Margaret Collier Graham (1850-1910) is a California writer and a City of Pasadena pioneer. Graham began making a name for herself by publishing stories about California life. The collection contains her earliest essay written in 1895, her first printed book, as well as written work by her sister, Jane Collier. The collection also includes several drafts of essays, speeches, short stories, book reviews, and a draft of an unpublished work, titled Idy. Some letters between Margaret Collier Graham and her editors are also part of the collection.

Margaret Collier Graham (1850-1910) was born in Iowa. Collier Graham is considered a California writer and a City of Pasadena pioneer. She attended Monmouth College in Illinois, and married former classmate Donald McIntyre Graham in 1873. Due to Donald Graham's poor health, the couple made their way to California in 1876. In l883, Graham and his associates bought the l3,000-acre Laguna Ranch which later became Lake Elsinore. Margaret chose the name Elsinore, and is considered one of the city's cofounders. In 1887 the Grahams built the home of their dreams in South Pasadena. They called this mansion-now a historic site in South Pasadena- by the Welsh name "Wynyate," which means vineyard. Wynyate became a meeting place for writers and lecturers. In 1888 Donald McIntyre Graham was elected first mayor of the new city of South Pasadena. California's climate helped McIntyre Graham deal with his respiratory disease, but eventually he passed away prematurely in 1890. After his passing, Margaret Collier focused more on her writing. During the so-called "Gay Nineties," she began making a name for herself by publishing stories about California life. She published essays in the Argonaut and the Californian. Her stories appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, and other periodicals as well as in her books, Stories of the Foot-Hills and The Wizard's Daughter And Other Stories published by Houghton, Mifflin Co. Margaret (Collier) Graham was active in the suffrage movement, and several social clubs. She wrote passionately about women's rights, society, and literature. Margaret Collier Graham passed away on January 17, 1910.

4 document boxes (2 linear feet)

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