approximately 600 photographs in 1 album
The New England family travel photograph album contains approximately 600 photographs that document the domestic life and foreign travels of an unidentified husband and wife couple from suburban Boston during the first decade of the 20th-century. The album (28.5 x 36 cm) has pebbled black leather covers with “Photographs” stamped in gold on the front. By and large, images are presented chronologically and many have extensive captions which mainly identify the locations pictured as well as certain individuals. It appears that many image captions were cut and pasted from white paper and added on top of pre-existing faded captions that had been written directly on the album pages. Some images that show people of African descent have subtly derogatory captions. Photographs showcasing the family’s domestic life include pictures of annual spring blooms in their backyard; friends and family; various domestic activities including interacting with pet cats; and regional outings such as visits to Mt. Washington, Point of Pines nature park in Revere, Massachusetts, and poet John Greenleaf Whittier's birthplace in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
In the summer of 1905, the couple travelled to Montreal and up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City and beyond, resulting in the production of nearly ten pages of photographic highlights (pgs. 7-16). Later that summer, they also took photographs while vacationing in the Lake Sebago region of Maine with friends whom they later visited in Providence, Rhode Island (pgs. 16-20, 22). A visit to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Beauvoir, Mississippi, in December of 1906 is also documented (pgs. 30-37). In 1907 the couple undertook a period of extensive international travel beginning with a trip to England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, and France (pgs. 38-57). A second visit to Quebec in September 1907 is briefly represented (pgs. 57-58), while a series of pictures from a trip to St. Augustine, Florida, in April 1908 are also included (pgs. 59-62). Photographs related to two separate tours of the Caribbean and Central/South America in July and August of 1908 and March of 1909 make up a substantial portion of the album (pgs. 63-103); images from the first tour mainly include scenes from Caribbean islands such as St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Barbados as well as British Guiana, while images from the second trip include scenes from Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Also present are several commercially-produced photographs, including a number of panoramic views, showing scenes from Mexico (pgs. 104-111). The majority of images taken during the couple’s travels consist of typical sightseeing photographs showing important cultural landmarks and historic buildings as well as street scenes, methods of transportation, and local people and industries. Throughout the album there are also numerous photographs taken aboard various transport vessels mid-voyage.
A few noteworthy historical events are minimally represented by photographs in this album, such as the January 15 1905 Washington Street Baptist Church fire in Lynn, Massachusetts (pgs. 2 & 3); the Quebec Bridge a few weeks after its collapse on August 29 1907 (pg. 57); the Great Chelsea Fire of 1908 (pg. 59); Panama Canal construction in 1909 (pgs. 87-89); long distance views of the site of the village of St. Pierre, Martinique, which was decimated by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelée on May 8 1902 (pg. 80); and the wreck of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor (pg. 179). Individuals identified by captions throughout the album include Dr. Robert L. Bartlett (pgs. 4 & 89); “Miss Morse” (pg. 5); Stanley and Donald Clauss of Providence, Rhode Island (pgs. 17, 19 & 22); Hattie English, Lizzie English, “Mrs. Boynton,” and “Miss Lord” (pg. 19); Samuel Pickard (pg. 20); Jessie Pauline Whitney (pg. 21); "Mr. Little" (pgs. 19 & 22); William Rhodes (pg. 26); Maud Burdett (pgs. 38 & 58); George C. Hardin (pg. 74); Dr. Selah Merrill, American Consul in British Guiana (pg. 80); "Mrs. Parker" (pg. 85); and Hermann Ahrensburg (pg. 91). Other images of interest include a couple of photographs showing United States cavalrymen at camp in Lakeville, Massachusetts (pg. 2); a multiple exposure photograph showing the wife and other women (pg. 22); four photos showing a group of women that appear to be associated with a possible Masonic organization with the acronym “O.E.O.T.” (pg. 23); two photos of local boys diving in St. Lucia (pg. 72); a picture of a school for natives in St. Thomas where students were supposedly fined 10 cents a day for being absent (pg. 82); photos from Kingston, Jamaica, showing women working on a railroad and men operating a hand-made sugar mill (pg. 86); a group portrait of a baseball team in Venezuela (pg. 92); photos of the natural asphalt deposit Pitch Lake in Trinidad (pgs. 94 & 95); and photographs showing people with Brownie box cameras (pgs. 82 & 103).
approximately 600 photographs in 1 album
0.5 linear feet
The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family.
The D. Abeel Williamson Diary, composed in a pre-printed pocket diary, contains David Abeel Williamson's daily entries about his life in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from January 1, 1862-May 25, 1862, and about his experiences with the 7th New York Militia Regiment from May 26, 1862-August 27, 1862. His early entries mainly record the weather and his social activities; he mentioned his admission to the bar in his entries of May 21, 1862, and May 22, 1862. A newspaper clipping about the surrender of Fort Donelson is pasted into the entries for February 16, 1862, and February 17, 1862. During his time in the army, Williamson noted the hot weather near Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and mentioned other aspects of military service, such as guard duty, marching, and reviews. A commuter's ticket for the "New Jersey Rail Road" is laid into the volume's pocket.
The Hattie S. Williamson Memorandum Book contains financial records of collections that the Second Reformed Dutch Church Sunday School of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received from November 26, 1865-June 16, 1867. The amount of each donation is recorded next to the donor's name. Other records pertain to the Sunday school's accounts with the Novelty Rubber Company and the church's efforts to raise money for an organ.
The Clara Gurley Account Book, kept from July 9, [1875]-April 16, 1880, contains accounts for Gurley's purchases of items such as books, ribbon, fabrics, and buttons. A piece of fabric is pinned onto the book's final page.
The first Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, written in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, covers the year 1905. Williamson began writing in Dresden, Germany, where she had lived with her children since late 1903, and recounted her daily activities and news of acquaintances. In April, she and her children took an extended tour of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Holland, where Williamson remarked on visits to museums and other points of interest. The entries from August concern the family's return to the United States on the Holland-American Line steamer Ryndam and their first months back in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Williamson kept a record of letters written and received and acquaintances' addresses in the volume's memoranda section. She laid newspaper clippings, a letter, calling cards, small photographs, stamps, and other items in the volume. The final page of the diary contains a newspaper clipping about the Williamsons' return to the United States and intention to relocate to Indianapolis.
The Mary Williamson Diary recounts the author's travels through Europe from April 10, 1905-August 11, 1905. Williamson described her daily activities and sightseeing in cities such as Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, and Paris, as she visited museums and places of historical importance with her mother and sister. The diary includes a list of books Williamson read from 1907-1908 and a list of addresses of European hotels.
The Ruth A. Williamson Diary pertains to the author's experiences and travels in England from June 7, 1909-September 3, 1909. She spent most of her time in London; some later entries mention travels around southern England and to Edinburgh, Scotland. Williamson most frequently wrote about sightseeing and visiting famous landmarks, but also commented on other activities, such as shopping. Ruth A. Williamson's calling card is laid into the volume.
The second Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, also in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, contains daily entries about Williamson's life in Indianapolis, Indiana, from January 1, 1918-April 2, 1918. Williamson commented on her social activities, her health, and news of her friends and family members, especially her children. She occasionally mentioned news of the war, such as the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 22, 1918). Financial records and instructions for knitting a "Kitchener sock" are written in the back of the volume. Items laid in include a calling card for Charles G. Williamson containing his military address, a cloth United States flag mounted on a small wooden dowel, and clippings about the deaths of Henry Janeway Hardenburgh and Douw D. Williamson. A postcard with a painting of Waikite Geyser in New Zealand, addressed to A. Parsons in London, England, is also laid into the diary.
The Scrapbook (1860s-1880s) is comprised of newspaper clippings about numerous topics, including biographies of William Gurley and biographical notices about other members of the Gurley family, such as Clara Gurley Williamson and Esther Gurley Cook. Some clippings feature prominent individuals such as Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Dickens, and Louisa May Alcott. Items report national news, news from Troy, New York, and stories about Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary. Additional topics include poetry, international travel, and stamp collecting.
A Photograph Album contains 42 carte-de-visite photographs, 2 lithographs, and 1 tintype print. Most of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children, including many members of the Gurley family and related families. Most of the pictures are dated 1866-1880, though the album includes a 1902 photograph of Charles G. Williamson in a military uniform.
0.5 linear feet
approximately 1064 items
The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography contains approximately 1068 photographs, ephemeral items, documents, manuscripts, printed items, and realia pertaining to the visual history of death and bereavement between the 1840s and the 1970s. Photographs make up the bulk of the collection. Mr. Anderson assembled this collection from dealers, antique shops, and individuals. His motivation stemmed from a desire to document and to provide historical perspective on various end-of-life practices which, in the 20th century, fell into taboo and disfavor.
The majority portion of the photographic items in the collection are neither dated, nor attributed, although approximate dates can often be determined by when particular photographic formats were in use (see timeline at www.graphicatlas.org.). Consequently, the materials have been organized first to accommodate their sizes, formats, and preservation needs, and second to reflect major subject themes present, though scattered, throughout the entire collection. These non-mutually exclusive subjects are as follows:
The first three subjects - post-mortem portraits, scenes, and funeral tableaux - all depict the recently deceased, and so fall into the narrowest definition of a post-mortem photograph. Their distinction into three separate subjects is a partly arbitrary decision, made to break up what would otherwise be a large and unwieldy grouping of photos, but also to roughly shape the order of the collection (post-mortem portraits without décor tended to date earlier chronologically than broader, beautifying scenes).
Post-mortem portraits:
The post-mortem portrait photographs, comprising 251 items in the collection, depict the bodies of dead family members and friends. These images show the deceased, sometimes posed with living family members, and for the most part do not include elements of a larger scene, such as floral arrangements, banners, or other décor.
These portraits include the earliest photographic images in the collection, including 28 cased daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. 78 cabinet card photographs date from the late 1860s to around the turn of the century. Among many notable cabinet cards are two images of Frances Radke, taken and retouched by R. C. Houser, showing her image before and after Houser's post-capture work (3.1 and 3.2). Also of note is a framed crayon enlargement of infant Adelaide Banks by photographer/artist Edward Stuart Tray (26) and a post-mortem carte de visite of an unidentified African American infant taken by photographer S. P. Davis of Danielsonville, Connecticut (4.282u).
Post-mortem scenes:
The post-mortem scene photographs, numbering 155 items in total, are similar to the portraits described above, except that they show the deceased as part of a larger environment, whether in a private home, a funeral home, or out-of-doors. Most of these views are mounted photographic prints from the 1880s to the early decades of the 20th century, frequently centering on the corpse, lying in a casket or coffin, amidst an abundance of floral arrangements, banners or flags, family members or friends, and/or personal belongings. Their caskets are often lined with white cloth.
