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Munn-Pixley family papers

 Collection
Identifier: D.101

Biographical/Historical note

The papers consist of family correspondence between members of the Munn and Pixley families of Gates, N.Y. and the Hanford family of Scottsville, N.Y. Edwin George Munn (1804-1847) married Aristeen Pixley in 1834. They had two children, Frances Emily Munn Field (1844-1873) and John Pixley Munn (1846-1931). E.G. Munn had two sisters; Emily Munn, who died about 1843, and Fanny Munn. Fanny Munn (1811-1893) married the brother of Aristeen (Pixley) Munn, John Lewis Pixley (1812-1893) in 1849. They had two surviving children, Edwin Munn Pixley (Ned) 1850-19- and Mary Cornelia Pixley (Nelly) b. 1854. The Munns and Pixleys lived on a farm in Gates, N.Y. at a place known variously as the Munn farm or Paradise Hill. The principal cash crop grown was table grapes.

John Pixley Munn attended local schools, the Rochester High School and entered the University of Rochester in 1865. He dropped out in 1867 because of poor health and worked with his sister for a year in the U.S. Pension Office in Canandagua, N.Y. He graduated in 1870 and returned to the Pension Office before entering Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City in 1872, graduating in 1876. John Pixley Munn entered private practice and also became medical examiner for the United States Life Insurance Company, in 1877 and was eventually named a director of the company, and elected president in 1902. He also served as trustee of the University of Rochester from 1886-until his death in 1931. John Pixley Munn married Martha Buell Plum in 1881. They had two children, Aristeen Pixley Munn and James Buell Munn.

Aristeen (Pixley) Munn's sister Abbey (1822-1885) married William Haynes Hanford Jr. of Scottsville, N.Y. They had six children: Franklin Hanford, Ellis (Hanford) Curtiss (Ella), Charles Lewis Hanford (Lew), the twins Nancy Jane (Nanny) and Mary Frances (Fanny), and Emma (Hanford) Smith, Franklin Hanford (1844-1928) was educated with the Munn and Pixley children at Rochester High School. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Newport, Rhode Island in 1862 and graduated in 1866. He cruised in the Caribbean 1866-1869, then was sent for duty on the Far East and served in Vietnam, China and Japan. He was promoted to Captain in 1901 and retired as a Rear Admiral in 1903. (For more information, see the Franklin Hanford Papers and the Hanford-Munn Family Papers.)

Scope and Contents note

The collection includes correspondence, school compositions, farm records, pension office correspondence, photographs, including daguerreotype and ambrotype portraits, personal account books and receipts.

The earlier section of the correspondence (1835-1850) is addressed to Fanny Munn before her marriage to John Lewis Pixley in 1849. Principal correspondents are the Edward Van Rensselear family who settled in southern Ohio about 1840.

The latter part of the correspondence is addressed to John Pixley Munn and runs from 1860-1879. The principal correspondents are his sister, Frances Emily (Munn) Field, his mother Aristeen (Pixley) Munn, classmates from elementary and high school and the University of Rochester, fellow workers at the Pension Office, and Franklin Hanford who was stationed at various posts in the Caribbean, South America and the Far East, during the years 1866-1878. Letters principally deal with family events, the operation of the farm, Pension Office work, and the death of Frances Emily (Munn) Field in childbirth in 1873.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1817-1935

Language of Materials

English

Extent

19 box(es)

24 volume(s)

Restrictions on Access

The Munn-Pixley Family Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Restrictions on Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Gift of Dr. John Munn Recht, August 12, 1978.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Munn-Pixley Family Papers, D.101, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Subject

Title
Munn-Pixley family papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Date
undated
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library

Contact:
Rochester NY 14627-0055 USA