Denver Public Library: Western History Genealogy: News, Exhibits and Classes

Western History/Genealogy Newsletter

June 2008

Welcome to The Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy News. This page is updated monthly and includes:

Archives Collection News
New Books in the Western History Collection
New Books in the Genealogy Collection

Archives Collection

A note about the Archives Collection: all Archives Collections are cataloged and a brief record is available through the Library catalog. Only a portion of the Archives Collection has extensive online guides found in the Archives Finding Aids that contain detailed descriptive information and lists of contents including the following new materials.

New Archives Finding Aids

David F. Barry Papers WH1621

David Frances Barry was a photographer best known for portraits he took of famous Native Americans in the Dakota Territory between 1878 and 1883. The David F. Barry Papers contain correspondence between Barry and photograph dealers and other customers seeking details and prices for Barry's portraits. In his correspondence, Barry often reveals details of his experiences as a pioneer photographer and of his subjects, along with impressions of individual Indians and soldiers with whom he was acquainted. He describes his current life, his business and his wife’s declining health. While the letters Barry wrote to dealers are originals, those he wrote to Elizabeth Bacon Custer (General Custer’s widow), Colonel William A. Graham and some others are copies. The collection also contains advertising fliers.

Mary Murphy Gold Mining Records WH252

The Mary Murphy Gold Mining Records document the operation of the Mary Murphy Gold Mine from 1911 to 1939 in Chaffee County, Colorado about seventeen miles southwest of Buena Vista. The Mary Murphy Mine was established in the gulch between the Chrysolite and Pomeroy Mountains and became the biggest gold producer in the area. The Mary Murphy Gold Mine produced over $60,000,000 by 1926 when the gold played out. Payroll, commissary and Romley Boarding and Bunkhouse records comprise the bulk of the Collection. It also includes the records of the 1939 foreclosure sale of the mine.

Robert Leaman Brown Papers WH48

The Robert Leaman Brown Papers include manuscripts for some of his books as well as the black-and-white photographs that he used as illustrations in the books. Half of the photographs comprise copies of early photographs. The other half includes Brown's original photographs in which he duplicated the angles from which the early photographs were taken, known as rephotography. The Collection portrays images of Colorado ghost town sites in the 1960s as well as earlier images. Editor-corrected copies, proof sets and original handwritten pages comprise the manuscripts.

Ralph G. Norvell WH515

The papers of Ralph G. Norvell comprise an interesting look at military service in Mexico. The Collection contains original correspondence dated 1847-1848 from Norvell to his wife during his service in Mexico, correspondence to Amanda Norvell concerning a pension for her late husband's military service and deeds dated 1837-1849 for real estate in Indiana.

Hidden Treasures

Menu Collection WH1509

In keeping with this month’s new books focus on food is a brief mention of a remarkable resource, the Menu Collection. Formed at the suggestion of the late Sam Arnold, renowned Denver restaurateur and owner of The Fort restaurant near Morrison, Colorado, the Collection now comprises approximately 17 oversized boxes. Organized alphabetically by city and town, researchers can work their way through menus dated from 1875 to the recent past and consider the nature (and prices) of dining in Denver, Colorado, and around the world. In whole or part, seven boxes deal with Denver restaurants, dinners, and events where meals were served, presenting an opportunity not only to research the nature of fine dining, but also everyday meals, changing tastes, railroad menu car meals, and innovations in food, its presentation, and consumption. And what’s on the menu? Well, if we were to eat at the Windsor Hotel on November 16, 1880, our prospective selections would include sweetbreads larded with truffles, aspic of oysters, and green turtle a l’Imperial...

Tom Currigan Papers WH929

Among the items in former Denver Mayor Tom Currigan’s Collection is a black and white 16mm film of the 1965 pilot for a television series called “The Mayor” that was shot in Denver, though the name of the city was never mentioned. The opening scene and closing scenes were shot in Civic Center Park and much of the filming was done in the City and County Building with the State Capitol Building visible through the windows.

