Mark Clyde Phillips Collection, circa 1857-1961

Collection Overview

Title: Mark Clyde Phillips Collection, circa 1857-1961

Predominant Dates: circa 1857-1947

ID: MSS PhillipsM

Primary Creator: Phillips, Mark Clyde (1877-1965)

Extent: 0.75 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Mark Clyde Phillips Collection is arranged into four series: 1. Mark Clyde Phillips, 1881-1954; 2. Phillips Family, 1869-1961; 3. Crawford Family, circa 1857-1916; and 4. Photographs, circa 1878-1935.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Mark Clyde Phillips Collection is comprised of materials generated and collected by Phillips, an Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Superintendent of Heating. Included are materials documenting Phillips' education and career at OAC (1897-1947) including correspondence, course materials, certificates and diplomas, a patent, and professional literature. The collection also contains Phillips family genealogical records and mementos including an autograph book, a manuscript account of the life of James T. Phillips (Mark Clyde's father), and several deeds and patents. Also present are materials documenting the Crawford family (Mark Clyde's second wife), including a genealogical record, an autograph book and photo album, and a scrapbook. Photographic prints, real photo postcards, and a tintype of Mark Clyde Phillips and other members of the Phillips and Crawford families are also present.

Scope and Content Notes

The Mark Clyde Phillips Collection is comprised of materials collected and created by Phillips and is divided into three distinct categories: records pertaining directly to the life and work of Mark Clyde Phillips, records of the Phillips family, and records of the Crawford family. Materials documenting the life of Mark Clyde Phillips include professional correspondence, a biographical sketch, materials commemorating his retirement, a patent, course materials, diplomas and certificates, and professional literature. The collection also includes materials recording the Phillips family genealogy, an autograph book belonging to Evert Phillips, an address book, a manuscript record of James T. Phillips' life between 1855 and the early 1870s, and records of two patents and several plots of land owned by James T. Phillips. The Crawford family records include a list of family marriages and deaths, a photo album and autograph book featuring photographs of John W. Crawford and family friends (predominately in Illinois and Iowa), and a scrapbook containing numerous newsclippings, pamphlets, programs, and several photographs.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Mark Clyde Phillips was born in February 1877 to James and Laura Phillips in Corvallis, Oregon. Phillips graduated from high school in 1892 and earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in 1896. In 1897, he accepted a position at OAC managing the iron-working department and machine shop. In 1900, Phillips wed Leah McDaniels and was made Instructor in Ironwork and Drawing at OAC. In 1906, he was promoted to Assistant Professor and, in 1910, took over management of the campus heating and power plant. Five years later, he was named Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Superintendent of Heating. In November 1922, Phillips married Mary Alice (Mayme) Crawford, daughter of Oregon pioneer John W. Crawford. Phillips remained at OAC until his retirement in 1947. He died in 1965.

James T. Phillips immigrated to Oregon from Missouri in 1858. Between his arrival in Oregon and 1868, Phillips worked as a blacksmith, freighter, and gold miner in the Willamette Valley, eastern Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. After divorcing his first wife, he settled in Corvallis where he met Laura Forgey. They had four children: Evert Justice (1870), Miles Job (1875), Mark Clyde (1877), and Minnie Ethel (1887). In Corvallis, Phillips was a prominent land owner, blacksmith, founder of the local Christian church, and volunteer firefighter. He died in 1925.

The Crawford family developed roots in Oregon when John W. Crawford, an Illinois native, immigrated to Oregon following service in the American Civil War. There, he worked as an Indian Agent at the Umatilla Indian Reservation, was a one-term Mayor of Corvallis, served as secretary to the President of OAC, and was Deputy Clerk at the Benton County Courthouse. He and his wife had several children including Frank, Emma, Edwin, and Mary Alice (Mayme). Frank, a competitive sprinter, died in 1899, shortly after graduating from OAC. John Crawford died in 1916. Mayme Crawford passed in 1961.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 62 photographs; 3 boxes including 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: All materials in the Mark Clyde Phillips Collection were originally donated to the University Archives. The individually numbered photographs comprised the Mark Clyde Phillips Photographic Collection (P 070) and other materials were part of the Mark Clyde Phillips file in the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection. All materials now reside together in the Mark Clyde Phillips Collection in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center.

