Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- McKay, Harriet Mills, 1896-1949, McKay, Bob, Maynard, Mary, 1934-, and Burchfield, Evelyn
- Abstract:
- The collection is comprised of Harriet Mills McKay's diaries, manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs, relating primarily to conditions in the Philippines under Japanese occupation in World War II. It also includes manuscripts written by her daughter, Mary Maynard and another American, Evelyn Burchfield, relating to the same subject.
- Extent:
- 4 manuscript boxes (1.6 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Harriet Mills McKay papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Harriet Mills McKay papers relate to life in the Philippines under the Japanese occupation during World War II. They are comprised of diaries, letters, poetry fragments, government documents, photographs, notes and drafts of manuscripts written by Harriet McKay. The bulk of the material consists of drafts and notes for the manuscripts written by Harriet depicting life in the Philippines before and during the Japanese occupation. The collection also includes correspondence and materials related to the time spent in the jungle and mountains during the Japanese occupation. The collection is arranged into series.
The Manuscripts series contains drafts of McKay's memoirs, which document her family's life preceding World War II and during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Also, included are manuscript drafts written by Evelyn Burchfield and Mary McKay Maynard.
The Diaries and Correspondence series illustrates life during the occupation through letters and diaries that document the daily life of the McKay family in the jungle, Harriet's poetry, communication with other civilian refugees, and subsequent evacuation by the United States Navy.
The Incremental Materials contains one DVD of a video recording documenting McKay's son Robert's experience, titled "The Bob McKay Story: An American Experience in a Japanese Internment Camp, World War II Philippines."
- Biographical / historical:
-
Harriet Mills McKay was born on November 6, 1896. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Mills. She graduated from Park River High School, North Dakota, and later from the University of North Dakota in 1920 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Harriet married Douglas McKay soon after her graduation and had two children, Robert and Mary.
In 1937 Harriet moved with her husband and children to the Philippines when Douglas became the manager-director of the Mindanao Mother Lode mines. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Harriet, Douglas, Mary, and other civilians fled their homes and went into hiding with guerrillas in the jungle for nearly two years. At this time her son Robert was a boarding student at Brent International School in Baguio, and was subsequently interned at the Bilibid internment camp.
In November of 1943 Harriet, Douglas, and Mary were part of a group evacuated from the Philippines to Darwin, Australia, aboard the submarine USS Narwhal. In 1944 they returned to the United States, where Robert joined them after his liberation from Bilibid internment camp in 1945. In 1947, Harriet, Douglas and Mary returned to the Philippines, but due to the poor health of Douglas and Harriet the family returned to the United States. Harriet died on August 13, 1949, and is buried in San Francisco.
Harriet attempted unsuccessfully to publish her memoirs "Black Island" and "No Conqueror Comes." In 2002 her daughter, Mary McKay Maynard, published her own memoir, My Faraway Home: An American Family's WWII Tale of Adventure and Survival in the Jungles of the Philippines.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1994.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is organized into 3 series: Manuscripts, Diaries and Correspondence, and Incremental Materials.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Harriet Mills McKay papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563