Many of these images have unique qualities; several examples illustrate the variety of postmortem scenes in the collection. Six photographs by W. Jakubowski and Co. and Jos. Ziawinski, of Detroit, Michigan, include five wedding photographs (of the bride and groom, bridesmaids, and family members) and one post-mortem scene of the wife. She appears to have died within a short time following the marriage; the funeral home scene image contains one of the wedding photographs and a banner marked "Dearest Wife" (18.5-18.10). One mounted photograph depicts a dog, laid on linen, in a homemade casket (14:17). The collection also contains examples of different persons on display in the same funeral home/parlor (e.g. 18.1-18.4). A set of two cabinet card photos of a child in a buggy is accompanied by one of the buggy's metal lanterns (23.1-23.3). Also of note is a photogravure of the 1888 painting "Requiescat" by British artist Briton Rivière showing a dog seated next to its deceased owner (25.2).
Funeral tableaux:
The collection's 35 funeral tableaux photographs show the deceased in an open casket or coffin, typically in front of a church or homestead, with a posed assembly of funeral attendees or mourners. They often show a large group of family and friends, and so are frequently large format prints. Group portraits of this sort were occasionally framed and displayed in the home. Most of the examples in this collection are large prints (many of them mounted), with smaller examples, including a real photo postcard, two snapshots, and one cabinet card. Particular items of note include a framed tableau on the steps of the Church of The Descent of The Holy Ghost in Detroit by Thomas Hoffman (27), a photomontage image of a nun's funeral (28), two tableaux scenes by F. A. Drukteinis taken outside of the same church in Detroit during different seasons and involving the same family (20.12 and 20.15), and three related tableaux scenes (two mounted and one unmounted) involving a presumably Hungarian family that were taken outside of what appears to be a Catholic church in Cleveland, Ohio, during three different funerals (20.16a-20.16c).
Funerals and funeral processions:
The 70 items depicting or pertaining to funeral gatherings show various aspects of the movement of the deceased from the home or funeral home to the cemetery and funeral and burial ceremonies. This group is comprised of real photo postcards (22 items), snapshots (13 items), and a variety of other formats. Examples include an albumen print depicting the Plymouth Church decorated for Henry Ward Beecher's funeral in 1887, and snapshot and postcard photographs of a burial at sea.
Floral arrangements and displays:
Additional documentation of funeral decoration may be found in the collection's 176 still life portraits of floral arrangements and other decorations. A portion of the floral display photographs include pre- or post-mortem photos of the deceased either incorporated into the display or added to the image after printing. One particularly fine example is a large format photograph of a floral arrangement for the funeral of Joshua Turner Mulls; the display included a cabinet card photo of Mr. Mulls and a modified enlargement of the cabinet card. Accompanying the floral arrangement photograph is the cabinet card depicted in the display, with artist's instructions for coloring the enlargement (22.1-22.2).
Memorial cards and sentimental imagery:
The collection includes 105 memorial cards and ephemeral items bearing sentimental imagery. Memorial cards were created as tributes, often displaying birth dates, death dates, and other information about the deceased. Many of these cards include border designs and some bear photographs of the departed. Black-fronted memorial cards gained popularity from 1880 to 1905. Of many interesting examples, the collection includes two examples of memorial cards which haven't yet been personalized (4.306-4.307) and two reflecting World War I-related deaths (4.316 and 4.317). Materials with sentimental imagery include items such as a photograph of an illustration entitled "Momma is in Heaven," a memorial book dedicated to Olive C. Partridge in 1897, and other items.
Note: an advertisement for the Memorial Card Company of Philadelphia is located in the 'Funeral Industry' section of the collection (14.35).
Cemeteries and monuments:
61 photographs, printed items, and realia explicitly pertain to cemeteries, burial markers, or monuments. Some of the cemeteries and monuments are identified, such as the Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio (4.1-4.3). The collection includes examples of cemetery-related realia, including an ovular, porcelain headstone photograph (pre-mortem) of the deceased.
Note: cemeteries may be seen as background for many photographs throughout the collection.
The funeral industry:
The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography holds a diverse selection of photographs, ephemera, and printed materials related to the business aspects of death, dying, and bereavement. This group contains around 153 items overall, including receipts (1896-1956); various types of advertising materials (including an undertaker's advertising card, a cabinet photograph of the Arbenz & Co. storefront advertising undertaking as a service, fans from a church and the A. C. Cheney funeral home, a thermometer, and other items); and 118 coffin sales photographs (illustrating a massive selection of different casket models offered by the Boyertown Burial Casket Company of Pennsylvania).
Two photograph albums, that of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home and that of the Algoe-Gundry Company funeral home, provide visual documentation of a rural and an urban funeral home (respectively) in Michigan in the first half of the 20th century:
The photo album and scrapbook of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home in Durand, Michigan, dating from ca. 1903-1930, contains interior and exterior photographs of the furniture and undertaker portions of the shop. The album includes photographs of casket showroom display mechanisms; an example of a "burglar proof" metallic vault; a posed photo of the embalmer standing over a man on the embalming table; images of carriage and motorized hearses; business-related newspaper clippings; and various family and vacation photographs. Several prints, dated August 1903, appear to depict the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck on the Grand Trunk railroad at Durand. Among these photographs are carriage hearses, a horse-drawn cart carrying ten or more oblong boxes (for transportation and perhaps burial of victims of the wreck), a man standing in an alleyway near three stacked boxes, and a large group of persons standing in a largely unearthed section of a cemetery. The Mapes album is accompanied by a C. E. Mapes Furniture advertising fly-swatter.
The Algoe-Gundry Company album dates from ca. 1924 to 1960 and contains (almost exclusively) 8"x10" photographs of this Flint, Michigan, funeral business. The album includes images of the exterior and interior of Algoe-Gundry buildings, hearses, ambulances, and billboard advertisements.
One album was produced ca. 1939 by the Central Metallic Casket Co. of Chicago, Illinois. Titled "Caskets of Character," the album contains images of patented (or soon to be patented) casket designs as well as a printed cross-sectional view detailing the company's "Leak-Proof" Separate Inner Sealer.
Also of interest is funeral director's license granted by the Michigan State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors to Vincent J. George of Fowler, Michigan, in 1938. (25.1)
Mourning attire:
In America, mourning attire tended to follow trends set in Europe. The bereaved wore mourning clothing according to current fashion trends and societal expectations. Mourning clothing styles, often dark-colored and somber, depended on how close the mourner was to the deceased and local societal expectations. Seventeen portrait photographs show men and women wearing mourning attire without the deceased present. This group includes cabinet cards, a 1/9 plate ambrotype of an adult woman, two tintypes, and one carte-de-visite.
Note: persons wearing mourning attire may also be found scattered throughout the other sections of the Mark A. Anderson collection. While most are concentrated in the funeral photographs, mourners are also present in postmortem portraits, postmortem scenes, and cemetery photos.
Unnatural death:
43 photographs (mostly snapshots) depict "unnatural deaths," deaths not caused by age or naturally occurring disease, such as suicides, accidents, murders, and war. The larger portions of the snapshots are mid-20th century police photographs of crime or accident scenes.
Nine Indiana State Police photographs show a train-automobile accident; a group of eight unmarked photos depict the body of woman, apparently violently murdered, at the location of her death and in a morgue; 14 are of a man struck down, beneath a train; two are of a rifle suicide; and the others are of varying accidents. One World War I-era real photo postcard appears to show a man who was shot dead in a foxhole. A stereoscopic card by photographer B. W. Kilburn shows the burial of Filipino soldiers after the Battle of Malolos, Philippine Islands [ca. 1899].
Note: The photograph album/scrapbook of the Clarence E. Mapes furniture and undertakers shop contains several photographs of what appear to be the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck, Durand, Michigan 1903 (see above description in the 'Funeral Industry' section of this scope and content note).
approximately 1064 items
1.5 linear feet
This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial papers, legal documents, photographs, speeches, printed items, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.
The Correspondence series (approximately 110 items) includes a group of 17 items (1826-1852) related to the family of James Harland, an ancestor of Cynthia Dewey Roberts. Harland, who lived in Manchester, New York, received letters from his son William, who moved to Clarksfield, Ohio, around 1839. Shortly after his arrival, William described local marshes and discussed his land and the prices of various crops. His later letters concern his financial difficulties and his Christian faith. A letter of September 3, 1841, includes a small manuscript map of property lines.
The remaining correspondence pertains to Ziba Roberts and, to a lesser extent, his wife and children. The first item is a letter from his sister Henrietta dated March 14, 1858. Roberts regularly corresponded with family members and friends while serving in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment between January 1862 and April 1863. In his letters home (around 20 items), he described aspects of military and camp life, including food, hygiene, illness, long marches, and general boredom; several items concern his experiences in occupied Winchester, Virginia, in the spring of 1862 and his treatment after his release from Confederate prison. He sometimes commented on news of the war, expressing confidence in a Union victory. During this period, Roberts occasionally received letters from family members at home, who discussed farming, religion, and family news (5 items).
The Roberts correspondence resumes in 1886 and continues as late as 1937; most date between 1889 and 1912. Roberts received a series of letters from William W. Eastman in South Dakota, who wrote at length about his financial difficulties. Most of his late correspondence concerns Civil War veterans' affairs, particularly related to pensions and reunions. Some writers complained about the difficulty of receiving a pension, the health issues that affected former soldiers, and Roberts's own disability claim. One printed circular contains reminiscences by members of the 28th New York Infantry Regiment (printed and distributed in May 1892). In 1912, Ziba Roberts received letters from fellow veterans regarding the 28th Regiment's annual reunion; most expressed or implied a lasting sense of comradeship with their fellow veterans, though many declined the invitation on account of poor health or other circumstances (with some reflecting on whether deaths would put future reunions in jeopardy).
The latest correspondence, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerns the Grand Army of the Republic, insurance policies, and Roberts and Sanborn family genealogy. One correspondent returned an essay written by Ziba Roberts in December 1916: "A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church at East Shelby" (enclosed with letter dated February 27, 1924). Minutes of the 28th Regiment's 68th reunion, held in May 1929, note the death of Ziba Roberts and other soldiers.
Ziba Roberts wrote two Diaries between November 14, 1861, and December 31, 1862. His daily entries concern aspects of his service with the 28th New York Infantry Regiment in Maryland and Virginia, including his imprisonment in 1862. He wrote about marches, guard duty, drills, health, and rations.
The Documents and Financial Papers series (74 items) includes legal documents and financial papers dated 1864 to 1940. Correspondence, indentures, and mortgages pertain to land ownership, management of decedents' estates, and a legal dispute between William W. Dewey and Seneca Sprout in the 1890s. Four items are Grand Army of the Republic commissions for Ziba Roberts, dated between 1918 and 1922. One group of tax receipts pertains to payments made by Ziba and Cynthia Roberts as late as 1940.
The collection's account book originally belonged to Ziba Roberts in the late 19th century. Roberts recorded around 35 pages of accounts between around 1884 and 1919, including records related to everyday purchases of food and other goods, a female domestic worker's wages, road construction, and estates. A later owner recorded tax payments for the years 1922-1944.
The Photographs series consists of 2 photograph albums and 8 loose items. Together, the photograph albums contain around 120 cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and cabinet cards. These items consist of studio portraits of members of the Roberts, Dewey, Wolcott, and Sanborn families, as well as additional friends and family members. Most of the pictures, which feature men, women, children, and infants, were taken in New York.