Archives Donations

The Western History and Genealogy Department is home to over 4,000 Archival Collections having to do with the history of Colorado and the states west of the Mississippi. We have countless families, individuals, businesses, and organizations to thank for our Archival Collections, which contain original materials such as correspondence, business records, meeting minutes, speeches, legislative files, scrapbooks, journals, diaries, and photographs. The generosity of our donors has allowed countless researchers to glean one-of-a-kind information about Colorado and the West, and it has enabled generations of family members to visit the Library and learn about their ancestors. We consider our archival collections to be treasures of the Library, and we are grateful for the opportunity to preserve and provide access to them.

H. H. Tangeman Papers, 1902-1946

Denver attorney Harry H. Tangeman (1872-1946) moved to Denver ca. 1900 and started a partnership with fellow attorney Bruno Hobbs. Although Hobbs moved to New York in 1906 to become International Secretary for the Y.M.C.A., Tangeman continued to practice law in Denver until his death in 1946. The Collection was donated by Sharon Henry of Denver and includes correspondence, receipt books, account ledgers, and appointment books related to Tangeman’s law practice.

Helen Lucero Papers, 1930-2005

Minority activist Helen Lucero (1930-2005) moved to Denver with her mother and siblings in 1946. Her job as a shop steward and recording secretary for a local box factory union motivated her to become interested in politics and political activism, especially in regard to minority causes. She worked for several city agencies and was a tireless volunteer on behalf of Hispanic minorities, receiving numerous awards. Her papers were donated by her sister, Rita Cordova of Denver, and include correspondence, newspaper clippings, awards, and a scrapbook.

Colorado Heritage Area Partnership Records, 1996-2001

The Colorado Heritage Area was formed in 1996 to help acknowledge and care for “Colorado’s Great Places” by supporting alliances across jurisdictional boundaries for the “celebration, protection, enhancement and interpretation of heritage resource.” The Collection was donated by Chris Ford of Denver and includes organizational records, clippings, photographs, and maps.

Photo Donations

Gordon S. Chappell Photographs

Photographs donated by Gordon Chappell. Added to the already existing Robert W. Richardson Collection. Gordon was a life-long friend of Richardson. In addition to various photographs of Robert Richardson and his homes, Chappell also photographed many trains and railroad scenes. Images of Mr. Richardson when he was in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and in Iran (then the Persian Empire) as part of the Persian Gulf Command during World War II about 1943 are also found in this Collection.

Helen Lawson Sick Photograph Collection

The Helen Lawson Sick Photograph Collection was donated by Rita Cordova. It contains studio portraits of the Lawson children and other unidentified men and women. A photograph album includes loose print images of Rio Grande County, Colorado, Monte Vista, Denver and South Cheyenne Canyon, Colorado Springs, and Washington, D.C.

Western History Donations

Shafroth Family – three boxes of personal and professional papers donated by Frank Shafroth
Cassidy, Ina Sizer – one box of papers donated by Sandra Dallas
Denver Regional Council of Governments – donated one box of records
Mission Viejo Homeowners Association – three boxes of records donated by Todd McMahon
Colorado Symphony Guild – two boxes of the Guild’s records donated by Joyce Kremer
William S. Jackson Family – a partial box of personal papers donated by Bill Jackson
Dallas, Sandra – donated her manuscript for Tallgrass
Ghosts Towns of Colorado – one folder purchased
John R. Ball Metal Working Shop – one oversize ledger purchased
Hernandez-Ramos, Florence – one box of papers donated by Manuel Ramos
Anderson, John – donated one box of professional papers related to his work in architecture
Noel, Tom – donated one box of his professional records

Conservation Collection Donations

Bureau of Land Management – one box of records donated by Joyce Kelly
Wilderness Society Southeast Regional Office – two boxes of records donated by Frank Peterman
The Nature Conservancy – donated six boxes of records

10th Mountain Division Donations

O'Brien, Daniel M. – one box of military papers, photographs, correspondence and memorabilia donated by Pete Russell
Wiese, Ralph A. – two 8 mm films donated by Eleanor Wiese
Koslow, George A. – military papers donated by Susan Hallett
10th Mountain Division Newspaper Collection – magazines donated by Edwin Fancher
Peck, Allen – one photograph of Peck donated by Stephanie Fitzpatrick
Knefley, Henry B. – military papers donated by Ronald Longo
Johnson, Robert – oral history donated by Myrna Hampton
Wilson, Richard – Riva Ridge re-climb photographs, memorabilia, publications and International Federation of Mountain Soldiers papers donated by Leslie Surma
McCown, Grove – photographs, magazines donated by Susan McCown

Information for Donors

Individuals, businesses, and organizations are welcome to contact the Library to discuss donating materials having to do with the history of Colorado and the West. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, original personal and professional correspondence, organizational and business records, meeting minutes, memos, speeches, legislative files, subject files, scrapbooks, journals/diaries, and photographs.

