McPherson, William, 1885-1964

Biography

William McPherson, a prominent Southern California collector, was born in 1885 in Orange County, California. He was raised in a ranching environment, near the city of Orange, where his family grew numerous crops.

In 1900, McPherson won an essay contest, the prize for which was a trip to Philadelphia and Kansas City, to visit the Democratic and Republican National Conventions respectively. As a result of this journey, he took a renewed academic determination back to his local high school. After graduating in 1905, his desire for knowledge led him to earn a teaching certificate and become an elementary school teacher.

He first started collecting books and Californiana during the years he worked as a teacher. After teaching for a number of years, in 1910, McPherson enrolled first as an engineering student and later as a law student at the University of California. While studying at Berkeley, his collecting continued and ultimately became a life-long passion.

Upon his return to Southern California, McPherson continued assembling and organizing a unique collection of Southern California ephemera. In 1923 McPherson became a lecturer and an active member of the Orange County Historical Society, and in 1935 he was asked to become a consultant on Orange County for the WPA (Work Progress Administration, see collection MS-R10, Special Collections and Archives, UC Irvine Libraries). In addition to his collecting, he kept a diary for over forty years, documenting the events of 20th century Southern California.

William McPherson died in 1964.