Finlay B. Matheson collection

Collection

Finlay B. Matheson collection

• circa 1830s-2023 (Production)

27 linear feet (44 flat photograph boxes, 5 flat newspaper boxes, 2 non-standard boxes, 9 record storage boxes, 4 document cases, and 2 oversized flat files)

The Finlay B. Matheson collection includes more than 2,411 photographs; 112 maps, surveys, and architectural plans; and 13 books related to William John Matheson and his immediate family. Estate documents and other documents containing historical and biographical information pertaining to the Matheson family and their various business ventures can also be found within this collection, as well as drawings, postcards, and some of the first aerial view photographs of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, the Miami River, and the Florida Keys. Florida's landscape during the early 20th century is captured throughout the various albums and scrapbooks and attests to a more leisurely lifestyle before the advent of skyscrapers and multi-lane highways. Furthermore, the collection provides an in-depth glimpse into the burgeoning social life of early inhabitants who gathered at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.

This collection has been divided into six series based on subject area and material type:

Series I: Photographic materials (large portions of this series have been digitized)

• Contains photographs, photo albums, negatives, and slides of the Matheson family's lands and estate around Key Biscayne, the 1926 hurricane, and the family members themselves and their various trips around the world.

Series II: Matheson estate records

• Contains appraisal reports, architectural plans, correspondence, deeds, promotional materials, and other documents related to the Matheson family's various estates, businesses, and acquisitions.

Series III: Finlay B. Matheson and Matheson family biographical materials

• Contains family biographies, family trees, genealogical research, correspondence, scrapbooks, diplomas, birth and death certificates, boating logs, notes, diaries, date and address books, and other materials pertaining to the family's history.

Series IV: Biscayne Bay Yacht Club

• Contains photographs, invitations, organizational files, correspondence, annual yearbooks, and other materials centered around the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and its history and events.

Series V: Periodicals, publications, and news clippings

• Contains a collection of assorted Florida-related periodicals, publications, excerpts, research material, and news clippings gathered by Finlay B. Matheson and R. Hardy Matheson.

Series VI: 3D objects

• Contains a single ritual flag from Haiti.

This collection is open for research.

Items from this collection are kept on-campus and may be requested from the first floor Kislak Center in the Otto G. Richter Library at University of Miami.

Finlay B. Matheson collection finding aid © 2022 University of Miami. All rights reserved. Requests to reproduce or publish materials from this collection should be directed to asc.library@miami.edu.

• anglais

Gift of Mr. Finlay B. Matheson.

Portions of this collection have been digitized:

https://digitalcollections.library.miami.edu/digital/collection/asm0216

All books included in the donation have been removed from the archival collection and added to the cataloging record.

• Richard B. Hoit photograph collection
• Ralph M. Munroe family papers
• Munroe Family Papers

• Citation: Finlay B. Matheson collection Finding Aid © 2021 University of Miami.

Collection re-processed by Yvette Yurubi, Archives Technician, August 2022.

• Cities and towns -- Florida
• Hurricane damage -- Florida -- Miami
• Coconut Grove (Miami, Fla.)
• Coconut Grove (Miami, Fla.) -- History
• Key Biscayne (Fla.) -- History
• Florida -- History
• Florida -- History -- 20th century
• Biscayne Bay Yacht Club
• Genealogy -- Charts, diagrams, etc.
• Genealogy -- Bibliography
• Indigenous peoples » Indigenous peoples -- North America » Indigenous peoples -- North America -- Florida » Indigenous peoples -- North America -- Florida -- Seminoles
• Indigenous peoples -- North America -- Florida -- Tequesta

• Coconut Grove (Miami, Fla.)
• Key Biscayne (Fla.)
• Coral Gables (Fla.)
• Miami (Fla.)
• Miami Beach (Fla.)

• Photographies
• Cartes postales
• Scrapbooks
• Albums » Photograph albums
• Reports
• Correspondance
• Coupures de presse
• Research (documents)
• Flags
• Sound recordings » Audiocassettes » Microcassettes
• Slides (Photographs)
• Deeds
• Legal documents
• Certificates