Reverend James Owen Dorsey (1848-1895) was a missionary and Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist who conducted extensive research on Siouan tribes and languages.The papers of James Owen Dorsey comprise mostly ethnographic and linguistic materials on various tribes of the Siouan language family as well as tribes from Siletz Reservation in Oregon. These materials include texts and letters with interlineal translations; grammar notes; dictionaries; drawings; and his manuscripts. In addition, the collection contains Dorsey's correspondence, newspaper clippings, his obituaries, and reprints.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains James O. Dorsey's research and writings as a BAE ethnologist, as well as his earlier work as a missionary among the Ponca. The vast majority of the collection pertains to his research on Siouan-Catawban languages, including the Dakota and Dhegiha languages, Chiwere, Winnebago, Mandan, Hidatsa, Tutelo, Biloxi, and Catawba. His research on Athapascan, Kusan, Takilman, and Yakonan languages from his field work at Siletz Reservation are also present, as well as some notes on the Caddoan languages. Dorsey's research files include linguistic and ethnological field notes, reading notes, stories and myths, vocabularies, drawings, and unpublished and published manuscripts. The collection also contains Omaha, Ponca, Quapaw, and Biloxi dictionaries that he compiled and materials relating to his work editing Steven Riggs' Dakota-English Dictionary. Additional noteworthy materials in the collection are Teton texts and drawings from George Bushotter and drawings by Stephen Stubbs (Kansa), Pahaule-gagli (Kansa), and George Miller (Omaha). The collection also contains Dorsey's correspondence, newspaper clippings, obituaries, and his collection of reprints.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into 6 series: 1) Siouan; 2) Siletz Reservation; 3) Caddoan; 4) General Correspondence; 5) Personal Papers; 6) Miscellaneous & Reprints.
Biographical Note:
Reverend James Owen Dorsey (1848-1895) was a missionary and Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist who conducted extensive research on Siouan tribes and languages.
Dorsey was born on October 31, 1848 in Baltimore, Maryland. He exhibited a talent for languages at an early age. At age 6 he learned the Hebrew alphabet and was able to read the language at age 10. In 1867 Dorsey attended the Theological Seminary of Virginia and was ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1871. In May of that year, Dorsey traveled to the Dakota Territory to serve as a missionary among the Ponca. Plagued by ill health, Dorsey was forced to end his missionary work in August 1873. By that time, however, he had learned the Ponca language well enough to converse with members of the tribe without an interpreter.
Dorsey returned to Maryland and engaged in parish work while continuing his studies of Siouan languages. His linguistic talents and knowledge of these languages attracted the attention of Major John Wesley Powell. Powell arranged for Dorsey to work among the Omaha in Nebraska from 1878 to 1880 to collect linguistic and ethnological notes. When the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) was established in 1879, Powell recruited Dorsey to join the staff.
As an ethnologist for the BAE, Dorsey continued his research on Siouan tribes. His studies focused on languages but also included Siouan personal names, folklore, social organization, religion, beliefs, and customs. He conducted fieldwork among the Tutelo at Six Nations on Grand River in Upper Canada (1882); the Kansa, Osage, and Quapaw in Indian Territory (1883-1884); the Biloxi at Lecompte, Rapides Parish, Louisiana (1892); and again with the Quapaw at the Quapaw Mission (1894). He also worked with Native Americans that visited DC, including George Bushotter (Teton), Philip Longtail (Winnebago), Samuel Fremont (Omaha), and Little Standing Buffalo (Ponca). He also spent time at Siletz Reservation in 1884 to collect linguistic notes on the Athapascan, Kusan, Takilman, and Yakonan stocks.
In addition to his research, Dorsey helped found the American Folklore Society and served as the first vice-president of the association. He also served as vice-president of Section H of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
At the age of 47, Dorsey died of typhoid fever on February 4, 1895.
Sources Consulted
1st-16th Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 1881-1897.
Hewitt, J.N.B. 1895. "James Owen Dorsey" American Anthropologist A8, 180-183.
McGee, W.J. 1895. "In Memoriam." Journal of American Folklore 8(28): 79-80.
1848 -- Born on October 31 in Baltimore, Maryland.
1871 -- Ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
1871-1873 -- Served as a missionary among the Ponca in Dakota Territory.
1878-1880 -- Conducted fieldwork among the Omaha in Nebraska.
1879 -- Joined the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
1882 -- Conducted fieldwork among the Tutelo at Six Nations on Grand River in Upper Canada.
1883-1884 -- Conducted fieldwork among the Kansa, Osage, and Quapaw in Indian Territory.
