Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen Papers
Michael P. Palmer
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
Email: specialcollections@claremont.edu
URL: https://library.claremont.edu/scl/
© 2010
The Claremont Colleges Library. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen Papers
Dates: 1912-1994 and
undated
Bulk dates: 1927-1949
Collection number: H.Mss.0525
Creator:
McQueen, Elizabeth L. (Elizabeth
Lippincott)
Extent:
1.4 Linear Feet
(1 document box, 1 flat box)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, The Claremont
Colleges Library, Claremont, CA 91711.
Abstract: Photographs,
correspondence, writings, clippings, and other materials, primarily from 1927-1949, relating
to women in aviation, created and collected by Elizabeth L. McQueen (Mrs. Ulysses Grant) in
the course of her activities as founder and honorary president of the Women's International
Association of Aeronautics (WIAA) and as principal organizer of the 1929 Women's Air
Derby.
Physical Location: Please consult repository.
Language of Material: Languages represented in the
collection: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to
Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elizabeth Lippincott McQueen Papers (H.Mss.0525). Special
Collections, The Claremont Colleges Library, The Claremont Colleges Services, Claremont,
California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Date and method of acquisition unknown. Articles and photographs relating to Mrs. Jolan Toth Voloszynovich (Box 1, Folder
64)
were doanted by Phil Hand in 2023.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Michael Palmer, April 2010.
Biography / Administrative History
Elizabeth Lippincott was born in Pennington, New Jersey, on September 26, 1878, the
daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Crispin Lippincott, DD, and his second wife, Deborah Diverty.
She graduated from Pennington Seminary in 1898, and in March 1900 married Ulysses Grant
McQueen (1864-1937), a wealthy inventor and manufacturer in New York City. The couple lived
in New York City until 1928, when they moved to Beverly Hills, California. During World War
I, Mrs. McQueen served in war relief work in Palestine under Field Marshal Allenby. In 1919
she founded the
Jerusalem News, the first English-language
newspaper in Jerusalem.
Mrs. McQueen became interested in aviation when in 1920 she witnessed seven airplanes "take
the place of two British regiments of soldiers" in routing a large number of rebel Arab
cavalry in the desert near Aden. "A vision, mental and spiritual, came to me of millions of
women with the hands upraised acclaiming: 'Save my son from war, save my son from war, save
my son from war!' I mentally saw these women's faces and hands upraised far into space and
heard their voices entreating me. This vision has never left me. Then and there I dedicated
my life to aeronautics as an instrument for World Peace."
In September 1928, Mrs. McQueen organized the Women's Aeronautic Association of California,
which was soon followed by similar organizations in New York, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas,
Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Canada, England, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. On
May 23, 1929, she organized the Women's International Association of Aeronautics (WIAA),
which became the principal focus of her activities for the rest of her life. Mrs. McQueen
served as "founder and honorary president" of the WIAA; presidents of the association were,
in turn, prominent British aviator Lady Mary Heath (1929-1932), British reporter Lady Grace
Hay Drummond-Hay (1932-1940), educator Dr. Mary Sinclair Crawford (1940-1947), actress Mary
Pickford (1947-1949), airplane manufacturing executive Olive Ann Beech (1949-1954), and
pioneer aviator Matilde Moisant (1954-). A junior division of the WIAA was organized in
1931; members under 7 years old were called "tailwinds", those from 7 through 20 years old
"zoomers".
In 1929, Mrs. McQueen and Lady Heath appealed to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale
in Paris to have women's air records recognized, an appeal that was ultimately successful.
At the same time, in order to arouse greater interest in women's flying, Mrs. McQueen
conceived the idea and was one of the principal organizers of the first Women's Air Derby
from Santa Monica, California, to the 1929 National Air Races in Cleveland. 19 female
aviators took part in this forerunner to the Powder Puff Derby, the winners being Louise
Thaden and, in the lighter aircraft category, Phoebe Omlie.
