approximately 1,530 items in 12 boxes
The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.
The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.
The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:
approximately 1,530 items in 12 boxes
1 linear foot
The Stevens family papers (1 linear foot) consist of correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to Frederic W. Stevens and Edith de Gueldry Twining and to their son Neil, who was a medical volunteer in France during the First World War.
The 5 earliest letters in the Correspondence series (around 152 items total), written in November 1884, are addressed to Julia Twining and express condolences about her father's recent death. These are followed by a lengthy series of letters from Frederic W. Stevens to his fiancée, Edith de Gueldry Twining, prior to their wedding. He wrote daily from July to September 1903, giving his future wife updates on his daily life and on mutual friend, and his later letters include a series written in the summer and early autumn of 1906, while Edith lived at her family's summer home in Clinton, New York. These letters focus on domestic affairs and on the state of the couple's household in Morristown, New Jersey.
Neil Campbell Stevens wrote 5 letters from Europe during the World War I era, including 4 concerning his service in French hospitals during the opening and closing months of the war. In a letter postmarked 1914, he related his experiences treating French and German patients while working as a medical aide at the Val-de-Grâce military hospital.
Other items include a letter by a British soldier about military protocol affecting "this Ulster business," which was rioting centered around the Irish Home Rule controversy (April 20, 1914); a letter of thanks from Paul Salembier, a soldier with the 145th French Infantry who received a care package from the Stevens family (March 28, 1916); and a printed letter to Edith Stevens concerning the relocation of her house (November 22, 1928). The series also has 3 letters in French.
The Postcards series (33 items) contains both blank cards and cards with short messages. The majority of the items depict scenes from France, including painted landscapes as well as photographs related to World War I. French general Joseph Joffre is the subject of several photographic postcards, and some show damage done to Senlis, France, and other scenes from the western front.
A large number of Photographs (c. 120, plus 1 photograph album) portray France during World War I, and also family vacations to Niagara Falls and other lakeside destinations. Several of the war-era photographs show members of the ambulance corps, 3 showcase a bullet-strewn Model T, and others present camouflaged military installations, guns, soldiers, and scenery from the western front. Other peacetime material consists of unlabeled portraits, a picture of Barbara Stevens on a tennis court, and a photograph album containing pictures of a family vacation near a lake.
The Identity Papers series consists of 2 items. One is Neil C. Stevens's passport, and the other is his identity paper for the Hôpital Militaire du Val-de-Grâce. Both include photographs of Stevens.
The Newspaper Clippings series contains 53 clippings from The New York Times and The New York Tribune, which document several aspects of World War I. Topics include the outbreak of war, the official declaration of war by the United States, food prices on the home front, submarine attacks on American shipping, and maps of suspected military movements in both the western and eastern fronts. Other items are a political cartoon showing Napoleon chastising the Germans for their plans to invade Eastern Europe, and a report on the return of Neil Stevens from his first three months in France. Two clippings, dated April 18 and 20, 1914, relate to "The Plot Against Ulster" and the controversy over Irish Home Rule.
The Receipts series (3 items) includes a letter concerning the payment of $7 for an article printed in The Independent (March 2, 1895), a receipt for a case of tobacco shipped to Neil Stevens during his time in France (November 21, 1914), and a receipt for a donation from Barbara and Alice Stevens to the Charité Maternelle de Paris (March 5, 1917).
Among the items in the Ephemera series (11 items) are 3 calling cards, 1 invitation, a solicitation for donations to the War Children's Relief Fund, a pamphlet about Yosemite National Park, and a broadside advertising the Morristown Committee Third Liberty Loan.
Notes and Genealogy (7 items) include notes on the history of the Twining family and a typed biographical sketch of Sutherland Douglas Twining (1835-1918) with manuscript notes.
