Finding Aid to the Mary Emily Foy Collection MS.614

James Foster
Library and Archives at the Autry
2024
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org


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.)

folder MS.614.1

List of proposed gifts to the Southwest Museum MS.614.1 undated

Scope and Contents

Information pertaining to proposed gifts of books or manuscripts to the "Lummis Memorial Collection at Southwest Museum." Includes handwritten notes.
folder MS.614.2

News clippings, LA Times MS.614.2 1949-1954

Scope and Contents

News clippings of biographical articles, published in the Los Angeles Times.
  • "City Birthday Downtown Celebration Opens Today," 1949 September 19
  • "Family Reunion marks 100 years in California," 1950 April 17
  • "1879 Graduate to attend L.A. High Birthday Party," 1954 February 17
  • "Early Families to meet for Luncheon" Norma H. Goodhue, 1954 September 28
folder MS.614.3

News clippings, LA Times MS.614.3 1955-1962

Scope and Contents

News clippings of biographical articles, published in the Los Angeles Times
  • "Miss Mary Foy still busy on 9?th birthday," 1955 July 14.
  • "First Woman Librarian feted on 96th Birthday," 1958 July13.
  • "L. A. High fetes oldest Alumna at celebration," 1961 June 4.
  • "Mary Foy, City's first Woman Librarian, dies," 1962 February 19.
  • "Miss Mary Foy funeral rites scheduled today," 1962 February 21.
folder MS.614.4

"Old Indian Trails in Los Angeles" Manuscript and Letter to M.R. Harrington MS.614.4 1952

Scope and Contents

"Old Indian Trails in Los Angeles" manuscript by Mary E. Foy. Includes letter written to M.R. (Mark Raymond) Harrington, dated 1952 June 7.
folder MS.614.5

News clippings, LA Herald & Express MS.614.5 1952

Scope and Contents

"Mary E. Foy, Who Taught and Developed Many L.A. Distinguished Men and Women and Had a Part in Educating Thousands, Tells Her Story." By Mary E. Foy as told to Don Ryan, Los Angeles Herald & Express.
  • "What Grew in City from the Spirit of L.A. High," 1952 March 17
  • "Spirit of LA High Monument to Ideals of Prof. W.H. Housh," 1952 March 18
  • "Tells How L.A. High Graduates Helped to Make this City Great," 1952 March 20
  • "L.A. High was First in West to Try Out Self-Government Plan," 1952 March 21
folder MS.614.6

News clipping: Foy House MS.614.6 1981

Scope and Contents

"Historic L.A., House Lives On: Foy Home is Headquarters of Geothermal Firm" Los Angeles Times, Sunday, 1981 March 1; Real Estate/Second Section. Article includes two sketches of Foy House.
folder MS.614.7

Correspondence from J.A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk MS.614.7 1900-1901

Scope and Contents

Correspondence to Foy from J.A. (Joseph Amasa) Munk, 1901 March 26. Letter is attached to "Bibliography of Arizona Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals in the Library of Dr J.A. Munk, 1900."