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Hurley Family Photographs

 Collection
Identifier: P025

Collection Description

This collection consists of copy and original photographic prints of the Hurley family dating from circa 1860s to the 1920s. Hurley’s ancestry showcased in the collection include the Moran, Graves, Welsh and Ward families.

Dates

  • ca. 1918-1925

Language of Materials

Material is in English.

Access

Collection is available for research under the CHC rules of use.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.

Historical Context and Biographical Note

Virginia M. Hurley (1933-2011) was the secretary of the Gold Star Wives of America Inc., which aimed to protect widows from increases in their property taxes after the deaths of their husbands. For a period, she worked for City of Boston, as a secretary for Judge David Nelson and then for the Elder Affairs office. She was born to Joseph C. Moran Sr. and Virginia Graves in Cambridge and lived most of her life in Ellsworth Park. She had three sisters, Rita Walsh, Margaret Hurley, and Elaine Moran, and two brothers, Joseph Moran Jr. and David Moran. She married Thomas D. Hurley and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Brighton after her death on July 8, 2011.

The Moran family was from East Cambridge and they were generational glass workers for the New England Glassworks until a strike in 1888. Her grandmother, Elizabeth Ann (Reed) Moran, started the Moran Restaurant located on the first floor of the St. John’s Literary Institute, and it was an extended family business until the 1920s.

Hurley’s mother, Virginia E. Graves (1908-1992) was from Western Ave. and Columbia St. Her grandmother was married to David Gregory Welch [initially spelled Walsh] and they had her mother, Elizabeth Welsh. David Gregory Welch was a participant in the Civil War but he was known as Peter McGurr during the fighting. Hurley was also related to the Ward family on her mother’s side.

Extent

1 folder (7 photographs)

Abstract

The Hurley Family Photograph Collection consists of copy prints of photographs and one original print on cardstock. The images date from circa 1860s to the 1920s. Hurley’s ancestry showcased in the collection comprise of the Moran, Graves, Welsh and Ward families. Individuals include Olive, Mary, and Virginia Graves, David Walsh, and Joseph Moran Sr. Marshal Ferdinand Foch, unrelated is showcased in one image.

Collection Arrangement

Materials arranged as they were donated.

Physical Location

Collection is stored on-site

Physical Location

Collection is stored as part of Small Collections.

Provenance

Virginia M. Hurley donated the collection as part of the CHC Photo Project conducted in the 1980s. Other photographs were given on loan and then returned after print negatives were created.

Related Resources

There are thirty-three 35mm print negatives and two 4” x 5” print negatives donated by Virginia Hurley during the CHC photo project conducted in the 1980s. These images also relate to her family photographs.

See the Moran Family file in the CHC vertical files.

See oral history interviews conducted in the early 2000s located on CHC share drive.

Processing Information

Processing and original finding aid by: Brittany Fox, February 2019.

Encoded by: Brittany Fox, April 2020.
Title
Hurley Family Photographs
Author
Processing and original finding aid by Brittany Fox, February 2019. Machine-readable finding aid created by Brittany Fox, April 2020.
Description rules
Finding Aid Was Prepared Using Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives Repository

Contact:
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683