Ayer, Edward Everett, 1841-1927

Edward Everett Ayer (Nov. 16, 1841 -- May 3, 1927), businessman, bibiliophile and collector. In 1860 he joined an overland expedition to California. He stopped in Nevada, where he worked at a quarz mill in Silver City, but soon moved on to San Francisco. He remained there, working at a planing mill, until the outbread of the Civil War. He enlisted in the 1st Regiment of California Cavalry Volunteers, and was later transferred to the 1st Regiment of New Mexico Infantry. Ayer served in many posts in the Southwest (including near Los Angeles and in Arizona and New Mexico). He was mustered out in the summer of 1864, having reached the rank of lieutenant. He then returned to him in Harvard, Ill to begin his business career. In 1880, he moved to Chicago and in 1893, together with John B. Lord, formed the Ayer & Lord Tie Company. Ayer, who had been fascinated with history ever since he chanced upon a copy of Prescott's Conquest of Mexico while soldier in Arizona, became an avid collector of historical books and manuscripts. In 1911, he gave his collection of books, manuscripts, maps, and drawings to the Newberry Library. Ayer was also one of the founders of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and served as its president from 1893 and 1898. Ayer presented to it his extensive collection of Indian artifacts, his collection of book on ornitology, and antiquities. He was a trustee of the Newberry Library, a trustee of the Art Institute, president of the Archeological Society, and a member of numerous historical associations. He also served on the Board of Indian Commissioners, and in 1913 conduced an investigation of the Menomonee Reservation in Wisconsin. He and his wife, Emma August Burbank Ayer, made numerous trips abroad, often by automobile. He spent much time in California where he was known for his effort to save redwood forests. He died in Pasadena, Calif. and was buried in Harvard, Ill.

From the description of Reminiscences of Edward E. Ayer, 1899-1925. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 84649947

Collector, businessman, soldier, and land speculator.

From the description of List of Edward Everett Ayer, undated. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 79456079

American antiquarian.

From the description of Reminiscence of 1861-1865, 1918. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145434997

From the guide to the Reminiscence of 1861-1865, 1918, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Railway lumberman, bibliophile and collector; founder of Field Museum in Chicago. Ayer was stationed in Arizona as a member of the 1st California Volunteers, Company E during the Civil War.

From the description of Ayer papers, 1860-1918. (Arizona Historical Society, Southern Arizona Division). WorldCat record id: 38861991

Edward Everett Ayer was a business man and bibliophile.

From the description of Reminiscences of the Far West, and other trips, 1861-1918, ca. 1916-1918. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 86165408

From the guide to the Reminiscences of the Far West, and other trips, 1861-1918, 1861-1918, (American Philosophical Society)

Ayer was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin (1841); moved to Harvard, Illinois in early life; went overland to California (1860); enlisted in Company E of the First California Cavalry and saw action in California, Arizona, and New Mexico; and returned to Illinois (1864) and began a career furnishing telegraph poles to a number of railroads. He also began collecting historical artifacts, manuscripts, maps, and photographs on Native American cultures, which he donated (1911) to the Newberry Library of Chicago as the Edward E. Ayer Collection on the North American Indian. Ayer was active in a number of historical societies, and died in Pasadena, California (1927). More biographical information is in the reminiscences.

From the guide to the Civil War reminiscences., 1924., (Minnesota Historical Society)

From Nov., 12, 1912, to June 29, 1919, Edward E. Ayer was a member of the U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners, an advisory body established by Congress in 1869 that was authorized to visit and investigate any Indian reservation or branch of the Indian service.

An active commission member, Ayer during 1913-1914 investigated the administration of the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin and the operation of the sawmill there. On his trips west he frequently visited and reported on the Indians of Arizona and Southern California. He also lobbied for subjecting Indians on reservations to the provisions of state laws and for better pay and working conditions for Indian service employees.

From the description of U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners files, 1912-1922. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 41105570

Railroad lumberman, bibliophile, and collector.

Raised in Harvard, Illinois, Ayer went West to California in 1861 and served in the military in Arizona. Ayer's western experiences stimulated lifelong collecting interests which culminated in an extensive accumulation of books, manuscripts, maps, and artifacts about the exploration and settlement of the Americas, the American West, American Indians, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Philippines. From 1892 to 1911, Ayer served as a Trustee of the Newberry Library, and in 1911 he donated his collection to the Newberry and endowed it. Ayer was also a Field Museum of Natural History founder, trustee, and donor, and a member of the U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners.

From the description of Papers, 1842-1934 (bulk 1880-1934). (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 26382014