William M. Beauchamp papers, 1869-1904

ArchivalResource

Beauchamp, William Martin, 1830-1925. Papers, 1869-1904.

William M. Beauchamp papers, 1869-1904

1869-1904

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122611323

This collection is held by the New York State Library. There are conflicting descriptions of its extent. The NYSL has a short catalog entry showing 2 cubic feet. (https://nyst.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=Y66Ryd7V8a/NYSL/X/9) The papers of William M. Beauchamp are comprised of approximately twenty cubic feet of manuscripts, printed items and photographs relating primarily to the archaeology, culture, and history of aboriginal people of New York State, especially the Iroquois. These materials have been arranged in six series, beginning with the unpublished ten volume manuscript entitled "Antiquities of Onondaga" which provides a comprehensive study of this nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. These volumes contain over 8,500 pages of text and notes along with an equal number of pages containing colorful sketches and diagrams of artifacts, and many detailed maps of aboriginal settlements and archeological sites in Onondaga County, New York. The second series is comprised of over 60 bound volumes containing Beauchamp's research notes compiled for his many writings and publications. Notebook topics and subjects include Iroquois history, Iroquois folklore, Iroquois ceremonies, Indian vocabularies, Indian place names, Jesuit Relations, and Moravian Journals. The information recorded in these volumes was well documented and drawn from many primary and secondary sources. It appears that entire documents or passages were transcribed carefully and meticulously. Diagrams and maps abound here too. The third series consists of nearly seventy-five manuscripts or typescripts of Iroquois legends recorded by Dr. Arthur C. Parker, which are very important to the study of Iroquois folklore. The fourth series consists of twenty scrapbooks and many assorted loose newsclippings collected by William Beauchamp, Grace Beauchamp Lodder, Arthur C. Parker, and Harriet Maxwell Converse. These clippings offer a rich source of information on the life and events of Indian reservations in New York State, especially the Onondaga Reservation. The scrapbooks and clippings are generally arranged chronologically with detailed indexes for most scrapbooks. Perhaps, the most interesting clippings are those related to the trial of Lila Jimerson, a Seneca woman acquitted of the charges of murder of the wife of renowned artist Henri Merchand. The fifth series is comprised of personal and other ancillary papers of William Beauchamp. Included here is his correspondence with scholars and museum curators regarding Indian artifacts and other archeological subjects. For example there are several letters between Beauchamp and Dr. F.J.H. Merrill, then director of the New York State Museum, concerning the museum's collection of wampum belts. Also included here are Beauchamp's diaries, 1862-1865, which provide details of many important events in his life; a comprehensive biographical and genealogical notebook; and numerous manuscript and printed copies of many of his published writings. This series also includes the folio size manuscripts of which the most noteworthy items are a volume containing annotated maps of archeological sites in New York and other states, and a volume of notes and illustrations of Iroquois masks in the New York State Museum. The sixth series comprises two cubic feet of photographic prints and negatives of portraits of Onondaga individuals as well as scenes of life on the reservation, circa 1880-1920's. Description here is at the item level.

13 boxes (35 microfilm reels)

American Periodical Series I