The loose items are made up of photographs of Ziba Roberts, including a heavily retouched portrait and a corresponding print of the original image; portraits of soldiers in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment; pictures of Colonel Dudley Donnelly's tomb; and a group of soldiers posing by the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument at Gettysburg. Additional items show a group posing for a souvenir photograph after a "balloon route trolley trip" in Los Angeles, California, and members of the Sprout family standing in front of their home.
The Speeches, Printed Items, and Ephemera series (30 items) includes Civil War materials, such as scores for the songs "We're Marching on to Richmond," "The Passing of the Veteran," "We Old Boys," and "Have You Got the Countersign"; and a printed booklet of war songs issued by the Grand Army of the Republic and related veterans' societies. Other items pertain to veterans' reunions and reminiscences. The series also includes two typed carbon copies of postwar speeches given by Ziba Roberts, "Seeing Lincoln" and "Lecture on Army Prison Life."
Additional pamphlets and ephemeral items concern New York political reforms, cholera, and a meeting of the descendants of Henry Wolcott. One newspaper clipping describes the career of William Ziba Roberts. The series includes a biography of George Dewey and history of the Dewey family (Adelbert M. Dewey, 1898). The final items are World War II-era ration books, with many stamps still attached.
The Genealogy series (21 items) is comprised of records related to the Roberts and Dewey families, and to the ancestors and descendants of Ziba and Cynthia Dewey Roberts. A manuscript volume contains approximately 35 pages of family trees; registers of births, marriages, and deaths; and the military service of Daniel Roberts (Revolutionary War) and Ziba Roberts (Civil War). Other items include additional registers, death notices, and notes.
1.5 linear feet
Approximately 1,045 individual photographs, 12 photograph albums, 3 portfolios and 1 piece of realia
The Richard Pohrt, Jr. Collection of Native American photography contains approximately 1,470 images pertaining to Native Americans and Native American history taken between the 1850s and 1940s. The majority of photographs are individual and group portraits of people from tribes west of the Mississippi, with the Apache, Cheyenne, Crow, and Lakota/Dakota being particularly well represented. The collection contains both studio and outdoor photographs and reflects the dramatic upheavals in Native American life that occurred as a result of the expansion of the United States of America.
For clarity, in this finding aid the most widely-used Anglicized naming conventions have been used for most Native American tribes and individuals. Individual catalog records address the full complexities of these issues and include the most commonly used Anglicized and indigenous names and their variants.
After consulting a number of Native American representatives and scholars, it was determined that select images within the collection will not be digitized on account of the culturally sensitive nature of their content. However, culturally sensitive images have still been cataloged and are available for researchers in the reading room along with the rest of the collection.
Overall, upwards of 70 Native American tribes and subtribes (primarily those west of the Mississippi and in the Midwest) are represented throughout the collection. The amount of material pertaining to each tribe varies considerably. For example, approximately 235 photographs relate to the Lakota and Dakota, while the Hopi and Kootenai tribes are each represented in just one photograph respectively.
All of the individual photographs, albums, and portfolios have been cataloged individually. For more detailed information on specific images, please use the UM Library Search.
With the exception of items deemed to contain culturally sensitive content, all materials in the Pohrt Collection have been digitized and can be accessed online through the Pohrt digital collection platform.
In addition, the Clements Library has also created a Richard Pohrt, Jr. Collection - Partial Subject Index and a Richard Pohrt, Jr. Collection - Contributor Index to help navigate the collection.
The following list provides information on photographs (including select call numbers) pertaining to the 13 most well-represented Native American tribes in the collection as well as other items of interest. For a complete list of all tribes represented in the collection, see the Additional Descriptive Data section.
Algonquian Blackfeet
Approximately 28 photographs pertain to the three affiliated Algonquian Blackfeet tribes (Kainah, Siksika and Piegan) present in the collection. Items of particular interest include 18 studio portraits of Algonquian Blackfoot chiefs made by Tomar J. Hileman in the late-1920s (LARGE Hil.001 - LARGE Hil.018) which serve as prime examples of romanticized depictions of Indians produced in the early 20th century. Other images of note include two studio portraits of Piegan chief Three Calves taken by Mabelle Haney in 1920 (OVERSIZE Han.001 & OVERSIZE Han.002); two photographs likely taken by Thomas B. Magee in the late 1890s showing an Algonquian Blackfoot medicine man named Calf Shirt performing a ritual ceremony involving a live rattlesnake (LARGE Mag.001 & LARGE Mag.002); and two more outdoor portraits by Magee showing construction of a medicine lodge and ceremonial dancers standing before the finished lodge (BOU Mag.001 & BOU Mag.002).
Anishinaabe (Odawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi)
Approximately 168 photographs in the collection pertain to the Anishinaabe.
The majority of the Anishinaabe-related images in the collection (approximately 115 photos) were taken by Grace Chandler Horn between 1899 and 1912 near Petoskey, Michigan (GCH.004 - GCH.043 & GCH.050 - GCH.118). The photography shop operated by Horn in Petoskey was a major tourist attraction built around the annual "Hiawatha Pageant" performed by local Odawa actors as well as Ojibwa actors from the Garden River First Nation in Canada. Her portraits of actors and actresses involved in the Hiawatha shows are heavily represented in the collection. These images are considered prime examples of the romanticized depictions of Indians of the period and document a major Michigan tourist attraction of the time. The actors and actresses depicted in these photographs have not been identified, therefore their specific tribal affiliations have been assumed to be either Odawa or Garden River Ojibwa. The Grace Chandler Horn materials also include four photos of Odawa woman Sophia Assinaway at her home garden in Middle Village, Michigan (GCH.022 - GCH.025). Two printed items related to Grace Chandler Horn (a sample booklet of her photography and a Hiawatha Pageant libretto illustrated with Horn photographs) are also contained in Box 21.
In addition to the Grace Chandler Horn photographs, approximately 48 photos relate to the Ojibwa. Items of particular interest include portraits of Ojibwa men involved in the Dakota War of 1862 taken by Minnesota photographer Joel E. Whitney (CDV WhiJ.017 - CDV WhiJ.028, CDV WhiJ.036 & CDV WhiJ.037); stereographs by Whitney and assistant Charles Zimmerman showing Ojibwa wigwams (STE Whi-Zim.001), canoe-building (STE Whi-Zim.002 & STE Whi-Zim.002); Leech Lake Ojibwa during a payment transaction (STE Whi-Zim.004); and a studio portrait of White Cloud (STE Whi-Zim.005). Also present are photos by Zimmerman showing an Ojibwa deer hunt (STE Zim.002), Sky Down to the Earth (STE Zim.003) and To Keep the Net Up (STE Zim.004).
Other images of note include an outdoor portrait of the "Rapids Pilot" John Boucher seated in his canoe by B. F. Childs (STE Chi.002); three studio portraits of Buhkwujjenene by Thomas Charles Turner and Sydney Victor White taken during a trip to England in 1872 with Rev. Edward Francis Wilson in order to raise funds for the Shingwauk Indian Residential School (CDV Tur.001, CDV Tur.002 & CDV Whi-Whi.001); three studio portraits of Saginaw Band Ojibwa leader David Shoppenagon by Armstrong & Rudd and George H. Bonnell (CAB Arm-Rud.002, CAB Bonn.001 & CAB Bonn.002); an outdoor group portrait by Hoard & Tenney of five unidentified Ojibwa men at White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota (STE Hoa-Ten.001); views by T.W. Ingersoll showing Ojibwa women tanning buckskins and crafting birch canoes (STE Ing.001 & MEDIUM Ing.001); a Leech Lake Ojibwa family posing outside their wigwam (MEDIUM Bro.001); and an outdoor group portrait taken by Dan Dutro in the mid-1910s of several Cree and/or Ojibwa men partaking in a dance ceremony at Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, Montana (BOU Dut.002).
The approximately 13 Potawatomi-related photographs in the collection mostly pertain to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas. Items of particular interest include studio individual and group portraits such as Shipshewana & Madeline Lasely (CAB Uni.017); Shob-ne-kak-kak with unidentified wife by Oaks & Ireland (CAB Oak-Ire.001); a studio group portrait by W. M. Oaks of two unidentified Prairie Band Potawatomi women posing with a photograph of what may be a deceased relative (CAB Oak.001); and two portraits of Nancy Weeg-was alone and with husband Weeg-was (CAB Uni.015 & CAB Oak.002). Other materials include a group portrait of Potawatomi and white American individuals posing outside of a storefront on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation in Kansas (MEDIUM Uni.004) and an image captioned "The Reserve Dudes" depicting a group of nine Prairie Band Potawatomi men who performed at Wild West Shows (LARGE Uni.003).
Apache
Approximately 68 Apache-related photographs are present. Specific Apache tribes represented include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Kiowa Apache, Mescalero, Mimbreño, and White Mountain Apache. Of particular note are eight boudoir photographs and one framed group portrait by C. S. Fly (BOU Fly.001 - BOU Fly.008 & FRAMED 10), the majority of which relate to the apprehension of Geronimo and his followers in 1886. Other photographs of interest include a series by Andrew Miller depicting daily life on the San Carlos and Fort Apache reservations in the 1880s (CAB MilA.001, CAB MilA.002 & BOU MilA.001 - BOU MilA.009); portraits of Apache women and scouts such as Nan-tag-a-ra, Dandy Jim and Santiago by Henry Buehman (CAB Bue.002 & STE Bue.001 - STE Bue.007); and outdoor group portraits of Chiricahua prisoners of war including Naiche and Geronimo being held at Fort Sam Houston taken by Frank Hardesty (BOU Har.001 & BOU Har.002).
Studio portraits include photographs by A. Frank Randall of Geronimo, Bonito, Dutche, husband and wife Ze-le & Tzes-Tone, Something-at-the-campfire-already-cooked (wife of Cochise), Old Nana, and Mescalero chief San Juan (BOU Ran.001 - BOU Ran.013). Also present are studio portraits of Apache chiefs and scouts such as Bonito, Chatto, Nalte, and Peaches by Ben Wittick (BOU Wit.001 & BOU Wit.003 - BOU Wit.005); Geronimo while prisoner of war at Fort Sill taken by William E. Irwin (BOU Irw.010, BOU Irw.011 & BOU Irw.024); and a Lenny & Sawyers photograph of a Kiowa-Apache man identified as "Apache Jim" (BOU Len-Saw.005).
Of further interest are photographs of Apache scouts with German-American chief of scouts Al Sieber taken by J. C. Burge (STE Bur.001 & STE Bur.002); group portraits of Apache scouts including Mickey Free, a Mexican-born Apache scout kidnapped by the Pinal Apache as a child and adopted into the tribe (STE WilW.001 & STE Bue.006); an outdoor group portrait by C. S. Fly showing Jimmy "Santiago" McKinn, a white American settler kidnapped as a child by Geronimo's band (BOU Fly.001); and several images of Apache individuals encountered during the Wheeler Expedition taken by Timothy O'Sullivan (STE Wheeler.031 - STE Wheeler.033, STE Wheeler.041, STE Wheeler.042, STE Wheeler.051 & STE Wheeler.052).
