Phil Metschan family papers, 1855-1963

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Metschan, Phil, 1840-1920
Title
Phil Metschan family papers
Dates
1855-1963 (inclusive)
1880-1925 (bulk)
Quantity
1 cubic feet, (1 document case, 1 card file box, 1 oversize folder in shared box)
Collection Number
Mss 882
Summary
Papers of the family of Phil Metschan, Oregon state treasurer and owner of the Imperial Hotel in Portland. Materials include diaries, notebooks, correspondence, ephemera, certificates, 1930 election materials, and a scrapbook. Family members represented include Phil Metschan, Phil Metschan, Jr., Marie C. Metschan, Anna Metschan Cattanach, and Lillian and Jesse Evans Flanders.
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

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English, German

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Phil Metschan (1840-1920) came to the U.S. from Germany in 1954, at the age of 14. After living in Cincinnati, Ohio; Leavenworth, Kansas; and Leadville, Colorado, he traveled overland to Sacramento, California, in 1861. He traveled to Portland, Oregon, shortly afterward, and ran a bakery there until it was destroyed by the flood of 1862. He moved to Canyon City, running a store and becoming involved in state politics. In the 1860s, he married Maria (Marie) Catharina Schaume (1841-1895), a native of Germany who had come to the U.S. in 1864 and had lived in San Francisco before coming to Canyon City. From 1891 to 1899, Phil Metschan lived in Salem and served as Oregon state treasurer, and in 1899, he purchased the Imperial Hotel in Portland. A new Imperial Hotel was built at the corner of SW Broadway and Stark in 1910, and was run by Metschan and his son Phil Mestchan, Jr. Among the Metschans' nine children were Phil Metschan, Jr., Frank F. Metschan, Edward L. Metschan, Anna Metschan Cattanach, and Lillian Metschan Flanders (wife of Jesse Evans Flanders). Phil Metschan, Jr., was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor of Oregon in 1930.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Materials include diaries, notebooks, correspondence, ephemera, certificates, and a scrapbook. Letters, 1862-1928, are from Canyon City, Heppner, and Portland, Oregon, and relate to family and personal matters, courtship, and the hotel business. A transcript of a letter from Phil Metschan, 1862, provides details on his journey to the west coast and activities in Portland. Also included is a file of condolence letters on the death of Marie Metschan, 1895. Papers of Marie Metschan include: a confirmation certificate, 1855; a passport, 1863; and a diary she kept while in Canyon City, 1866. Diaries of Phil Metschan date from 1861-1918 and include a travel diary from a tour of Europe, 1908. Papers of Anna Metschan Cattanach include autograph books and a scrapbook of clippings relating to family and friends. Other materials relate to the Imperial Hotel in Portland, including a set of menus and a special supplement to the Oregon Journal, 1910. The collection also contains numerous certificates, primarily issued to Phil Metschan, including a Masonic confirmation, 1867; a Royal Arch Masons certificate of high priesthood, 1885; and certificate of election as state treasurer, 1891. A title abstract to a lot in the Irvington section of Portland can be found among the Flanders family materials in the collection, and a folder of election ephemera documents the 1930 run for governor by Phil Metschan, Jr.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Phil Metschan family papers, Mss 882, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  • Series 1: General papers and scrapbook
  • Series 2: Diaries and other booklets
  • Series 3: Oversize materials

Acquisition Information

The bulk of the collection was the gift of Philip L. Metschan, July 1973 (Lib. Acc. 12612), and of Mrs. Robert D. Mills, February 1976 (Lib. Acc. 13605).

Related Materials

Photographs of Metschan family members are included in Photo File #742-A, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Related Materials

Additional papers of the Phil Metschan family are designated Ax 686 at University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, Eugene, Oregon.

Separated Materials

Metschan family photograph albums were separated to photograph collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and were designated Albums 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, and 413.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1:  General papers and scrapbook, 1862-1963Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Canyon City High School yearbook, "Joaquin"
1920
1 2
Clippings on Phil Metschan
1907-1950
1 3
Correspondence
1862-1928
1 4
Death of Marie C. Metschan--Letters of condolence
1895
1 5
Documents
1886-1937
1 6
Election materials, Phil Metschan, Jr.
1930
1 7
Ephemera
1899-1937
1 8
Flanders family materials, including title abstract to lot in Irvington
1914-1963
1 9
Imperial Hotel menus
1911-1917; undated
1 10
Scrapbook
1884-1939
1 11
West Shore magazine
circa 1880

Series 2:  Diaries and other booklets, 1855-1918Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 1
Account book, Phil Metschan
1907
2 2
Autograph book, Anna Metschan Cattanach
1883
2 3
Autograph book, Anna Metschan Cattanach
1886
2 4
Confirmation certificate, Marie C. Metschan
1855
2 5
Diary, Phil Metschan (in German)
1861
2 6
Diary, Max Metschan (no entries)
1903
2 7
Diary, Phil Metschan, European tour
1908
2 8
Diary, Phil Metschan
1915
2 9
Diary, Phil Metschan
1916
2 10
Diary, Phil Metschan
1917
2 11
Diary, Phil Metschan
1918
2 12
Maria (Marie) C. Metschan, notebook (in German)
undated
2 13
"Taschen-Liederbuch" (book of German song lyrics)
circa 1870

Series 3:  Oversize materials, 1863-1938Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Folder item
Oversize 1 1
Oregon Historical Society membership certificate for Phil Metschan
1901
Oversize 1 2
Masonic certificate for Phil Metschan, representative of Grand Council of Connecticut
1893
Oversize 1 3
Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Maryland, certificate for Phil Metschan
1897
Oversize 1 4
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, certificate for Phil Metschan
1891
Oversize 1 5
Masonic certificate for Phil Metschan
1867
Oversize 1 6
Passport for Marie C. Schaume (later Marie C. Metschan), Darmstadt
1863
Oversize 1 7
Grand Decoration of Chivalry certificate for Phil Metschan
1888
Oversize 1 8
Certificate of election as state treasurer for Phil Metschan
1890
Oversize 1 9
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association membership for Phil Metschan
1909
Oversize 1 10
Royal Arch Masons, certificate of high priesthood for Phil Metschan
1885
Oversize 1 11
Royal Opera House, Dresden, broadside
1908
Oversize 1 12
Oregon Journal supplement on Imperial Hotel
1910 January 2
Oversize 1 13
Blue Mountain Eagle, Canyon City
1936 January 17
Oversize 1 14
Blue Mountain Eagle, Canyon City
1938 August 26

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Families--Oregon
  • German American families--Oregon
  • German Americans--Oregon
  • Hotels--Oregon--Portland

Personal Names

  • Metschan, Phil, 1840-1920

Corporate Names

  • Imperial Hotel (Portland, Or.)

Family Names

  • Metschan family

Form or Genre Terms

  • certificates
  • correspondence
  • diaries
  • scrapbooks