Phil Metschan family papers
Scope and Contents
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.
Dates
- Creation: 1855-1963
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1880-1925
Creator
- Metschan, Phil, 1840-1920 (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
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.
Extent
1 Cubic Feet (1 document case, 1 card file box, 1 oversize folder in shared box)
Language of Materials
English
German
Abstract
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.
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
Immediate Source of Acquisition
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).
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.
Subject
- Metschan, Phil, 1840-1920 (Person)
- Metschan family (Family)
- Imperial Hotel (Portland, Or.) (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Phil Metschan family papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Trudy Williams and Geoffrey Wexler
- Date
- 2006; revised 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2023-11-04: Minor revisions to conform to current standard.
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