1 linear foot
0.5 linear feet
The Elizabeth Rous Comstock papers (282 items) contain letters and writings related to Comstock's family, her Quaker ministry, and her social reform activities. The letters span her entire career with the greatest concentration of correspondence centering on her work with the Kansas Freedmen's Association and on her family life. In addition to the Elizabeth Comstock material, the collection contains content related to her daughter Caroline, her grandchildren, and to the Kempton family.
The Correspondence series (151 items) contains 123 items related to Elizabeth Comstock and her family. The bulk of the collection consists of letters written by or addressed to Elizabeth Comstock between 1847 and 1890.
The family and friends correspondence primarily relates to everyday life, such as work, homemaking, visiting, family life; contemporary issues such as the Civil War and slavery; and news of friends and family, including illnesses, marriages, and deaths. Elizabeth wrote many of the letters, which document her perspective on her work, her marriage and relationship with her husband, and on religion and the Society of Friends. Elizabeth’s preaching, charitable work, and travels are often mentioned in these letters, including her trip across the Atlantic in early 1884. These letters cover both theoretical discussions of religious topics and discussions of the Society of Friends, its policies, and its schools. A subset of these letters regards Caroline De Greene’s serious illness and "mental suffering" in 1870, which may have been related to childbirth. Also of note is a letter from Elizabeth Steere that describes her experiences living in the remote Minnesota Territory (December 9, 1856).
The second group of Elizabeth's correspondence mainly consists of letters between Elizabeth and Joshua Longstreth Bailey, a dry goods merchant and philanthropist, who assisted her in her work with the Kansas Freedmen’s Relief Association from 1879 to 1881. Elizabeth discusses the logistics of supplying newly arrived African Americans with food, shelter, and a means of subsistence, and relates information about the migrants and their experiences in both the South and in Kansas. Elizabeth shares, in depth, her perspective on this large migration, which she refers to as "the Exodus." An item of note is a letter from John W. Snodgrass proposing a plan to buy land to aid resettled former slaves in Kansas (May 3, 1881). Other items concern Comstock's work to improve the lives of former slaves and prisoners during the Civil War, including a letter from Ed Howland who wrote to Comstock of a "plan before Congress to change the whole plan of taking care of colored people" (February 3, 1865). B. Dornblaser, the warden at the Illinois State Penitentiary, wrote to Comstock about pardoning Frederick Marx from Kentucky who was "tricked" into buying a stolen mule (April 5, 1865). She also communicated with Thomas Story Kirkbride, superintendent of the Philadelphia Hospital for the Insane (March 6, 1870).
The collection also contains material related to her daughter Caroline and to Elizabeth's grandchildren. Much of this is correspondence between Caroline and members of her family, regarding news, daily life, traveling and visiting, religion, work, and school. Of interest are letters of reference for Caroline "Calla" De Greene in support of continuing her education and recommending her for positions teaching French and German at the college level (May 2, 1893, July 11 and October 5, 1898, May 10, 1905, and March 19, 1906).
The Kempton Family material consists of 26 letters, which largely concern religious issues, everyday life, and news of family and friends. These include the 7 earliest items in the series, from 1827-1828, with the rest scattered throughout.
The Commonplace Book and Diary series (2 items) contains an 1839 commonplace book (52 pages) of poems and essays inscribed as belonging to Charity Kempton. Many entries center on the theme of a loved one leaving on a sea voyage. These include passages called "Seamen's Hymn," "Matrimonial Chart," and "The Old Oaken Bucket." The second item is Elizabeth Comstock's 34-page travel diary (8 blank pages) during the summer of 1878. It contains Biblical verses, brief descriptions of places she visited, notes on her activities, and notes on religious services she attended.
The Poems Series (10 items) contains handwritten copies of poems, all of which are religious in nature. Included among the 9 unattributed poems are a cautionary poem on dancing and drinking, a 16-page poem called "The Ministry of Angels," and a poem entitled "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: A Dialogue in Verse." The single attributed poem is a copy of William Cowper's "God Moves in Mysterious Ways."
