Finding aid for the Maher Family Papers

Biography of The Maher Family

Born in Thompsonville, Connecticut in 1846, William H. Maher came to Toledo in 1867. He established and organized several companies, including the Toledo Natural Gas Company and the Union Savings Bank. He married Anne Maher, who was a schoolteacher in Connecticut prior to following her husband to Toledo in 1867. They had a daughter, Amy Grace, in 1883, who grew up to become a child welfare activist and feminist. Among her achievements, Amy Maher helped to establish the first open-air school for tubercular children, founded the Toledo Consumer's League, and was appointed by President Roosevelt as technical adviser in the Social Security Administration. Her father, William, died in 1913, with her mother soon after in 1919. Amy Maher passed away in Toledo in 1965.

Scope and Content

The Maher Family Collection is divided into four separate series: S1. Correspondence, S2. Autographs, S3. Photographs and Drawings, and S4. Miscellaneous. Because of the fragility and value of many of the items, the Correspondence and Autograph series are followed by an alphabetical listing of the materials that are stored in the locked cabinets in the vault. Therefore, the researcher should also consult this part of the finding aid when searching for a particular item. Also, three of the autographs are oversized and are listed in a section titled "Autographs/Oversized Cabinet, Drawer 1 at the end of this series. The first series, S1. Correspondence, consists primarily of letters written to, or collected by, William H. Maher, between 1863 and 1906. These letters were either written to him personally or to his company, Maher & Grosh Cutlery Company. Two letters are addressed to Anne (Kelsey) Maher, William Maher's wife and Amy Grace Maher's mother. There are also letters written to Amy G. Maher, mostly solicited from literary figures in the 1890s. The letters are arranged alphabetically using the names of the recipients are subheadings. The original criterion for the preservation of these letters appears to have been the celebrity of the letter writers. William H. Maher, as president of the Young Men’s Club of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, in 1866, attempted to engage several prominent individuals as lecturers. Mostly negative, replies were written by Horace Greeley, P. T. Barnum, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Agassiz, and others. Later correspondence consists of acknowledgments from Ohio Congressmen and governors and from authors with whom Maher had contact as a reviewer for the Blade. Of note are two autographed poems: “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes (1889) and “Xmas Greeting” by James Whitcomb Riley (1896). In a letter to Maher & Grosh Cutlery Company, for a large order of knives, the writer Jack London announces his intention to use them as trade goods on a seven-year cruise around the world. The series S2. Autographs contains a collection of signed letters and autographs of Revolutionary and Colonial figures, United States Presidents, Civil War generals, and others. These are arranged alphabetically by the name of the signer. Probably the most significant is a letter from James Madison, then Secretary of State, to the American minister in France, Robert R. Livingston, in which Madison gives instructions for negotiations with the French. An autograph album contains signatures of Colonial New England ministers, including two bookplates of the 17th-century Rhode Island Baptist John Clarke, and of congressmen of the first half of the nineteenth century. Someone living in Maine may have assembled this album. S3. Photographs and Drawings, contains photographs of Amy G. Maher and of others. It also contains a pencil drawing of Miss Maher done in 1921. The Olive A. Colton Collection should be consulted for related material. The final series, S4. Miscellaneous, contains additional material on the life of Amy G. Maher. Of particular note is an executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointing Miss Maher to the Social Security Board. Here the researcher will also find a copy of a book by Amy G. Maher entitled Littlebrook. Since this collection is a highly selective group of letters, it is not possible to reconstruct the activities of William H. Maher or Amy G Maher in full. Researchers interested in the Independent Party, in Toledo banking, or in Progressivism, will find only a few items of interest.

The Maher Family Papers include correspondence, autographs, photographs and drawings, and miscellaneous materials collected by the Maher Family. The correspondence consists primarily of letters written to, or collected by, William H. Maher, between 1863 and 1906. The autographs include signed letters and autographs of United States Presidents, Civil War generals, and others. Photographs and drawings are mainly photos of Amy G. Maher and others, and miscellaneous materials contain additional material on the life of Amy G. Maher.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns. Researchers bear full legal responsiblity for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code. The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Restrictions on Access

Access to this collection is open.

Olive A. Colton Papers, MSS-008

Due to the value and fragility of many of the items in this collection, the bulk of the collection is housed in Locked Cabinet D in the Ward M. Canaday Center Vault. To assist the Center's staff in retrieving items for the researcher, items stored in the locked cabinet are listed in separate sections of the finding aid. These sections immediately follow the main section. For example, under the series labeled "Correspondence" there is a sub-section titled "Correspondence/Locked Cabinet". Therefore, if the researcher fails to find the item sought under "Correspondence", he or she is directed to look under the "Correspondence/Locked Cabinet D".

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

Family Names:

Custodial History

The Maher Family Papers were originally maintained by Amy G. Maher until her death in 1965, when they were bequeathed to the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

"[Collection Name], Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections, University of Toledo Libraries"

Acquisition Information

Received from Amy G. Maher through her Last Will and Testament in 1965.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Paul Gifford in December 1985, and reprocessed by Marlo A. Kitchen in August, 2002.

Detailed Description of The Collection