Guide to the Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs 1775-c1930
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs
- Creator
- Ferree family
- Creator
- McCombs family
- Collection Number
- MSS 857
- Extent
- 2.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
- Date
- 1775-c1930
- Abstract
- The Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs contain notes, letters, deeds, advertisements, personal documents, and other materials related to the Ferree and McCombs families who lived in Pittsburgh, Pa. during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
The Ferree family of Pittsburgh, Pa., descends from Madame Maria Ferree, a widowed French Huguenot who came to the American colonies around 1707 and was granted a 2,000 acre tract of land in Lancaster County by William Penn. Her descendants acquired land in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, in the 1760s. A Pittsburgh descendant, Elizabeth Ferree, married Norris McCombs in 1841.
The McCombs family descends from John McCombs, who was born in Scotland in 1747. In 1770, he came to the American colonies from Ireland and married Elizabeth Marshall, also from Ireland. After living in Lancaster county, they moved to Washington County, Pa., and then to Mahoning County, Ohio. Their son, John McCombs, married Hannah Morrison of Pittsburgh and moved there in 1803, before giving birth to Norris McCombs. For several generations, the Ferree and McCombs families were involved in the purchase, improvement, and sale of real estate in the Pittsburgh area.
Scope and Content Notes
The Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs contain records, letters, accounting documents, drawings, notes, personal albums, and a songbook from the Ferree and McCombs families of western Pennsylvania. Beginning in the 1760s, these families were involved in real estate, land management, Native American relations, and other business and legal transactions in the Pittsburgh area. The Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs contain letters, deeds, notes, indentures, bills of sale, and other documents related to these transactions. The documents in the collection are from the years 1775 through c1930 and include extensive handwritten materials from the late 18th century. Also included are several notebooks, pencil drawings, photographs, a book of poems, and a 19th-century songbook with sheet music. The Ferree and McCombs Papers and Photographs document business and legal transactions involving John Ferree, James O'Hara, John McCombs, William Crawford, John Wilkins, John Marshall, George McClelland, Archibald Thaw, Geroge Peebles, and others.
The collection is housed in four boxes. Box 1 contains individually sealed documents from the years 1785 through 1842, including legal, business, and personal records of John Ferree. These records include correspondence with James O'Hara and John Wilkins. Box 2 contains six folders of real estate papers, wills, lot plans, photographs, drawings and other documents from the years 1777 through 1924. Photographs and pencil drawings depict Ferree and McCombs family homes in the Squirrel Hill area. Box 3 contains a personal album of Elizabeth Ferree, a handwriting workbook of Frederick Ferree, an account book of John Ferree, a 1971 magazine with an article on the history of Squirrel Hill, and a folder of real estate documents recording transactions in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana. Box 4 contains two bound volumes of sheet music.
Conditions Governing Access
None
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Virginia Swanagan in 2008, 2009.
Archives accession # 2009.0047; 2008.0146
Preferred Citation
Ferree and McCombs Family Papers and Photographs, 1775-c1930, MSS 857 , Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Patrick R. Dunn on 10/3/2012.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Separated Materials
Seven books and pamphlets with information pertaining to the Ferree and McCombs families were sent to the library.
Subjects
- McCombs, Norris, 1813-1887.
- McCombs, Elizabeth Ferree.
- Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Real Estate--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.