The Corrections for Caroline Hare's Life and Letters of Elizabeth Comstock series (1 item) is 7 pages of notes and corrections for Caroline Hare's biography of Elizabeth Comstock (see the Related Materials section for information on the Clements' copy of this book). The comments range from grammatical edits to insights into personal events and her ministerial efforts.
The Miscellaneous Writings series (25 items) contains non-correspondence material including: religious quotations, miscellaneous notes jotted down on scraps of paper, Friends meeting minutes, recipes, and essays on religion and marriage. Most of these items are unattributed but are likely from Elizabeth Comstock, Chastity Kempton, and others. Of note is a three-page item containing "Dying expressions of Soldiers," including the last words of a soldier on the Battlefield of Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862), and those of a man about to be hung in Nashville, Tennessee. This series also contains instructions for refining sugar, and remedies for common maladies, such as heartburn, dysentery, snake bites, and nausea, "By the celibrated Indian Doctor John Mackintosh, of the Cherokee Nation; None of which have ever before been communicated to the world" (undated).
The Documents series (11 items) contains various official documents related to the Comstock and Kempton families.
The Accounts series (6 items) contains 3 lists of books to be sent to various Friends libraries and associations, 1 list of donated goods such as fabric and clothes addressed to E. Smith of Victoria Road, an 1875 bill for goods, and an item documenting money owed with interest for an unspecified purpose.
The Printed Ephemera series (24 items) includes miscellaneous printed material: passes to cross Union and Confederate lines during the Civil War; 8 "Bible Reading Leaflets;" two Quaker related essays; a fragment of a book labeled "Self-Communion" (pages 3-10); 4 poems (prayers); 4 event cards; and a catalogue for mechanical farming equipment. The collection also holds one of Comstock's hymn books entitled, Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs (Words Only) , by P.P. Bliss and Ira Sankey. The handmade cover is reinforced with a portion of a postcard stamped March 9, 1878 (95 small pages of hymns).
The Newspaper Clippings series (50 items) is composed of printed items related to the Kansas Freedman's Relief program. These include several essays and articles written by Comstock and her colleagues, as well as newspaper stories about Comstock's activities aiding African American "refugees" in Kansas, who were suffering from sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Many of these include pleas for charity. The clippings come from newspapers across America, as well as from England.
The Prints and Photographs series (8 items) consists of 7 photographs, including 2 of Elizabeth and 1 of her daughter Caroline, one print of the residence of R. Hathaway in Rollin, Michigan.
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
1.75 linear feet
This collection is made up of correspondence and other items related to Silas and Rebecca Tenney of Chester, New Hampshire, and to their descendants, including Orlando Murray Tenney of Chester and West Hampstead, New Hampshire; his wife, Emmagene Fitts; and their daughter, Alice Lillian Tenney.
The Correspondence series contains approximately 320 letters addressed to members of the Tenney and Fitts families, particularly Rebecca (or Rebekah) Tenney, Orlando M. Tenney, Emmagene F. Tenney, and Alice L. Tenney.
A small group of letters, dated from the 1820s-1830s, is comprised of letters to Silas and Rebecca Tenney from their children, including Bailey, Thomas, Sally, and Charles; other family members; and friends. Thomas Tenney discussed his philosophical, moral, and religious beliefs; others shared family and local news. Scattered letters dated in the 1840s, 1850s, and early 1860s concern other members of the Tenney and Fitts families, including religious letters that Orlando M. Tenney received from an acquaintance.
The bulk of the series is made up of incoming letters to Orlando M. and Emmagene F. Tenney and their daughter Alice, dated 1867-1925 (bulk 1867-1917). Orlando Tenney and Emmagene Fitts ("Genie") exchanged love letters during their courtship and marriage; in later years, they discussed their children and family news, particularly while Emmagene visited her family in Candia, New Hampshire. From the mid-1870s to the early 1890s, Emmagene F. Tenney also received personal letters from family members such as her sister, Alice C. Fitts; her mother, Caroline Phelps Fitts; and many cousins and acquaintances. Orlando M. Tenney received condolence letters after Emmagene's death in 1892, and his siblings and other family members wrote to him into the early 20th century.