Cheyenne
Approximately 53 Cheyenne-related photographs are present in the collection, including photographs of both Northern and Southern Cheyenne, the latter of which are now part of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
Between 1875 and 1878, several dozen Southern Cheyenne, Southern Arapaho, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians as well as one lone individual from the Caddo tribe were imprisoned at Fort Marion in Saint Augustine, Florida, for their roles in the Red River War. While imprisoned, these chiefs, warriors and their families became a major tourist attraction. The Pohrt Collection contains numerous images of the Fort Marion prisoners taken by photographers such as J. N. Wilson, O. Pierre Havens, and George Pierron; of particular note are stereograph portraits of Southern Cheyenne chiefs Howling Wolf (STE Hav.001 -STE Hav.003), Medicine Water (STE Hav.005 & STE Hav.006), Mochi (STE Hav.006) and a tintype of Making Medicine made by an unidentified photographer (CASED Uni.006).
Other photographs include images purportedly related to a Southern Cheyenne & Arapaho Ghost Dance ceremony taken by C. C. Stotz in 1890 (BOU Sto.001 & BOU Sto.002); a group portrait of prisoners from Dull Knife's band taken by J. R. Riddle in 1879 (STE Rid.001); a studio portrait of two-spirit person Glad Road by Cosand & Mosser (CDV Cos-Mos.001); outdoor portraits by John K. Hillers of Cheyenne chiefs that attended the Grand Council in Okmulgee in 1875 (STE Hil.001 – STE Hil.003); a studio portrait of White Buffalo taken around the time of his arrival at the United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (BOU Cho.001); a studio portrait by William E. Irwin of Gertrude Threefinger wearing an elk-tooth dress (BOU Irw.003); and two panoramic views by Henry C. Chaufty depicting a supposed Southern Cheyenne Sun Dance gathering in 1909 as well as a Southern Cheyenne & Arapaho fair at Watonga, Oklahoma, in September of 1912 (FRAMED 1 & FRAMED 4).
Crow (Apsáalooke)
Approximately 94 Crow-related photographs are in the collection. On account of their historical enmity with neighboring tribes such as the Lakota/Dakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne, the Crow firmly allied themselves with the United States and provided numerous scouts for many U.S. military expeditions in the second half of the 19th century. Several portraits of Crow scouts are present in the collection, including photographs of Curley (CAB BarD.019, MEDIUM BarD.003, STE Rin.006 & PORTFOLIO 1B) and White Swan (BOU MilF.001 & BOU MilF.002), both of whom were present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Other images of note include a series of 56 stereographs by Frank A. Rinehart at Crow Indian Reservation in Montana at the turn of the 20th century (STE Rin.001 - STE Rin.056) consisting of views showing daily reservation life, ceremonies and dances, as well as individual, group, and family portraits, including one photograph of chief Plenty Coups speaking to a crowd about counting coup.
Also of interest are three images showing Plenty Coups and others present at the unveiling ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (FRAMED 11 - FRAMED 13); photos by O. S. Goff of Crow scouts including Bear Don't Walk and members of "L" Troop, 1st Cavalry (BOU Gof.001, BOU Gof.002, & MEDIUM Gof.003); portraits of Crow chiefs and men including Hoop on Forehead, Bear in a Cloud, and Spotted Rabbit, as well as scenes from Crow Indian Reservation by Fred E. Miller (BOU MilF.003, BOU MilF.004, LARGE MilF.001, LARGE MilF.002 & MEDIUM MilF.001 - MEDIUM MilF.005); portraits of Crow chiefs including Grey Bear, Old Coyote, Hoop on Forehead, Spies on Enemies, Big Medicine Man, Chief Little Head and Old Coyote by F. Jay Haynes (STE Hay.001 & CAB Hay.001 - CAB Hay.009); and a group portrait by an unidentified photographer of Crow prisoners of war including Crazy Head and Coups Well Known being held at Crow Indian Agency following the Crow War of 1887 (LARGE Uni.018).
Ho Chunk (Winnebago)
22 Ho Chunk-related photographs are in the collection. Items of particular interest include stereographs by H. H. Bennett of Yellow Thunder purportedly at the age of 120 (STE Ben.002), a Ho Chunk woman tanning a deerskin (STE Ben.001), a studio portrait of Big Bear (STE Ben.004) and a group of Ho Chunk men playing "Wah-koo-chad-ah" or the Moccasin Game (STE Ben.003).
Other items of note include a group portrait by Charles Van Schaik of Clara Blackhawk and her infant son Andrew (CAB Van.002); another Van Schaik portrait of Little Soldier and wife Bettie (CAB Van.001); a studio portrait by Joel E. Whitney of Chief Little Hill (CDV WhiJ.030); a studio group portrait by W. H. Illingworth of Walk in the Evening and Bear Skin (STE Ill.003); studio portraits of Chief Big Hawk and son David Big Hawk (CAB Uni.020 & CAB Uni.021); a studio group portrait by Brown & Wait of several Ho Chunk men including one individual who appears to possibly have smallpox scars (CAB Bro-Wai.001); a studio group portrait of an unidentified Ho Chunk man from Nebraska posing with Fox chiefs Wa-Wa-Ta-Sah and Ma-Tau-E-Qua (MEDIUM Uni.003); and two outdoor group portraits of Ho Chunk Indians in Wisconsin partaking in a church ceremony (BOU Uni.005 & BOU Uni.006).
Two tintypes, one of an unidentified Ho Chunk father and son (CASED Uni.001) and the other a group portrait of several children (CASED Uni.002), are also present.
Kiowa
Approximately 40 Kiowa-related photographs are present in the collection. Items of particular interest include 19 studio and outdoor individual and group portraits taken by William E. Irwin of Kiowa men, women and girls including Daisy Waterman (BOU Irw.008), Anne "Kiowa Annie" Berry (BOU Irw.004 - BOU Irw.006), Millie Oytant and "Cora" (BOU Irw.007), Joe Goombi with two daughters (BOU Irw.009), Lone Wolf the Younger (BOU Irw.013 & BOU Irw.023), Lone Wolf the Younger's mother Big Black Hair (BOU Irw.014), Poor Buffalo (BOU Irw.017), Kiowa and Comanche scouts near Anadarko(BOU Irw.018 & BOU Irw.019), and Ahpeatone (MED Irw.001).
Also present are five group portraits showing Kiowa prisoners of war at Fort Marion (STE Hav.004, STE Pie.001, STE Pie.002, STE Wil-Hav.001, STE Uni.004 & STE Uni.009); studio portraits of Kiowa girls and children by Lenny & Sawyers (BOU Len-Saw.001, BOU Len-Saw.009 & BOU Len-Saw.013); a studio portrait of Ahpeatone by Trager and Kuhn misidentified as Oglala Lakota chief Young Man Afraid of His Horses (CAB Tra-Kuh.001); a studio group portrait by W. P. Bliss of Gotebo with an unidentified individual (CAB Bli.002); a studio portrait of a Kiowa girl identified as "Ka-o-ta" produced by George W. Bretz (CAB Bre.003); and a group portrait of three unidentified Kiowa girls wearing elk-tooth dresses by C. C. Stotz (CAB Stot.001).
Modoc
The 19 Modoc-related images in the collection include a series of stereographs created by Eadweard Muybridge during the Modoc War of 1872-73 (STE Muy.001 - STE Muy.011). They depict the lava bed landscape, the U.S. army camp near Tule Lake, army scouts from the nearby Warm Springs Indian reservation led by Donald McKay, and the camp of the Modoc warrior Shok-Nos-Ta. Two of the photos depict Modoc women involved in the conflict, including interpreter Toby Riddle as well as a group of Modoc women taken as prisoners of war.
Other items of interest include four studio portraits by Louis Herman Heller of Modoc prisoners of war in 1873 such as the family of Captain Jack (CAB Hel.001), the "Lost River Murderers" (CAB Hel.002), Schonchin (CAB Hel.003), and Bogus Charley (CAB Hel.004), as well as four studio portraits by David C. Herrin produced in the late 1890s showing Klamath men described as having assisted the United States during the Modoc War (CAB Herr.001 - CAB Herr.004).
Nez Percé (Nimiipuu)
13 photographs in the collection have content pertaining to the Nez Percé. Items of particular interest include individual portraits of Chief Joseph (MEDIUM BarD.004, MEDIUM Bow.001, PORTFOLIO 1C); a tintype by an unknown photographer of an unidentified Nez Percé warrior (CASED Uni.003); a studio portrait of Chief Yellow Bull by C. M. Bell in Washington D.C. (OVERSIZE Bel.001); three images produced by W. H. Partridge showing Nez Percé families and homesteads in Oregon including visuals of tipis and a horse corral (BOU Par.001 - BOU Par.003); two studio portraits of "Steps", a Native American man adopted into the Nez Percé tribe (CAB Bai-Dix.002 & CAB BarD.020); and a group portrait by Ebenezer E. Henry showing Chief Joseph, Yellow Bull, Charles Moses, and another unidentified Nez Percé chief while being held as prisoners of war at Fort Leavenworth in 1877 following the cessation of the Nez Percé War (BOU Hen.001).
Oto
21 photographs in the collection relate to the Oto and Otoe-Missouria. Images of particular note include studio portraits of White Horse by Thomas Croft (CAB Cro.001 & CAB Cro.002); studio group and individual portraits of Oto chiefs including William Faw Faw, White Horse, Huma, Opanomnina and Parthayne by Lenny & Sawyers (BOU Len-Saw.004, BOU Len-Saw.006, BOU Len-Saw.007 & BOU Len-Saw.011); a studio portrait of Standing Eating by John K. Hillers in Washington D.C. (CAB Hil.001); an outdoor group portrait of an unidentified Oto family in Indian Territory posing in front of their home (MEDIUM Uni.014); an individual and group studio portrait showing Chief George Dailey (CAB Uni.008 & CAB Uni.009); three photos by William S. Prettyman including two studio portraits of unidentified Oto groups as well as an outdoor group portrait of the family of Baptiste DeRoin(CAB Pre.001, BOU Pre.001 & BOU Pre.002).
