Guide to the Papers of the Hager-Jones Family,1862-1990

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of the Hager-Jones Family
Creator
Hager-Jones Family
Collection Number
MSS#189
Extent
1 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Date
1862-1990
Abstract
Frances Jones, the donor of these papers, was the granddaughter of Martin Hager and the wife of Alfred E. Jones. Martin Hager was a retailer in Pittsburgh in the 19th century and served as a drummer boy for the 61st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. Alfred E. Jones was an employee of the Koppers Company of Pittsburgh. Papers include correspondence, diaries, legal materials, pamphlets, photographs, scrapbooks and other sundry material, primarily documenting the lives of Martin Hager and Alfred E. Jones.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by: Renee Savitson July 6, 1995. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process on June 16, 1999.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of the Hager-Jones Family Papers (1862-1990)

Little is known of Frances Jones besides what can be taken from these papers. Jones was the donor of these papers that primarily document the lives of her husband, Alfred E. Jones, and her grandfather, Martin Hager. Alfred E. Jones was born in England on June 2, 1913 and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1989. He worked for the Koppers Company of Pittsburgh and attainted the titles of vice president and director of purchasing and traffic during his tenure with the company, He also worked for the Sinclair-Koppers Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jones was involved as a member and officer of the National Association of Purchasing and Management.

Martin Hager was a retailer of various products, including groceries, toys and wall coverings in Pittsburgh during the 19th and early 20th centuries. At the age of 14, Hager enlisted as a drummer boy with Company K of the 61st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil War. He remained with the regiment throughout the war. Martin Hager served in the regiment with his step father, Joseph Gerard. Gerard was the captain of company K of the 61st and died on May 31, 1864 at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia. Martin Hager was born October 13, 1847 in Saar-Albe, Lorraine, France and died November 15, 1939 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He came to America with his mother, three brothers and one sister in 1853 and settled in the Reading (Berks County), Pennsylvania. In 1855, Hager moved to Pittsburgh where he married Mary Elizabeth Lauer, also of Pittsburgh, in October 1872. From 1871 to 1874, Hager owned a grocery business on Logan Street in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1875, Hager bought out his father-in-law's retail store for toys, notions, oil cloth, wall paper and paints, located on Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Of note to these papers, Hager was a member of a social club, The L. Vilsack Club. The club was founded in 1884 and met at least through 1903. The club was named for L. Vilsack, whose house they were meeting in on New Years Day 1884.

Scope and Content Notes

The Frances Jones Family Papers include correspondence, diaries, legal materials, pamphlets, photographs, scrapbooks and other sundry items primarily documenting the lives of Martin Hager and Alfred E. Jones. These Family Papers document two distinct types of Pittsburgh businessmen, a 19th century small businessman and a 20th century executive with a large corporation.

Martin Hager's papers consist primarily of diaries, a club notebook, pension papers and a scrapbook. Of note are the three diaries that contain brief entries documenting Martin Hager's daily life during and after the Civil War. The first diary (1862-1865) was kept during his service as a drummer boy with Company K of the 61st Pennsylvania Volunteers. Only 14 when he enlisted in the Army, Hager provides a record of how a very young soldier met the demands of war. Hager recorded his thoughts of daily life and the major battles that he witnessed, including Antietam (1862), Gettysburg (1863) and the Battle of the Wilderness (1864). Hager's other two diaries (1872-1875 and 1898-1911) provide brief documentation of his adult like in Pittsburgh. Hager mentions certain noteworthy events in these diaries including a reunion of the Army of the Cumberland held in Pittsburgh in 1873 (that attracted Generals Grant and Sherman) and an 1874 flood in Pittsburgh that killed 200 people. The L. Vilsack Club notebook (1884-1903), contains bylaws and constitution of the club, minutes, dues of members, and other organizational information about the club. Hager's scrapbook contains materials documenting many aspects of his personal and business life. Included are newspaper articles about Martin Hager's relatives, confederate money, numerous articles and playbills from the Pittsburgh Opera House, newspaper records of the 61st Pennsylvania Volunteers and lists of monetary income of Pittsburgh businessmen in the 1880's. Also included are military pension papers concerning his step father, Joseph Gerard.

Alfred E. Jones materials consist primarily of legal materials, and a scrapbook. The scrapbook chronicles Jones career as vice president and director, purchasing and traffic, of Koppers Company, Inc. of Pittsburgh. Included are are numerous articles from the Purchasor that were written by and about Mr. Jones, along with a letter written in 1972 from Nelson D. Rockefeller, governor of New York, welcoming Alfred E. Jones to the convention of the National Association of Purchasing Management.

Arrangement

The Frances Jones Family Papers are housed in two archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acc#1990.0119 Gift of Frances Jones

Preferred Citation

Papers of the Hager-Jones Family, 1862-1990, MSS# 189, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Previously cited: Hager-Jones Family Papers, 1862-1990, MSS# 189, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

General

Previously cited: Hager-Jones Family Papers, 1862-1990, MSS# 189, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Renee Savits in July 6, 1995.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Kate Colligan on June 16, 1999.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Koppers, Inc (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • L. Vilsack Club (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Taylor Allderdice High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • United States. -- Army -- Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 61st.

    Personal Names

    • Jones family
    • Gerard, Joseph, -- d. 1862.
    • Hager, Martin, -- 1847-1939.
    • Jones, Alfred E., -- 1913-1989.

    Geographic Names

    • Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Businesses.
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Clubs.
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Commerce.
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Education.
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Floods, 1874.

    Other Subjects

    • Basketball -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Dry-goods -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Industry -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Sports -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Theatre -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Wallcovering -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.

Container List

Gerard, Joseph, 1862-1898
Containers
Box 1, Folder 1