William Paine Lord family papers, 1849-1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Lord, William Paine.
Title
William Paine Lord family papers
Dates
1849-1976 (inclusive)
1865-1971 (bulk)
Quantity
2.7 cubic feet (7 document cases)
Collection Number
Mss 2050
Summary
Papers of William Paine Lord, Oregon governor and U.S. ambassador to Argentina, and his family. Includes extensive correspondence between Lord and his wife Juliette Montague Lord, and correspondence between Mrs. Lord and her aunt Fannie Stockbridge. Also included is correspondence with other family members, biographical data, and information on the flax industry in Oregon.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

William Paine Lord, Oregon governor and jurist, was born in Dover, Delaware on July 1, 1839. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and in 1866 he graduated from law school in Albany, New York. Deciding to rejoin the army, he spent time at Fort Alcatraz near San Francisco, Fort Steilacoom in Washington State, and in Alaska. In 1868 he moved to Salem, Oregon to practice law, and eventually he served as city attorney, state senator, justice of the state Supreme Court, and finally governor of Oregon from 1895-1899. He also served as United States Minister to Argentina from 1899-1902.

On July 14, 1880, Lord married Juliette Montague of Baltimore, known as "Etta." Her brother was Watts Montague, an agent for cylinder printing presses and paper cutters in New York City. She corresponded extensively with her aunt Fannie (or Fanny) Montague Stockbridge, wife of prominent Baltimore lawyer and politician Henry Smith Stockbridge (1822-1895). Later in life Mrs. Lord became an advocate of flax production in Oregon and wrote often on the subject. She and her husband had one daughter, Elizabeth B. Lord, and two sons, William Paine Lord, Jr., and Montague Lord. Elizabeth B. Lord (1887-1976) was a well-known landscape architect based in Salem. She co-founded the firm Lord and Schryver in 1926. Her brother Montague Lord became manager of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association of the Philippines and later lived in Hawaii.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The bulk of the collection consists of family correspondence, including extensive correspondence between William Lord and his wife Juliette Montague Lord before and during their marriage. Also included are letters written during Lord's time in Argentina. A large file of letters from Juliette Montague Lord to her aunt Fannie Stockbridge provide details on the Lord's life in Oregon, their political activities, and their travels. Notes and letters relating to the flax industry in Oregon are also found in the collection, along with a scrapbook of biographical clippings. Of special interest is a note of April 1, 1896, from William McKinley to William Paine Lord, written prior to McKinley's election to the presidency. Other correspondents include Judge Matthew P. Deady and William Lair Hill. The collection also houses the ledgers of Elizabeth Lord from 1931-1971.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

The bulk of the materials in the collection are also available on 6 reels of microfilm, Mss2040 Microfilm, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. A guide to the microfilm is included with the present finding aid.

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 before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

William Paine Lord family papers, Mss 2050, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series:

  • Series A: Correspondence, 1849-1935
  • Series B: General materials, 1880-1976
  • Series c: Elizabeth Lord ledgers, 1931-1971
  • Series D: Guide to microfilm copies from the collection, 1865-1919

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Elizabeth Lord, 1969-1975, including Library Accessions 12604, 12717, 13044, 13191, and 13301.

Elizabeth Lord ledgers are Lib. Acc. 16944.

Bibliography

Malone, Dumas, ed. Dictionary of American Biography Volume XI (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), 1933. The Oregonian. February 18, 1911. Vertical Files: Biography file, William P. Lord, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Related Materials

A calendar to the collection, listing each item and its subject matter, can be found in the Finding Aid Files of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Additional materials relating to William Paine Lord and his family can be found in the following collections of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library: Mss48, Matthew P. Deady papers, 1850-1923; Mss1112, William Lair Hill papers 1846-1925; photograph self-indexing file 671, "LOR-LOT."