Sac & Fox
21 photographs relate to the Sac & Fox tribes, predominately consisting of images related to the Sac & Fox tribes of Iowa, Oklahoma, and to a lesser extent Kansas. Items of particular interest include several studio portraits of Iowa-based Sac & Fox individuals (known today as the Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa) taken by photographers H. C. Eberhart, J. L. Hudson, and J. S. Moore during the 1880s (CDV Eber.001, CAB Hud.001, CDV Hud.001, CDV Hud.002 & CAB Moo.002 - CAB Moo.008); a group portrait by Oakes & Ireland of a Kansas-based Sac and Fox ceremonial dancer with his son (CAB Oak-Ire.002); an outdoor group portrait taken by William S. Prettyman around 1895 showing a group of people from the Sac & Fox Mokohoko band including Chief Paw-She-Paw-Ho (LARGE Pre.001); a studio portrait of Walter Battice by John K. Hillers taken sometime during the early 1920s before Hillers' death in 1925 (BOU Hil.001); a group portrait of a Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma man at home with his wife and sleeping infant child (STE Key.001); two studio portraits of Sac & Fox chiefs taken by C. M. Bell in Washington D.C. (OVERSIZE Bel.002 & OVERSIZE Bel.003); a studio group portrait of an unidentified Ho Chunk man from Nebraska posing with Fox chiefs Wa-Wa-Ta-Sah and Ma-Tau-E-Qua (MEDIUM Uni.003); a studio group portrait by J. L. Hudson of Charles Keokuk and an unidentified Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa chief (CDV Hud.002); as well as a studio portrait of a Sac & Fox chief claimed by the unidentified photographer to be a grandson of Black Hawk (CDV Uni.003).
Lakota and Dakota
Over 240 photographs pertain to the Lakota and Dakota (also commonly referred to collectively as the Sioux, a term that has pejorative origins). The Dakota consist of three sub-tribes (the Santee, Yankton, and Yanktonai) while the Lakota consist of seven sub-tribes; the Sicangu (Brulé), Oglala, Miniconjou, Hunkpapa, Itázipco (Sans Arc), Sihasapa, and Oóhenunpa. The Pohrt Collection contains photos related to all three Dakota sub-tribes as well as photos related to every Lakota sub-tribe except for the Oóhenunpa.
The majority of the approximately 40 images in the collection related to the Santee Dakota were taken around the time of the Dakota War of 1862 in Minnesota, when several bands initially led by Chief Little Crow revolted against federal Indian agents who had regularly failed to supply promised foodstuffs and annuities. After several months of fighting, most of the Santee surrendered and thirty-eight were eventually executed in Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26th 1862 in what remains the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Items of particular interest include four photographs taken by Adrian Ebell prior to and during the outbreak of the conflict (CDV Ebe.001 & STE Ebe.001 - STE Ebe.003); three photographs by B. F. Upton showing Santee prisoners of war at Fort Snelling including Little Crow's sons White Spider and Thomas Wakeman (STE Upt.001, CDV Upt.001 & CDV Upt.002); as well as 21 studio portraits produced by Joel Whitney depicting Santee prisoners of war, many of whom were among the executed at Mankato (STE WhiJ.002, STE WhiJ.003, STE WhiJ.034, CDV WhiJ.001 - CDV WhiJ.010, CDV WhiJ.012 - CDV WhiJ.016 & CDV WhiJ.032 - CDV WhiJ.034). Also present is an outdoor group portrait of Santee men taken by T. W. Ingersoll in the 1890s (MEDIUM Ing.002); a studio portrait of Wabasha III (CAB Lak.001); a Stanley J. Morrow studio portrait of an elderly Santee woman named Sacred Blanket purported to be 133 years old (STE MorS.036); and a studio portrait of Abbie Gardner Sharp, a white American woman who survived being captured by Santee raiders after the Spirit Lake Massacre of 1857 in Iowa in an incident which is generally considered a precursor to the Dakota War (CAB Uni.022).
Other Santee materials include several portraits of physician Dr. Charles Eastman taken by Grace Chandler Horn in the 1910s (GCH.001 - GCH.003 & GCH.044 - GCH.049). Dr. Eastman, grandson of U.S. Army officer and renowned artist Seth Eastman, attended Dartmouth College and then Boston University's medical school, becoming one of the first Native Americans certified as a western-style doctor. He later established the Indian YMCA and helped found the Boy Scouts of America, as well as becoming a national spokesman for Native Americans.
Images of particular interest involving the Yankton Dakota include an outdoor group portrait of Struck-by-the-Ree and Feather Necklace by Stanley J. Morrow (STE MorS.020); a group portrait taken by O. S. Goff of fifteen unidentified Yankton chiefs with an Indian Agent (MEDIUM Gof.001); two photos by W. R. Cross consisting of a studio portrait of an unidentified Yankton man (CDV Cro.005); and a composite photograph showing twelve different photographs of Native Americans from Dakota Territory including an image of a Yankton scaffold burial (BOU Cro.001).
Yanktonai Dakota images of interest include photos by D. F. Barry of Standing Rock Indian Reservation policeman Henry Bull Head who reportedly shot Sitting Bull after having been mortally wounded himself during the arrest (CAB BarD.011); an elevated outdoor group portrait taken during the 1885 census at Standing Rock (MEDIUM BarD.001); a studio portrait of interpreter and scout John Bruguier by George Spencer (CAB Spe.013); two studio portraits of Mad Bear (CAB BarD.017 & CAB Sco.005); stereographs by Stanley J. Morrow showing Yanktonai chiefs Black Eye, Bloody Mouth, Afraid of the Bear (STE MorS.019) and Medicine Bear (STE MorS.003 & STE MorS.004); and a studio portrait of Wolf Necklace by O. S. Goff (STE Gof.008).
Several photos are related to the Ghost Dance movement on the Lakota reservations and the subsequent buildup to and aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Specific items of interest regarding the Lakota Ghost Dance movement include a secret photo taken by Sam T. Clover without the subjects' permission of a Ghost Dance feast in which Sitting Bull supposedly stands at center (LARGE Clo.001); a photograph by James E. Meddaugh showing a Ghost Dance being performed by Oglala Lakota men and women at Pine Ridge (CAB Medd.001); an outdoor portrait by George W. Scott of a Lakota woman named Scarlet Woman who had been arrested in November of 1890 for proclaiming to be the "mother of the Messiah" (CAB Sco.003); and several individual and group portraits by Trager & Kuhn of Lakota chiefs both involved with and opposed to the Ghost Dance movement, including Kicking Bear, Stinking Bear, Hollowood, Crazy Bear, Crow Dog, Two Strike, Young Man Afraid of His Horse, Good Lance, Short Bull, High Hawk and Big Talk (BOU Tra-Kuh.009, BOU Tra-Kuh.015, BOU Tra-Kuh.016, BOU Tra-Kuh.022 - BOU Tra-Kuh.025 & BOU Tra-Kuh.027). Also of note are other photographs by Trager & Kuhn including a studio portrait of Kiowa chief Ahpeatone (erroneously identified as Young Man Afraid of His Horses) who had been sent to visit his Lakota relatives on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in order to learn about their version of the Ghost Dance (CAB Tra-Kuh.001) as well as a "bird's-eye view" of a Ghost Dance at Pine Ridge on November 25th 1890 which may have been originally taken by James E. Meddaugh (BOU Tra-Kuh.031).
Approximately 51 photographs directly pertain to the Wounded Knee Massacre. Materials of note include a view by Clarence G. Morledge of the "Bloody Pocket" valley where the Drexel Mission Fight took place one day after the massacre (BOU Morl.001); a series of studio portraits by George E. Spencer depicting several individuals involved with the Ghost Dance movement who were being held as prisoners of war at Fort Sheridan after Wounded Knee (CAB Spe.004 - CAB Spe.012); and a group portrait by an unidentified photographer in 1902 of Chief Calico with son Frank Calico and wife Good Dog, the latter of whom was purportedly a "great Medicine woman at Wounded Knee in 1890" (LARGE Uni.005).
Photographs from albums compiled by Michigan-based photographer Fannie Hoyt include views of the Wounded Knee battlefield (Albums 4B & Albums 4D) and portraits of individuals known to have survived the massacre such as Joseph Horn Cloud (Albums 4C), Daniel White Lance (Albums 4F) and possibly Dewey Beard (Albums 4C). Graphic photographs by Trager & Kuhn show bodies of victims at the site of Wounded Knee, as well as scenes at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation immediately following the massacre (BOU Tra-Kuh.001, BOU Tra-Kuh.002, BOU Tra-Kuh.004, BOU Tra-Kuh.008 - BOU Tra-Kuh.014, BOU Tra-Kuh.016, BOU Tra-Kuh.020, BOU Tra-Kuh.022 - BOU Tra-Kuh.026, BOU Tra-Kuh.028 - BOU Tra-Kuh.030 & LARGE Tra-Kuh.001 - LARGE Tra-Kuh.004). Photographs by John C. H. Grabill include images of a Grass Dance being performed by Miniconjou dancers four months prior to the massacre (LARGE Gra.001 & LARGE Gra.002); scenes from "hostile" Lakota camps on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (LARGE Gra.003 & LARGE Gra.004); Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles and staff at Pine Ridge (LARGE Gra.008); negotiations taking place between U.S. Army officers and Lakota leaders at Pine Ridge following the massacre (LARGE Gra.007); individual and group portraits of Lakota individuals including Crow Dog (LARGE Gra.009), Plenty Horses (STE Gra.001 & FRAMED 6), Jack Red Cloud (LARGE Gra.011), a wife and family of American Horse (LARGE Gra.005), and survivors of Big Foot's band (LARGE Gra.006); as well as a group portrait of Brulé and Oglala Lakota men, women, and children, including an infant purported to be one of the two babies known to have been miraculously recovered from the Wounded Knee site three days after the massacre (LARGE Gra.010).
Other photographs of note include a group portrait by Frank Currier showing a Lakota delegation to Washington, D.C., in May of 1875, including chiefs Red Cloud, the Oglala Sitting Bull, Swift Bear, and Spotted Tail as well as Prussian-Jewish interpreter Julius Meyer (STE Cur.001); a view of a Brulé "war dance" at Rosebud Agency (BOU Uni.002); a group portrait of Louis Dewitt and family at Fort Bennett, Dakota Territory (MEDIUM Uni.009); and three views by E. A. Fry of lodges at an Oglala encampment on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1883 including a Medicine Scalp Lodge and Sun Dance Lodge (LARGE Fry.001 - LARGE Fry.003).
Also present are views of Lakota scaffold burials (STE MorS.027, STE MorS.029 & BOU Cro.001); a photo showing a group of Lakota dancers in traditional dress posing outside the home of Emma Sickels with American flags and a Benjamin Harrison flag related to the 1888 presidential election (BOU Tra-Kuh.032); three studio group portraits by Robinson & Roe of the Sioux Treaty Commission of 1889 (CAB Rob-Roe.001 - CAB Rob-Roe.003); portraits including Lakota family members related to American frontiersman John Young Nelson (CAB AndD.001, CAB Ell-Fry.001, CAB Fra.001, & LARGE Gra.010); and a Trager & Kuhn view of Red Cloud's wife Pretty Owl inside the couple's cabin at Pine Ridge (Tra-Kuh.005).
