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McLaughlin (Emma M.) Papers
BANC MSS 69/54
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Emma (Moffat) McLaughlin Papers,
creator:
McLaughlin, Emma Moffat, 1880-1968.
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 69/54
Physical Description:
13 linear feet
4 boxes, 9 cartons, and 2 oversize folders
Date (inclusive): 1927- 1967
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Pertaining to her interest and work in the Institute of Pacific Relations, League of Women Voters, World Affairs Council of
Northern California, Community Chest of San Francisco and other organizations.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Manuscripts Division. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The
Bancroft Library as the owner 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.
[Identification of item], Emma (Moffat) McLaughlin papers, BANC MSS 69/54 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Title: McLaughlin, Emma (Moffat): A Life in Community Service
(oral history), BANC MSS 70/182 c
Materials Cataloged Separately
- Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
The Emma (Moffat) McLaughlin Papers were given to The Bancroft Library in 1968 by her daughter,Jean Doolittle .
Emma Elisabeth (Moffat) McLaughlin was born in San Francisco on September 21, 1880, the daughter ofAdrianna Swett andHenry Moffat, who had come to California in 1857 and established a wholesale meat-packing business. Educated in public schools and later
at Miss West's School, she entered the University of California at Berkeley with the Class of 1902.
In 1904 she marriedDr. Alfred McLaughlin, a physician whose large practice included the Italian colony in the Mission district of San Francisco. Through her husband's
pioneer efforts to provide quality medical care for low-income, immigrant families, Mrs. McLaughlin became increasingly aware
of the great need for adequate health education. Following his death in 1908, she began working with the Certified Milk and Baby Hygiene Committee of the American Association of University Women, which operated well-baby clinics that diagnosed illnesses and other problems and advised parents about proper health care.
From 1917 to 1919 she was chairman of its San Francisco Children's Year Committee which examined more than ten thousand babies during its initial campaign. These activities were carried out in cooperation
with the San Francisco Chapter of the League of Women Voters, an organization Mrs. McLaughlin had joined shortly after it was formed and for which she served as president for the year
1920-21. During this period she was a member of the committee which established the San Francisco Community Chest . Evidence of her continuing interest in improving the quality of community health and of her strong influence upon the Chest
can be seen in one of its first projects, a survey of the city's health needs.
Another of Emma McLaughlin's many interests was world affairs. She was an active member of the Institute of Pacific Relations, an unofficial international organization for the study of the peoples of the Pacific, from its organization in 1927. Twenty
years later she helped to reorganize its San Francisco council into the World Affairs Council of Northern California . Mrs. McLaughlin attended the international conferences of the Institute held in Honolulu,
Kyoto,
Banff, and Yosemite. She participated actively in the Institute's study groups, attended most lectures, secured volunteers for projects and opened
her home for formal dinner parties to honor visiting dignitaries. In recognition of her community service McLaughlin was honored
with honorary degrees from both the University of California, Berkeley and Mills College .
The Emma (Moffat) McLaughlin papers relate to her active and long-term work with many civic organizations, including the Baby Hygiene Committee,
American Association of University Women,
San Francisco Community Chest,
Women's Central Committee and Women's Board of the Golden Gate International Exhibition,
League of Women Voters, San Francisco Foundation,
Institute of Pacific Relations, and the World Affairs Council of Northern California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
McLaughlin, Emma Moffat, 1880-1968.