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series A:  Correspondence, 1849-1935Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Letters from William Paine Lord to Juliette Montague Lord
Box/Folder
1/1
Letters
1865-1866
1/2
Letters
1867-1869
1/3
Letters
1870-1875
1/4
Letters
1876-1877
1/5
Letters
1878 January-June
1/6
Letters
1878 July-August
1/7
Letters
1878 September-December
1/8
Letters, personal
circa 1878
1/9
Letters, political
circa 1878
1/10
Letters
1879
1/11
Letters
1888-1905
1/12
Letters, fragments, personal
undated
1/13
Letters, fragments, political
undated
Letters from Juliette Montague Lord to William Paine Lord
Box/Folder
1/14
Letters
1865-1866
1/15
Letters
1867
1/16
Letters
1868
2/1
Letters
1868-1870
2/2
Letters
1871-1873
2/3
Letters
1874-1875
2/4
Letters
1876-1877
2/5
Letters
1878-1879 August 3
2/6
Letters
1879 August 10-November 18
2/7
Letters
1901
2/8
Letters
1902
2/9
Letters
undated
Letters from Juliette Montague Lord to Fannie Stockbridge
Box/Folder
2/10
Letters
1849-1879
2/11
Letters
1880
2/12
Letters
1881
2/13
Letters
1882
2/14
Letters
1883
3/1
Letters
1884
3/2
Letters
1885
3/3
Letters
1886
3/4
Letters
1887 January-June
3/5
Letters
1887 July-December
3/6
Letters
1888
3/7
Letters
1889
3/8
Letters
1890
3/9
Letters
1891
3/10
Letters
1892-1894
3/11
Letters
1895-1898
3/12
Letters
1900-1904
3/13
Letters
1905-1907
3/14
Letters
1908-1911
4/1
Letters
1912-1919
4/2
Letters
undated
4/3
Letters
undated
4/4-5
Letter fragments
undated
4/6
Letter fragments from Argentina
undated
4/7
Letters from Fannie Stockbridge to Juliette Montague Lord
1866-1913
4/8
Letters from William Paine Lord to Fannie Stockbridge
1889-1906
Letters to William Paine Lord from his children
Box/Folder
4/9
Letters
1900
4/10
Letters
1901
4/11
Letters
1902
4/12
Letters
circa 1902-1905
4/13
Letters to William and Juliette Lord from their children
1900-1904
4/14
Letters to the children of William and Juliette Lord
circa 1902-1903
4/14
Letters to Wiliam Paine Lord, general
4/15
Letters
1865-1882
4/16
Letters
1886-1896
5/1
Letters
1897-1904
5/2
Letters to Juliette Montague Lord
1866-1878
5/3
Letters from Juliette Montague Lord to family and friends
1866-1916
5/4
Letters from Watts Montague to Juliette Montague Lord
1866-1873
5/5
Letters from Watts Montague to Fannie Stockbridge
1867-1871
5/6
Correspondence and news clippings relating to the flax industry in Oregon
circa 1920; 1935; undated
5/7
Correspondence between family and friends
1870-1902

Series B:  General materials, 1880-1976Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
5/8
Family history notes by Elizabeth Lord
undated
5/9
Marriage certificate, report card, and ephemera
Includes biography of Mrs. William Paine Lord in typescript.
1880-1904; undated
5/10
Biographical clippings on William Paine Lord
1944; 1959; undated
5/11
Sample of linen
undated
5/12
Scrapbook of biographical clippings
1910-1976

Series C:  Elizabeth Lord ledgers, 1931-1971Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
6/1
Ledger
1931-1934
6/2
Ledger
1935-1939
6/3
Ledger
1940-1945
6/4
Ledger
1945-1950
6/5
Ledger
1950-1955
6/6
Ledger
1956-1961
7/1
Ledger
1962-1963; 1966
7/2
Ledger
1967-1971

Series D:  Microfilm of materials in the collectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Reel
1
Letters from William Paine Lord to Juliette Montague Lord
1865-1902; undated
2
Letters from William Paine Lord to Juliette Montague Lord
1865-1879
3
Letters from William Paine Lord to Juliette Montague Lord--Fragments, letters after marriage, Juiette Lord to Fannie Stockbridge
1874-1884; undated
4
Letters from Juliette Lord to Fannie Stockbridge
1885-1894
5
Letters from Juliette Lord to Fannie Stockbridge
1895-1919
6
Letters from Juliette Lord to Fannie Stockbridge--fragments
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Flax industry--Oregon--History.
  • Governors--Oregon--Correspondence.

Personal Names

  • Deady, Matthew P. (Matthew Paul), 1824-1893--Correspondence.
  • Hill, William Lair--Correspondence.
  • Lord, Juliette Montague--Correspondence. (creator)
  • Lord, Montague--Correspondence.
  • Lord, William Paine--Correspondence. (creator)
  • Lord, Elizabeth, 1887-1976--Correspondence.
  • Lord, William Paine, Jr.--Correspondence.
  • Montague, Watts--Correspondence.
  • Stockbridge, Fannie--Correspondence.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon. Governor (1895-1899 : Lord)
  • Oregon. Supreme Court.

Family Names

  • Lord family.

Geographical Names

  • Argentina--Foreign relations--1860-1910.
  • Hawaii--Description and travel.
  • Oregon--Politics and government--1859-1950.
  • Philippines--Description and travel.
  • Salem (Or.)--History.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Ledgers (account books)
  • Letters (correspondence)
  • Scrapbooks

Occupations

  • Governor.