In 1932 and 1933, Mrs. McQueen published a column, "Happy Contacts", concerning women and
aviation, in the monthly magazine
Speed; she also published
several articles in t
The Air Pilot in 1933. In July 1933,
Mrs. McQueen, who in 1929 had been deputized as the first aerial policewoman in the world by
Police Chief Charles Blair of Beverly Hills, organized the Women's Aerial Police
Association, whose members were deputized to assist the civil authorities in times of
emergency. From March 1940 to February 1941, she also undertook a Goodwill Tour to Mexico
and Central and South America, on which she publicly read a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt
and met with many pioneer female flyers.
From approximately 1942 to approximately 1947, Mrs. McQueen resided in the Mission Inn, in
Riverside, California, the location of the International Shrine of Aviators and the Famous
Fliers' Wall. By the late 1940s, she had returned to her house on Doheny Drive in Beverly
Hills.
Ulysses Grant McQueen died in April 1937, and about 1955 Mrs. McQueen married Dr. Irving
Reed Bancroft, a prominent retired physician. She died at her home in Hermosa Beach,
California, on December 24, 1958, aged 80, after a long period of declining health. Her
ashes are interred in the Portal of the Folded Wing in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Cemetery, in
North Hollywood. Although she had devoted her life to furthering the role of women in
aviation, she had never obtained a pilot's license.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The bulk of the collection consists of photographs, together with considerably smaller
amounts of correspondence, writings, clippings, and other materials relating to women in
aviation, created and collected by Elizabeth L. (Mrs. Ulysses Grant) McQueen. The materials
were at an undetermined time, and for an unknown reason, separated from the bulk of Mrs.
McQueen's papers, which now form the Women's International Association of Aeronautics (WIAA)
Collection, No. 55, Special Collections Department, Doheny Library, University of Southern
California. Many of the photographs can be identified in a typescript list in the WIAA
Collection. The descriptions in the list often refer to Mrs. McQueen as "the author", which
suggests that it is an inventory of materials intended by Mrs. McQueen to illustrate her
planned but unrealized history of women in aviation.
Because of its small size, the collection is arranged as a single series divided into four
groups, as follows: (1) People, (2) Organizations, (3) Events, and (4) Printed Matter. The
first group (People) constitutes approximately two-thirds of the collection, and is arranged
alphabetically by name. Most folders contain very few items, usually one or more
photographs, correspondence, or a biographical account; the contents of each folder is
indicated in the container list. The biographical accounts were often written by Mrs.
McQueen, and many appeared in her "Happy Contacts" column in
Speed (1932-1933). Of particular interest are the materials relating to Florence
Lowe "Pancho" Barnes, Alys McKey Bryant, and Evelyn "Bobbie" Trout. The photographs of Mrs.
McQueen include portraits of her in flying attire, in fancy dress, and with her parrot,
Dick. Mrs. McQueen's writings include an undated account of aflight from Seattle to
Juneau.
The second group (Organizations) contains materials, almost exclusively photographs,
relating to the Women's Aerial Police Association and to the Women's International
Association of Aeronautics (WIAA). The materials relating to the women's aerial police
include a 1994 account written by Gail F. Ryan-Johnson (added by the Honnold/Mudd Special
Collections staff), an autographed photograph of Beverly Hills Police Chief Charles Blair,
who had deputized Mrs. McQueen in 1929, and photographs of the dedication of a placque
honoring the Association at the Mission Inn, Riverside, in 1938. The records of the WIAA
include minutes of the annual Board of Directors meetings for 1953-1955 (the minutes for
1955 are missing the first page). The photographs include the Blind Flying Challenge Cup
presented by Lady Drummond-Hay; an undated (but almost certainly 1934) gala luncheon,
probably at the Del Mar Club in Santa Monica, attended by many of the leading pioneer women
aviators of the day; meetings of the WIAA Board and of the general membership at the Mission
Inn, Riverside (1946-1947); and the "Annual Aeronautical Literary Contest in All Languages",
sponsored by the WIAA (1947 and 1949).
The third group (Events) contains photographs of events not necessarily attended by Mrs.
