Title: Graham-Huston Family Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1891-1999

Call Number: Mss 788; PH 3953; M2004-097

Quantity: 6.8 cubic feet (17 archives boxes), 1.2 cubic feet of photographs (3 archives boxes), and 266 negatives (1 binder and 1 box); and additions of 0.2 cubic feet and 3 photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of the extended Graham, Huston, McDonald, and Preston families of northern Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California; consisting primarily of correspondence between women in the family concerning family life and finances, national and local politics, and Roman Catholicism. Correspondents include Martha McDonald Graham; her daughter, Winifred Graham Huston; Winifred's daughter, Emily, a member of the Madonna House Apostolate; and Catherine Doherty, founder of Madonna House; University of Oregon friends of Winifred Huston; Roman Catholic priests, nuns, and laypersons; and relatives in Hayward, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Also includes photographs, clippings, genealogical notes, diaries and notes, scrapbooks, financial and land records concerning the lumber business, and a reminiscence of the Civil War eagle, “Old Abe,” mascot of Company C, 8th Wisconsin Infantry.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00788

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The Graham, Huston, McDonald, and Preston families, whose members have resided in Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California, are linked by their common descent from Ranald J. and Martha McCann McDonald. Genealogical tables outlining the extended family relationships pertinent to the collection are in the case file. (Also, see Box 17 of the collection).

The main line documented here is descended from R.J. and Martha McCann McDonald to their daughter Martha, who married E.A. Graham, and in the next generation through their daughter Winifred Graham, who married Leo Huston. Their daughter is Emily Huston.

Ranald J. McDonald (1842-1916) settled near Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and in 1866 married Martha McCann (1843-1888), the first white child born in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. They were the parents of John, Gertrude, Margaret Ann “Annie,” Ranald R., Daniel, and Martha L. “Mattie.” Gertrude continued to reside in Wisconsin and married J.J. Holstein, a barber. Annie married lumberman C.S. Shea and they moved first to Portland, Oregon, and then settled in Southern California. Ranald R. lived in Minnesota, but was buried in the family cemetery in Eau Claire. Daniel moved to Detroit and worked for the Western Newspaper Service.

In 1899, Martha “Mattie” McDonald became the second wife of Ernest Alva Graham (1863-1932), a lumberman and land speculator. Ernest Graham's parents, John L. and Emma Heermans Graham, in 1862, moved to Houston County, Minnesota, and then in 1865, moved to Waseca County, Minnesota. Their son Clarence moved to Waseca, Minnesota, and became editor and publisher of the Waseca Radical about 1865 as well as founding the Janesville Argus in the 1870s. Their other son Arthur continued to operate the family farm.

Ernest Graham resided near Hayward, Wisconsin, where he was a partner in the Sawyer County Land Company with Hans P. Fuley. Ernest’s first wife Nettie Fox died in 1896, leaving two daughters, Louise Hope Graham and Joyce Graham. Joyce died in childhood, possibly when her younger half-sister Winifred was around age seven. About 1904, R.L. McCormick of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company sent Graham to Washington, first to Everett and then to Raymond. Graham continued to speculate in land and timber until his death in 1932. In 1944, Martha Graham moved to California to live with her niece, June Evans Bean (daughter of Annie McDonald Shea). She died in 1969.

Graham's older daughter Hope married lumberman Harold W. “Tim” Preston in 1917. They lived in North Bend, Oregon and then moved to Silverton, Oregon. Tim worked with several companies, including managing Oregon Pulp and Paper until his death.

