Collection number: Mc 251
Size:
(4 )
(1.32 cu.ft.)
About the Kingsbury Family
Albert Kingsbury, a UNH professor of mechanical engineering from 1889 to 1899, was internationally recognized as an expert on lubrication. During his years at the university, he invented an air-lubricated thrust bearing, now known as the Kingsbury bearing. He took out his first patent on a trust bearing in 1910. Later he founded the Kingsbury Machine Works, Inc. of Frankford, PA, manufacturers of bearings for many types of industrial use, notably for naval and merchant ships and for turbines and generators. The corporation is still directed by the Kingsbury family.
Outside of his work, he enjoyed a broader life in the world of arts, history and letters. He could read in more than seven different languages and was an expert on the interpretation of the poet Mallarme.
On July 25, 1893, he married Alison Mason, an amateur painter and former New York socialite. They had five daughters:
- Margaretta Mason, (Feb. 23, 1895-April 28, 1988); married Quinto Maganini, musician and business executive; lived in Greenwich, Conn. They had one daughter named Margaretta “Margy” (Clulow).
- Alison Mason, Jr. (Feb. 11, 1898-1988); married Morris Bishop, author and professor of Romance languages at Cornell University. They had one daughter named Alison (Jolly)
- Elisabeth Brewster (Dec. 28, 1899-Aug. 1951); married Victor Mauricio Calderon, importer and exporter; NYC. They had a son named Brewster Kingsbury b. 1935 who died in infancy, one daughter named Elisabeth Kingsbury Calderon b. 1938 and a son, Erskine Calderon, b. 1940.
- Katherine Knox (Nov. 29, 1901-Nov. 1975); married W[illiam] Rowell Chase, business executive; Cincinnati, OH. They had one son named Rowell K. Chase b. 1937; and one daughter named Alison M. Chase b. 1940
- Theodora “Theo” (May 14, 1910- ); married Victor Eugene de Mers, architect; Washington D.C. They had one son named Geoffrey de Mers
About the family papers
The Kingsbury family was very close and wrote to each other frequently. The bulk of this collection are the letters written to Alison Mason Jr. (the second daughter.) The sisters all used nicknames: Margaretta was called “Peggy”, Alison was called “Ocky”, Elisabeth was called “Ebie”, Katherine was called “Nicky” and Theodora was called “Theo”. Two of them married men named Victor and they passed family names down through the generation, so it is sometimes confusing as to who is being referred to in the letters.
The subjects of the letters generally focus on their daily lives including their work, health, pregnancies and births of their children, motherhood, travels abroad, and social activities. They occasionally touch on the effect of local and world events—floods, the depression, Hitler and the World War—on their lives. Also included are a few letters from non-family members, some newspaper clippings, obituaries, photographs and miscellaneous other documents.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
This collection is open.
Copyright Notice
Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Kingsbury Family Papers, 189-1982, MC 251, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.
Acquisitions Information
These papers were donated to Special Collectons by Margaretta Jolly, May 6, 2015.
Related Material
Kingsbury, Inc. MC 250
Collection Arrangement
The letters are arranged in chronological by the writer.
