Henry W. McGee papers

Henry W. McGee papers, 1918-1985, bulk 1966-1973

Descriptive Inventory for the Collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center

By Betsy Giles, 2009; ed. by Peter T. Alter and Rachel Juris, 2011.

Please address questions to:

Chicago History Museum, Research Center

1601 North Clark Street

Chicago, IL 60614-6038

Web-site: http://www.chicagohistory.org/research

Processed with funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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Title: Henry W. McGee papers [manuscript], 1918-1985, bulk 1966-1973

Main entry: McGee, Henry W. (Henry Wadsworth), 1910-2000.

Inclusive dates: 1918-1985, bulk 1966-1973

Size:

5.5 linear ft. (9 boxes)

Access: This collection is open for research use.

Provenance statement: Gift of Henry W. McGee (1987.0308).

Terms governing use: All rights owned by the donor, including copyright, were deeded to Chicago Historical Society. Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Please cite this collection as: Henry W. McGee papers (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

This descriptive inventory contains the following sections:

Biographical note,

Summary description of the collection,

Description of some material related to the collection,

List of online catalog headings about the collection,

Arrangement of the collection,

Detailed description of archival series in the collection,

List of contents of the collection.

Biographical note:

Henry W. McGee (1910-2000) was the first African American postmaster of Chicago (Ill.). In 1927, McGee, a native of Hillsboro (Tex.), moved to Chicago. He became a postal clerk in 1929 with the United States Postal Service (USPS; known as the United States Post Office Department until 1971). McGee received several promotions before becoming the first African American postmaster of a major American city in 1966. During his tenure, McGee worked towards equal opportunity employment in the Chicago postal system. McGee also was active in many civil rights and social service organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Little City Foundation, the Chicago chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Joint Negro Appeal, and the National Alliance of Postal Employees (later known as the National Alliance for Postal and Federal Employees). Upon his retirement from the USPS in 1973, McGee was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education by Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Summary description of the collection:

Correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, minutes, newsletters, certificates, photographs, audio interview, and other papers of Henry W. McGee, who served as the first African American postmaster of Chicago (Ill.) after a long career with the United States Postal Service in Chicago. Topics include McGee's career as a postal worker, his service as president of the Chicago branch of the National Alliance of Postal Employees, and his work with civil rights and social service organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Little City Foundation, the Joint Negro Appeal, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

This collection should not be confused with a separate collection of papers of a man with a similar name: Henry Wells Magee papers at the Research Center, Chicago History Museum.

Description of some material related to the collections:

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Henry W. McGee photograph collection (1987.0110).

List of online catalog headings about the collection:

The following index headings for this collection were entered in the online catalog.

Subjects:

McGee, Henry W. (Henry Wadsworth), 1910-2000--Archives.

Boy Scouts of America.

Joint Negro Appeal.

Little City Foundation (Chicago, Ill.)

National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees (U.S.)

National Alliance of Postal Employees (U.S.). Chicago Branch.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Chicago Branch.

United States Postal Service. Chicago Division.

United States. Post Office (Chicago, Ill.)

United States. Post Office Dept.

African American men--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Civil rights--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Postal service--Employees--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Postmasters--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Social service--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Chicago (Ill.)--Race relations--20th century.

Chicago (Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century.

Form/genre:

Awards.

Certificates.

Correspondence.

Ledgers.

Minutes.

Newspaper clippings.

Newsletters.

Photographic prints.

Research (document genres)

Scrapbooks.

Speeches.

Cassettes.

Added entries:

Boy Scouts of America.

Joint Negro Appeal.

Little City Foundation (Chicago, Ill.)

National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees (U.S.)

National Alliance of Postal Employees (U.S.). Chicago Branch.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Chicago Branch.

United States Postal Service. Chicago District.

United States. Post Office (Chicago, Ill.)

United States. Post Office Dept.

Arrangement of the collection:

The collection is arranged in six series:

Series 1. Biographical materials, 1941-1974 (box 1, 8-9)

Series 2. Correspondence, 1966-1983 (box 1-2)

Series 3. Speeches, 1962-1970 (box 3-4)

Series 4. Organizations and activities, 1971-1985 (box 4-6)

Series 5. National Alliance of Postal Employees materials, 1943-1945 (box 6)

Series 6. United States Postal Service materials, 1918-1972 (box 7)

Series 7. Audio Interview taken at Chicago Historical Society, 1989 (box 10)

Detailed description of archival series in the collection:

Series 1. Biographical materials, 1941-1974 (box 1, 8-9)

Series 1 consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, programs, certificates, photographs, and scrapbooks on McGee's postal career and civil rights activism. Also included are trophies and plaques received by McGee.

Series 2. Correspondence, 1966-1983 (box 1-2)

Series 2 consists of congratulatory telegrams, letters, and cards sent to McGee on the occasions of his appointment as postmaster of Chicago in 1966 and his retirement from the USPS in 1973. Also included is miscellaneous personal correspondence.

Series 3. Speeches, 1962-1970 (box 3-4)

Series 3 contains speeches by McGee that address civil rights and postal issues. Also included are research materials for McGee's speeches, speeches by other federal government employees, and speeches about McGee.

Series 4. Organizations and activities, 1971-1985 (box 4-6)

Series 4 consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, newsletters, and other papers related to McGee's involvement in various organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, the Joint Negro Appeal, the Little City Foundation, and the NAACP.

Series 5. National Alliance of Postal Employees materials, 1943-1945 (box 6)

Series 5 contains correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters on legal topics, and other papers related to the Chicago branch of the National Alliance of Postal Employees (NAPE), of which McGee was president (1944-1947).

Series 6. United States Postal Service materials, 1918-1972 (box 7)

Series 6 includes two ledgers documenting postal workers' hours (1918-1930) and promotional materials about the USPS in Chicago (1971-1972). Also present is a grievance appeal of W. W. Law (1961). McGee presided over the appeal in which Law claimed he was unjustly fired from his postal service job as a result of his civil rights activities in Savannah (Ga.). Also present is a copy of the essay "Temper of the Chicago Postal Worker," by Joe B. Johnson, which the author sent to McGee.

Series 7. Audio Interview taken at Chicago Historical Society (box 10) (0MM.157)

Series 7 contains 12 cassette tapes of interview with McGee taken at the Chicago Historical Society in 1989.

List of contents of the collection:

Box 1 Biographical materials, 1941-1974

Box 1-2 Correspondence, 1966-1983

Box 3-4 Speeches, 1962-1970

Box 4-6 Organizations and activities, 1971-1985

Box 6 National Alliance of Postal Employees materials, 1943-1945

Box 7 United States Postal Service materials, 1918-1972

Box 8-9 Biographical materials, 1941-1974

Box 10 Audio Interview, 1989