Guide to the Papers of Lily Lee Nixon, 1845-1960
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of Lily Lee Nixon
- Creator
- Lily Lee Nixon (1889-1979)
- Collection Number
- MSS#121
- Extent
- .25 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1845-1960
- Abstract
- Lily Lee Nixon was a Pittsburgh public school teacher and historian of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania History. These papers include correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and other sundry items.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- 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 Lily Lee Nixon
Lily Lee Nixon was a Pittsburgh public school teacher and historian of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania History. She was the only child of Mary Lee and John Grant Nixon and was born on July 23, 1889 at the family farm in Harmar Township (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania. Her family emigrated from England, Scotland and Ireland to the Pittsburgh area in the early 19th century. The Lee family briefly settled in New Jersey and Ohio before buying land in Pittsburgh in 1823. James Lee, Lily Lee Nixon's maternal grandfather, worked as a glass blower in Pittsburgh and later in New Jersey and Philadelphia. James Lee and his wife, Charlotte Baker, then returned to Pittsburgh and in 1847, bought 259 acres of land along the Allegheny River, now Harmar Township, with financial help from a prosperous cousin, William Wright of Philadelphia.
The Nixon Family also settled in this area outside of Pittsburgh after their arrival from Ireland in 1832. John Nixon, Lily Lee Nixon's paternal grandfather, purchased 235 acres of land in 1833 that remained with the family until the 1920s. It is this farm where Lily Lee Nixon was born and raised. She later attended Slippery Rock State Normal School in Slippery Rock (Butler County), Pennsylvania (now Slippery Rock University) and received her bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She began her teaching career in 1910 at a small school in the town of Parnassus, now known as New Kensington (Westmoreland County), Pennsylvania. In 1919, she began teaching for the Pittsburgh Public School District at Fulton Elementary School. In 1929 she taught at Oliver School and then Peabody High School, where she served until her retirement in 1952. Throughout her teaching career, Nixon supplemented her education by attending classes at the University of Pittsburgh, finishing her master's degree in 1934. Her thesis, "James Burd: Frontier Defender, 1726-1793", was published in 1941 by the University of Pennsylvania Press. Lily Lee Nixon was a trustee and life long member of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and contributed several articles for the Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine. She wrote an autobiography, "Long Ago: The Story of a Public School Teacher" in 1955 and it was published in 1977. Lily Lee Nixon died in 1979 at the Ivy Nursing Home in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Scope and Content Notes
These papers include correspondence, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and other sundry items. The family correspondence primarily documents the Lee family. The earliest letter dates from 1845 and is written by Mary Lee Old to her brother, James Lee, describing the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Fire of 1845. The bulk of letters are written by William Wright of Philadelphia to his cousin, James Lee, in Pittsburgh, between 1850 and 1858. These letters detail many events in William Wright's life. Included are the vivid descriptions of two burglaries to his home on 8th Avenue in Philadelphia and the conviction and trial of the burglars. These letters also document his business affairs as well as documenting early banking and finance in the region through Wright's detailed instructions on the steps James Lee needed to take to borrow money from Wright. Wright's letters provide detailed descriptions of the social and economic conditions of mid-19th century Philadelphia and also reveal some insight to life in and around Pittsburgh during the same period. Other letters include accounts of the Civil War written by Richard Lloyd of the 19th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry and of Henry T. Lewis of the United States Signal Corps. The relation of these two soldiers to Lily Lee Nixon is possibly as uncles or cousins, though the exact relationship is not known.
The writings of Lily Lee Nixon include various articles, a history of the Lee Family and her master's thesis on Colonel James Burd. Also included is the manuscript of an autobiography entitled, "As I Saw It" which was changed to "Long Ago: The Story of a Public School Teacher" when it was published in 1977. The autobiography details her education, teaching career, life in Pittsburgh, travel experiences after retirement and significant events such as the Great Depression, and the World Wars; making it helpful for those studying teaching and teachers in the early 20th century. Miscellaneous materials include a meeting agenda for the Women's Auxiliary Board of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania (c1950), several newspaper clippings, a railroad pass issued to James Lee from the Allegheny County Railroad Company (1873) and a Sunday School admission slip from the Methodist Church (c1900), no location is provided. These papers provide insightful information on the social, economic and political conditions in mid-19th century America, the Civil War, and Pittsburgh during Lily Lee Nixon's teaching career.
Arrangement
The Lily Lee Nixon Papers are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title with miscellaneous materials arranged to the rear.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession in 1975.
Acc# 1975x Gift of Lily Lee Nixon (Papers. The exact year of the donation is not known, but is probably around 1975.)
Preferred Citation
Papers of Lily Lee Nixon, 1845-1960, MSS# 121, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in c1975. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Rachel Balliet on May 14, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on June 22, 2001.
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
- Pittsburgh Public Schools (Pa.)
- Allegheny County Railroad Company
- Illinois Infantry -- 19th Regiment
- Lily Lee Nixon (1889-1979)
- Burd, Colonel James (-1793)
- Lee Family
- Wright, William
- Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social life and customs
- Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Commerce
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Social Life and Customs
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Commerce
- Pittsburgh (Pa.). Fire, 1845
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- Crime -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
- Education -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Railroads -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Teachers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865