John F. Calbreath papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 1027

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection includes family letters of Sidney and Mianda Smith, John U. Smith, and Irene Smith Calbreath; political letters from U.S. Senator John H. Mitchell and U.S. Senator George W. McBride, 1896-1897; business and family papers and letters of John Franklin Calbreath; and Calbreath-Smith genealogical materials. Also included is a copy of the 1839 overland diary of Sidney Smith; biographical materials about J. F. Calbreath and Daniel Bailey, great-grandfather of Helen Calbreath; papers relating to Masonic activities; five account books; and a copy of Western Cycling and Recreation, 1897, containing an article about the McMinnville Cycling Association, which was headed by John F. Calbreath.

Dates

1839-1931

Creator

Calbreath, John F. (John Franklin), 1854-1939 (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

John Franklin Calbreath (1854-1939) was a physician, farmer, Oregon state senator, and superintendent of the Oregon State Insane Asylum (now the Oregon State Hospital). He was born in Weston, West Virginia, the son of a planter whose lands were ruined during the Civil War. In 1864, the family moved to Iowa, and the following year they traveled overland to Oregon, settling at first in Benton County. John remained in the area when his family moved to eastern Oregon, and after starting a farm, he began studying medicine in 1872. He married Irene Smith of Yamhill County in 1874, and the couple eventually had two daughters, Helen and Mary Evelene.

After receiving his degree from Toland Medical College (later part of the University of California, San Francisco) in 1875, Calbreath entered a medical practice with a Dr. Littlefield in Lafayette, Oregon. In 1886 , he moved to McMinnville and entered a partnership with Dr. E. E. Goucher. After a course of study in New York City in 1896, he returned to Oregon and moved to Salem in 1900, where he became the superintendent of the state psychiatric hospital. Calbreath was active in Republican party politics and served in the Oregon State Senate in 1895 and 1897. He went to St. Louis in 1896 as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, supporting William McKinley for the presidency. Around 1910, he moved to Portland, where he died in 1939.

Extent

1.35 Cubic Feet (3 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of John Franklin Calbreath, an Oregon physician and state senator, including family letters of Sidney and Mianda Smith, John U. Smith, and Irene Smith Calbreath; political letters from John H. Mitchell and George W. McBride; a copy of an 1839 overland journal of Sidney Smith; accounts and notebooks of John Franklin Calbreath; and biographical and genealogical materials.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Biographical and genealogical materials, 1839-1931
Series 2: Correspondence, 1858-1903
Series 3: Documents, ephemera, and other materials, 1860-1902
Series 4: Account books, notebooks, and ledgers, 1857-1928

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gifts of Mary Evelene Calbreath, August 1963 (Lib. Acc. 9851), and the estate of Mary Evelene Calbreath, care of William J. Masters, May 1972, (Lib. Acc. 12245).

Related Materials

The Oregon Historical Society Research Library holds additional materials relating to John F. Calbreath and the Calbreath family. These include: a number of photograph albums and scrapbooks, which are designated Albums 330, 331, 332, 333, and 327; additional photographs of the Calbreath family in Photo File #201, the Cartes-de-visite photographs (Org. Lot 500), and the Cased photographs collection (Org. Lot 1414); and scrapbooks of Helen and Mary Evelene Calbreath in the Performing Arts Collection, Mss 1523.