Graham's younger daughter Winifred (1900-1986), from his second marriage to Mattie, attended the University of Oregon from 1921 to 1925 where she was active in women's government. She taught English at Marshfield, Oregon, from 1925 to 1927, and then worked as secretary to the state superintendent of public instruction until 1935. In that year, she married Leo Huston (1902-1976), a lumber worker and graduate of Willamette University. In 1940, Huston began work as a log scaler (later superintendent) for Roseboro Lumber at Springfield, Oregon. From 1947, Huston worked as a timber cruiser and log buyer, first for the Forrest Veneer Company (near Cottage Grove, Oregon), then briefly as a government log scaler and grader in Arcata, California, and then as a cruiser and log buyer for the McKenzie River Lumber Company. In 1951, the family settled in Eugene, Oregon. When the McKenzie River mill closed in 1967, Huston established his own nursery business, specializing in native trees and bonsai.

The Hustons' daughter Emily was born in 1937. In 1952, Winifred Huston converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1955, Emily enrolled at Marylhurst College in Oregon near Lake Oswego, and in 1956, she also converted to Catholicism. After teaching in a Portland, Oregon high school for two years, she joined the Madonna House Lay Apostolate in Combermere, Ontario. She has since worked at Madonna House centers in Edmonton, Alberta; Combermere, Ontario; Muskegon, Michigan; Whitehorse, Yukon Territory; Regina, Saskatchewan; Washington, D.C.; Roanoke, Virginia; Barbados; Natal, Brazil; and North Yorkshire, England. As of 2016, Emily resides in Victoria, British Columbia.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Mss 788, PH 3953): Original Collection, 1891-1986
• Part 2 (M2004-097): Additions, 1977-1999

Acquisition Information

Presented by Emily Huston, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and Winifred Huston, Eugene, Oregon, 1980-1987, and 2004. Accession Number: M80-249, M81-615, M87-31, M2004-097

Processing Information

Processed by G. Marcille Frederick (1990 intern), 1991.