Ute
Approximately 16 photographs in the collection pertain to the Ute tribe. Specific Ute sub-tribes represented in the collection include the Capote, Moache, and Tabeguache. Images of particular note include studio portraits by William H. Jackson of Ute chiefs Ouray (CAB Jac.001) and Colorow (CAB Jac.002), Ouray's sister Shawsheen erroneously captioned as being Ouray's wife Chipeta (CAB Jac.003) and Tushaquinot (CAB Jac.004 & BOU Jac.001); a studio portrait by Charles M. Bell of a member of Ouray's band called "Tom Ute" (OVERSIZE Bel.007); and portraits by C. R. Savage of a Ute family (CDV Sav.001) and a warrior identified as "Indian Charley" (STE Sav.001).
Also present are two portraits made by Timothy O'Sullivan during the Wheeler Expedition of Capote Utes including a woman named "Pah-ge" (STE Wheeler.039) and a group of unidentified Ute warriors (STE Wheeler.040); two studio portraits by Ben E. Hawkins showing a group of Ute chiefs (STE Haw.001) and a chief named "Washington" (BOU Haw.001); a studio portrait by J. N. Choate of an unidentified Native American man (possibly a Ute) erroneously identified as Colorow (MEDIUM Cho.001); and a studio portrait of White River Ute leader Chief Johnson by W. G. Chamberlain in which the subject holds a studio prop staff affixed with a scalp lock (CAB Cha.001).
Photo Albums & Portfolios
12 photograph albums and one three-volume portfolio set are present in the collection.
The John Alvin Anderson album consists of 49 images of scenes from the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Photographs depict daily Lakota life on the reservation including landscapes, boarding schools, camp life and homesteads, reservation police, and Fourth of July-related dance ceremonies. Images pertaining to cattle ranching and Native American cowboys are also a prominent theme in the album. Several portraits of Brulé Lakota men are also included, including Hollow Horn Bear, Crow Dog, and Two Strike. Of particular note is a group portrait of several Brulé Lakota men preparing for a "Journey to Eastern Cities".
The Osage Indians photograph album contains 49 images mostly taken by George W. Parsons near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, ca. 1880 to 1900 that for the most part pertain to the Osage tribe. Images of particular interest include photographs of Osage Reservation buildings, boarding schools, portraits of Osage men, women, and children, cattle ranching scenes, and images captioned "Sun Dance" that likely depict Fourth of July celebrations. Also present are 12 photographs likely taken by the unidentified compiler of the album which show street scenes and buildings from Pawhuska, white American sightseers at "Lover's Leap" rock formation, and an Osage lodge flying an inverted American flag.
The Fort Berthold album compiled by an unknown photographer contains 54 images primarily related to the Mandan tribe at Fort Berthold, North Dakota, ca. 1890 to 1910. Images of particular interest from the front two-thirds of the album include landscape views, Fort Berthold Agency buildings and homesteads, reservation police, meat drying, and photographs of Mandan men, women, and children. The final third of the album contains photographs of dead animals, hunting trophies, a taxidermy business, bison farm, and the Northern Pacific railroad bridge in Bismarck, North Dakota. Some of the Native Americans depicted may belong to the Arikara and Hidatsa tribes who also reside at Fort Berthold.
The Fanny Hoyt albums (9 volumes) consist of approximately 287 images taken during visits to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota from 1900 to 1903. Fanny Hoyt (1868-1949) was a photographer from Wayland, Michigan. Images of interest include numerous portraits of Lakota men, women, and children (many of whom are identified with captions), buildings from around Pine Ridge agency, landscape views including the Badlands, and photographs related to cattle ranching and meat distribution. Of particular note are photographs of the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, a Catholic Indian Meeting House, giveaway ceremonies, preparation of boiled dog meat, wooden coffins captioned "Indian Graves", the interior of a Lakota church, scenes from Fourth of July celebrations, and group portraits of Lakota pupils at "No. 29 Day School".
Other Items of Note
52 stereographs taken by Timothy O'Sullivan and William H. Bell relate to the survey expeditions led by Lieut. George Wheeler (STE Wheeler.001 - STE Wheeler.052) in the years 1873 and 1874. These images depict not only the natural landscapes explored during the survey, such as Canyon de Chelle and Shoshone Falls, but also the Apache, Navajo, Ute, and Zuni peoples through whose lands the survey passed. Includes original stereograph box.
Approximately 30 photographs primarily taken by J. N. Choate are directly related to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 by Captain Richard Henry Pratt of the U.S. Army, Carlisle was the flagship Indian boarding school until its closure in 1918. Over ten thousand Native Americans attended the school, where they were subjected to a strict regimen devised under Pratt's motto of "Kill the Indian, save the man." Arriving students had their hair shorn and their clothes replaced with European-style dress, while students were also forced to take new English names and forbidden to speak their native languages.
More items of interest related to the Carlisle School include outdoor group portraits of Dakota boys and girls (BOU Cho.004 & BOU Cho.005); a view of the Boy's Quarters (BOU Cho.009); studio group portraits of Navajo students (BOU Cho.008); Laguna Pueblo students (CAB Cho.001); and Arapaho students (BOU Cho.009).
Of further note is an outdoor group portrait taken by William H. Tipton of nearly thirty Cheyenne and Arapaho parents and Carlisle students visiting the Gettysburg battlefield in 1884 (OVERSIZE Tip.001).
Other noted Indian chiefs, leaders and warriors represented in the collection include Wovoka, the Paiute prophet whose preaching formed the basis for the Ghost Dance movement (CAB Butl.001 & CAB Butl.002); Washakie, chief of the Eastern Shoshones (BOU Bak-Joh.001, BOU Bak-Joh.002, CAB Bak-Joh.001 - CAB Bak-John.003, BOU Hay.001 & MEDIUM Hay.001); Osage chief Bacon Rind (MEDIUM Dix.002); Ponca warrior Big Snake (STE MorS.013); Ponca chief Standing Bear (FRAMED 9); Pawnee chief Young Bull (MEDIUM Dix.001); Pawnee warrior Big Spotted Horse (FRAMED 8); Pawnee chief Petalesharo II (STE Carb.002, STE Carb.003 & STE Carb.007); the last "full-blood" Kansa council including Forrest W. Chouteau, Silas Conn, Little Jim, Jesse Mehojah, Roy Monroe and James Pepper (LARGE Uni.002); Hidatsa chief Hard Horn and son Long Arm (STE Gof.005); Bill Jones of the Gros Ventre (BOU Morr.005, BOU Morr.006 & MEDIUM Mat.001); Mandan chief Wa-Shú-Na-Koo-Rá, the son of Chief Four Bears (STE MorS.006); Enoch Hoag, last traditional chief of the Caddo (BOU Len-Saw.010); Northern Arapaho leader Sherman Sage (BOU Hay.001); and Billy Fewell, a Seminole leader and tribal historian of partial African descent (BOU She.001 & MEDIUM Uni.005).
Many images depict encampments, dwellings, dance lodges, and other architectural constructions made by Native Americans as well as American settlers. Particularly noteworthy items include several views of sod buildings (MEDIUM But.001, MEDIUM Uni.013, BOU Tem.001, CAB Tem.001, Albums 4B & Albums 4C); a view by Winter & Brown of two totem poles outside the home of Stikine Tlingit chief Gush Tlein in Wrangel, Alaska (BOU Win-Bro.001); Hidatsa and Mandan structures in Like-a-Fishhook Village at Fort Berthold Agency taken by Stanley J. Morrow (STE MorS.011, STE MorS.012 & STE MorS.030); stereographs by John Carbutt showing Pawnee mud lodges and drying racks laden with sliced pumpkin rinds (STE Carb.004 & STE Carb.005); views showing Ho Chunk chipotekes (STE Ben.002, STE Ben.003 & BOU Ten.001); and buildings and agricultural works at Zuni Pueblo (STE Wheeler.016 & STE Wheeler.018).
Numerous photographs pertain to dance ceremonies, including images related to the Sun Dance, Ghost Dance, Grass Dance, Fox Dance, "Squaw Dance," and more. Photographs related to Fourth of July ceremonies are also prevalent. After the Religious Crimes Code was first enacted in 1884, traditional Native American customs and dances began to be forbidden on reservations. In response, many tribes started using the Fourth of July (which generally overlapped with the historic timing of Sun Dance festivities) as a means of expressing traditional aspects of their cultures while simultaneously displaying patriotism for the United States of America, something which was actively encouraged by Indian Agents.
Items of particular interest with regards to Native American Fourth of July celebrations include an image of what possibly may be Lakota/Dakota dancers in the middle of a performance (LARGE Uni.004); two Trager & Kuhn photographs of Lakota chiefs involved in Fourth of July celebrations at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (BOU Tra-Kuh.007 & BOU Tra-Kuh.015); a view of a large Plains Indian encampment gathered for Fourth of July in 1892 (BOU Uni.001); three photographs by White's Studio related to Fourth of July celebrations by the Cheyenne and Arapaho at El Reno, Oklahoma Territory, on July 4th 1898 (LARGE Whi.001 - LARGE Whi.003); a Norman A. Forsyth photograph of a Kootenai "Sun Dance" lodge being assembled in 1904 (STE For.001); a Frank Bennett Fiske photograph showing tipis painted for a Fourth of July gathering at Standing Rock Reservation (OVERSIZE Fis.001); five photographs by Sumner W. Matteson taken during a Fourth of July celebration among the Gros Ventre on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana (MEDIUM Mat.001 - MEDIUM Mat.005); a panoramic photograph by H. C. Chaufty depicting a "Sun Dance" gathering in 1909 (FRAMED 4); and two photographs related to a Fourth of July parade involving a group of Menominee Indian men, women, boys, and girls (MEDIUM Joh.002 & MEDIUM Joh.003). Three of the Fanny Hoyt albums (Albums 4C, Albums 4D & Albums 4H), the John Alvin Anderson Album (Albums 1) and the Osage Indians Photograph Album (Albums 2) also contain images related to Fourth of July celebrations.
The Pohrt Collection is particularly rich with photographic examples of Native American material culture in part due to the collection creator Richard Pohrt, Jr.'s own personal interest in that subject. Numerous images show various elements of clothing & dress such as shell and bead necklaces, bear claw necklaces, otter fur and cloth turbans, feather and porcupine fur headdresses, breechcloths, buckskins, dresses trimmed with real and/or imitation elk teeth, gorgets, cinder goggles, cloth and fur hair wraps, hats, otter fur and hairpipe breastplates, bow and rifle cases, face and body paint, presidential peace medals, blankets, robes, bandolier bags, moccasins, and articles of clothing embroidered with beadwork, porcupine quillwork, and silk ribbon applique. A number of images also contain examples of traditional weaponry including tomahawks, war clubs, bows and arrows, spears, shields, knives, and coup sticks. Richard Pohrt, Jr. has provided extensive notes regarding elements of material culture that have been incorporated into individual catalog records.
