Overview of the Collection Creator Title Dates Winch family Winch family papers circa 1840-2000 (inclusive) 1840 2000 Quantity 8 cubic feet, (13 document cases, 4 flat boxes, 2 card file boxes, 1 custom box, 1 oversize folder) Collection Number Coll 52 Summary Repository Access Restrictions Photographs and papers of the Winch family of Portland, Oregon, including materials relating to Martin Winch, his wife Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch, their son Simeon Reed Winch, and Simeon's second wife Margaret (Mary) Tobin Winch. Additional materials pertain to related families, including the Rae, Reed, Wood and Wygant families, and Dr. John McLoughlin. Materials include financial records, correspondence, house inventories, correspondence, diaries, photographs, daguerreotypes, and drawings. Also included is correspondence of Simeon Gannett Reed and letters to Reed from William S. Ladd. Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library Davies Family Research Library Oregon Historical Society 1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, OR 97205 Telephone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 libreference@ohs.org The collection is open to the public. Languages Sponsor English. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Historical Note Martin Winch was born December 16, 1858 to Martin and Frances Wood Winch in Quincy, MA. After the death of the senior Martin Winch in 1870, his widow and two sons came to Portland to live with Mrs. Winch s sister, Amanda Wood Reed, wife of one of Portland's leading businessman, Simeon Gannett Reed. The younger Martin proved himself highly capable while working for the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and then the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (in which Reed owned substantial shares), in addition to running his own printing business at night. Later the childless Reeds entrusted Winch with their Oregon business affairs when they moved to Pasadena, California, and at Simeon Reed s death, Winch was appointed as Mrs. Reed's financial agent. When Mrs. Reed died, Winch was named executor of her will, which included an endowment for the establishment of an educational institution in Portland. To uphold this bequest, Martin Winch contested the other heirs in http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 1
court from 1904 to 1912, eventually winning a settlement that allowed for the establishment of what is now Reed College. He died in 1915. Martin Winch's wife Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch was born in Oregon City in 1859 to Margaret Glen Rae Wygant and Theodore Wygant. Margaret Rae's mother was Eloisa McLoughlin, daughter of Hudson's Bay Company Chief Factor Dr. John McLoughlin. Margaret s father was William Glen Rae, a relative of the Hudson s Bay Company explorer John Rae. Nellie s father, merchant Theodore Wygant, was an Oregon pioneer who traveled overland to Oregon City in 1850. Nellie s oldest sister, Alice, married William Whidden, a prominent Portland architect. The second sister, Maria Louise Wygant, remained a spinster. Nellie Wygant married Martin Winch in 1882, and they had one son, Simeon Reed Winch, born in 1888. She died in 1940. After his graduation from Princeton University in 1911, Simeon Reed Winch went on a European tour with his mother, Nellie Winch, after which he attended Harvard Law school in 1912-1913. Returning to Portland, he began work at the Oregon Journal, eventually assuming the position of the paper's business manager in 1921 -- a position he held until his death in 1946. During World War I he served as Assistant Food Administrator for Oregon and later entered officer's training school, although the war ended before he could serve at the front. His first wife was Olivia Failing, descendant of Portland pioneer merchant Josiah Failing. The couple had two daughters, Nella Winch McElroy and Emily Winch Baines, and in the 1920s the family built a large house at 2665 Cornell Road in Portland. After Olivia Winch's death in 1942, Simeon married Margaret Elizabeth (Mary) Tobin in 1943, with whom he had one son, Martin Tobin Winch, in 1944, two years before his death. Mary Tobin Winch (known for a time as Toots Tobin) was employed at the Oregon Journal at the time of her marriage to Simeon Reed Winch. She later became active in local civil rights and charitable causes and served as a trustee of Reed College. She lived in the Cornell Road house until her death in 2003. Content Description The collection consists of photographs and papers pertaining to the Winch and Wygant families of Portland, Oregon, the Reed family of Portland and Pasadena, California, and their relatives. The bulk of the