Related Materials: Other records related to the OAC Mechanical Engineering Department include the Mechanical Engineering Department Records (RG 213), the Mechanical Engineering Department Lantern Slides (P 229), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Oregon State College Student Branch Records (MSS ASME), and the Grant Adelbert Covell Papers (MSS Covell). Information about heating and power on the campus can be found in the Facilities Services Records (RG 193) and the Landscape Architecture Department Records (RG 089). Accounts of other Oregon pioneers are located in the Francis T. Howard Diary (MSS Howard), the Oregon Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 001), and the Jesse A. Applegate Collection (MSS Applegate).

Preferred Citation: Mark Clyde Phillips Collection (MSS PhillipsM), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

People, Places, and Topics

Blacksmithing
Corvallis (Or.)
Crawford, Frank H.
Crawford, John W.
Crawford, Mary Alice
Crawford Family
Forgey, Laura, 1851-1916
Frontier and pioneer life--Oregon.
Local History
Mechanical engineering--Study and teaching--Oregon.
Monmouth (Ill.)
Monmouth College (Monmouth, Ill.)
Muskingum College
New Concord (Ohio)
Oregon Agricultural College
Phillips, James T., 1839-1925
Phillips, Mark Clyde, 1877-1965
Phillips Family
Portland (Or.)
University History
Weigand Studio.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Mark Clyde Phillips, 1881-1954

Series I is comprised of materials documenting Mark Clyde Phillips' life and work as Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Superintendent of Heating at OAC. Included is correspondence; assorted biographical materials including membership cards for the OSC Faculty Men's Club and the Oregon State Employees Association; a wedding announcement for his marriage to Mayme Crawford; a guest book and biographical sketch from his retirement celebration; a series of diplomas and certificates; a patent certificate for a picture-display cabinet; teaching materials from Phillips' mechanical drawing course; a contract for the installation and maintenance of a boiler at OAC; and several textbooks and pamphlets, some bearing the ownership mark of Grant A. Covell.

Box-Folder 1.1: Correspondence, 1901-1930
Box-Folder 1.2: Biographical Materials, 1922-1949
Box-Folder 3.1: Certificates and Diplomas, 1892-1919
Box-Folder 1.3: Patent Certificate for Picture-Display Cabinet, 1911
Box-Folder 1.4: OAC Mechanical Drawing Course Materials, circa 1920
Box-Folder 1.5: OAC Boiler Installation and Maintenance Contract, 1919
Box-Folder 1.6: Professional Literature and Reference Materials, Heating, circa 1881-1950
Box-Folder 1.7: Professional Literature and Reference Materials, Mechanical Engineering, 1923-1954

Series 2: Phillips Family, 1861-1961

Series II is comprised of materials documenting the Phillips family. Included are genealogical records; an autograph book belonging to Evert Phillips; and a journal containing additional family genealogical information, obituaries for James T. Phillips, and an extensive manuscript account of James T. Phillips' life as an Oregon pioneer between 1855 and 1869. The narrative, likely a transcript of an informal oral history, describes Phillips' immigration from Missouri to Oregon, his work as a blacksmith, gold miner, and freighter, and his marriage to and divorce from his first wife. Included are observations of 1860s Portland, Oregon, early trade and industry in the Pacific Northwest, and 19th century family life. Also included are eight deeds for property in Corvallis, Oregon and two patents held by James T. Phillips. The series also includes four newspapers: The San Francisco Weekly Herald (1861), The Corvallis Gazette (1891), The Benton County Courier (1925), and The Corvallis Gazette-Times (1925). Both 1925 newspapers announce the death of James T. Phillips.

Box-Folder 1.8: Genealogical Records, 1918-1961
Box-Folder 1.9: Family Records, circa 1888-1920
Box-Folder 1.10: James T. Phillips Invention Patents and Property Deeds, 1869-1911
Box-Folder 3.2: Newspapers, 1861-1925

Series 3: Crawford Family, circa 1857-1916

Series III is comprised of materials documenting the Crawford family. It includes a list of family marriages and deaths (1864-1961), an autograph and photo album, and a family scrapbook. The album includes photographs and autographs from Crawford family members and family friends, predominately in Illinois and Ohio. The scrapbook is comprised largely of clippings, programs, and brochures collected primarily in New Concord, Ohio and Monmouth, Illinois prior to John Crawford's migration to Oregon. Included are pamphlets and programs for religious services; materials from Monmouth, Muskingum, and Knox Colleges; numerous song, poetry, and news article clippings; and advertisements for performances and events. The scrapbook also includes four pasted-in photographs of John Crawford's funeral, two loose real photo postcards, a humorous letter from a class at Muskingum College, and a loose manuscript poem. It also contains John W. Crawford's teacher's certificate (1857); mementos from Frank H. Crawford (Mayme Crawford's brother); and obituaries for Frank H. Crawford, John W. Crawford, Margaret R. Crawford, William G. Crawford, and several members of the Stevenson family.

