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McCarthy Family Collection
Cambridge Historical Commission
831 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel. (617) 349-4683
Fax. (617) 349-3116
E-Mail. histcomm@cambridgema.gov
Prepared by: Molly Alexander, Gavin Kleespies, Maeve Strucker
Acquisition date: May 1994
Languages: English
Historical Sketch
The McCarthy family were longtime residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts. An Irish immigrant born in the County Cork, Maurice McCarthy became a U.S. citizen 1860 and in 1861 purchased land in East Cambridge at 6 Lechmere Place. He and his wife Mary Hurley McCarthy had two children, Ellen McCarthy and Jeremiah H. McCarthy. Ellen was born 1861 and worked as a fare collector for the Boston Elevated Railroad; she died in 1937. Jeremiah was born in 1857 and married Cambridge resident Julia T. Lane in 1900. Between 1900 and 1905 they moved into a house at 134 Otis Street, where the McCarthy family resided until 1993. Jeremiah worked for 39 years as a patrolman out of the East Cambridge police station and retired a year before his death in 1926. He and Julia had three sons, Gerald F., John L., and Justin H. Gerald was born 1902, and worked for the Cambridge Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department and finally for the Massachusetts State Police as a lieutnetant; he died in 1977. John was born in 1904 and attended Harvard Dental School. He had an office in Central Square and married Loretta Roche in 1951; he died in 1969. Justin was born in 1906, and worked as a marine electrician at the Boston Navy Yards and for Western Electric. He never had children, and when he died in 1993 the house at 134 Otis Street was sold and most of the contents auctioned off.
Scope and Content
This collection contains personal papers, legal documents, photographs and ephemera relating to the McCarthy family; it spans a period of nearly 150 years. The collection includes birth, death and citizenship certificates of McCarthy family members (1860s-1960s); penmenship books from the late 19th century; personal correspondence; and real estate and income tax documents (1900-1923). Also included are local newspaper clippings (1920s-1940s); and materials relating to the East Cambridge Catholic Institute and Club, the Sacred Heart Church of East Cambridge, the Father Mathew Total Abstinence society of East Cambridge, and the St. John’s Council No. 193 of the Knights of Columbus. In addition, the collection contains various printed materials from Cambridge-area businesses and social events (1920s-1940s). The collection also includes nearly 300 photographs of McCarthy family members and friends (1890s-1980s), over 250 photographs of unidentified people and places, 10 tintypes, and 1 sketch. This collection is useful for research of a longstanding and active Cambridge family and various local organizations.
Box List
Box 1 of 6 / Personal papers – folder
titles
- Notes, index, family tree, second generation photocopies for McCarthy collection
- John Lane
- Thomas Lane
- Ellen L. McCarthy
- Gerald McCarthy
- John F. McCarthy
- Jeremiah McCarthy
- John L. McCarthy
- Julia T. (Lane) McCarthy
- Justin McCarthy
- Maurice McCarthy – deed to land 1867
- Patrick McCarthy
- Dearo and assorted Catholic
- Sacred Heart Church
- Misc.
- Knights of Columbus
- Printed material
- Total Abstinence Society
Box 2 of 6 / identified photographs – folder
titles
- Gerald McCarthy – as a child
- Gerald McCarthy – Navy photos
- John J. McCarthy “Red Jack”
- Gerald McCarthy – civilian
- Gerald McCarthy – police force photos
- Jeremiah McCarthy
- John Lane McCarthy
- John Lane McCarthy – the early years
- Photo album of John Lane McCarthy
- Julia Theresa Lane McCarthy
- Justin McCarthy
- Mary McCarthy
- Cousin Dan (priest)
- Reverends – Rev. Hugh F. Blunt, Rev. Allan E. Roche, Rev. Wilfred L.
Griffith, Rev. J. Walter Stocklosa, Rev. Fr. R.H. Hurley, Rev. J.M. Douville
Box 3 of 6 / group and partially identified photographs – folder titles
- the Olin Kelley’s – Olin, Dorothy, Marga, and Denise
- Audrey
- Unidentified priests and reverends
- Unidentified military – probably related to Gerald McCarthy
- Unidentified groups – Mccarhty
- Series of photos
- Buildings to be identified
- Photos – slightly identified, not McCarthy’s
- 17 matted portraits
Box 4 of 6 / unidentified photos – men, women and children – folder
titles
- unidentified children – 19th century – McCarthy
- unidentified women – 19th century – McCarthy col. v.1
- unidentified children – 20th century – McCarthy col.
- unidentified women – 19th century – McCarthy col. v.2
- unidentified women – 20th century – McCarthy col. v.3
- unidentified 19th century photos of men – McCarthy collection
Box 5 of 6 / oversized
- This box contains newspaper clippings, oversize photos, and pages from a
photo album.
Box 6 of 6 / miscellaneous
- This box contains bound copies of The Elm, newsletter for the Knights of
Columbus, Cambridge Council from 1932-1933; personal letters to Justin McCarthy;
cards and pamphlets; dog license tags; two roled photos; one photo of the
Battleship Maine; a copy of The Express; and seven daily dairies (probably
belonging to Justin McCarthy).
Provenance
Donated by the estate of Justin McCarthy to the Cambridge Historical Commission in May 1994.
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