photographs are cabinet and studio photographs and albums of the Winch and Reed families from the late 19th century to early 20th century. Notable photographic items are daguerreotypes and cabinet photographs of Dr. John McLoughlin, a portrait of Theodore Wygant, a series of photographs of the Winch family home at SW Broadway and Main Steets in Portland, numerous portraits of Simeon Reed Winch from birth to later years, and images of Amanda Reed's residence in Pasadena. Also included are many snapshots belonging to Mary Tobin Winch taken during a late 20th century Nile trip. The bulk of the papers consist of financial records and correspondence, including ledgers, cash books, and correspondence of Martin Winch and Simeon Reed Winch. Some notable pieces of correspondence are letters, 1910 and 1911, to Simeon Reed Winch from Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt; a letter of Simeon G. Reed to the father of his future wife Amanda Wood, 1850, asking for her hand in marriage; and letters from Portland merchant and banker William S. Ladd to Simeon G. Reed, 1858, including one offering Reed a position in Ladd's newly formed bank. A diary by Theodore Wygant, a Winch relative and 1850 Oregon pioneer, is included. Other diaries include ones by Maria Louise Wygant, which include detailed accounts of her trips to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and expositions in San Francisco and San Diego in 1915. House inventories of the Winch residence provide glimpses into period furnishings, while the inventories of the Tolmie Estate Sale provide information about Fort Vancouver life during the Hudson s Bay Company era. Papers associated with Dr. John McLoughlin in this collection include copies of correspondence http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 2
as Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver, a transcript copy of a Hudson's Bay Company letterbook from 1829-1832, and large typescript copies of a Hudson's Bay Company ledger from 1819-1823. Use of the Collection Alternative Forms Available Also included are 2 microfilm reels of Theodore Wygant s 1850 diary and copies of additional papers within the collection. Restrictions on Use The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders. Preferred Citation Winch family papers, Coll 52, Oregon Historical Society Research Library Administrative Information Arrangement The collection is arranged into two series: Series A: Photographs Series B: Papers Custodial History Some materials in the collection were handed down through the McLoughlin, Rae, Wygant, Wood and Winch families and preserved by Mary Tobin Winch. The bulk of the collection was stored in the Winch home on SW Cornell Road in Portland until Mrs. Winch's death in 2003. Acquisition Information Library accession numbers 15738, 25314, 25344, 25830, and 28634. Processing Note Some materials were originally processed as Mss 1775, Winch Family. The collection number changed to Coll 52 when all materials were integrated into a single collection. Future Additions Unprocessed portions of the collection are: 2 cartons of news wire photographs from the 1930s and 1940s, apparently collected by Mary Tobin Winch; 1 carton containing postage stamps of various http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 3
kinds; and 3 cartons containing books relating to Oregon and western U.S. history. These additions are designated Accession 25314. Separated Materials The following materials were separated to the Artifact Collections, Oregon Historical Society Framed photograph of Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch and granddaughter Nella Winch Wygant family crest ink stamp Various furniture items Set of silverware once owned by Francis Ermatinger of the Hudson's Bay Company Motion picture films received with the collection have been separated to the Moving Image Collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Four 78 rpm phonograph records titled "Ode (not owed) to President Bilderback by Three Versatile Veterinarians," dated 1940 January 5, are housed in the audio recording collection of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Bibliography Fogdall, Alberta Brooks. Royal Family of the Columbia: Dr. John McLoughlin and His Family. 1984. Related Materials The Simeon G. Reed collection at Reed College contains financial records, photographic images, and some biographical materials belonging to Simeon G. and Amanda Wood Reed. An oral history with Mary Tobin Winch concerning her work for the civil rights movement, is cataloged as SR 1063 in the Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Typed transcripts of the Simeon G. Reed papers are held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library as Mss 1117. Detailed Description of the Collection The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection. Series A: Photographs Container(s) Description Dates Mary Tobin Winch 1/1 General photographs undated 1/2 General photographs undated http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 4
