Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Catton family Papers
mssHM
68106-68147
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Catton family papers
Inclusive Dates: 1875-1968
Bulk Dates: 1931-1951
Collection Call Number: mssHM
68106-68147
Extent:
Approximately 700 items in 14 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The Catton family papers consist
mainly of travel letters, diaries, and scrapbooks kept by Margaret Mary Louise
Catton (1882-1971), a medical social worker in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with
the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Catton Family Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Barry Menikoff, December 1986.
Robert and Brereton Catton left their native Scotland and arrived in Hawaii in 1878.
They had six children: Margaret Mary Louise (known as "Mary"), Janet Renny (known as
"Renny"), John Herbert, Robert Redford, Andrew Allen, and Richard Belmont. Mary, who
is the chief figure in this collection, was born February 9, 1882, in Huelo, Maui.
She was educated at Punahou School as well as other private schools in Hawaii and
Scotland. In 1917, she entered the New York School of Social Work, where she majored
in hospital social service. She graduated in 1919 and returned to Hawaii. In 1932,
Mary became the director of the Medical Social Service Association, the new social
service program she helped found at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu. Mary also helped
start several other groups and organizations including the Hawaii Medical Service
Association, the first voluntary prepaid plan for medical care in the United States;
the Bureau of Mental Hygiene at Queen's Hospital; and the convalescent nursing home
at Maunalani Heights. Mary retired as director of social service at Queen's Hospital
in 1948, and in 1959, she published a semi-autobiographical book entitled Social
Service in Hawaii. She stayed active in the Honolulu community until her death in
1971 at the age of 89.
The collection comprises 66 items including 23 travel letters, 15 diaries, 4
scrapbooks, 22 photographs and 2 pieces of miscellaneous ephemera. The travel
letters cover two trips taken by Mary Catton: 1. Trip to Japan, China, Hong Kong,
Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Egypt, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, France,
England, Scotland and the United States in 1931-1932; 2. Trip to Canada, the United
States, Panama, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji in 1938-1939. Her travel letters,
which are written like diaries but addressed and sent to family members back in
Hawaii, contain detailed descriptions of each place she visited. They are
illustrated with photographs and postcards, many with handwritten captions (the
travel letters contain over 1,000 photographs). While Catton visited the typical
tourist sites at each city, because she was a social worker, much of the content of
her travel letters is dedicated to comments and discussions regarding the
lesser-seen parts of the cities, their hospitals, conditions of the poor, the
homeless, the available social work services, government and politics, and education
and schools. She often met with doctors and social workers and talked to them about
their experiences; Catton was also often a guest of honor at events where she was
asked to give talks about her work in Hawaii.
While in Thailand she met with Princess Sangwan Mahidol and her three young children
including the future kings Ananda Mahidol and Bhumibol Adulyadej. There are letters
by Princess Mahidol and several photographs of the family in Volume 6. While in New
York she visited her alma mater, the New York School of Social Work. The cities in
which she spent the most time and about which she wrote the most are: Tokyo, Kyoto,
Osaka, Hiroshima-shi (Japan); Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong (China); Saigon
(Vietnam); Angkor, Bangkok (Thailand); Calcutta, New Delhi, Bombay (India); Cairo
(Egypt); Milan, Rome, Venice (Italy); Geneva, Saint Moritz (Switzerland); Paris
(France); London, Stratford-upon-Avon (England); Edinburgh, Inverness, Melrose
(Scotland); New York, Baltimore (U.S.); Auckland, Wellington (New Zealand);
Melbourne, Sydney (Australia).
The 15 diaries, all of which belong to Mary Catton, span the years 1939 to 1951. The
diaries describe in great detail all aspects of Mary's life in Honolulu including:
her daily activities; her work at Queen's Hospital, her difficulties with the
doctors and hospital administration, her work with nurses, patient care, hospital
costs; teaching social work; Mary's work with the many groups of which she was a
member including several medical and social work associations; the attack on Pearl
Harbor and aftermath including blackouts and the fear of another attack; World War
II events; treatment and views of Japanese living in Hawaii; Mary's work in starting
a convalescent home in Hawaii; various other medical issues such as adoption,
sterilization, staffing, and fundraising. More specifically, Mary discusses her work
with the following associations and organizations: Hospital Social Service
Association (later the Medical Social Service Association), Bureau of Mental
Hygiene, Hawaii Medical Service Association, the Hawaiian Chapter of the American
Association of Social Workers, the Hawaiian Department of Public Welfare.