We are particularly interested in locating archival materials that document the following areas of state and regional history:

Colorado legislators and political figures
Ethnic groups, such as the Hispanic and Japanese American communities
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender communities
Sports history and industry
Cultural and non-profit organizations
Native Americans
Notable historical families or individuals
Societies, clubs, and organizations

If you are interested in donating materials to the Library, please contact Erin Edwards, Acquisitions Specialist, 720-865-1810, eedwards@denverlibrary.org or check here for donation guidelines.

Volunteering

Volunteers are always welcome to assist with the processing of the Archives Collections and processing the related photographs. If you are interested in volunteering to help process Archives Collections, contact the volunteer office.

New Books in Western History Collection

With this column we begin the first of two months devoted to the study of Western food and drink. We begin with food, cookbooks and studies of western foodways. More than simply ranch cooking or the menus of distinct ethnic communities, food in the West has proved profoundly consequential. From its cultivation to its consumption, what we eat reflects, and shapes, the Western experience.

As recent shortages of rice and premium prices for wheat remind us, agriculture and environment are intimately entwined. Richard Walker’s The Conquest of Bread: 150 Years of Agribusiness in California (New Press, 2004) examines agriculture in the most productive of states. California’s farms routinely produce more than 200 crops for market, and Winkler explores the elements essential to such productivity, including labor, capital, marketing, and biotechnology.
Where Walker’s work explores the rise of agribusiness, others have turned their attention to small farms. David Mas Masumoto, one of generations of small California farmers, has become a voice for the remarkable effort to sustain family farms and endangered fruit varietals. Beginning with his 1995 work, Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm (Harper San Francisco), Masumoto has become a prolific writer on farms, food, and the rhythms of cultivation. His most recent work, Heirlooms: Letters from a Peach Farmer (Heyday Books, 2007) has just made its way into our collection.
On a similar note, Kim Severson’s recent article in the New York Times (April 30, 2008), entitled “An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner,” highlights efforts to save various fruits, vegetables, nuts, and livestock once widely consumed by peoples of various American regions. Don’t miss the interactive map feature, with its several Western regions, and such ‘Pinon Nut Nation’ foods as Paiute speckled tepary bean, Cui-ui sucker, and Death Valley Devil’s Claw.
Perhaps no other figure has been more influential in the revolution of food, organic farming, and patronage of local producers than California’s Alice Waters. From the opening of her Berkeley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse, Waters, her contemporaries, and those influenced by them have changed fine food and dining in the United States. Thomas McNamee’s Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution (Penguin Press, 2007) appeared last year to widespread notice and largely positive reviews.
Food and foodways are also explored in scholarly studies. For example, a collection edited by Barbara J. Mills, entitled Identity, Feasting, and the Archaeology of the Greater Southwest (University Press of Colorado, 2004) includes several essays on the social and cultural dimensions of food, feasting, and identity in the region. Several recent dissertations touch on food and foodways. Colleen R. Asumendi Fillmore’s Basques of Boise, Adult Dietary Culture and Tradition (Ph.D. University of Idaho, 2005) considers the intersection of tradition, culture, identity, and nutrition in one American Basque community. Lael Suzann Henrikson’s Ponds, Rivers and Bison Freezers: Evaluating a Behavioral Ecological Model of Hunter-Gatherer Mobility on Idaho’s Snake River Plain (Ph.D. University of Oregon, 2002) considers how access to water and cold cave storage helped provide Snake River Plain peoples with an extraordinarily broad and rich diet – one so stable that basic regional subsistence strategies remained the same over 8,000 years of occupation.
And why not some whimsy? Dorothy McLeod MacInerney’s Blue Bell Ice Cream: A Century at the Little Creamery in Brenham, Texas, 1907-2007 (Texas A&M Press, 2007) is a delightful study of the regional ice cream maker, one especially well received in the Texas press. Kate Heyhoe’s The Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Cookbook: From Stubb’s Legendary Kitchen considers not only the barbecue of Christopher “Stubb” Stubblefield, but also provides recipes and insight into Texas cookery. And, finally, Jairemarie Pomo’s The Hog Island Oyster Lover’s Cookbook: A Guide to Choosing and Savoring Oysters, with 40 Recipes (Ten Speed Press, 2007) is a brief history of the Tomales Bay, California, oyster operation renowned for its catch, now sought by restaurants throughout the United States. Included, not surprisingly, is a recipe for Chez Panisse Oyster Stew ...

