Describing Archives: A Content Standard

5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org

Finding aid encoded by Jody Hendrickson 2009 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). March 17, 2010 Change numbers .79-.82 to .127-.130 to resolve comflict with numbers assigned to artifacts. jath Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library

5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org

2007.39 Colman family Pierce family Colman and Pierce families papers 1872-1990 1900-1950 5 boxes 1.91 cubic feet Photographs, albums, and ephemera related to the Colman and Pierce families of West Seattle, as well as oral histories and photocopies compiled while researching family history 3a.4.4 Collection materials are in English. Biographical Note

The Colman and Pierce families were among the earliest settlers of the Fauntleroy neighborhood in West Seattle, and were very active in area’s development. Laurence and Ida Colman were the first members of the family to settle in Fauntleroy and were particularly involved in the community, along with their children. Laurence’s father, James M. Colman, was born in Scotland in 1832 and came to the U.S. in 1854, arriving in Seattle in 1861. He was involved in the timber, mill, and shipping industries. In 1872, once he was well established in Seattle, he brought his family from Wisconsin to live with him. He and his wife Agnes had two sons, Laurence (born in 1859) and George.

Laurence and James became intrigued with Fauntleroy in 1906 while looking for a place to build a summer cottage for the family; they bought 17 acres of land there that year, which would become the Colman-Pierce property “Laurentide.” Following James’s death in late 1906, Laurence built a home on the property and moved there with his wife, Ida, and their children Agnes, Kenneth, Katharine and Isabel in 1907. Laurence’s concern for youth development led him to set up vocational and carpentry classes for local boys; he and Ida were also involved with Sunday school programs at Fauntleroy Community Church. In 1914 he built a camp on his Horsehead Bay property and began taking local children there in the summer of 1915. Also in 1914, Laurence was one of the founders of the Fauntleroy YMCA Community Center, which became a formal YMCA branch in 1924. The Horsehead Bay camp later became the YMCA’s Camp Colman (the Colman family also donated the property for the YMCA’s Camp Orkila on Orcas Island).

Laurence and Ida’s daughter Isabel, born in Seattle in 1902, attended Oberlin College and the University of Washington and received a B.S. in Math and an M.S. in Chemistry before marrying Lawrence Pierce in 1929. Pierce came to Seattle from Massachusetts in 1926 and worked for various companies including Puget Sound Power and Light and the J.M. Colman Company. Lawrence and Isabel lived in Fauntleroy except for four years while Lawrence served as the first State Treasurer of the Unemployment Compensation Division. Back in Fauntleroy, Isabel served on the boards of a number of community and charitable organizations, including the YWCA, the Ruth School for Girls, and the Women’s University Club. The Pierces had five children, including John Pierce who still lives in Fauntleroy with his wife Leilia.

(Adapted from Fauntleroy Legacy by Roy W. Morse and E. Richard Brown)

This collection contains family papers, photographs and albums kept by members of the Colman and Pierce families. The photographs and albums depict family members, homes, and scenery. The papers include clippings, flyers, wedding invitations, and programs. In addition to these family documents, the collection also includes materials assembled from the two families' collections by a group researching Fauntleroy’s history, as well as oral history interviews conducted by another group researching the Colman and Pierce families.

Arranged into five series:

Photographs Photograph albums Research materials Books Ephemera

View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Colman and Pierce families papers, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

Gift of John and Leilia Pierce, June 6, 2007.

Processed by Madeleine Mundt.

Two binders of research materials assembled by E. Richard Brown were disassembled for preservation purposes. Original materials were removed from the binders and placed with other original family documents and clippings in an attempt to restore perceived original order. Photocopies were kept in the order created by Brown and placed in folders with other research materials.

These materials are part of a donation that also included a number of artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Colman family--Archives Pierce family--Archives Pierce, Isabel Colman, 1902-1982 Pierce, Lawrence J., 1900- Colman, Laurence James, 1859-1935 Colman, Ida Burwell, 1863-1947 Colman, Kenneth Burwell, 1896-1982 West Seattle (Seattle, Wash.) Fauntleroy (Seattle, Wash.) Photographs Seattle Home and family Photographic prints Photograph albums

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Photographs circa 1890s-1948 86 photographs

Items 1 through 30 are negatives; viewing prints are available for five of these. Items .31 through .78 are original prints.

.1-.8 Pierce-Colman home during regrade circa 1907-1910 Glass negatives 5 x 7 inches

Modern prints available for numbers .1, .4, .6, .9 and .11 in Box 1 Folder 1.