Several photographs present in the collection especially highlight the issues of cultural appropriation and racism with regards to Native Americans. Photographs in which white American subjects appear dressed in "traditional" Native American clothing include an outdoor group portrait by W.E. Vilmer showing a group of white children dressed in Indian costumes (OVERSIZE Vil.001); a studio group portrait by Hans H. Stolze of two white men wearing Indian costumes and holding pistols (CAB Stol.001); and a group portrait showing a room of white men and women dressed in Indian costumes related to an unidentified branch of the Improved Order of Red Men (MEDIUM Uni.011). Also present are two photographs that were used as exhibit pieces by the Western Americana collector Charles Frederick Fish during the Second International Congress of Eugenics Exhibit of Scientific Studies at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in 1921; the first photograph is a studio group portrait by E.E. Henry of four Nez Percé chiefs including Chief Joseph, Charles Moses, and Yellow Bull while they were being held as prisoners of war at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (BOU Hen.001); the second photograph is a studio portrait of the Apache chief Bonito by Ben Wittick (BOU Wit.003).
Numerous photographs in the collection contain culturally sensitive content, including images related to sacred ceremonies that were often photographed under duress and/or without explicit permission (such as photographs related to Ghost and Sun Dance ceremonies); images of Native American graves; and images of actual deceased Native American persons, such as the Trager & Kuhn photographs showing the aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Other culturally sensitive photographs not mentioned elsewhere in this Finding Aid include a staged view by George W. Bretz showing two U.S. Army soldiers and two unidentified Native American men horsing around in a sweat lodge at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, in what appears to be a mock imprisonment scene (CAB Bre.006); a view by Edward De Groff of a Tlingit grave and cremation ground in Juneau, Alaska (BOU Deg.003); an outdoor group portrait by W. H. Partridge of an Aak'w Kwáan Tlingit family that appears to be dressed for a mourning ceremony (BOU Par.004); and a postmortem portrait of a Sarsi woman sitting at the bedside of her deceased daughter (LARGE Uni.001).
Photographs that have been deemed to contain culturally sensitive content will not be made digitally accessible and will only be available for use in the reading room.
See Additional Descriptive Data Section for more comprehensive listing of subject terms, tribal names, personal names, and contributors.
Approximately 1,045 individual photographs, 12 photograph albums, 3 portfolios and 1 piece of realia
1.5 linear feet
The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs. A series of land surveys of the Ohio Valley, prepared by Archibald Woods, has been arranged and placed at the end of the collection, and two land documents relating to Woods property are also present in Oversize Manuscripts, a 1774 deed signed by Dunmore granting lands in Botetourt County and an 1820 grant signed by James Monroe for lands in Ohio.
The collection includes a petition relating to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798. Addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of Virginia from the citizens of Ohio County, the petition includes thirty nine signatures protesting the Acts. The signers expressed their concern regarding what they saw as a violation of the Constitution, and asserted that the acts were a "serious cause of alarm" for the citizens of Ohio County, whom, they noted, continued to adhere to the Democratic principles of the American Revolution.
During the time that Andrew Woods served as sheriff of Botetourt County, 1777-1780, he kept a small, deerskin-bound notebook of his activities including receipts and notes on the collection of taxes and fees. There are also sporadic family business records. Included are an agreement for disposition of property including land, livestock, and enslaved persons (named Herod [Bin?], Sip, Ceasar, and Nanas). A copy of a contract between siblings Andrew, Martha, and Archibald (likely Andrew Woods' children) for the care of Martha Poage Woods and arrangements for the purchase of an enslaved person for Elijah Woods is also present. The contract provided for clothing, food, and shelter and, if Martha chose "to go back over the mountains," to provide an enslaved person to care for her.
Over fifty surveys and treasury warrants document Archibald Woods' importance as a surveyor and land speculator in the Ohio River Valley. Many of these can be positively traced to land that today lies in the state of West Virginia, mostly in the panhandle, but, Woods owned property throughout Ohio County, which then included parts of Ohio and a corner of Pennsylvania. A contemporary range and township map assists in situating Woods' land holdings.
Seven printed orders, each unique, or nearly unique, include information about troop recruitment and deployment during the War of 1812, and about demobilization at the end of the war. Among other documents in the collection are Archibald Woods' commissions and resignations.
There is little true correspondence in the Woods family papers, although one item, a letter from Joe Woods, is of some interest. In this letter written to his mother, Woods summarizes his reasons for transferring to Princeton, assuring her of his sound character and his decision. William Woods' ledger and daybook from 1828 and Hamilton Woods' cypher book from ca. 1820s are also present in the collection. The collection contains a photograph album with cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, and other photos from around the 1870s and 1880s, as well as approximately 0.5 linear feet of photographs of Woods family members, particularly Ruth Woods and Charles Moss from the early 20th century, and the Woods family homestead.
Finally, the collection contains useful information about the Woods family estate, Woodsdale. Three documents from 1815-1816 provide floor plans and a record of construction costs, and there are two copy photographs of the house as it stood before its demolition in 1949. In 1976-77, Ruth Moss described the physical layout of the home and grounds as she recalled them, as well as her memories of life at Woodsdale in the early part of the century. An additional 0.25 linear feet of Ruth Moss's genealogical research on the Woods family is also present.
1.5 linear feet
14 linear feet
The Weld-Grimké family papers contain approximately 3,200 items spanning 1740 to 1930, with the bulk concentrated between 1825 and 1899 (14 linear feet total). They form a record of the lives of abolitionists Sarah Moore Grimké, Angelina Emily Grimké Weld, and Theodore Dwight Weld, and they offer insight into the lives of the Welds' children: Charles Stuart Faucheraud Weld, Theodore Grimké Weld, and Sarah Grimké Weld. The collection includes 2,889 letters, nearly 200 newspaper clippings, 16 diaries, 39 notebooks and other writings, a manuscript biography of Theodore Weld, 37 loose photographs, 2 photograph albums, 17 valentines, and 13 objects and ephemeral items. The papers are a valuable source of information on the major reform and political issues of the 19th century, and they provide extensive documentation on the personal lives and activities of the Weld and Grimké families. Although anti-slavery movements and abolitionism are central themes in the papers, the collection includes material on women's rights, the American Colonization Society, temperance, political philosophy, religious introspection and commentary, education, literature, health and dietary reform efforts, spiritualism, and a wide array of other subjects.
In June 2012, descendants of the Weld family donated 961 hitherto unresearched letters to the Library, which focus on Sarah M. Grimké, Angelina and Theodore Weld, and the Weld children and grandchildren between 1853 and 1900 (these letters are included in the quantities of items listed above). The 2012 acquisition has an emphasis on the legacy of the anti-slavery activists, women's rights activism, temperance, family dynamics and activities, physical and mental health, and education.
The Correspondence series spans 1740-1930 (bulk 1819-1900) and contains 2,985 items (seven linear feet). The correspondence is physically arranged in one chronological sequence, although the following summary is divided into two components: Letters acquired by the Clements Library before 2012 (1) and letters acquired as part of the 2012 addition (2).
1. Weld-Grimké family correspondence acquired by the Clements Library before 2012
Prior to 2012, the Weld-Grimké family papers included 2,024 letters, dating mostly between 1819 and 1900, and relating predominantly to the lives and activities of Theodore Dwight Weld, Angelina E. Grimké, Sarah M. Grimké, and their network of correspondents.
Theodore Weld received letters from an array of prominent anti-slavery activists, including the Grimké sisters, Lewis Tappan, Gerrit Smith, Elizur Wright, Jr., Beriah Green, James Armstrong Thome, Sarah Mapps Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Charles G. Finney, James Birney, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry B. Stanton, Sereno Wright Streeter, Theodore Erastus Clarke, Dioclesian Lewis, and Samuel Dorrance. Many letters document Weld's friendship and working relationship with Charles Stuart. Letters of Theodore's parents, siblings, and other family members are also present.
From approximately 1821 to 1836, letters pertaining to Weld refer to his early pursuit of a career in the ministry, his association with temperance, and his early anti-slavery activities. Weld and his correspondents discussed the Colonization Society, Weld's near drowning accident in the Alum River in 1832, and his attendance at the Oneida Institute, Lane Theological Seminary, and Oberlin College. In addition to his work as an itinerant speaker on behalf of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), incoming letters show that he received numerous requests to lecture at anti-slavery and temperance societies. His correspondence refers to threats of violence against abolitionists and sheds light on the activities of the AASS.
Weld's correspondence with the Grimké sisters began in 1837. His letters to and from the sisters, especially Angelina, primarily concern women's rights and abolition. Weld's attitude was frequently didactic, and his letters convey much advice to the sisters on becoming political activists. On February 8, 1838, Weld wrote a letter to Angelina declaring his love for her; most of the correspondence between this time and May 1838 revolves around their courtship and wedding. Their wedding certificate, dated May 14, 1838, is present in the collection's series of documents.
Correspondence from 1839 to 1844 is mainly concerned with Weld's publications, American Slavery As It Is andThe Anti-Slavery Almanack , as well as the Amistad court case in 1841. Correspondence with Angelina and Sarah during Weld's brief tenure in Washington, D.C, highlights his work with John Quincy Adams, Joshua Reed Giddings, and others in keeping the slavery question a subject of debate in Congress. The Welds' adoption of the "Graham diet" is discussed in letters of this period.
The years between 1845 and 1853 marked a time of transition for Weld as he began his career as a schoolmaster. Charles Stuart's letters to Weld indicate an increasingly strained friendship, and although Weld still corresponded with other abolitionists, fewer letters address the issue of slavery during the late 1840s and early 1850s. From 1854 to 1867, Weld corresponded mostly with his children. He also received many letters from former pupils, many of whom referenced their educations at Eagleswood. Letters from 1868 to 1895 revolve around the legacy of the abolition movement and family life. Weld began to receive letters from fellow aging abolitionists and their children, especially to offer condolences after the deaths of Sarah and Angelina.
Prior to the Clements Library's 2012 addition, the papers included over 500 letters by and over 250 letters to Sarah and Angelina Grimké. The sisters were introspective writers and typically sent detailed and lengthy letters to their friends and family members. This correspondence provides insight into major events in their lives, such as their struggles with religious identity, their speaking tour throughout Massachusetts in 1837, and the births of Angelina's children. They often discussed books they had read, such as Woman and Her Era by Eliza Wood Farnham, or public talks they had attended. Among their correspondents were Sarah M. Douglass, Jane Smith, Julia A. Tappan, Rachel and Mira Orum, Elizabeth Pease, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elizabeth Smith Miller, Susan Wattles, Sarah Wattles, Augustus Wattles, Harriot Kezia Hunt, their brother Frederick Grimké, and others.
From 1825 to 1830, the sisters discussed and reflected extensively on religion. Letters during this period are especially pertinent to Angelina's religious conversions, first to the Presbyterian faith and later to Quakerism. Correspondence between 1831 and 1835 includes content on Society of Friends meetings and Angelina's encounters with Catherine Beecher. Thomas Smith Grimké and Hester Snowdon, a slave whom Angelina had known in Charleston, also wrote letters in the later 1820s.
