Mary Jane Sills papers relating to Maurine and Richard Neuberger
Scope and Contents
The collection primarily consists of materials relating to U.S. Senators Richard L. Neuberger and Maurine B. Neuberger. The materials were collected by Mary Jane Sills (née Christgau), who worked as an aide for both of the Neubergers, and include correspondence, ephemera, and photographs. Correspondence consists of letters and enclosed newspaper clippings that Maurine Neuberger sent to Sills in the 1970s, and a letter from Neuberger sent with the program for an event honoring Judge Gus J. Solomon that Neuberger had attended. Ephemera includes Senate passes for Sills; a card for Sills from the Association of Administrative Assistants and Secretaries; small-sized stationery for Richard L. Neuberger, listing Mary Jane Christgau as his secretary; and a list of novels that Richard Neuberger recommended. Photographs in the collection include a photograph of Richard Neuberger and Sills, with an inscription from Neuberger; a photograph of Richard Neuberger in front of the U.S. Capitol; and four slides of Sills and others, which Maurine Neuberger may have mailed to Sills. The collection also includes an address list for people who had staffed for either or both of the Neubergers, compiled in the mid-2000s.
Dates
- 1955-1976; circa 2005
Creator
- Sills, Mary Jane, 1922-2010 (Compiler, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing 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.
Biographical Note
Mary Jane Sills, née Christgau, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1922. She attended Reed College, but dropped out in 1941 to join the civil service during World War II. She worked for the War Department in Portland until the end of the war, and as a secretary for a law association for a few years. From 1954 to 1967, she worked as an aide to U.S. Senators Richard Neuberger and Maurine Neuberger. In 1969, she and Harold Sills were married, and the couple lived in Oakland, California. She died in 2010.
Sources: Obituary in the Oregonian, January 21, 2010; oral history interview with Mary Jane Sills, SR 11244, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Biographical Note
Richard Lewis Neuberger (1912-1960) and Maurine B. Neuberger (née Brown, 1906-2000) were both born in Oregon, and married in 1945. Richard Neuberger, who had already served in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1941, was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1948; in 1950, Maurine Neuberger was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1954, Richard Neuberger was elected as a U.S. senator for Oregon, becoming the first Democrat to win one of the state's Senate seats since 1912. As senator, Neuberger pursued policies favoring public power, civil rights, clean water, and sustainable forestry. After he died of cancer in 1960, Maurine Neuberger successfully ran for his seat. She served on the Commerce Committee, and became known for her advocacy of consumer rights and women's rights. She remarried to Philip Solomon in 1964. Neuberger declined to run for a second Senate term, and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she taught American government at Radcliffe College and Boston University. In 1967, she and Solomon divorced, and Neuberger returned to Portland, Oregon, where she taught at Reed College. She died in 2000.
Sources: "Richard Neuberger (1912-1960)," by William G. Robbins, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/neuberger_richard_1912_1960_/#.ZEhBinbMIuU; "Maurine Neuberger (1906-2000)," by Kimberly Jensen, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/neuberger_maurine_1907_2000_/#.ZEhEH3bMIuU
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (5 folders in shared box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Materials relating to U.S. Senators for Oregon Richard L. Neuberger (1912-1960) and Maurine B. Neuberger (1906-2000) collected by Mary Jane Sills (née Christgau, 1922-2010), including correspondence from Maurine Neuberger, ephemera, a list of former staffers, and photographs. Sills worked as an aide to both senators from 1954 to 1967.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ron D. Bailey, February 2023 (RL2023-011).
Creator
- Sills, Mary Jane, 1922-2010 (Compiler, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Mary Jane Sills papers relating to Maurine and Richard Neuberger
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jeffrey A. Hayes
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org