1887 -- Worked with George Bushotter to record information regarding the language and culture of the Dakota.
1884 -- Conducted fieldwork at Siletz Reservation.
1892 -- Conducted fieldwork among the Biloxi at Lecompte, Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
1894 -- Conducted fieldwork among the Quapaw at the Quapaw Mission in Indian Territory.
1895 -- Died of typhoid fever on February 4th at the age of 47.
Restrictions:
The James O. Dorsey Papers are open for research. Access to the James O. Dorsey Papers requires an appointment
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Manuscript 4800 James O. Dorsey papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Creation of this finding aid was funded through support from the Arcadia Fund.
Digitization and preparation of additional materials for online access has been funded also by the National Science Foundation under BCS Grant No. 1561167 and the Recovering Voices initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
Includes occasional brief references to the Mattaponi and Chickahominy. Contents: Indian medicines by Lavinia Cook, 3 pages; names of Chiefs, from "Mrs R. C.," 1 page; the country and animals hunted, 1 page; tenure of lands, 1 page; population, 1 page; government, 1 page; "sustentation," 1 page; local names in King William Co., Virginia, 3 pages, note about Roxy (Roxanna) Indians near Norfolk, Virginia: "Meherrins?," 1 page; note on Cumberland town, English settlement on Pamunkey river, and "Cumberland Indians" visited by Gatschet, November 16, 1890, 3 pages; vocabulary notes from John Smith, Thomas Strachey, and the Reverend William Dalrymple, 3 pages; historical notes extracted in Virginia State Library, 2 pages; sketch map of King William County, Virginia, 1 page; sketch map of same area, after John Smith, 1608, 1 page.
Newspaper clippings, as follows: "Tribe of Pamunkey," The Daily Times, Richmond, Virginia, October 26, 1890 and November 2, 1890, 6 pages; a notice of the Pamunkey Indians on a reservation near Richmond, Virginia having sent a delegation to the World's Fair to invite other Indians to come and settle on their reservation, Indian Journal of Muskogee, Eufaula, Indian Territory, August 3, 1893, 1 page; "Pamunkeys Want a Sea Trip," Times, Washington, D.C., July 6, 1899, 1 page; "Powhatan's Men Yet Live," Washington [D.C.] Evening Star, Washington, D.C., April 25, 1894, 2 pages; "Pamunkey Indians and Their Little Reservation," Washington Chronicle, Washington, D.C., December 14, 1890, 2 pages. Reference added to file, 1956: The Historical Magazine, 1858, Volume 2, Number 6, page 182, containing Pamunkey vocabulary by Reverend Dalrymple (transcribed by Gatschet in his notebook). Photostat, 1 page.
Indians of North America -- Great Plains Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Tintypes
Chromolithographs
Lithographs
Prints
Pages
Photographs
Newspapers
Woodcuts
Place:
Mexico
Taos Pueblo (N.M.)
California
Oregon
Fort Davis (Tex.)
New Mexico
Fort Snelling (Minn.)
Arizona
Texas
San Juan Pueblo (N.M.)
Zuni (N.M.)
Kansas
Colorado
Date:
circa 1863-1900
Summary:
Scrapbook entitled "Our Wild Indians in Peace and War: Surveys, Expeditions, Mining and Scenery of the Great West," compiled by James E. Taylor, possibly as a source for his own illustrations.
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbook entitled "Our Wild Indians in Peace and War: Surveys, Expeditions, Mining and Scenery of the Great West," compiled by James E. Taylor, possibly as a source for his own illustrations. The album includes photographs (mostly albumen with three tintypes), newsclippings, wood engravings, and lithographs, some of which are reproductions of Taylor's own illustrations and paintings. Photographs depict American Indians, US Army soldiers and scouts, historical sites, forts, and scenery. Some were made on expeditions, including the Hayden and Powell surveys, and created from published stereographs. Many of Taylor's illustrations are signed, and some are inscribed with dates and "N. Y." The scrapbook also includes clippings from newspapers and other written sources relating to illustrations and photographs in the album.
Biographical Note:
James E. Taylor (1839-1901) was an artist-correspondent for Leslie's Illustrated Weekly Newspaper from 1863-1883. Born in Cincinatti, Ohio, he graduated from Notre Dame University by the age of sixteen. Taylor enlisted in the 10th New York Infantry in 1861 and the next year was hired by Leslie's Illustrated newspaper as a "Special Artist" and war correspondent. In 1864 he covered the Shenandoah Valley campaign, and was later one of the illustrator-correspondents at the 1867 treaty negotiations at Medicine Lodge, Kansas. He soon earned the moniker "Indian Artist" because of his vast number of drawings of American Indians. In 1883 Taylor retired from Leslie's to work as a freelance illustrator. Colonel Richard Irving Dodge used Taylor's drawings to illustrate his memoir, "Our Wild Indians: Thirty-three Years' Personal Experience among the Red Men of the Great West" (1882).