.9 Summer bungalow circa 1912 Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .10 Summer home and three children undated Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .11 Colman family steam yacht Osprey circa 1910 Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .12-.13 Pump system undated Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .14-.18 Scenery undated Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .19-.21 Three burros undated Glass negative 5 x 7 inches .22 Colman wedding group undated Film negative 8 x 10 inches

Copy negative of #.73

.23-.24 Woman on patio steps undated Nitrate negatives 3.25 x 5.5 inches .25-.28 Scenery undated Nitrate negative 3.25 x 5.5 inches .29-.30 Family snapshots undated 36 negatives 1/1 Modern prints for negatives .1, .4, .6, .9 and .11 .31 1/2 Katharine Colman 1920s

Framed; glass broken

.32 1/3 Colman family photograph calendar 1902 .33 1/4 Laurence and Ida Colman circa 1890s Brass , Seattle .34 1/5 Laurence Colman undated Harris & Ewing , Washington, D.C. .35 1/6 Ida Burwell Colman undated .36 1/7 Isabel Colman undated .37 1/8 Kenneth, Katharine, and Isabel Colman circa 1920s .38 1/9 Large group of Fauntleroy residents including Colman family circa 1940s

Partial list of identifications available in the accession file.

.39 1/10 Colman family group circa 1940s .40 1/11 School children on steps 1944 June

Identifications on verso.

.41 1/12 Agnes Colman circa 1900

Handwriting on verso: Agnes Colman, born about 1891-2, died at age 12

.42.1 1/13 Isabel Colman 1910 .42.2 1/13 Isabel Colman 1905 .43 1/14 Isabel Colman and friend Elizabeth Taylor at Colman home on beach circa 1920 .44 1/15 Ida Colman holding Agnes 1894 Cyanotype .45 1/16 Colman family group and wagon circa 1910 .46 1/17 Isabel Colman Pierce and Mrs. Stanley White 1948 October 1 Gerald Beaudin , Seattle

Caption attached to photo: "First Stop-- Mrs. Stanley White, 9308-47th Ave. S. W., volunteer lieutenant general of the Fauntleroy area in the neighborhood Division of the Seattle-King County Community Chest campaign for 1949, begins her day of soliciting with a stop at the home of Mrs. Lawrence Pierce, 9343 Fauntleroy Ave. In her hands is the “Worker’s Kit,” which contains supplies of window stickers, pledge cards and other campaign material.”

.47 1/18 Unknown woman with 3 children: Elizabeth Pierce, Lawrence Colman, Katharine Pierce circa 1938 .48 1/19 Colman family group circa 1930

Left to right: George, Ken, Katherine, Ida, Isabel, Agnes

.49 1/20 Colman family group circa 1900

2 copies: 1 black and white print, 1 cyanotype

.50 1/21 Colman family group at camp circa 1914 .51 1/22 Colman family group circa 1900 .52 1/23 Katharine Colman as young girl circa 1900 Brass .53 1/24 Agnes Colman as young girl circa 1900 Brass .54 1/25 Frederick & Nelson store Santa photograph of Josh H. Pierce 1944 .55 1/26 Kenneth Colman in military uniform undated Hamilton , Seattle .56 1/27 Keith Colman undated

Keith Colman was Kenneth Colman's adopted son.

.57 1/28 George Colman, granddaughter Isabel, Agnes Colman, granddaughter Katharine undated .58 1/29 Laurence and Ida Burwell Colman, Isabel Colman Pierce with child James Colman Pierce circa 1932 .59 1/30 Colman family yacht Osprey undated .60 1/31 Colman beach house, Fauntleroy undated .61.1-.3 1/32 Colman house grounds, Fauntleroy undated 3 photographs .62 1/33 Colman Beach house 1903

Panorama taken by "Dr. Kilbourne"

.63 1/34 Colman family home (old) interior undated .64 1/35 Panorama of second Colman home in Fauntleroy circa 1927 Dr. Edward Kilbourne .65.1-.2 1/36 Seabeck property undated 2 photographs .66 1/37 Colman dock 1930s .67 1/38 Colman dock circa 1918 .68 1/39 Mt. Rainier from Lake Washington 1903 Romans .69 1/40 Mt. Rainier from Lake Washington 1903 Romans .70 1/41 Two swans circa 1900 Alfred A. Witter , Seattle .71 1/42 Forest road undated .72.1 1/43 Eskimo girl 1903 B.B. Dobbs .72.2 1/43 Eskimo man circa 1903 B.B. Dobbs .73 2/1 Isabel Colman and Lawrence Pierce wedding photograph 1929 May 29 Grady , Seattle .74 2/2 Katharine and Isabel Colman circa 1920s .75 2/3 Kenneth Colman undated Murle Ogden , Honolulu, Hawaii .76 2/4 Portrait, possibly Isabel and Lawrence Pierce undated Grady , Seattle .77 2/5 Colman bungalow in Fauntleroy circa 1915 Gillum , Seattle Hand-colored .78.1-.4 2/6 Group portraits of participants in conferences held at Seabeck 1922-1926 4 panorama photographs Linkletter Studio , Seattle

Includes photographs of the 1922 Mission Education Conference; the 1926 Washington State Christian Endeavor Conference; and an undated National Christian Endeavor Conference.

Photograph albums circa 1887-1900 .127 3/1 “Among the Islands” photograph album 1887 13 photographs

Images of small steamship Latona and individuals boating and camping.

.128 3/2 Family album 1900 36 photographs

Images of family members enjoying outdoor recreational activities.

