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Foy (Mary Emily) Collection
MS.614  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Acquisition
  • Biographical Note
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Related Archival Materials
  • Scope and Contents
  • Conditions Governing Use

  • Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
    Title: Mary Emily Foy Collection
    Creator: Foy, Mary Emily
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.614
    Physical Description: 7 folders
    Date (inclusive): 1900 - 1981
    Abstract: The collection contains information about, works by, and correspondence to and from Mary Emily Foy.
    Language of Material: English .

    Conditions Governing Access

    Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

    Acquisition

    News clippings were part of the Braun Research Library vertical files. Additional materials were collected by Braun Research Library staff.

    Biographical Note

    Mary Emily Foy (1862-1962) was the daughter of Samuel Calvert Foy and Lucinda (Pet) Macy Foy, early Los Angeles pioneers. From 1880 to 1884, she served as the third Los Angeles City Librarian, the first woman to hold the position. She was also an educator who taught at Los Angeles High School.
    Mary E. Foy is well known for her involvement in the California Woman's Suffrage Movement and with the Democratic Party. She was Vice President of the Political Equality League, Secretary of the Votes for Women Club, President of the California Woman's Democratic League, and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1916 and 1920. In 1934, she ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 15th Congressional District. At age 95, she was named the "California Democratic Woman of the Year" by the California Democratic party.
    Mary Foy had a deep interest in history and archaeology. She was involved with the local chapter of the American Institute for Archaeology, the Southwest Society, was a founding member of the Southwest Museum, and organized the California Parlor of the Native Daughters of the Golden West. Foy founded the First Century Families, an organization whose members are descendants of Los Angeles settlers from its first 100 years. She wrote for the Jeffersonian, Woman's Bulletin, and the Los Angeles Herald & Express.
    Source: Apostol, Jane. "Mary Emily Foy: 'Miss Los Angeles Herself.'" Southern California Quarterly, Summer 1996, pp. 109-138.

    Preferred Citation

    Mary Emily Foy Collection, 1900-1981, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.614; [folder number] [folder title][date].

    Processing Information

    Initial processing by Braun Research Library Staff. Revised by James Foster, 2008. Biographical note completed by Jackie Zak, 2008. Revised by Molly Smith, 2024.

    Related Archival Materials

    Joseph Benjamin Collings Papers, 1878-1951. Correspondence between Collings and Foy, 1951. Braun Research Library, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS. 503.
    Papers of Mary Emily Foy, 1879-1957. The Henry E. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California.
    Photographs of the interior and exterior childhood residence, portraits of Samuel Calvert Foy and Mary Foy, and Foy Saddle and Harness Shop. Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection, History and Genealogy Department, Los Angeles, California.

    Scope and Contents

    The collection consists of newspaper articles from the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Herald & Express about Mary Emily Foy; articles written by Foy; and correspondence.

    Conditions Governing Use

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Archaeological Institute of America. Southwest Society
    Librarians -- California -- Los Angeles -- History
    Suffragists -- California -- Biography
    Indian trails -- California -- Los Angeles
    Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History.
    Los Angeles High School (Los Angeles, Calif.)