McQueen or associated with the WIAA. The majority date between 1933 and 1936, and include
the visit of the brothers Auguste and Jean Piccard to the University of Southern California,
the 99s visiting the Famous Fliers' Wall at the Mission Inn, Riverside, and several
breakfasts at the Los Angeles Breakfast Club, honoring Air Commodore P.F.M. Fellowes; Col.
Roscoe Tanner, Clyde Pangborn, and Thea Rasche; Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith; and Lady
Drummond-Hay. Other events include the victory of Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes in the
Bendix Trophy Race, Mrs. McQueen's Goodwill Tour of Central and South America (1940), and a
luncheon for Mrs. Amy Oris Earhart (1949).
The fourth group (Printed Matter) consists of a single 1929 magazine clipping, 4 issues of
an unidentified Japanese-language publication, and the 15th anniversary issue (1944) of the
WIAA newsletter,
Aero-Gram.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1: People, 1912-1991 and undated
- Series 2: Organizations, 1929-1994 and undated
- Series 3: Events, 1933-1949
- Series 4: Printed Matter, 1929-1944 and undated
Related Materials
James Carruthers Memorial Aviation Collection of the Institute of Aeronautical History,
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont.
Separated Materials
The bulk of Mrs. McQueen's papers constitute the Women's International Association of
Aeronautics Collection, No. 55, held by the Special Collections Department, Doheny Memorial
Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library’s online public access catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Air pilots
Barnes, Pancho, 1901-1975
Bendix Trophy Race
Bryant, Alys McKey, 1880-1954
Drummond-Hay, Grace M., Lady Hay, 1895-1956
Noyes, Blanche, 1900-1981
McQueen, Elizabeth L. (Elizabeth
Lippincott)
Policewomen
Rasche, Thea, 1899-1971
Thaden, Louise, 1906-1979
Trout, Evelyn, 1906-2003
Women's Aerial Police Association
Women air pilots
Women's International Association of Aeronautics
Series 1:
People
1912-1991 and
undated
Box 1, Folder 1
Arnold, Henry H. "Hap"
undated
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 2
Barnes, Florence Lowe "Pancho"
undated, 1932
General Physical Description note: Correspondence, 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 3
Batten, Jean
1935
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 4
Beech, Olive Ann
1946
Physical Description: 3
photographs.
Box 1, Folder 5
Bernstein, Lena
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 6
Bixby, Diana Cyrus
1953
General Physical Description note: Baby's birth
announcement.
Box 1, Folder 7
Bond, Carrie Jacobs
1933
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 8
Bonney, Dolores
1934-1935
General Physical Description note: Correspondence.
Box 1, Folder 9
Bowen, Pansy
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 10
Bruce, Victor, Hon. Mrs.
1931
Physical Description: 3
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Edna Mae Cooper, Bobbie Trout.
Box 2, Folder 1
Bryant, Alys McKey
1931-1932
General Physical Description note: Correspondence, 1 photograph,
clippings, article, letterhead.
Box 1, Folder 11
Burnham, Roger Noble, Mrs.
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 12
Cooper, Margaret Perry
undated
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 13
Drummond-Hay, Grace, Lady Hay
undated, 1936
General Physical Description note: 2 photographs, palm
print.
Box 1, Folder 14
Earhart, Amelia
undated, 1929
General Physical Description note: 1 photograph, 1
clipping.
Box 1, Folder 15
Fyle, Gretchen
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 16
Granger, Clema Mildred
1932
General Physical Description note: Correspondence, biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 17
Hamilton, Ethel Inez
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 18
Heath, Mary, Lady
circa 1929
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Lady Mary Heath, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen.
Box 1, Folder 19
Jackson, Frances, Mrs.
undated
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 20
Lindbergh, Evangeline Lodge Land
undated
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 21
Machado, Anesia Pinheiro
undated,
1940-1944
General Physical Description note: 4 photographs, 2
clippings.
Box 1, Folder 22
Mannsbarth, Hedwig
undated
Physical Description: 4
photographs.
Box 2, Folder 2
Marvingt, Marie
1953
General Physical Description note: 1 postcard, 1
clipping.
McQueen, Elizabeth Lippincott
1929-1953
Physical Description: 3
folders.