Mss 788	Part 1 (Mss 788, PH 3953): Original Collection, 1891-1986 Physical Description: 6.8 cubic feet (17 archives boxes), 1.2 cubic feet of photographs (3 archives boxes), and 266 negatives (1 binder and 1 box)  Scope and Content Note The Graham-Huston Family Papers document the lives of almost one hundred years of the extended Graham, Huston, McDonald, and Preston families in the Midwest and West of the United States. The papers are comprised of correspondence and general papers, arranged as an alphabetical name file and a chronological file for unidentified correspondents. When both the writer and recipient of the correspondence were members of the family, the correspondence is filed by the surname of the writer. The majority of the correspondence consists of letters written or received by three generations of women between 1920 and 1980 (Martha McDonald Graham, her daughter Winifred Graham Huston, and her granddaughter Emily Leah Huston) and their interests in family life and finances, local and national politics, health and aging, social life, and religion. Graham family letters constitute the earliest material in the collection. The early letters of Arthur and his parents Emma and John are scattered in coverage and mostly relate to Nettie Graham's illness and death in 1896. Also included here are Ernest's letters to his second wife Mattie and business letters to J. Cerneghan, Hans Fuley, and R.L. McCormick. In 1921, Arthur and Ernest both wrote recollection letters to each other describing their childhood and family farm in Minnesota. Ernest's papers also include notebooks and miscellaneous financial papers concerning his speculations in land and timber. From about 1921 until her death, Martha McDonald Graham wrote detailed weekly letters to her daughter Winifred. This section of correspondence is largely complete. The letters of Gertrude Holstein, the sister of Martha Graham, describe life and family friends in Hayward, Wisconsin, as well as financial and real estate matters. Emily Huston's correspondence, almost all of it to her mother, reveals her girlhood, study at Marylhurst College, life at Madonna House, and her own spiritual life. Leo Huston's letters relate to his work on various logging jobs and the difficulty of finding work during the Depression or lumber industry slumps. Winifred Graham Huston's correspondence is the core of the collection. Her outgoing letters are voluminous and detailed, and she was a perceptive observer of her social and environmental surroundings and of her own spiritual life. The collection contains copies of virtually all of her correspondence received from the 1950s to 1986, together with copies of her letters sent to her mother and her daughter. Winifred Huston also maintained a frequent correspondence with her cousin June Bean (primarily concerning the health of Martha Graham), her mother-in-law Alberta Huston, and her sister Hope Preston. Most of these letters concern day-to-day family life such as their children's activities, employment, illness, and major purchases. Winifred's letters from the early 1920s to her parents document college life at the University of Oregon. A few school friends also corresponded with Winifred in later years, primarily Louise Brownhill, Ruth Burke, Elizabeth DeCou, and Mildred Case Weisler. Correspondence during the 1920s and 1930s also includes letters from Winifred's “beaus.” Other correspondents of Winifred’s include former colleagues in state government, mainly Irma Bolander, Stella Downing, Leah Ross Hogue, C.A. Howard, Beth Murray, Cornelia Marvin Pierce, and Beatrice Sackett. After her conversion to Catholicism, correspondents include many priests and nuns such as Fr. Heffernan and Fr. Kies and her distant cousin Sr. Mary Regina. After Emily joined Madonna House, Winifred also corresponded with its founder Catherine Doherty and with many other members including Esther “Aster” Jedynak. A number of Catholics Winifred met at church or while on retreat are represented, notably Ceal Bronson, Mary Z. Green, and George Pedekisky. The culture of 20th century Catholicism and its relationship to Protestantism, both before and after Vatican II are well documented. In addition, there are letters with friends and neighbors in Raymond, Washington, and from the MacKenzie River area including Lillian Stanley and Bertha Wheaton about