Collection Contents
Series I: Correspondence, 1917-1975
(3)| Box 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Letters to Alison Mason Kingsbury (Mrs. Morris Bishop) from her
parents, 1927-1944
Alison Mason Kingsbury Sr. addresses her daughter as Alison and signs the letters "Mother". Albert addresses his daughter by the nickname “Ocky” and signs them "Daddy". The subjects cover family news, health, travels abroad and in the United States. | ||
| Box 1, Folder 1 | To Alison at Wellesley College, 1916-1919 | |
| Box 1, Folder 2 | To Alison before her marriage, 1921-1922 | |
| Box 1, Folder 3 | To Alison Bishop in France, 1923-1924 | |
| Box 1, Folder 4 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1926-1927 | |
| Box 1, Folder 5 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1928 | |
| Box 1, Folder 6 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1929-1932 | |
| Box 1, Folder 7 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1933-1934 | |
| Box 1, Folder 8 | To Alison in France, 1935 | |
| Box 1, Folder 9 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1936 | |
| Box 1, Folder 10 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1937 | |
| Box 1, Folder 11 | "Recollections", by Albert Kingsbury, 1942 | |
| Box 2 | ||
| Box 2, Folder 1 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1938-1939 | |
| Box 2, Folder 2 | To Alison in Ithaca, NY, 1940-1944 | |
| Box 2, Folder 3 | Letters from Margaretta "Peggy", 1920-1930 | |
| Box 2, Folder 4 | Letters from Margaretta "Peggy", 1931-1952 | |
| Box 2, Folder 5 | Letters from Elisabeth "Ebie", 1921-1924 | |
| Box 2, Folder 6 | Letters from Elisabeth "Ebie", 1927-1928 | |
| Box 2, Folder 7 | Letters from Elisabeth "Ebie", 1932-1933 | |
| Box 2, Folder 8 | Letters from Elisabeth "Ebie", 1935-1936 | |
| Box 2, Folder 9 | Letters from Elisabeth "Ebie", 1937-1939 | |
| Box 2, Folder 10 | 2 Letters from Elisabeth?, 1922 and 1924 | |
| Box 3 | ||
| Box 3, Folder 1 | Letters from Katherine "Nicky", 1928-1932 | |
| Box 3, Folder 2 | Letters from Katherine "Nicky", 1935-1937 | |
| Box 3, Folder 3 | 2 Letters from Victor Calderon, 1935 and 1938 | |
| Box 3, Folder 4 | Letters from Theodora "Theo", 1935-1951 | |
| Box 3, Folder 5 | Illustrated cards and letters from various Kingsbury sisters, 1918-1930 | |
| Box 3, Folder 6 | Letters to Alison, undated | |
| Box 3, Folder 7 | Letters in Italian and French | |
| Box 3, Folder 8 | Letter from Alison to Morris Bishop (before thier marriage) | |
| Box 3, Folder 9 | Letter from "your Uncle", 1953 | |
| Box 3, Folder 10 | Letters from friends, 1918-1931 | |
| Box 3, Folder 11 | Letters re: Kingsbury, Inc., 1957 | |
| Box 3, Folder 12 | Funeral Services for Albert Kingsbury, 1943 | |
| Box 3, Folder 13 | Obituary for Alison M. Kingsbury (Mrs. Albert), 1945 | |
| Box 3, Folder 14 | Obituary for Katherine Kingsbury Chase, 1975 | |
| Box 3, Folder 15 | Dedication of Kingsbury Hall, UNH, 1950 | |
| Box 3, Folder 16 | Recollections by Margy Clulow,
undated
Margy attended the last presentation of debutants to the English royal court in 1957, before the practice was abolished. | |
| Box 3, Folder 17 | The 1982 Meeting of the Nisbet Clan | |
Series II: Photographs, 1889-1940
(1)| Box 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Box 4, Folder 1 | Alison Kingsbury, Jr. | |
| Box 4, Folder 2 | Erskine Mason | |
| Box 4, Folder 3 | Albert Kingsbury | |
| Box 4, Folder 4 | Alison Mason Kingsbury (Sr.) | |
| Box 4, Folder 5 | Alison and Theodora, 1916 | |
| Box 4, Folder 6 | Alison Mason Kingsbury, 1938 | |
| Box 4, Folder 7 | Margaretta, Alison, Elisabeth, Katherine Kingsbury (young girls) | |
| Box 4, Folder 8 | Mary McCorky Mason | |
| Box 4, Folder 9 | Alison McCorky (great grandmother) | |
| Box 4, Folder 10 | unidentified people | |
| Box 4, Folder 11 | DVD family photos (5 copies) | |
| Box 4, Folder 12 | The Art and Life of Alison Mason Kingsbury, by Jillian Piccirilli | |
| Box 4, Folder 13 | Albert Kingsbury's handkerchiefs | |