1/3 Photo Album: Launching of the Simeon G. Reed" 1943 14/1 Photographic Christmas cards from friends circa 1950-2000 15/1 Photographic Christmas cards from friends circa 1950-2000 1/4 Oversized photographic Christmas cards from friends circa 1950-2000 1/5 Nile trip photos circa 2000 1/6 Nile trip photos circa 2000 19/5 5 large landscape prints undated 20/9 Wire service photo circa 1938 Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch 2/1 Studio portraits of Nellie 1880-1900 2/2 Photograph of Nellie circa 1918 2/3 Ambrotype of Nellie Amelia Wygant as a child undated 2/4 Nellie with her granddaughter Nella circa 1918 2/5 European vacation trip, with her son Simeon Reed Winch and others 2/6 Cabinet photograph and studio portrait of Martin Winch, and Martin Winch in car with Frank Riggs. 1911 circa 1885; circa 1907 Simeon Reed Winch and family 20/5 Group photo of young men, probably at Princeton University 1910 2/7 Military photograph, Officers Training Camp 1918 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 5
2/8 Simeon, daughter Nella, and others circa 1920-1935 2/9 Simeon with daughter Emily circa 1925 2/10 Framed photo mats for photos with daughter, signed by Ralph Vincent 2/11 Snapshots belonging to Nella Winch (daughter of Simeon Reed Winch) Includes family outings and trips, Ocean Home Farm, trip to Europe in 1920s, Olivia Failing Winch, Nellie Wygant Winch, Simeon Reed Winch, Emily Winch, other family, and friends. 2/12 Negatives of snapshots belonging to Nella (daughter of Simeon Reed Winch) 2/13 Photographs and negatives by Nella (daughter of Simeon Reed Winch) 3/1 Photographs of Simeon Reed Winch Includes Simeon Reed Winch posing in the interior of the Abington Building, SW 3rd and Washington, Portland, circa 1895. circa 1925 circa 1920-1935 circa 1920-1935 circa 1920-1933 circa 1888-1940 3/2 Photographs of Simeon Reed Winch and others undated 3/3 Two drawings of Simeon Reed Winch undated 3/4 Four images of Simeon Reed Winch on one print circa 1895 19/1 3 portraits undated 19/7 Photograph album, Catalina Island, southern California, and elsewhere circa 1905 20/3 Enlarged photographs of European trip 1928 Winch Family Cabinet photograph album Separated cabinet photographs of members of the Wygant, Winch, Wood, and Reed families. Also includes cabinet photograph of Dr. John McLoughlin and Lady Douglas. http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 6
3/5 Album pages 1-9 undated 3/6 Album pages 10-18 undated 3/7 Album pages 19-27 undated 3/8 Album pages 28-40 undated 18/1 Empty cabinet photograph album with handwritten captions undated 4/1 Miscellaneous photographs of family undated 4/2 Martin Winch family home, corner of SW Broadway and Main St., Portland, Oregon circa 1880-1900 Reed Family and Mansion 4/3 Cabinet photographs of Reed family undated 4/4 Framed photograph of Amanda Wood Reed, wife of Simeon G. Reed 4/5 Reed family and mansion, Pasadena, California. Includes mounted photographs depicting the house called Carmelita, the winter residence of Mrs. Amanda Reed in Pasadena. Also includes group on the beach, possibly the Reed family; group of children at Garfield School, Pasadena; and page from a photograph album. 4/6 Small brown leather photograph album of Pasadena and Southern California 4/7 Small photograph album bound in gray paper, with images mostly of Pasadena and Southern California undated undated circa 1900 circa 1900-1901 4/8 Photograph album in Students Notebook undated http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 7
Contains photographs and cyanotypes of Pasadena, Catalina Island, and Southern California. Includes photo of construction of Reed house in Pasadena. 4/9 Small photograph album bound in gray paper, with images mostly of Pasadena and Southern California 5/1 Photograph album in red leather with scenes of house in Pasadena and other scenes in Southern California. Includes letter laid in circa 1905 circa 1900 20/8 Boychuck photograph of Reed House at Reedville undated Related Families Dr. John McLoughlin 5/2 Two dageurreotypes undated 5/3 Cabinet photographs (younger McLoughlin) undated 19/2 Photograph of John McLoughlin undated 19/3 Copies of photograph of John McLoughlin undated 5/4 Framed daguerreotype of Ellen Faxon Passmore, daughter of Ellen Wood Passmore at 16, and Frances at 21 Ellen Wood Passmore was the sister of Amanda Wood Reed and Frances Wood 5/5 Whidden family photographs Alice Wygant Whidden was the sister of Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch. She was married to William Whidden, architect. 5/6 Framed photographs of Henry and Sarah Adams Wood, parents of Amanda Wood Reed, Frances, and Ellen Wood was the maiden name of Amanda, Frances, and Ellen 1849 April 12 undated undated 19/4 Henry Wood House, Quincy, MA undated http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 8