their mutual friends and acquaintances. Her other correspondents of note include Ellen and Paul Goodale, who cared for Martha during her last years, and Leroy Guldan, a McDonald relative who shared Winifred's interest in genealogy. Winifred's papers also include diaries and notes on religious retreats and other activities, papers concerning women's student government at the University of Oregon during the 1920s, and scrapbooks of sewing samples and postcards she collected during her youth. The Huston side of the family, like the Grahams, kept up a regular correspondence. Alberta Huston frequently copied or added notes to letters she received from her son Edward or daughter Mary Orley and sent them to her other son Leo. There is also some scattered correspondence from Isabel Huston Townsend, Irene and Glen Huston, and Robert and Estie Huston and their daughter Margaret. Also includes correspondence from members of the McDonald family in the collection including John “Jack” McDonald, a newspaper writer; Dan and Myrtle McDonald; Helen McDonald Ramsberg; Mary Fabiola “Faye” Stross; Charlanne Evans Muench; Gail McDonald Propst; Vivian McDonald Goodman; and members of the A.J. McDonald family. Of special note are Henry McCann's reminiscences of “Old Abe,” the Civil War eagle. The letters of Byron Marquis contain genealogical material on the Huston/Marquis branch of the family; especially his mother, whose maiden name was Marquis. Correspondence with the Prestons concerns financial dealings and the settlement of the E.A. Graham estate. Letters from Hope Preston's son Graham include some descriptions of military life in Africa and Italy. Photographs are arranged by personal name, with other photographs at the end of the list. Family members with the most representation are E.A. and Martha Graham, and Winifred, Emily, and Leo Huston, as well as Gertrude and J.J. Holstein. The majority of the prints consist of formal portraits, however there are snapshots of the Grahams’ life in Hayward and the Holsteins’ life in Ashland, Wisconsin, at the turn of the 20th century, and the Hustons’ early married life in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon during the 1930s. Also includes post cards, greeting cards, and other ephemera primarily religious materials, as well as a photo album/scrapbook of Winifred Graham’s high school years in the Pacific Northwest.
	Alphabetical file
Box   1 Folder   1	A-B
Box   1 Folder   2-3	Bean, June Shea Evans, 1934-1982, undated
Box   1 Folder   4	Bolander, Irma, 1939-1984, undated
Box   1 Folder   5	C
Box   1 Folder   6	Downing, E.S. and Stella, 1934-1960
Box   2 Folder   1-3	D-G
Box   2 Folder   4	Graham, Arthur, 1891-1921, undated
Box   2 Folder   5	Graham, John and Emma Heermans, 1892-1900, undated
	Graham, Ernest Alva
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   6	1893-1906
Box   3 Folder   1-5	1907-1929, undated
	Financial papers
Box   3 Folder   6	Account books, 1886-1903
Box   4 Folder   1	Abstracts of title in Wisconsin, 1899, 1917
Box   4 Folder   2	Real estate papers, Non-Wisconsin
	Delinquent taxes
Box   4 Folder   3	Wisconsin, 1921-1927
Box   4 Folder   4-7	Washington, 1916-1927
Box   5	Graham, Martha McDonald, 1899-1969, undated
Box   14 Folder   2	Autograph book, 1887-1893?
Box   6 Folder   1-2	H
Box   6 Folder   3-4	Holstein, Gertrude McDonald, 1904-1944, undated
Box   6 Folder   5-6	Huston, Alberta Marquis, 1938-1961
	Huston, Emily
Box   7	1945-1982
Box   8 Folder   1	1983-1986, undated
Box   8 Folder   2	Huston, Francis Edward and Susan, 1938-1975, undated
Box   8 Folder   3-7	Huston, Leo, 1902-1978, undated
	Huston, Winifred Graham
	Correspondence
Box   8 Folder   8	1910-1921
Box   9	1922-1955
Box   10	1956-1967
Box   11 Folder   1-5	1968-1985, undated
	Notebooks and diaries
Box   11 Folder   6-7	1916-1928, 1948
Box   12 Folder   1-5	1951-1983
	Notes
Box   12 Folder   6	Women's student government, circa 1925
Box   12 Folder   7	Undated notes
Box   12 Folder   8	Address books, circa 1930-1959, 1975
Box   13 Folder   1	Postcard album, undated
Box   13 Folder   2	Sewing book, undated
Box   13 Folder   3-4	K-M
Box   13 Folder   5	McDonald Family, 1900-1975
Box   13 Folder   6	McDonald, Ranald J., Correspondence and Logging notebooks, 1890-1911
Box   14 Folder   1	McDonald, Daniel Arthur and Myrtle, 1956, undated
Box   14 Folder   3-4	Madonna House, 1961-1986, undated