Two of the four scrapbooks belong to Mary Catton and two belong to her sister Renny
Catton. The four scrapbooks include photographs, letters, newspaper clippings,
invitations, calling cards, programs for shows and events, telegrams, tickets,
notes, dance cards, post cards, and greeting cards (birthday, Christmas, etc.). The
photographs are of Catton family members.
There are Catton photo albums in the Photograph Archives of the Huntington Library,
but access is restricted due to their fragile condition (photCL 432).
More material was found in October 2016 and added as an addenda (Boxes 12-14) which
consists mainly of correspondence between the Catton family members.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following order: Boxes 1-4: Travel Letters
(Volumes 1-23); Boxes 5-7: Diaries (Volumes 24-38); Boxes 8-10: Scrapbooks
(Volumes 39-42); Box 11: Photographs and Miscellaneous Ephemera; Boxes 12-14:
Addenda.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Ananda Mahidol, King of Thailand,
1925-1946
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand,
1927-
Catton (Family)
Catton, Janet Renny
Catton, Margaret Mary Louise
Catton, Robert
Sangwan Mahidol, Princess,
1900-1995
American Association of Social
Workers
Hawaii. Board of Health
Hawaii Medical Service Association
Foundation
New York School of Social
Work
Queen's Hospital (Honolulu,
Hawaii)
Adoption -- Hawaii
Adoption -- Law and
legislation
Charities -- Hawaii --
History
Hospitals --
Administration
Hospitals -- Case
management
Hospitals -- Hawaii
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and
relocation, 1942-1945
Medical care -- Hawaii
Medical social work --
Hawaii
Mental illness -- Hawaii
Nurses -- Hawaii
Ocean travel
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on,
1941
Physicians -- Hawaii
Public health -- Hawaii
Single women -- Diaries
Single women -- Hawaii
Social service -- Hawaii
Sterilization of women --
Hawaii
Sterilization of women -- Law and
legislation
Voyages and travels --
Anecdotes
Women -- Hawaii
Women social workers --
Hawaii
Women social workers --
Travel
Women -- Societies and
clubs
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese
Americans
Angkor (Extinct city) --
Description and travel
Australia -- Description and
travel
Bangkok (Thailand --
Description and travel)
Beijing (China) -- Description
and travel
Mumbai (India) -- Description
and travel
Cairo (Egypt) -- Description
and travel
Kolkata (India) -- Description
and travel
China -- Description and
travel
Edinburgh (Scotland) --
Description and travel
Egypt -- Description and
travel
England -- Description and
travel
Hawaii -- History -- 19th
century -- Sources
Hawaii -- History -- 20th
century -- Sources
Hawaii -- Social life and
customs
France -- Description and
travel
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) --
Description and travel
Hong Kong (China) --
Description and travel
India -- Description and
travel
Inverness (Scotland) --
Description and travel
Isreal -- Description and
travel
Italy -- Description and
travel
Japan -- Description and
travel
Jerusalem -- Description and
travel
Kyoto (Japan) -- Description
and travel
London (England) -- Description
and travel
Melrose (Scottish Borders,
Scotland) -- Description and travel
New Delhi (India) --
Description and travel
New Zealand -- Description and
travel
Osaka (Japan) -- Description
and travel
Panama -- Description and
travel
Paris (France) -- Description
and travel
Rome (Italy) -- Description and
travel
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) --
Description and travel
Scotland -- Description and
travel
Shanghai (China) -- Description
and travel
Switzerland -- Description and
travel
Thailand -- Description and
travel
Tokyo (Japan) -- Description
and travel
United States -- Description
and travel
Vietnam -- Description and
travel
Diaries -- Hawaii -- 20th
century
Letters (correspondence) -- Hawaii
-- 20th century
Photographs -- Hawaii
Scrapbooks -- Hawaii