5/7 Two portraits of Theodore Wygant undated 5/8 Miscellaneous and unidentified photographs Includes portrait, possibly of Emily Failing Cabell, with eulogy; and carte de visite of John Rae. undated 5/9 Miscellaneous and unidentified photographs undated 19/6 Large print of unidentified man undated Series B: Papers Container(s) Description Dates Martin Winch Correspondence 6/1 Letters 1891-1900 6/2 Re: Francis (Frank) Winch 1893 6/3 Re: Francis (Frank) Winch 1894-1897 6/4 To Simeon Reed Winch 1907-1908 6/5 Letterpress copybook 1885-1892 6/6 Letterpress copybook 1898-1907 6/7 Letterpress copybook 1907-1909 Financial records 7/1 Ledger 1905-1913 7/2 Record of Securites Held circa1920-1940 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 9
Estate of Martin Winch 7/3 Obituaries 1915 7/4 Will and estate documents circa 1915 7/5 Properties held 1916-1940 16/1 Ledger 1916-1930 17/1 Cash book 1916-1929 7/6 Cash Book 1930-1940 8/1 General Ledger 1930-1940 8/2 Securities Index circa 1920-1950 Mary Tobin Winch 8/3 Magazine and newspaper clippings circa 1935-1945 8/4 Magazine and newspaper clippings circa 1935-1945 8/5 Miscellaneous manuscripts circa 1935-1945 8/6 Miscellaneous manuscripts circa 1927-1945 8/7 Writing class exercises circa 1925-1930 8/8 Diploma from St. Mary s College 1927 9/1 Tolmie Estate Sale inventories Dr. William Fraser Tolmie was a Hudson s Bay Chief Trader and friend of Simeon G. Reed. In 1937, Simeon Reed Winch purchased items sold at the estate sale that belonged to or were used at Fort Vancouver. File includes photographs of silver pieces and furniture, taken circa 1970. circa 1937-1970 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 10
9/2 Portland house inventories Includes information on provenance of Ermatinger silver set, donated to the Oregon Historical Society. 1944-1996 9/3 Postcards received circa 1970-1990 9/4 Reed College materials circa 1980-2000 9/5 General materials Includes pamphlet published by Chicago Northwestern Railway and U.S. Food Administration, ca. 1917; program for Howard Davis dinner, 1994; Gregg typing exercise book, ca. 1932; some personal letters circa 1917-2000 20/3 Watercolor of woodland scene undated 20/7 Portland, OR Parks & Recreation program materials 1949-1950 Nellie Amelia Wygant Winch 9/6 Diary of European vacation trip 1911 9/7 Letters and cards written from Europe Written to her mother, Mrs. Theodore (Margaret) Wygant, and sister Maria Louise ("Lou") Wygant 1911 20/2 U.S. Passport for Nellie 1911 9/8 Nell s Postals. Postcards received Includes postcards from Nellie's trip to east coast and Europe, 1911. 9/9 Nellie Winch and Margaret Rae Wygant (Mrs. Theodore) miscellaneous Includes stock certificate from Gold and Silver Mining Company signed by J. C. Ainsworth, 1864; and letter from Thomas Lamb Eliot, undated. circa 1908-1921 circa 1860-1912 Simeon Reed Winch http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 11
10/1 Scrapbook Includes ephemera from theaters and restaurants in New York City. 1906-1911 10/2 Princeton miscellaneous as attendee and at reunion 1908-1911; 1931 20/2 Two Princeton newspapers 1910 10/3 Military papers 1917-1918 19/8 Great War certificate for Assistant Food Administrator for Oregon, signed by Herbert Hoover circa 1918 Financial Records 10/4 Account journal 1925-1943 10/5 House appraisal 1927 11/1 Ledger 1925-1933 16/2 Cash book 1925-1933 16/3 Cash book 1934-1940 Correspondence 11/2 From Woodrow Wilson (3); from Theodore Roosevelt (1) Letters regarding the Princetonian Publishing Company and invitations to speak at Princeton University. 1910-1911 11/3 From Laurence Macomber circa 1940-1949 11/4 McLoughlin Memorial Association 1938-1942 11/5 McLoughlin Memorial Association 1938-1942 11/6 Launching of the Simeon G. Reed circa 1942-1943 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 12