Box   14 Folder   5	Sr. Marie Regina (McDonald), 1955-1981, undated
Box   14 Folder   6	Murray, Beth, 1940-1971, undated
Box   14 Folder   7	N-O
	Orley, Mary Huston
Box   14 Folder   8-9	1937-1953
Box   15 Folder   1-2	1954-1972, undated
Box   15 Folder   3-6	Preston Family, 1932-1984
Box   15 Folder   7-8	Preston, Louise Hope Graham, 1897-1968, undated
Box   16 Folder   1	Ramsberg, Helen McDonald, 1956-1986, undated
Box   16 Folder   2	S-V
Box   16 Folder   3	Stross, Mary F. (Faye) Shea, 1934-1983, undated
Box   16 Folder   4	Townsend, Isabel Huston, 1949-1975, undated
Box   16 Folder   5	W-Z
Box   16 Folder   6	Woolsey, William W. (”Cardinal”), 1923-1933
	Chronological file
Box   17 Folder   1-3	1893-1984, undated
Box   17 Folder   4	Postcards
	Miscellaneous
Box   17 Folder   5	Genealogical notes and biographical materials
Box   17 Folder   6	Clippings, circa 1910-1976
PH 3953	Photographs
Box   1 Folder   1	Campbell, Angus
Box   1 Folder   2	Downer, Mamie
Box   1 Folder   3	Dresel, Arthur
Box   1 Folder   4	Dunning, Harry
Box   1 Folder   5	Graham, Arthur
Box   1 Folder   6	Graham, Barbara
Box   1 Folder   7	Graham, Byron
Box   1 Folder   8	Graham, Clarence
Box   1 Folder   9	Graham, E.A.
Box   1 Folder   10	Graham, Emma
Box   1 Folder   11	Graham, John L.
Box   1 Folder   12	Graham, Martha
Box   1 Folder   13	Graham, Ruth A.
Box   1 Folder   14	Holstein, Gertrude McDonald
Box   1 Folder   15	Holstein, Jake
Box   1 Folder   16	Huston, Coral Alberta Marquis
Box   1 Folder   17	Huston, Emily
Box   1 Folder   18	Huston, Glenn
Box   1 Folder   19	Huston family
Box   2 Folder   1	Huston, Leo
Box   2 Folder   2	Huston, Winifred
Box   2 Folder   3	Jaeger, Florence
Box   2 Folder   4	Klein/Cline, Yeta
Box   2 Folder   5	Larsen, Lars O.
Box   2 Folder   6	McCann, Gertrude
Box   2 Folder   7	McCann, Martha
Box   2 Folder   8	McCann, Stephen S.
Box   2 Folder   9	McDonald, Art
Box   2 Folder   10	McDonald, Bessie Dunn
Box   2 Folder   11	McDonald, Billy
Box   2 Folder   12	McDonald, Dan A.
Box   2 Folder   13	McDonald, Gail
Box   2 Folder   14	McDonald, John
Box   2 Folder   15	McDonald, Lavra
Box   2 Folder   16	McDonald, Lois
Box   2 Folder   17	McDonald, Margaret
Box   2 Folder   18	McDonald, Myrtle
Box   2 Folder   19	McDonald, Nella
Box   2 Folder   20	McDonald, Randy
Box   2 Folder   21	McDonald, Ronald, Jr.
Box   2 Folder   22	McDonald, Ronald, Sr.
Box   2 Folder   23	McDonald, Rory
Box   2 Folder   24	McDonald, Vivian
Box   3 Folder   1	McDonald, Williametta
Box   3 Folder   2	McDonald family
Box   3 Folder   3	McDonald family in Hayward, Wisconsin
Box   3 Folder   4	Orley, William
Box   3 Folder   5	Preston, Graham
Box   3 Folder   6	Preston, Hope
Box   3 Folder   7	Preston, Todd
Box   3 Folder   8	Preston, Tim
Box   3 Folder   9	Preston, Tracey Ann
Box   3 Folder   10	Ramsburg, Helen McDonald
Box   3 Folder   11	Shea, June
Box   3 Folder   12	Shea, Gerogene
Box   3 Folder   13	Shea, Faye
Box   3 Folder   14	Shea, Annie McDonald
Box   3 Folder   15	Townsend, Glenn
Box   3 Folder   16	Other people
Box   3 Folder   17	Christmas cards
Box   3 Folder   18	Postcards and miscellaneous places
Box   3 Folder   19	Photocopies of glass negatives
Box   3 Folder   20	Winifred Graham (Huston) high school scrapbook, 1916-1919
Box   4	Negatives, glass
Binder   1	Negatives
M2004-097	Part 2 (M2004-097): Additions, 1977-1999 Physical Description: 0.2 cubic feet (1 archives box) and 3 photographs (1 folder)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1977-1999, consisting of correspondence from members of the Graham, Huston, McDonald, and Preston families of northern Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, and California detailing their family life and daily activities. The correspondents are from the Marquis-Huston and the McCann-McDonald lines of the family.	⇧
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	Davis, Peggy Huston
Box   1 Folder   9	Evans, Charlanne, and Faye Stross
Box   1 Folder   3	Huston, Robert, and Cynthia (Huston) Woodyard
Box   1 Folder   4	Huston, Susan (Kaye)
Box   1 Folder   6	Huston, Winifred Graham
Box   1 Folder   10	Kelly, Bernadine
Box   1 Folder   5	Marquis, Byron
Box   1 Folder   7	McDonald, Jack
Box   1 Folder   2	Orley, William
Box   1 Folder   11	Preston, Joni
Box   1 Folder   8	Ramsbury, Helen McDonald
PH Box   6 Folder   1	Photographs