Mark Clyde Phillips Collection

Mark Clyde Phillips Collection, circa 1857-1961

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Phillips, Mark Clyde, 1877-1965.
Title: Mark Clyde Phillips Collection
Dates: circa 1857-1961 (inclusive)
18571961

circa 1857-1947 (bulk)
18571961
Quantity: 0.75 cubic feet, including 62 photographs, (3 boxes including 1 oversize box)
Collection Number: MSS PhillipsM
Summary: 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.
Repository: Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions: The collection is open for research.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

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.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

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.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Mark Clyde Phillips Collection is arranged into four series: I. Mark Clyde Phillips, 1881-1954; II. Phillips Family, 1869-1961; III. Crawford Family, circa 1857-1916; and IV. Photographs, circa 1878-1935.

Acquisition Information

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 & 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. 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 01), and the Jesse A. Applegate Collection.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: Mark Clyde Phillips, 1881-1954Return to Top

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.

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

Series II: Phillips Family, 1861-1961Return to Top

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.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1.8	Genealogical Records	1918-1961
1.9	Family Records	circa 1888-1920
1.10	James T. Phillips Invention Patents and Property Deeds	1869-1911
Box
3	Newspapers	1861-1925

Series III: Crawford Family, circa 1857-1916Return to Top

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.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1.11	Genealogical Records	circa 1908
2.1	Autograph and Photo Album	circa 1859
2.2	Family Scrapbook	circa 1857-1916

Series IV: Photographs, circa 1878-1935Return to Top

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).

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

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents