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MacKenzie Family photograph collection, 1870-1920

Overview of the Collection

Collector
MacKenzie (Family : MacKenzie, James Alexander, 1846-1905)
Title
MacKenzie Family photograph collection
Dates
1870-1920 (inclusive)
Quantity
44 photographic prints (1 box and 2 folders)
Collection Number
PH0032
Summary
Photographs and ephemera relating James MacKenzie and his family including memorials to his wife and children killed in a train wreck in Toledo, Ohio
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital collections website. Permission of the Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English and German
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Biographical Note

James Alexander MacKenzie (1846-1905), was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 17, 1846, to Scottish immigrant parents Duncan MacKenzie and Jean "Jennie" Hamilton. He was raised in Hutchinson, Minnesota, during the 1850s. In 1862, his family moved to Minneapolis, where James worked as a traveling musical instrument salesman. In 1875, James was granted the first of his three patents for dulcimer improvements. In 1880, James married fifteen-year-old Eva Skinner (1865-1891), already a trained singer. From 1865 until 1891 James and Eva toured the country together, demonstrating and selling his musical inventions. James and Eva had two daughters, Maud Blanche MacKenzie and Pearl Marie MacKenzie. On November 28, 1891, the family was on a fatal railroad collision in Toledo, Ohio. James escaped, while an explosion fatally scalded Eva and their two daughters. As a result of injuries, Maud died the next day, Pearl died four days after, and Eva died 24 days after the collision, on December 22, 1891.

In December 1892, James married Mary Lillian Holtz (1868-1920), a member of his touring musical troop. In 1895 they moved to Hennepin, Minnesota, and in 1896 their daughter Myrtle Harriet MacKenzie (1896-1997) was born. James and Mary divorced in 1897. James continued manufacturing harps in Minneapolis, but sometime around 1898 his instrument shop, reported to have contained over 100 instruments at the time was destroyed by fire. James married a third time on August 3, 1898 to Anna Louise Kixmoeller. They had two children, Earl Hamilton MacKenzie (1899-1990), Gail and Marguerite MacKenzie (1901-2001). Earl was also nicknamed Gail. Anna died in 1904. James took his own life on May 4, 1905, in Eddyville, Iowa. James and Anna died, both children were adopted by Anna’s parents and Marguerite kept the last name of her grandparents, Kixmoeller. When he was an adult, Earl legally changed his name to Douglas Earl MacKenzie. Siblings of James MacKenzie were Elizabeth Hamilton MacKenzie, John Hamilton MacKenzie, David Duncan MacKenzie, Janette Rosetta MacKenzie, Jenny Maria MacKenzie, William Lyon MacKenzie, Sarah MacKenzie, Robert Lloyd MacKenzie, Joseph A. MacKenzie.

Submitted by: Douglas E. MacKenzie, Jr. (Grandson of James MacKenzie)

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Content Description

Photographs relating to the life of James Alexander MacKenzie, his family and friends, including the death of his first wife Eva Louise MacKenzie and their two daughters in a railroad disaster in Toledo, Ohio, in 1891.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donor: Possibly part of Robbins gift, January 1981.

Processing Note

Processed by Leah Pistorius, 2018

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2008 (Last modified: 12/20/2023)

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