Box-Folder 1.11: Genealogical Records, circa 1908
Box-Folder 2.1: Autograph and Photo Album, circa 1859
Box-Folder 2.2: Family Scrapbook, circa 1857-1916

Series 4: Photographs, circa 1878-1935

Series IV contains 45 photos comprising 40 unique images. Included are numerous photographs of Mark Clyde Phillips between 1880 and 1930, James T. Phillips, Mary Alice "Mayme" Crawford, Frank Crawford, John W. Crawford, and Laura (Forgey) Phillips. Also included are scenes of the Phillips home and Oregon Agricultural College, a photograph of OAC professor and museum founder John B. Horner, and several images of individuals who are likely unidentified members of the Phillips and Crawford families. Photographers include Crawford & Littler (Albany, Oregon); Hise Studio and Weigand Studio (Corvallis, Oregon); I.G. Davidson Studio, Davies Studio, and Redmond & Jenks (Portland, Oregon); Speery the Artist and W. P. Johnson (Salem, Oregon); and Rainbow Studio (Great Fall, Montana).

Box-Folder 2.1: Photographs

Item P070:01: Everett (Washington) State Normal School, circa 1888
Item P070:02: James T. Phillips, September 1920: Extent: 2 prints.
Item P070:03: Mary Alice "Mayme" Crawford Phillips, circa 1900
Item P070:04: Frank and Mayme Crawford as children, circa 1890
Item P070:05: James T. Phillips, circa 1883: Extent: 2 prints.
Item P070:06: Frank Crawford, when he graduated from college, 1898: Extent: 2 prints.
Item P070:07: John W. Crawford, circa 1890: Extent: 2 prints.
Item P070:08: James T. Phillips, December 1907
Item P070:09: Mayme Crawford as a baby, circa 1884
Item P070:10: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips as a boy, circa 1885
Item P070:11: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1930: Extent: 2 prints.
Item P070:12: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips as a boy, circa 1885
Item P070:13: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1892
Item P070:14: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1896
Item P070:15: Portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1905
Item P070:16: Real photo postcard portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1910
Item P070:17: Mr. & Mrs. John B. Horner, Golden Jubilee Remembrance, 1930
Item P070:18: Ethel Frances Phillips, age 2 yrs. 5 months, circa 1910
Item P070:19: circa 1878
Item P070:21: Real photo postcard portrait of Mayme Crawford Phillips, circa 1910
Item P070:22: Group of engineering students, circa 1930
Item P070:23: Woman in a car, circa 1920
Item P070:24: Two women in a car, circa 1910
Item P070:25: Postcard to Mayme Crawford showing caricatures of two people, circa 1906
Item P070:26: Unidentified woman in garden next to house, circa 1930
Item P070:27: Unidentified house and barn in rural area, circa 1920
Item P070:28: Unidentified woman in garden next to house, circa 1930
Item P070:29: Unidentified house (Phillips home?), circa 1930
Item P070:30: Real photo postcard of high sunset over a river and trees, circa 1907
Item P070:31: Unidentified older woman and baby next to fireplace, circa 1930
Item P070:32: OAC Mechanical building, circa 1892
Item P070:33: Portrait of an unidentified woman, circa 1935
Item P070:34: Laura Forgey (Mrs. James T.) Phillips, circa 1907
Item P070:35: Unidentified woman, circa 1910
Item P070:36: Two men and a woman in front of a teepee, circa 1890
Item P070:37: Portrait of an unidentified woman, circa 1915
Item P070:38: Portrait of an unidentified woman (Mrs. John W. Crawford?), circa 1890
Item P070:39: Photo of Mark Clyde Phillips doing a backbend, circa 1895
Item P070:40: Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1895
Item P070:41: Tintype portrait of Mark Clyde Phillips, circa 1880