Papers (1909-1961) including correspondence, clippings, a travel diary, literary manuscripts, photographs, Civil War references, invitations, telegrams, anecdotes.
Mary Morford McLean was a fledgling author and poet who was married to botanist Forman T. McLean. Their son John H. McLean married a daughter of William Starr Myers, professor of political science at Princeton University and author of numerous books on political and historical topics including the Republican Party and the Hoover Administration. The McLeans spent six years in the Philippines where McLean was professor of botany at the University of the Philippines Agricultural College at Los Banos. During this time they traveled extensively in China, Japan, and the Far East.
The collection's correspondence is divided into letters belonging to Mary McLean, William Starr Myers, and Mrs. William Starr Myers (Margaret Barr). The early correspondence of Mary McLean concerns a steamer trip in which are descriptions of large icebergs (November 7 and 14, 1920), Melbourne, Australia and Thursday Island (December 2, 1920-January 6, 1921), and a water spout (January 6, 1921). Later correspondence concerns World War II home life, the novels of Ann Miller Downes, Mary McLean's manuscript, "Land of the Nilads," and the practicalities of publishing and royalties (1940-1961).
The correspondence of William Starr Myers concerns a variety of topics and pertains to the reapportionment after the 1920 census (Scoville Hamlin, September 28, 1928); General George McLellan and other Civil War commanders (November 20, 1935, July 24, 1937); criticism of an article by Herbert Hoover on World War I (October 29, 1939); and opinions about the Republican Party and the larger governmental structure (November 29, 1949).
The correspondence of Mrs. William Starr Myers includes information about the decoration and arrangement of homes (October 15, 1912) and the donation of Mr. Myers's manuscripts and books to Princeton University (December 2, 1947, May 24-December 27, 1956).
The collection also contains a travel diary (1919) that recounts the journey of the McLean family from Manila to China and Japan. Described are the cities of Hong Kong, Canton, Kobe, Tokyo, Nikko, and Kyoto; dress; purchases; sightseeing; topography; river steamers; and political troubles in China. Photographs and post cards are found throughout the diary.
A file of newspaper clippings contains information on the Civil War and Whitelaw Reid (1938) and information on William Starr Myers as well as reviews of the novels of Ann Miller Downes. Other materials include two typescript manuscripts (one of which appears under her pen name Osborn Morford) of Mary McLean's unpublished "Land of the Nilads," a novel set in the Philippines that describes the development of a wealthy family in the early twentieth century; photographs of Barron Falls, Australia, and John Norris Myers; and miscellaneous materials such as invitations, telegrams, and anecdotes.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John H. McLean
Processed by M. Boccaccio, January 1988
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.