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4605
Related Materials:
The National Anthropolgical Archives holds additional photographs by photographers represented in this collection (including original negatives for some of these prints), particularly in Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 37, Photo Lot 60, Photo Lot 87.
Additional photographs by Whitney, Gardner, and Barry held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 80-18.
Julian Vannerson and James E. McClees photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 4286.
Pywell photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 4498.
O'Sullivan photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo lot 4501.
Additional Hillers photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 83-18 and Photo Lot 87-2N.
Provenance:
Donated or transferred by John Witthoft from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, April 14, 1961.
Indians of North America -- Great Basin Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Negatives (photographic)
Copy prints
Place:
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Washington (D.C.)
Florida
Yellowstone National Park
Colorado
Date:
mid-19th - early 20th century
Scope and Contents note:
Copies of photogaphs selected from the George Eastman House collection by Bureau of American Ethnology archivist Margaret Blaker in 1962. Many of the photographs are individual or group portraits of American Indians and some highlight pottery, baskets, and cradleboards. There are also images of American Indian dwellings, including tipis and hogans; pueblos; dances; and an encampment during the Modoc War and Plains Indian prisoners at Fort Marion, Florida (1870s).
Expedition photos in the collection were made on T. O. Selfridgeʹs Darien Expedition (1870-1871), the Wheeler surveys (1871-1874), and the Hayden Geological Survey (1871). The collection also includes portraits of Frederick Douglass, Sitting Bull, and John A. Logan; and images from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show; Company F of New York's 140th Volunteer Infantry; and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot R79
Reproduction Note:
Copy negatives made by George Eastman House, 1962.
Copy prints made by the Smithsonian, 1962-1963.
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives holds vintage prints for many of the photographs copied in this collection, including in Photo lot 4501, Photo Lot 4605, and Photo Lot 90-1.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
The images were acquired for reference purposes and cannot be reproduced. Copies may be obtained from George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.
The item is number 20957 of an unidentified series. The number 14 is stamped on the front of the photograph. The item is identical to number 952 of Photo Lot 90-1. Numbers 1270 and 1291 of Photo Lot 90-1 are colorized versions of this image.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is number V23180 of an unidentified series. The number 385 is stamped on the front of the photograph. The men, wearing headdresses, are posed with rifles, bows and arrows, spears, and pipes. The item is identical to number 975 of Photo Lot 90-1.
Local Numbers:
NAA INV.09873600
Other Title:
"Among the Iroquois Indians, Province of Quebec, Canada"
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is number 23095 of an unidentified series. The number 169 is stamped on the front of the photograph. Between the two men is a young woman with a baby. The item is identical to numbers 547 and 970 of Photo Lot 90-1.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is number 23095 of an unidentified series. The number 169 is stamped on the front of the photograph. Between the two men is a young woman with a baby. The item is identical to numbers 537 and 970 of Photo Lot 90-1.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
An elderly woman, a girl and a boy sit in the foreground. In the background adults and children sit in front of the entrance to a log building. The item is unnumbered but is part of the series Gems of Lake Superior Scenery.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is unnumbered but is part of the series The Picturesque of Lake Superior. Mrs. Lo, in European dress, is seated outside a wigwam holding her child who is in a cradleboard. The item is identical to number 265 of Photo Lot 90-1.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is number 20958 of an unidentified series. The number I25 is stamped on the front of the photograph. The man is posed preparing to fire an arrow from his bow. The item is identical to numbers 673 and 1313 of Photo Lot 90-1. The same tents and trees appear to be in numbers 1271 and 1292 of Photo Lot 90-1. These are actually two different photographs taken seconds apart.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The item is number 20958 of an unidentified series. The number I25 is stamped on the front of the photograph. The man is posed preparing to fire an arrow from his bow. The item is identical to numbers 672 and 1313 of Photo Lot 90-1. The same tents and trees appear to be in numbers 1271 and 1292 of Photo Lot 90-1. These are actually two different photographs taken seconds apart.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
In the foreground is a canoe, a wigwam is in the background. The item is number 736 of the series Scenery and Groups. The item is identical to number 1022 of Photo Lot 90-1.
Photo Lot 90-1, George V. Allen collection of photographs of Native Americans and the American frontier, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