Between 1835 and 1837, the Grimké correspondence documents the beginnings of the sisters' involvement in the anti-slavery movement. Several items refer to Angelina's published letter to William Lloyd Garrison and others pertain to her bookAppeal to the Christian Women of the South . The majority of letters written in 1837 and 1838 concern abolitionism and women's rights issues, highlighting the difficulties Angelina and Sarah encountered as female abolitionists and public figures. Some of the correspondents with whom the sisters discussed these issues include Sarah L. Forten, Sarah M. Douglass, Henrietta Sargent, Theodore Weld, Jane Smith, and Elizabeth Pease. One letter dated March 30, 1838, was written by Nancy Adams, a formerly enslaved woman living in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, recounting her life story and escape from slavery.
Angelina and Sarah received 16 letters from their mother, Mary Smith Grimké, in 1838 and up to her death in 1839. The letters reveal the sisters' continued involvement in abolition, especially the time they spent conducting research forAmerican Slavery As It Is . Motherhood, domesticity, and Angelina's children were frequent topics of discussion, especially from 1839 to 1847. Between 1848 and 1863, Sarah exchanged two dozen letters with physician and women's rights advocate Harriot Kezia Hunt; Frederick Grimké; and Augustus, Susan, and Sarah Wattles. In addition to discussing abolition and women's rights issues, they also wrote about spiritualism, religion, politics, and other intellectual topics.
2. 2012 Addition to the Weld-Grimké Family Papers correspondence
The 961 letters from the Clements Library's 2012 acquisition span 1853 to 1899, with the bulk dating between 1862 and 1899. The addition is comprised primarily of the incoming correspondence of Angelina and Theodore Weld's daughter Sarah Grimké Hamilton (neé Weld) and her daughter, Angelina Grimké Hamilton, in whose wooden trunk the papers were preserved. At least 75 different writers contributed to the newly discovered body of letters; the most prolific correspondents include Theodore Dwight Weld, Angelina Grimké Weld, Sarah Moore Grimké, William Hamilton, Charles Stuart Weld, and Anna Harvell Weld. The Weld children also corresponded with their parents' associates, including Lucy Stone, James Armstrong Thome, and Henry B. Blackwell. This correspondence is largely family-focused, with content on race relations, women's rights, temperance, and the legacy of the anti-slavery activists and movements. Please note that the following numbers of letters attributed to individuals in this section only include those from the collection's 2012 acquisition.
Theodore Dwight Weld wrote approximately 180 letters between 1857 and 1893. He wrote to his daughter Sarah and granddaughter Angelina Hamilton extensively, offering advice on education, reassurance about Sarah's intellectual development, news about his activities and current events, family and financial matters, and recollections of his younger days. He referenced major sociopolitical issues of the time, such as women's suffrage and temperance (with content on the Woman's Christian Temperance Union). Weld wrote about and provided updates on many family members and friends, including the Shepards, the Birneys, Archibald Grimké, Francis Grimké, Charles Stuart Weld, Anna Harvell Weld, William Hamilton, Angelina Hamilton, and Angelina Grimké Weld.
Notable letters include:
Angelina E. Grimké Weld's approximately 260 letters date from 1857 to 1878 (over 170 of them undated). She sent the majority of them to her daughter Sarah or granddaughter Angelina ("Nina"). The primary topics of conversation included food, housekeeping and home renovations, visiting lecturers, financial matters, health concerns, and politics. She also supplied news about Samuel Chace, Archibald Grimké, William Hamilton, Angelina Hamilton, Anna Harvell, the Haskells, the Mosleys, Gerrit Smith's family, the Philbricks, Charles Stuart Weld, Theodore Dwight Weld, and Theodore Grimké Weld.
Angelina Weld provided her daughter with motherly support, shown, for example, by an undated letter (January 20). In it, she addressed Sarah Weld Hamilton's concerns that "little Nina" showed preference to her father William Hamilton, by describing the jealousy she [Angelina] sometimes felt toward her sister Sarah M. Grimké, whom she recognized as having a closer relationship with Angelina Weld's children than they had with their mother. Angelina assured her daughter that she understood her feelings--and that Angelina felt relief when Sarah Moore Grimké moved out of their household.
Angelina Weld wrote multiple letters about the presidential election of 1876, including a compelling discussion of President Hayes' Cabinet and the appointment of Frederick Douglass as Marshall of the District of Columbia. On the latter, she remarked that it must have been hard "for the Democrats to swallow this, and yet I suppose as politicians the hope of the Colored vote to help them into office in future" was a factor in Douglass' confirmation. She believed that the strife of party politics would ultimately work to resolve "the most difficult problem of our day," the reconciliation of the black and white races (March 18, [1877]).
Sarah Moore Grimké's letters to her niece Sarah Weld (later Hamilton), number roughly 100 and span 1853 to 1869 (bulk 1862-1869). Her letters to Sarah offer a glimpse into their relationship, in which Aunt Sarah demonstrated a deep interest in her niece's life, offering educational advice (see for example her undated letter in which she encouraged her niece to pursue courses that would lead to a diploma), expressing concern for Sarah's physical and mental well-being, and discussing her niece's financial concerns/school expenses. Sarah M. Grimké also kept her niece abreast of family news, including details about the mental health struggles of "Sodie"/"Sody" (Theodore Grimké Weld) and the family's efforts to "cure" him (see especially June 10, 1863, and August 22, 1875). She also discussed literature (including Les Miserables in three letters in 1862 and 1863) and politics. Sarah M. Grimké provided updates on and news about Theodore Grimké Weld, the Birneys, Gerritt Smith, Lucy McKim Garrison, Charles Stuart Weld, and Julia Tappan.
Sarah Moore Grimké sent two letters to her niece and nephews while in Washington, D.C., 1853-1854:
Sarah Weld Hamilton's letters, about 120 in total, address women's rights and writing submissions to serials including the Independent (1869-early 1870s), her relationship with William Hamilton and her parents' disapproval of him (see especially October 28, 1869, and June 13, 1871), religion, and temperance. She later wrote about child rearing, family matters, visits to Cambridge and Boston (see especially October 21, 1891, in which she reminisces at length about her youth). Sarah included updates on and anecdotes about the Badger family, William Hamilton, Mary Livermore, the Blackwell family, her parents, Julia Ward Howe and her daughter Laura, "Lizzie" [Elizabeth A. L. Cram], Lucy Shepard, Thomas Hill, and Lucy Stone. Selected examples include:
William Hamilton wrote about 40 letters between 1870 and 1899, primarily about his health, his wife Sarah's health and death, his daughter Angelina, and his work in various educational and occupational endeavors (ministry, law, trade, and lumbering). Of particular note are his letters to Sarah written while conducting business both in and around Washington D.C. A few examples include:
Charles Stuart Faucheraud Weld's 10 letters date from 1868 to 1895 and primarily revolve around his duties/role as a son and brother. He wrote about US-European finance, Unitarianism and Dwight L. Moody, his aging parents' health, his efforts to help his brother Theodore engage with others, the death of Theodore D. Weld, and current writing. Charles Weld's wife Anna Harvell Weld sent approximately 50 letters between 1877 and 1895, and was a main source of news for Sarah Hamilton regarding the well-being of Sarah's father, Theodore Dwight Weld, and brother, Theodore G. Weld. Her correspondence also reflects the growing tension that existed between Sarah and herself. A later source of conflict was Sarah Weld Hamilton's desire to write a book about her father's life and her accompanying quest for supporting materials. Anna Harvell Weld also discussed Francis Grimké, Archibald Grimké, Theodore Dwight Weld, Theodore Grimké Weld, and Charles Stuart Weld. Examples of Anna Weld's letters include:
Angelina Grimké Hamilton wrote approximately 30 letters between 1878 and 1899, offering insight into her education and work towards becoming a physician. Her letters pertain to childhood activities, food, family, medical duties/work, and school. Of particular note are the letters she sent between December 9, 1892, and December 16, 1896, to Sarah, William, and Nettie Hamilton. In them, Angelina wrote about her time at Hahnemann Medical College and subsequent internship. She discussed her classes and clinical work, which included dressing a scalded arm, giving children vaccinations, and tending to a sprained ankle. She briefly mentioned visits to the Art Institute (March 5, 1893) and the Columbian Exhibition (February 19, 1893).
In 1868, the Grimké sisters discovered that they had nephews living in Washington, D.C. Although the Weld-Grimké Family Papers do not contain any letters by Archibald, and only two by Francis Grimké (October 31, 1879; November 6, [1879]), the correspondence does include many references to their education, activities, careers, and families. A few examples include:
The Diaries series contains 16 diaries: Nine by Sarah Grimké, seven by Angelina Grimké, and one by Louis Weld. Sarah's diaries date from 1819 to 1836 and they contain poetry, copies of Bible passages, and her thoughts on religion and marriage. She also reflected on women's issues, on her experiences as a Quaker, and about her daily experiences. Angelina's diaries date from 1828 to approximately 1835 and record her struggles with her transition between the Presbyterian and Quaker faiths, her relationship with Sarah, and her reasons for opposing slavery. The "Angelina Grimké Manuscript, 1832-1833" (beginning, "I think I have sincerely desired to receive a right qualification...") relates to her courtship with Edward Bettle, who died of cholera in 1832.
The Notebooks and Writings series consists of essays, lecture notes, and 39 notebooks kept by various members of the Weld-Grimké family. Theodore Weld's essays cover a diversity of subjects, including the oppression of women, Shakespeare's works, William Lloyd Garrison, abolition, and subjects related to political philosophy. Approximately eight notebooks belonging to Sarah are also in the collection; these include essays on women's political rights, the education of women, and the status of women in society. Her essays, "Sisters of Charity" and "The Condition of Woman" are some of the notebooks with titles. The series also includes Angelina's lecture notes and several undated autobiographical essays by Weld and his children. Of particular note is a biography of Weld written on 22 notepads by his daughter Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.
The Photographs series contains loose images in multiple photographic formats, including 18 cartes de visite, 17 cabinet cards, 5 developing out prints, 1 card mounted photograph, and 1 quarter-plate daguerreotype of the Weld-Grimké family by Greenleaf Weld. Also present are a Weld family album of cartes de visite and a photo album related to Eagleswood Academy, containing cartes de visite and tintypes.
The Printed Items series is made up of nearly 200 newspaper clippings, pamphlets, broadsides, and cards. The clippings mainly pertain to the topics of slavery and the abolition movement, although some also concern women's rights and the legacies of Theodore Weld and the Grimké sisters. Also included are family members' obituaries, including those of Sarah Moore Grimké. Nine family Bibles and Books of Common Prayer are also included, dating from 1740 to ca. 1921.
The Realia and Ephemera series contains several linear feet of three-dimensional objects associated with the Weld-Grimké family, including hair, Chinese ivory sewing box (gift of Benjamin Grimké), a cameo brooch, Angelina's eyeglasses and case, a silver Addison watch, a quilt presented by Eagleswood students, and a pocketknife belonging to Theodore Weld, a Chinese fan, a silhouette of Angelina G. Weld, and 17 elegant hand-cut valentines. Most of the items date to the mid-19th century.
In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies letters acquired by the Clements Library in 2012 and letters published in Barnes and Dumond: Weld-Grimké Family Papers Writer Index.
14 linear feet
Current results range from 1704 to 1994