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Nan Doughty Family Collection (MS-00021)

Abstract

The Nan Doughty Family Collection dates from 1845 to 1993 and documents Doughty's personal and professional life. She collected correspondence and papers related to her extended family members including Sallie Bradford, Seymour Kimball Bradford, William Hillman Shockley, and May Bradford Shockley. The collection also includes papers from her father, Thorwald A. Siegfriedt, and her mother, Lou-vee Bradford Siegfried. Doughty used her family histories to write historical essays about early Nevada. The collection includes her professional papers as well as drafts and correspondence related to her writings.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1845-1993

Extent

24.34 Cubic Feet (38 boxes and 1 flat file)
22.46 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The Nan Doughty Family Collection dates from 1845 to 1993 and documents Doughty's personal and professional life. She collected correspondence and papers related to her extended family members including Sallie Bradford, Seymour Kimball Bradford, William Hillman Shockley, and May Bradford Shockley and documents their experiences in mining in Tonopah, Nevada. The collection also includes papers from her father, Thorwald A. Siegfriedt, and her mother, Lou-vee Bradford Siegfried. Doughty used her family histories to write historical essays about early Nevada. The collection includes her professional papers as well as drafts and correspondence related to her writings.

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Any publication based on Nan Doughty’s research and publications must acknowledge her by name.

Arrangement

These records are organized into two series:

Series I. Correspondence, 1865-1993;

Series II. Family Papers, 1845-1986.

Biographical / Historical Note

Nan Doughty wrote many articles about early Nevada history, focusing on the mining communities of Candelaria and Tonopah. She was born on June 27, 1907 to Thorwald A. Siegfriedt, an attorney, and Nanelia Lou-Vee Bradford. During the early twentieth century, most of the family dropped the last letter in their last name, spelling it Siegfried. Her parents named her Bertha Nanelia, but she always went by either Nanelia or Nan. She attended Queen Anne High School in Seattle, Washington. In high school, she wrote poetry for the school paper, was a member of the Honor Society, Girls Athletic Association, Girls Club, Latin Club and French Club. Active in sports, Nan ran track and played basketball, baseball, and tennis. She graduated from high school on June 13, 1923. Her parents divorced in 1924 and her mother worked as a real estate agent.

In 1925, Nan enrolled at Stanford University and graduated with her English degree in 1930. Nan excelled at the arts and made wood cuts; her work appeared in galleries throughout Seattle. She married William Frank “Doc” Doughty on June 10, 1944. The couple had no children and they divorced in 1957.

After her divorce, Nan returned to school and earned her Master’s degree in English at Arizona State University in 1963. She then completed her doctoral coursework at the University of California, Riverside, but left before finishing her dissertation. She taught English as a Second Language courses in Riverside.

In 1966, Nan moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and began teaching English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In addition to teaching, she began researching and collecting materials related to her family's activities in early Nevada mining towns. She wrote about Nevada history and mining for the The Nevadan supplement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Central Nevada Historical Society's publication, Central Nevada's Glorious Past. She taught at UNLV until 1972. Doughty passed away in Las Vegas on June 29, 1987 at the age of 80.

Related Collections

The following resources may provide additional information related to the materials in this collection:

Nan Doughty Photograph Collection, 1870-1987. PH-00240. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

William Hillman Shockley Photograph Collection, 1875-1925, 1951. PH-00241. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

May Bradford Photograph Collection, 1870-1976. PH-00242. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Preferred Citation

Nan Doughty Family Collection, 1845-1993. MS-00021. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated by Nan Doughty in multiple accessions; accession number T-3, T-59, and T-172. Additional materials were donated by her sister, Mary Lou S. Williams, in 1987; accession number 1987-107.

Processing Note

Material was processed by Dennis McBride in the early 1990s and Marie Imus wrote the finding aid. In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Angela Moor rehoused the materials and revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NvLN::MS00021

Separated Materials

Some of the photographs in this acquisition were removed from the collection and placed in the Nanelia S. Doughty Photograph Collection, 1870-1987. PH-00240. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Some of the photographs in this acquisition were removed from the collection and placed in the William Hillman Shockley Photograph Collection, 1880-1910. PH-00241. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Some of the photographs in this acquisition were removed from the collection and placed in the May Bradford Photograph Collection, 1902-1976. PH-00242. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Some of the photographs in this acquisition were removed from the collection and placed in the Blanch Jackson Photograph Collection, 1901-1941. PH-00243. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

The maps that were acquired as part of this collection have been separated and described individually in the University Libraries' catalog.

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English