Archives West Finding Aid

Scope and Content: The series entitled "Notes on the Meany Papers" includes notes on the correspondence in Boxes 10-51, recording major correspondents and topics of interest. These notes were apparently made by the person who did some organizing of the papers in 1950.

Correspondence includes Meany's letterpress books and general correspondence, arranged chronologically, with undated material arranged alphabetically.

The "Speeches and Writings" series includes a listing of all of Meany's writings in this accession; cross-references have been given when the writing is located in another series. The bibliography which Meany compiled shortly before his death is a very helpful listing of his writings, but it is not entirely complete.

This accession includes many important source documents pertaining to Meany's book, Mount Rainier, A Record of Exploration. There are interviews with early explorers of the mountain, such as Edward S. Ingraham and David Longmire, in addition to other original or unique documents. This accession also includes Meany's holograph and notecards for his Origin of Washington Geographic Names. The original correspondence collected during the preparation of this work is not in the possession of the University of Washington, but is available on microfilm in Accession No. 0106-003.

Primarily during the last twenty-five years of his life, Meany assiduously collected materials on early Washington pioneers. He amassed thousands of items, ranging from simple obituary notices to lengthy and important pioneer reminiscences contained in letters or on specially devised forms. With the help of his research assistant, Victor J. Farrar, he conducted interviews and other research. From 1916 to 1921, Meany wrote a series of articles for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer entitled "Living Pioneers of Washington." The files which he assembled came to be known as the "Meany Pioneer File." The file is no longer intact. All of the manuscript materials have been incorporated into this accession under the series entitled "Pioneer File." The remaining materials have been retained by the Special Collections Division in either their Photograph Collection or in clipping files.

In the Subject Files there are several topics which deserve mention, in particular the files on Indians, Pacific Northwest History and University of Washington History. The files on Indians primarily deal with Pacific Northwest Indians, and all of Meany's writings on these Indians have been grouped together in this series. Of particular interest are the Chief Joseph materials, including his signature and mark, and Meany's notes on interviews with Chief Joseph and others.

Meany's files on Pacific Northwest history have undergone considerable reordering. Originally the series was roughly broken into four general areas: Pacific Northwest History, Oregon History, Washington History and Seattle History. These divisions overlapped, resulting in filing ambiguities, and for this reason they have all been included under the subject heading of Pacific Northwest History. Specific topics can be easily spotted by scanning the list of folder headings.

The subject files on the University of Washington preserve records of many of the "traditions" which Meany started and preserved, such as Campus Day, Class Day, the giving of the Ephebic Oath and Lilac Day. (One of Meany's epithets was "keeper of traditions.") The files are very diverse, preserving numerous items on early University history as well as materials dealing with many early campus offices, clubs and activities. There are also several rare University imprints in the collection, such as The Junior Jag (folder 98/8) and The Quoin (folder 100/5).

The records of related organizations and individuals reflect Meany's role in numerous important activities, including the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the editorship of the Washington Historical Quarterly. By working with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, he helped Seattle obtain the statue of William H. Seward, and in conjunction with the Daughters of the American Revolution he helped to secure for Loredo Taft the commission to do a statue of George Washington for the University campus. In addition to numerous other corporate activities, this accession preserves materials documenting Meany's activities with the Mountaineers, including several journals which Meany kept during the annual outings of the organization. This series also includes a few items pertaining to Meany's family.