Collection is open for research.
Letters from Charles L. McNary to "Minnie" were gift of R. Breyman Boise, October 1965 (Lib. Acc. 10193). Letter from Charles L. McNary to Grace C. Kantz was gift of Eugene E. Marsh, September 1975 (Lib. Acc. 13452). Other materials were most likely acquired in the 20th century.
In 1845, brothers James McNary (1790-1871) and Alexander McNary (1798-1860) emigrated to Oregon with their families. Alexander McNary's son, Hugh M. McNary (1827-1891) lived in Salem, Oregon. Hugh Porter McNary (1869-1931), who was Hugh M. McNary's son, moved in 1905 from Salem to Portland, Oregon, where he worked in real estate.
James McNary's grandson Charles Linza McNary (1874-1944) served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1913 to 1915. In 1917, following the death of U.S. Senator Harry Lane, Oregon Governor James Withycombe appointed McNary to be a Republican U.S. senator for Oregon. McNary would remain in the Senate until his death in 1944, and served as the Senate minority leader from 1933 to 1944. In 1940, he unsuccessfully ran for U.S. vice president with Wendell Willkie.
Sources: Articles in the Salem Capitol Journal and the Oregonian, 1891-1944; "Charles L. McNary (1874-1944)," by Barbara Mahoney, Oregon Encyclopedia,
McNary family papers, Mss 1551, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Collection was titled "McNary family letters" prior to 2022.
Other materials of or relating to the McNary family at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library include: Charles Linza McNary papers, Mss 2749; Charles L. McNary letter to J. Tracy Barton, Mss 1500; Charles McNary speech accepting vice presidential nomination, SR 1182, which is available online in OHS Digital Collections at
The collection consists of correspondence and property records of Hugh M. McNary, his son Hugh P. McNary, and Hugh P. McNary's cousin Charles L. McNary. The property records consist of an indenture for Hugh M. McNary from 1859, and two deeds for Hugh M. McNary from 1868. Charles L. McNary's correspondence in the collection consists of: two letters from 1920 and 1921, both addressed to someone only referred to as "Minnie," regarding social gatherings at the home of U.S. Senator Medill McCormick; a January 14, 1924, letter to Fred Langerman about the Warm Springs irrigation project; an April 17, 1933, letter to Grace C. Kantz, concerning the possible establishment of a post office at Testament Creek Junction, Oregon, with her as postmaster; and a June 26, 1936, telegram to Katherine Gabriel (written as Mrs. W. W. Gabriel) about the approval of benefit payments to flax growers. Other correspondence in the collection consists of three letters from 1931 between Hugh P. McNary and Holt R. Shaw about the 1845 Oregon Trail wagon train; a September 17, 1880, letter from George F. Cook to Hugh M. McNary, inquiring about the Blue Bucket Mine; and a July 19, 1882 letter from Samuel L. Brooks to Hugh M. McNary, about issues concerning a property identified as "the Lockwood property."
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.