baking and Cooking Monographs: A Model Home Kitchen - Pastry Baking - A Monograph on Cookies - Modern Cake Baking - Modern Biscuit Baking - Deep Fat Frying - A Lesson on Waffles and Griddle Cakes (Helen Harrington Downing) 1923

Box 1

The Boston Cooking School Cook Book (Fannie Merritt Farmer) 1902

Box 1

First Book in Arithmetic including oral and written exercises (Daniel W. Fish) 1874

Scope and Contents

Name written inside cover: Cora McGuire, Mill District. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 7.
Box 1

1003 Household Hints and Work Savers: A Treasury of Household Hints to help you beat the high cost of living (Michael Gore, editor) 1948

Scope and Contents

Sponsored by Golden Top Farm in Saticoy.
Box 1

First Lessons in Grammar: Based upon the construction and analysis of sentences; designed as an introduction to the "Analysis of Sentences" (Samuel S. Green) 1864

Scope and Contents

Names written on back cover: Ella Besst, George W. Hull, Mary E. J. Besst.
Box 1

The Ladies' Magazine and Literary Gazette for 1833, Volume VI (Sara J. Hale, editor) 1833

Scope and Contents

Name written inside cover: Susan Latimer.
Box 1

Book-Keeping, by Single and Double Entry for Schools and Academies adapted to Payson, Dunton and Scribner's combined system of penmanship (L.B. Hanaford) 1865

Scope and Contents

Names inside cover: William McGuire, Louise, Ohio. Had note attached that read: School Book bookkeeping Book No. 2.
Box 1

Elementary Lesson in English for home and school use; Part First how to speak and write correctly (N.L. Knox) 1888

Scope and Contents

Name inside for front cover: Cora McGuire.
Box 1

Elementary Lesson in English Part Second: The Parts of Speech and How to Use Them (N.L. Knox-Heath) 1888

Scope and Contents

Name inside front cover: Cora McGuire, Ojai Valley, CA. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 5.
Box 1

School of the Chain Store, Book II; Individual Store Maintenance. Operation and Storekeeping (H.H. Lestico, H.R. Barnett) 1928

Box 1

Our Government: How it grew, what it does, and how it does it (Jesse Macy) 1891

Scope and Contents

Name inside front cover: Corina McGuire, Rancho Viejo, Ventura Co., CA; Cora McGuire, Upper Ojai. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 2.
Box 1

The New Second Music Reader: Based largely upon C. H. Hohmann giving first lessons in reading music at sight with one and two-part exercises and songs, and directions to teachers (Luther Whiting Mason) 1894

Scope and Contents

Name inside front cover: Sade McGuire. Had note attached that reads School book No. 6.
Box 2

The Ventura County Bargain Shoppers Guide, Vol. II (Lois Pedigo, Patricia Lawson, Cynthia Picha) 1977

Box 2

Lettering for Draftsmen, Engineers and Students A Practical System of Freehand Lettering for Working Drawings (Charles W. Reinhardt) 1903

Scope and Contents

Name written inside front cover: J.P. Levy, Harvard School 1906.
Box 2

Immensee (Theodore Storm) 1901

Scope and Contents

Edited with notes and vocabulary by Richard Alexander von Minckwitz and Anne Crombie Wilder, B.A.
Name written inside cover: Bernice McGuire, Ventura, Cal, Nov 6, 1907; Lorrain McGuire. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 10.
Box 2

Jugendliebe lustfpiel in einem aufzuge (Wolf Wilbrandt) 1907

Scope and Contents

Edited with notes and vocabulary by Theodore Henckels. Name written inside cover: Bernice McGuire, Ventura. Had note attached that read: School Book No. 11.
Box 2

The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (Owen Wister) 1904

Scope and Contents

Name written inside cover: Thos McGuire, Nordhoff, CA.
Box 2

Modern Silage Methods: Latest revised edition with illustration ; an entirely new and practical work on Silos, their construction and the process of filling, to which is added complete and reliable information regarding Silage and its composition ; feeding and a treatise on rations, being a feeders' and dairymen's guide (William L. Wright, editor) 1914

Scope and Contents

Had noted attached that read: Farm Book No. 2.
Box 2

Anyone Can Bake 1927

Box 2

Book keeping self-instructions undated

Box 2

Catalogue of Roller Mills and other General and Special Machinery for Flour and Corn-Meal Mills Manufactured by the John T. Noye Manufacturing Co. 1892

Scope and Contents

Had note attached that read: Farm Book No.5.
Box 2

Gold Medal Flour Cook Book 1917

Box 2

Gordon Duff Welding and Industrial Equipment and Supplies, Catalog and Reference Book, Catalog No. 49 circa 1940s-1950s

Box 2

Granger's Business Organization Catalog, Semi-Annual Catalog (Grangers Business Organization) 1948

Box 2

Machinery, Tubular Goods, Tools and Supplies for Oil, Gas and Water Wells: Pipe line, natural gas, gasoline plant and refinery supplies 1930

Scope and Contents

Catalogue No. 40. Had note attached that read: School No.4.
Box 2

Pacific Mill and Mine Supply Co., Inc.: Manufacturers, distributors : belting, hose, packings, mechanical rubber goods, engineers, machine shop, contractors, cotton gin, factory and mill supplies circa 1931

Scope and Contents

Catalog 35.
Box 2

Walworth Company, Incorporated: Catalog 42, valves, fittings, pipe, pipe wrenches 1942

Box 2

Brown wallet undated

Scope and Contents

Wallet inscribed with "Wm. McGuire, Ventura, Cal." Wallet contains a First National College Bank receipt for $20 paid to Bryant Stratton in 1864; a receipt for a subscription to California Cultivator and Poultry Keeper dated 1900; black and white photograph of two small girls holding hands and standing outside a home; 3 color photographs of some kind of property and outbuildings, circa 1987.