Oral history interview with Ellen L. MacVeagh

Collection

Identifier: SR 9472

Staff Only

Oral history interview with Ellen L. MacVeagh

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Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Ellen L. MacVeagh was conducted by Charles Digregorio at MacVeagh’s home in Portland, Oregon, on February 20, 1976, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. MacVeagh’s pet birds are audible throughout the interview.

In this interview, MacVeagh speaks at length about her family background, including the careers of her father, Abbot Low Mills (1858-1927), and her uncle Cicero Hunt Lewis (1826-1897), also known as Cicero Horatius Lewis. She discusses her early life in Portland, Oregon. She talks about her recreational activities and social life in the Portland area in the early 20th century, including dances at the Vancouver Barracks in Vancouver, Washington, and horseback riding. She speaks about Chinese American residents of Portland, particularly men who worked for her family. She shares stories about Captain John Heard Couch and other early Portland residents. She closes the interview by speaking about living in France and Italy during the 1920s.

Dates

Creation: 1976 February 20

Creator

MacVeagh, Ellen L. (Ellen Low), 1895-1980 (Interviewee, Person)
Digregorio, Charles (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Ellen L. MacVeagh. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Ellen Low MacVeagh, nee Mills, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1895. In 1916, she and Rogers MacVeagh were married; they later had two children. She died in 1980.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by MacVeagh in her interview.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (41 min., 6 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Ellen L. MacVeagh conducted by Charles Digregorio on February 20, 1976. MacVeagh discusses the careers of her father, Abbot Low Mills, and of her uncle Cicero Hunt Lewis (also known as Cicero Horatius Lewis). She also speaks about her youth in early 20th-century Portland, Oregon, and about Captain John Heard Couch and other early Portland residents.