In the mid-1880s, Alice L. Tenney began to receive letters from family members and friends; her incoming correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection after 1892. Letters from a school friend, May E. Norris, concern Norris's life in Boston, Massachusetts, and later letters pertain to family members' lives in New England and New York. Alice's other correspondents included her sister Bertha, her brothers Walter and Sewall, and several aunts and cousins. One brief series of letters by Ralph Candee of Westwood, Massachusetts, pertains to Alice's recent denial of his marriage proposal (included in his letter of July 14, 1903); most of the 20th-century letters pertain to the Tenney brothers' lives in New York and New Hampshire.
The Diary Fragments, Essays, and Poetry series (13 items) consists of items written by multiple authors. One group of diary entries (20 pages), dated January 1809-June 25, [1813], focuses on the unidentified author's religious beliefs and reflections. A second author wrote similar reflections on their 69th and 70th birthdays (May 13, 1842, and May 13, 1843). The remaining items are poems and essays by Helen M. Tenney (July 9, 1851, and February 9, 1856), O. M. Tenney (undated), and others (undated). These writings concern nature and animals, religion, the Eiffel Tower, and other subjects. One essay, entitled "Exercises of My Mind," is a copy of a work by Augustus Sanborn (d. 1823).
Financial Records (8 items, 1867-1911) consist of receipts, a money order, a dividend notice, and accounts related to Orlando M. Tenney, William Tenney, Sewall F. Tenney, and Alice L. Tenney.
The Photograph is an undated carte-de-visite portrait of an unidentified woman, taken in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
The Ephemera and Invitations series (8 items, 1870-1903) contains items addressed to various members of the Tenney and Fitts families. Most of the invitations pertain to weddings. The series also contains calling cards and a blank application for the "Tribe of Ben-Hur."
Miscellaneous material (12 items) includes a notebook that belonged to Orlando M. Tenney in 1881, a drawing of a man riding a plow attributed to "O. M. T." (July 30, 1907), a recipe for corn salve, a newspaper obituary for Frank E. Fitts, and manuscript notes and fragments.
1.75 linear feet
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
7 linear feet
This collection is comprised of 1,182 letters; 98 diaries; 210 documents; 468 receipts, checks, and account books; seven school papers and writings; three photographs; 34 printed and ephemeral items; and other materials of the family of stonecutter and marbleworker John M. Ramsey, his wife Cyanea, and their children. The family lived in Greenfield, New Hampshire; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around 60 Civil War letters and one diary of the Ramseys' son Henry, who served in the 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, and around 10 letters of a cousin Ridgeway P. Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included. Particularly notable are 96 daily diaries of the Ramsey daughters Emily S. and Cyanea H., kept largely while they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1870s-1920s.
The Correspondence series includes 1,182 items and opens with the 1827-1830s letters of Caroline and Hannah Ramsey of Greenfield, New Hampshire, and a sister, Sarah Marshall, of Augusta, Maine. A group of letters pertain to the courtship and marriage of John M. Ramsey and Cyanea Stevens--including a letter from Cyanea's parents Lemuel and Reliance about Cyanea's request for their approval of the wedding (August 5, 1836). Letters of the 1850s include correspondence of Collins Hinckley Stevens, regarding the death of Cyanea's mother Reliance in 1858, and incoming letters to Emily Ramsey from her schoolmates. A selection of letters to Emily from E. H. Langdon, a schoolteacher in Milwaukee, are present.
