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files include linguistic and ethnological field notes, reading notes, stories and myths, vocabularies, drawings, and unpublished and published manuscripts.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
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.
John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Field notes
Manuscripts
Vocabulary
Narratives
Place:
Oregon
Date:
1933, 1942
Scope and Contents:
This subseries of the Alaska/Northwest Coast series contains Harrington's research on Alsea, Siuslaw, and Coos. The materials consist mostly of vocabulary for the three languages, as well as terms in Lower Umpqua and Chinook jargon. A small section of notes deals mainly with phonetics and includes comments on Frachtenberg and Jacobs' publications, as well as general observations made by Harrington during various stages of his work in the field. A section of written notes are accompanied by "sementographs," visual representations of the sounds present in each language. Vocabulary and nonlinguistic information on plants and animals are also present, along with placename vocabulary. His placename notes also include information on tribal boundaries and linguistic relationships; the location, etymology, English pronunciation, and history of places in the three tribal areas, and anecdotes and biographical data. Abstracts in English of mythological texts are also present, along with descriptions, anecdotes, and reminiscences by Lottie Evanoff, Frank Drew, Spencer Scott, and Clayton Barrett, with references to events of both personal and historical significance. There is also material relating to the 1931 U.S. Court of Claims case "Coos Bay, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indian Tribes vs the United States" with comments by Frank Drew on the tesimony from tribal members. In addition, Harrington's files include notes from a conversation with George Wasson in 1933. Topics include Wasson's life and discussions regarding tribal territories and language boundaries, canoe construction, burial, and the historical figure Jedediah Smith. Harrington's notes also contain scattered quotations from Louie Fuller (LL), Clara Pearson (Clara), and Sammy Jackson, three Tillamook speakers Harrington had interviewed earlier in 1942.
Biographical / Historical:
John P. Harrington's work on these neighboring languages began in Oakville, Washington in early April of 1942. While interviewing Lizzie Johnson (Liz.) and Minnie Case (Min.) regarding Kwalhioqua, he also worked with John Albert (Ja.), the last speaker of Alsea (Als.) He had occasion to recheck the linguistic data with Albert sometime in May (there is a reference to May 23 in the notes), possibly at Siletz, Oregon, his home before moving to Oakville. These notes are labeled "Ja. rhg."
Around June, July, and possibly August of the same year, Harrington recorded Coos--both the Hanis (H., Empire) and Miluk (M., South Slough) varieties--and Siuslaw (Sius.) and Lower Umpqua (L.U., Ump.) from Frank Henry Drew (referred to as Frank) in Florence, Oregon. In Marshfield, Harrington interviewed Lottie Evanoff (Lottie, Lot.), formerly Lottie Jackson, daughter of a prominent Coos chief and cousin of Annie Peterson, who had worked with Melville Jacobs. Additional sources of information for Coos were Martha Johnson, a neighbor of Frank Drew; the Wasson sisters, Lolly, Nellie, and Daisy; and Lottie Evanoff's niece, Nellie Aason.
He also obtained information from Spencer Scott (called Spencer or rarely Spen.), who may have also served as an interpreter for Harrington. He knew John Albert and had formerly spoken Alsea with him when they were boys at Siletz. He could also speak Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw. Lesser amounts of Siuslawan data were provided by Clayton Hudson Barrett and his younger half-brother, Howard Barrett (called Clay. and Howard). Nonlinguistic information came from Alec Evanoff, Lottie's husband; Carl Severy, Frank Drew's son-in-law; the Collson family; John Waters; and Larry Hofer.
John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
This appears to be essentially as published in Bureau of American Ethnology-Bulletin 40, there called: "Siuslawan (Lower Umpqua)", except that the texts given in that Bulletin, pages 611-629 are not present in the Manuscript and the last 50-60 pages of the Manuscript consist of vocabularies, possibly compiled from other Manuscripts in the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1727
Topic:
Language and languages -- Documentation Search this
Citation:
Manuscript 1727, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