Box 1, Folder 24
Photographs
1927-1937
Physical Description: 15
photographs.
Box 1, Folder 27
Mollison, Amy Johnson & James Allan
circa 1932
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 28
Noyes, Blanche
1939
General Physical Description note: Biographical
form.
Box 1, Folder 29
O'Donnell, Gladys
circa 1929
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 30
Owen, Ruth Bryan, Mrs.
circa 1932
General Physical Description note: 1 photograph, 1
clipping.
Box 1, Folder 31
Patterson, Clayton
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 32
Pickford, Mary
1949
General Physical Description note: Resignation
statement.
Box 1, Folder 33
Pressler, Dorothy K.
undated
General Physical Description note: Biographical
account.
Box 1, Folder 34
Quimby, Harriet
1912
General Physical Description note: Typescript copy of last article
written.
Box 1, Folder 35
Rickenbacker, Eddie
undated, 1934
General Physical Description note: 2 autographed photographs, 1
letter.
Box 1, Folder 36
Schubert, Trixie-Ann
1953
Physical Description: 1
clipping.
Box 1, Folder 37
Thaden, Louise
1929
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 38
Trout, Evelyn "Bobbie"
undated, 1934
General Physical Description note: 2 photographs, biographical
form.
Box 1, Folder 39
Voloszynovich, Jolan Toth, Mrs.
1948
General Physical Description note: Correspondence.
Box 1, Folder 64
Voloszynovich, Jolan Toth, Mrs., Articles and Photographs
1927-1991 and undated
Note
Photographs and articles related to Jolan Toth Voloszynovich not part of the original collection. Digital
copies of materials were donated by Phil Hand in 2023. Items were printed onto acid-free paper and added to the
collection.
Box 1, Folder 40
Warrender, Sara Eugena
1928
General Physical Description note: Correspondence.
Box 1, Folder 41
Unidentified female aviators
undated
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
1 photograph labeled "flying instructor and woman pilots of Turkey".
Series 2:
Organizations
1929-1994 and
undated
Box 1, Folder 42
Aero Police
circa 1929-1939,
1994
General Physical Description note: 1 clipping, 6
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Charles Blair, Karena Shields, Bobbie Trout, Mrs. May Charles,
Mrs. Maude E. Miller, Mrs. Betty May Furman, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Pretto Bell,
Mary Samson.
Women's International Association of Aeronautics (WIAA)
circa
1934-1955
Physical Description: 5
folders.
Box 1, Folder 44
Flying Trophies
undated
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Photograph 1: Blind Flying Challenge Cup, presented by Lady Drummond-Hay;
photograph 2: ? Challenge Trophy, presented by Lady Chaytor.
Box 1, Folder 45
Junior Division
undated,
1949
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Roxanne Rogers (daughter of Mary
Pickford), Mary Lynn Beech, Leota Weiser, Suzanne Beech, Jeanette Van Muysen.
Photographs
circa 1934,
1946-1949
Physical Description: 2
folders.
Box 1, Folder 46
circa
1934
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Cora Boettcher, Bobbie Trout, Clema Granger, Ruth Elder
Gillespie, Mrs. Ethel Hamilton, Mrs. Lloyd Stearman, Thea Rasche, Mrs. Ulysses
Grant McQueen, Lady Chaytor, Mrs. Clark, Alice Miller Hutchings, Miss Edith Weir,
Ethel Jaeckel, ? Mrs. Squire, Col. Arthur Gobel's mother, Pearl Ridenour, Queen
Boardman, Clair Chaytor, Lillian Chaytor, Mrs. Irvine, Miss Gregory.
Box 1, Folder 47
circa
1946-1949
Physical Description: 11
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Miss Edith Weir, Mrs. J. C. Bowden, Mrs. James M. Palmer,
Mrs. Mac Short, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Dr. Mary Sinclair Crawford, Mrs. Allis
Miller Hutchings, Dr. Catherine V. Beers, Mrs. Mae Carvell, Mrs. Ruth Law Oliver,
Mrs. John K. Northrop, Mrs. Harry Hall Sheeline, Matilde Moisant, Mary Pickford,
J. P. De Bree, Arutumn Shade, Robert A. Geier, G. O. Noville, Clementine de
Forrest Griffin, Dianna Cyrus Bixby, Major General Roger M. Ramey, Mrs. Walter H.
