MacLellan kept a traditional diary from 1878 to 1902. His "diaries" from 1916 through 1939 were kept almost at random in memorandum books. Because the entries are not chronological, they are not strictly diaries, but the entries are diary-like in nature. MacLellan's grandson J.W. Blaine Jr. compiled cross-references to many of these volumes, showing which months can be found on which pages.

MacLellan was a prolific amateur poet, and was published frequently in Newport newspapers and in horticultural publications. In 1967, his grandson made extensive preparations to publish an anthology of these poems. Although the book was apparently never published, the files have been preserved. The files in this series consist mostly of MacLellan's original drafts, interspersed with Blaine's notes and memoranda.

Joseph W. Blaine Sr. (1875-1953) was the son of Edwin Carlos Blaine (1840-1904) and Sarah Penelope Sophia (Carry) Blaine (1849-1879). When he was nineteen, his father Edwin remarried to Jennie Eliza Blaine (1864-1951). Joseph worked in his father's jewelry shop in Newport, and after his father's death in 1904 he operated the shop under the name "Estate of Edwin C. Blaine" until 1952. He married Signe Adina Hallborg (1881-1912) in 1909. They had one daughter, Constance Baldwin Blaine (1912-1992). Signe died three weeks after the birth of Constance, presumably due to complications from the birth. In 1918, Blaine remarried to Rowena MacLellan, a 1909 graduate of Rhode Island Normal School who taught in the Newport school system until her marriage. Joseph and Rowena had one son, Joseph W. Blaine Jr. (1920-1986). The family lived in a rented apartment at 3 Fowler Street in Newport until they were evicted in 1948. After that point they purchased a house at 51 Friendship Street. Joseph W. Blaine Sr. died March 16, 1953, and his widow Rowena resided at 51 Friendship St. until moving to a nursing home in late 1964. She died in April of 1965.

Contents:

2.5 linear feet of miscellaneous, diaries, correspondence and other papers of Joseph W. Blaine, Signe (Hallborg) Blaine, Rowena (MacLellan) Blaine and other relatives. The diaries written by Rowena (MacLellan) Blaine cover nearly every year of her life from age 19 to her death at age 79.

The jewelry store on Thames Street in Newport, RI was opened circa 1865 by Harley Willie Pray. Edwin C. Blaine took over the business from the original owners in 1873 and ran it until his death in 1904. According to Edwin's will, the business was to be operated for the benefit of the family. Jennie E. Blaine, Edwin's second wife, received a percentage of the profits from the store for the remainder of her life. His son, Joseph W. Blaine, took over management of the business and operated it under the name "Estate of E.C. Blaine." The name of the business was changed to "Edwin C. Blaine, Inc." in 1933. Emily Francis (Blaine) Cobb was the clerk for a time. The business was sold outside the family in 1952, but continued to be operated as Blaine Jewelers for many years.

Contents: 3 linear feet of financial and sales records from the jewelry store, 1904-1953

Joseph William Blaine Jr. (1920-1986) was born in Newport, the only son of Joseph W. and Rowena (MacLellan) Blaine. He had a half-sister, Constance B. Blaine (1912-1992), through his father's first marriage. He was known to his family as Bill, although he used Joe or Joseph in later life. Joseph graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1942. He then worked for twenty-three years as an electrical engineer at several General Electric facilities: Bridgeport, Conn. from May to August of 1942; Schenectady, N.Y. for most of the period from 1942 to 1946; a brief stint at West Lynn, Mass. from March to May 1943; a stint at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratory from August through December of 1944; and finally in Liverpool near Syracuse, N.Y. from May 1946 onward. There he worked as a test engineer in the company's Heavy Military Electronic Equipment Department. Upon the death of his mother in April of 1965, he retired early and returned to Newport, where he moved into his late parents' house at 51 Friendship Street. He became an avid researcher of Newport history, and an active member of the Newport Historical Society. One major project which was never published was a compilation of the poems of his grandfather Alexander MacLellan.

Blaine lived a life of extreme frugality. Much of his diet reportedly consisted of peanut butter, bread and canned soup, which he would warm using the motor on his television. Many of his historical notes were written on the backs of soup labels. On October 20, 1986, he fell from a ladder while cleaning his gutters, and died from the resulting injuries. He left an estate valued at $124,649 in addition to his house. These assets were put into a trust, with the income to benefit his half-sister and Patricia A. Walsh, a former employee of the Newport Historical Society. Ms. Walsh, who had little more than a friendly passing acquaintance with Blaine, was also left a life tenancy of the house.