General Records 11/7 Charles Taylor Memorial Volume 1938 11/8 Obituaries 1946 11/9 Miscellaneous papers Includes delayed birth certificate, baptismal certificate in Unitarian Church, business cards, letter regarding maitenance of rural property. 11/10 Telegrams of condolence on the death of Simeon Reed Winch Telegrams were collected by lawyer Jerry Boehm. circa 1850-1949 1946 20/1 Book plate masters undated 20/6 Certificates (2) for Gift of Wygant Park to state of Oregon by Simeon Reed Winch and Nellie A. Winch 1933 Oversize folder Oversize folder Cornell Road street plat and correspondence regarding Air Raid Warden assignments Blueprints: Residence for Mr. Vincent J. Davies. Portland, OR. Glenn Stanton, Architect 1942 1937 Related Families Dr. John McLoughlin 12/1 Papers collected by Simeon R. Winch Includes typescript copies of McLoughlin correspondence while Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver, and a typescript copy of a Hudson s Bay Company letter-book from March 11, 1829 to September 1, 1832 12/2 Materials relating to Dr. McLoughlin and the Hudson s Bay Company Includes copies of The Beaver, the HBC house journal from 1927, 1929, and 1936 which contain articles on Dr. John Rae, circa 1905-1940s circa 1920-1946 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 13
HBC explorer; and large typescript copies of an HBC ledger from 1819-1823 Oversize folder Large Hudson s Bay Company calendars with prints of historic company scenes 1925; 1931-1933; 1935; 1943 12/3 Oregon City history; materials relating to dedication of McLoughlin statues in Washington, D.C. and Salem, OR 12/4 Appreciation of Dr. John McLoughlin at the Fourteenth Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association circa 1940s-1950s 1886 19/9 Columbia magazine 1928 12/5 Rae Family papers Includes typescript copies of wills for John Rae (nephew of explorer John Rae) and William Glen Rae undated Simeon G. Reed papers 12/6 Correspondence Contains Simeon G. Reed's letter to Amanda Wood's father, asking for her hand in marriage, 1850; poem on Amanda Wood's marriage, written by her sister, 1850; and letters from William S. Ladd to Simeon G. Reed, 1858, including a letter offering Reed a position in Ladd & Tilton's bank in Portland. 1850; 1858 12/7 Letters re: Edwin Wood 1857-1892 Frances Wood Winch papers (mother of Martin Reed Winch) 12/8 Miscellaneous circa 1840-1850 12/9 Letters from Sarah Adams Wood (mother) 1855-1862 12/10 Letters 1856-1875 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 14
Martin Winch (d. 1870, father of Martin Reed Winch) papers 12/11 Papers circa 1850-1880 12/12 Letters to family 1868-1870 12/13 Papers re: Martin s death 1870 Wood family 12/14 Metal nameplate for Amanda Wood s highchair (wife of Simeon G. Reed) circa 1840-1850 12/15 Miscellaneous correspondence circa 1848 Wygant family 13/1 Trip diaries of Maria Louise Wygant Three pocket diaries: trip to the eastern U.S., 1885; to the World's Columbia Exposition, Chicago, 1893; and to San Francisco, San Diego, and Riverside, California, 1915 (includes descriptions of the expositions and the Mission Inn). Also includes booklet on the Chicago fair titled The White City by Lake Michigan. 13/2 Manuscript diary of Theodore Wygant s overland trek to Oregon It is uncertain whether this is the original diary or a manuscript copy 1885-1915 1850 13/3 Typescript copies of Theodore Wygant s 1850 diary undated 13/4 Private letterbook of Theodore Wygant 1881-1891 13/5 Scrapbook with Theodore Wygant letter pasted on inside cover Newspaper clippings of Oregon events and reminiscences circa 1880-1890 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 15
13/6 Wygant and Rae families, miscellaneous genealogical materials, including Wygant family trees circa 1860-1917 13/7 General papers circa 1870-1880 19/10 Copies of The Family Record for Sackett, Weygant and Mapes families 1897 Names and Subjects Subject Terms : Expositions--United States--Personal narratives Overland journeys to the Pacific Pioneers--Oregon Personal Names : McLoughlin, John, 1784-1857 Reed, Amanda Wood, 1832-1904 Reed, Simeon Gannett, 1830-1895 Winch, Martin Wygant, Theodore, 1831-1905 Corporate Names : Oregon Journal Panama Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.) Princeton University Reed College (Portland, Or.) World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) Family Names : Passmore family Rae family Reed family Whidden family Winch family Wood family Geographical Names : Pasadena (Calif.)--History Portland (Or.)--History Form or Genre Terms : Cabinet photographs Daguerreotypes Diaries Financial records Ledgers (account books) Letterpress copybooks Letters (Correspondence) Manuscripts Photographs http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 16
Other Creators : Personal Names : Winch, Martin, 1858-1915--Archives (creator) Winch, Mary--Archives (creator) Winch, Nellie Amelia Wygant--Archives (creator) Winch, Simeon Reed--Archives (creator) Collection processed and finding aid prepared by Diane Couture 2007 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/cc-attr.shtml http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv23617 17