Beech.
Series 3:
Events
1933-1949
Box 1, Folder 48
Auguste Piccard at the University of Southern California
1933 March 4
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Dr. John F. B. Carruthers, Prof. Auguste Piccard, Mrs. Ulysses
Grant McQueen, Jean Piccard, Prof. Earl Hill.
Box 1, Folder 49
99's & friends at the Famous Fliers' Wall, St. Francis Aviators' Chapel,
Mission Inn, Riverside, California
1934 August 18
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 50
Air Commodore P.F.M. Fellowes at the Los Angeles Breakfast Club
1934 October
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 51
Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Louise Thaden, unidentified woman (possibly
Gladys O'Donnell), and Elly Beinhorn, Los Angeles
1934 October
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 52
Reeder Nichols, Clyde Pangborn, Col. Roscoe Turner, Tom Mix, & Thea
Rasche at the Los Angeles Breakfast Club
1934 December 5
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 53
Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith at the Los Angeles Breakfast Club
1935 August 14
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Ruth Law
Oliver, Matilde Moisant, Budd Morriss.
Box 1, Folder 54
Lady Grace Hay Drummond-Hay at the Los Angeles Men's Breakfast
Club
1935-1936
Physical Description: 4
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Identified: Lady Grace Hay Drummond-Hay, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen, Mae Carvell,
Princess Der Ling, Mrs. Alice Miller Hutchings.
Box 1, Folder 55
Wings ceremony at the Mission Inn, Riverside, California, for Walter Brookins
and Col. Albert F. Helgenberger
1936 January 6
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Col. & Mrs. Pirie, General Story, Walter & Mrs. Brookins,
General & Mrs. Arnold, Mae Robson, Col. Helgenberger.
Box 1, Folder 56
Louise Thaden & Blanche Noyes, winners of the Bendix Trophy Race, with
Vincent Bendix, National Air Races, Los Angeles
1936 September
Physical Description: 1
photograph.
Box 1, Folder 57
Receptions for Roland Robinson, MP, & Marjorie Robinson
1936
September 11-12
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Identified: Pia Diamarini, Roland & Majorie Robinson, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen,
Princess Der Ling, Col. & Mrs. Easterwood, Baroness von Mueffling, Mrs. Squires,
K. Ethel Hill, Matilde Moisant, Cliff Henderson.
Box 1, Folder 58
Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen's Goodwill Tour of South America
1940
Physical Description: 4
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Identified: Mrs. Vargas & daughter, Anesia Pinheiro Machado, Leda Baptista.
Box 1, Folder 59
Luncheon for Mrs. Amy Otis Earhart, Del Mar Club, Santa Monica
1949 July 23
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: Vivian Louise Ropes, Anna Held, Mrs. Vida Gentry, Mrs. Ulysses
Grant McQueen, Amy Otis Earhart.
Box 1, Folder 60
Unidentified events
circa
1929-1935
Physical Description: 2
photographs.
Scope and Contents note
Photograph 1: Mrs. McQueen between 2 unidentified men, Los Angeles, circa 1929;
photograph 2: Mrs. McQueen at banquet in Washington, DC, circa 1935 (names written on
back: "Mrs. Borah, McCracken, General Fox, Judge McKesson, McKay").
Series 4:
Printed Matter
1929-1944 and undated
Box 1, Folder 61
Clipping
1929
Physical Description: 1
item.
Scope and Contents note
Persons identified: L. Galanschikoff (1910), Marie Marvingt (1913), Lady Grace Hay
Drummond-Hay, Amelia Earhart, Mrs. Ulysses Grant McQueen.
Box 1, Folder 62
Japanese language
undated
Physical Description: 4
items.
Box 1, Folder 63
Women's International Association of Aeronautics (WIAA).
Aero-Gram. 15th anniversary issue
1944