.129 3/3 Album circa 1900 14 photographs

Images of people hiking and scenic views.

Research materials 1913-1988

Photocopied original materials and oral histories assembled by Roy W. Morse and E. Richard Brown, Judy Boynton and Marge Sacre. Binders compiled by E. Richard Brown

.130 4/1 Colman family tree undated

2 copies

.83 4/2 Article on Colman recognition dinner 1979 .84 4/3-10 Articles related to James Murray Colman 1913-1984 8 articles .85 4/11-21 Articles and photographs related to Laurence Colman 1914-1982 6 articles and 5 photographs .86 4/22 Reproductions of hand-colored postcards of Colman Dock undated .87 4/23 Article on the Colman Building 1971 .88 4/24-28 Articles related to Kenneth Burwell Colman 1942-1982

4 articles and 1 reproduced newspaper photograph

.89 4/29-31 Article and documents related to Isabel Susan Colman-Pierce 1929-1982

Wedding guest lists and 1 article.

.90 4/32 YMCA description of the Isabel Colman Pierce award 1988 .91 4/33-34 Materials related to Lawrence Jonathan Pierce 1976

Resume and article

.92 4/35 Photograph of boys diving undated .93 4/36 Photocopies of newspaper clippings 1934-1985 16 photocopies .94 4 “The Colman Family” binder 1986

Divided into 11 sections: The Colman Family; James M. Colman, Laurence J. Colman; George A. Colman; Kenneth B. Colman; Isabel Colman Pierce, Lawrence J. Pierce; John H. Pierce M.D.; Katherine Colman Triangle; Newspaper Articles; and the Seabeck Story.

.95 4 “Memories of Laurence J. Colman” binder 1968-1969

Transcripts of oral history interviews, conducted by Judy Boynton, with individuals reminiscing about Laurence J. Colman. Includes transcripts of interviews with Dr. Warren E. Calvin (March 1968); Joshua Green (April 1968); Ruth and Robert Hamlin (March 1969); and Walter Wyckoff (April 1969).

Books

.96 5/1 Laurence J. Colman’s monogrammed dictionary 1929

Leather cover embossed with image titled “Pacific Creosoting Company Plant”

.97 5/2 Reminiscences and Reflections,1900-1990 by Lawrence J. Pierce 1990

Autographed

.98 5/3 Laurence Colman and Ida Burwell wedding book 1892 .99 5/4 Account book 1872-1873 Ephemera

Clippings 1914-1989 .100 5/5 “Floating a Launch” undated .101 5/6 “No. 7 – James M. Colman,” Seattle Times 1944 October 15 .102 5/7 “Colman Dock Has Been Around for 103 Years,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1984 February 6 .103 5/8 “Colman Family is Back on the Dock” 1982 May 16 .104 5/9 2 Clippings: “Isabel Colman is Married at Home,” “Miss Burwell Engaged to Wed” 1929 1890 .105 5/10 3 Clippings: “Miss Pierce Wed,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer; “Trip in Their Future”; untitled article regarding wedding 1958 December 31 undated .106 5/11 “Almost Secret: graveyard for Civil War vets” with envelope from Lake View Cemetery and notecard regarding “Colman Cript” at Lakeview 1989 February 27 .107 5/12 “Your Story in Voice and Writing” regarding Colman interviews, Seattle Times 1969 September 24 .108 5/13 “Just Cogitating: Laurence J. Colman was a leader in good works for the city,” Seattle Times 1948 .109 5/14 “J.M. Colman’s Widow, Here 63 Years, Dies” and Seattle Electric Company envelope 1935 December 23 .110 5/15 “Friends Surprise L.J. Colman at Birthday Party” undated .111 5/16 “Seattle’s Pioneer Colman Family Aided Municipal Development,” West Seattle Herald 1947 November 13 .112 5/17 “Women of Today,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1943 May 2 Miscellaneous Colman family ephemera .113 5/18 Wedding announcements for Galen Michelle Pierce and Chad Lee Magendanz 1989 .114 5/19 Announcement and invitation for a preview of Colman Pool 1941 July 4 .115 5/20 Partial map of Fauntleroy (?) showing Colman properties .116 5/21 Program for “On the Town,” UW swim team event circa 1956

Katie Pierce was a participant in this event.

.117 5/22 Bungalow Magazine containing article about Colman house 1914 April .118 5/23 West Seattle High School Commencement Program for Isabel Colman’s graduation 1920 .119 5/24 “The Boys are Coming Back” sheet music undated .120 5/25 Lawrence Pierce campaign flyer undated .121 5/26 New Year’s greeting card from Bill and Bertha Boeing 1930 .122 5/27 Camp Colman Capital Campaign brochure 1986 .123 5/28 Menu for Seattle Hardware Company event 1891 March 4 .124 5/29 Isabel Colman’s University of Washington diploma 1925 .125 5/30 Ruth School for Girls flyers, clippings, and photographs 1964 .126 5/31 Child Life children’s magazine 1927 December