New Books in the Genealogy Collection

Blakeslee, A. Eugene. Blakeslees of Smithfield Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. 2007 – G929.2 B584bLak
Conrad, Henry. Thones Kunders and His Children: Also, a List of the Descendants from Six Generations of His Youngest Son, Henry Cunreds, of “Whitpain.” 1891 – G929.2 K96con
Glazier, Ira. Emigration from the United Kingdom to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. 2006 - v.1. Jan 1870 – June 1870 -- v.2. July 1870 – Dec. 1870 -- v.3. Jan. 1871 – June 1871. More to come. – G929.308921 E538 2006
McLaren, Alice. Barr Family: Airth History. 1972 – G929.2 B27macL
McMeen, Lola. The Buffington Family of Dearborn County, Indiana. 1970 – G929.2 B863macm
Ogier, Lois McNeil. Longs and Leedys—Pioneers: A Chronological Record of the Long and Leedy Families of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Points West. 1962 – G929.2 L854ogi
Rodes, David. Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley. 4 vols. 2003 – G973.783 R615uni 2003
Rousses, Theodore. Aguilar, Colorado, and the Upper Apishapa Valley [Cemetery Records]. 2007 – G929.578896 R763ag
Rowe, Milton W. Who Are We; How Did We Get This Way?: A Family Record in Five Parts. The Early Families of: Rowe, Gilsdorf, Blackman, Doremus, Ruggles. 1970 – G929.2 R794rowm
Smith, Harry Clyde. The Reams, Reames Family and Allied Families. 1954 – G929.2 R23smi
Snow, James. Snow Family History and Genealogy: 1500-2002 and Beyond. 4 vols. 2002-2005 – G929.2 S674snoj 2005
Society of the Descendants of Colonial Clergy. Pedigrees of Descendants of the Colonial Clergy. 1976 – G369.12 S67887pe
Swihart, Harvey E. An Outline History of the Swihart Family in America: Particularly Those Who Settled in Northern Indiana in the 1840’s. 1953 – G929.2 S9775ou
Town of Lexington [Massachusetts] Red Book Directory: 1957-58. – G974.44 T664
Waters, Nancy. Family Diversity. 1996 – G929.2 H68wat
Wilson, Leonard. The Armorial Achievement of the Ancient Family of Helwig: Blazon and Condensed Symbolism. 1941 – G929.2 H3699wiL
Wolgamott, Jeannie Souter. The Souter Family Book of Remembrance: The Story of Andrew Souter and His Wife Sarah Elizabeth Harrison with Historical, Genealogical, and Biographical Data on Their Ancestry and Descendants. 1968 – G929.2 S7226woL

Denver Public Library Genealogical News and Events Calendar

Colorado Genealogical Society Classes and Events

Previous Newsletters

March 2007, April 2007, May/June 2007, July 2007, August 2007, September 2007, October 2007, December 2007, January 2008, February 2008, March 2008, April 2008, May 2008

View Slide Show

A photo of one of the Lawson children in a studio portrait from the Helen Lawson Sick Photo Collection.

Studio portrait from the Helen Lawson Sick photo collection. (Unidentified)

Reflections on the Rio Grande River from the Helen Lawson Sick photo collection.

Photo of the Castle Rock Canyon site is included in the Helen Lawson Sick Photo Collection.

The walls of Castle Rock Canyon interested the photographer in this image from the Helen Lawson Sick photo collection.

Robert Richardson holding his cat.

Robert Richardson and others at the Pyramids about 1943.

Robert Richardson operating a radio as a member of the Army Signal Corps during World War II.