In the 1860s, sisters Emily, Frances "Fannie", and Cyanea carried on correspondence with each other and with friends and family, including:
The Ramsey family correspondence includes around 60 Civil War letters of Corporal Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He wrote from Camp Randall, the steamship Planet, Camp Sabin, Camp near Grand Junction, Camp near Memphis, Camp near Lake Providence, Louisiana, Camp Randall, and Vicksburg. In the mid-1870s, Henry was admitted to the Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the family received letters from Dr. E. H. VanDensen about his progress, especially around 1876. Around 10 letters of a cousin Paul Ridgeway Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included.
Cyanea's and Emily's other correspondents from the 1870s to the 1930s include but are not limited to:
The Diaries series includes 98 daily diaries, 96 of which were kept by sisters Cyanea H. and Emily S. Ramsey between 1873 and 1935, while the two lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The remaining two diaries include Henry C. Ramsey's Civil War diary for the year 1864 and a partial 1921 diary kept by [Howard Stevens?] in a pre-printed 1894 pocket journal. Henry Ramsey's 1864 pocket diary includes entries covering the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry's movements from Vicksburg to Tennessee, to Georgia, with accounts of Kennesaw Mountain and the battle of Atlanta. The diary also covers his experiences as part of Sherman's march to the sea.
The Documents series is made up of 210 legal and financial documents pertinent largely to land and property in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan, between 1786 and 1919 (bulk 1825-1911). Additional items include tax documents, stock-related items, and other materials.
The Financial and Business Papers includes 300 receipts, around 160 bank checks, and eight account books. The receipts date between 1831 and 1928, pertaining largely to John M. Ramsey's marble and stonecutting business. Additional receipts relate to personal property and tax payments. The 160 checks are drawn largely from Grand Rapids, Michigan, banks between December 1869 and October 1880. The account books include:
The collection's School Papers and Writings (7 items) include John M. Ramsey's teacher's book, November 1830-February 1831; a fragment of mathematical rules by J. M. Ramsey; a chronological table by Emily Ramsey, 1851; a reward of merit for Mary Ramsey; two penmanship exercises; and a manuscript issue of The Literary Chip Basket (vol. 111, no. 11), Port Washington, 1861, with list of contributors including Fanny Oatman and Emily Ramsey.
The Photographs series includes one carte-de-visite of Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Wisconsin Infantry; and one carte-de-visite and one cabinet card of unidentified individuals.
The Ephemera and Printed Items series is made up of invitations, Nashua Manufacturing Company employee regulations (August 31, 1837), advertisements for marble and other products, and torn pages from the History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, ed. Hurd, 1885.
The collection also contains items pertinent to Genealogy (6 items) and an Address Book, Fragments, and Envelopes.
7 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
6 cubic feet (in 7 boxes, 1 Oversized folder, 1 v.)
The collection documents the Parker family of Frankfort and Grand Rapids, Michigan, particularly captain and lawyer N.A. Parker, and his daughter, Dora B. Parker, later of Los Angeles, California. Most of the collection consists of various types of family photographs in a variety of media, correspondence, legal documents, genealogical materials, publications, verse and poetry, and other materials. Dora’s life and that of women of her period and education are documented by photographs of activities, such as biking and trips, travel journals, and by the Woman’s Lakeside Literary Club (Frankfort, Michigan), Annual Programs, 1896/1897, 1919/1920-1925/1926, of which she was a member. N.A. Parker’s life is documented mostly in photographs, notably in a fine photograph album of the Civil War, mostly of the 20th Michigan Infantry, with carte de visites of officers of the unit, and one composite image of President Lincoln. Many of the photographs are autographed or have annotations on them concerning the officer’s death. N.A. Parker is also documented in post-war GAR reunion materials and in family genealogical materials. Two published books were retained in the collection because of the additional materials and personal dedications in them to Dora. Copies are separately cataloged in the Clarke. Although Mary E. Parker’s obituary notes her early activities as a suffragette, there is no documentation of these activities or interests within the collection.
6 cubic feet (in 7 boxes, 1 Oversized folder, 1 v.)
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