| Quantity: | 7 boxes; 5 extra-large folders (4 cubic ft.) |
|---|---|
| Access: | Open to research. |
| Alternative Formats: | Available on Microfilm : MB/FM 974.70049 P238 206-10073 (4 reels) |
| Reproduction Note: | Reproductions may not be made without permission from the New York State Library. |
| Acquisition: | Transfer from New York State Museum. January 1964 |
| Processed By: | Honor Conklin, Archivist, Manuscripts and Special Collections, August 1994 |
Arthur Caswell Parker was an archaeologist at the Peabody Museum (Harvard) and the New York State Museum, an ethnologist at the New York State Library, and director of the Rochester (N.Y.) Museum of Arts and Sciences. He was also an editor and an author, writing primarily on the history of the Iroquois. Parker was a member of numerous historical organizations and president of the Society of American Indians, 1914-1915. A Seneca on his father Frederick's side, he was the grandson of Nicholson Henry Parker and the great nephew of Ely Samuel Parker, General Ulysses S. Grant's military secretary. Nicholson and Ely Parker were sons of William Parker, who took the name of an English officer, and descendants of Handsome Lake, the Seneca prophet.
The Arthur C. Parker Papers are primarily material collected as research for his books on the Iroquois Indians and his typescript manuscripts for his series, The Amazing Iroquois.
There is some correspondence to and from Arthur C. Parker; the rest of the papers are related to his writing, including the collection of correspondence and writings of his great uncle Ely S. Parker and Parker's friend and collaborator, Lewis Henry Morgan.
Memorabilia includes convention ribbons and campaign badges.
There are photographs of Arthur C. Parker and Ely S. Parker.
Printed materials include a book jacket for Rumbling Wings and Other Tales, and Parker's pamphlet, Indian Episodes in New York: A Drama-study of the Empire State.
Programs indicate the speaking engagements of Arthur Parker.
Research makes up the bulk of the single-item materials and includes documents, maps, notes, photographs and writings by Arthur Parker, Ely S. Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse, William Beauchamp and others on the Iroquois and on Mary Jemison, a white captive adopted by the Senecas. This series includes an 1839 census of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Photographs include Sitting Bull, Chauncy Abrams, and Solomon O'Bail.
Writings consist of manuscripts by Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse, William Beauchamp and others on the Iroquois, and two notebooks, with entries dated 1850, 1862 and 1873, by William A. Reynolds, on spiritualism. There also are short manuscripts by Ely S. and Nicholson H. Parker.
Finally, there are four titles under the ten-volume typescript series title "The Amazing Iroquois," which charts the Iroquois from 1535 to 1945 (Boxes 4-7). The typescript, according to a mock title page found at the beginning of the first volume, is "an account of the internal history of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, their struggle for survival in competition with European Powers, a summary of their wars of conquest, a digest of their laws, rites and ceremonies, their participation in continental conflicts, a description of their acculturation, their reservations and their adjustment to modern life, from 1535 to 1945".
The collection was microfilmed in 1994 by the New York State Library, as part of the Native American Language and Culture Preservation Project; the microfilm was produced with support, in part, from the Division of Preservation and Access at the national Endowment for the Humanities.
Papers related to Arthur C. Parker's professional and literary endeavors are also found amongst the records of the Society of American Indians (SC19156). And unpublished finding aid to the collection is available in the repository.
| Box | Folder | Description | Reel # |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Biographical (Not available at time of microfilming) | |
| Correspondence (Folders 2-7) | |||
| 1 | 2 | To and from Arthur C. Parker, 1915-1953 | 1 |
| 1 | 3 | To Nicholson Henry Parker from F.B. Hough, 1855 | 1 |
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Henry Morgan to Ely S. Parker and his sister, Caroline Parker (photostats), 1844-1868 | 1 |
| 1 | 5 | Lewis Morgan to others, 1868-1869 | 1 |
| 1 | 6 | Miscellaneous – Telegrams [2], 1924; 2 notes, 1888 and n.d.; letter to E.G. Foote from Seneca Indians, 4/16/1839 |
1 |
| 1 | 7 | Sagoyontha to Reverend Asher Wright, 1838 | 1 |
| 1 | 8 | Certificate, to permit Conyatauyou, or Handsome Lake, to return from the seat of government, by N. Dearborn, Washington, 1802 (photographic copy) | 1 |
| 1 | 9 | Memorabilia, including ribbons, campaign badges, bank notes | 1 |
| 1 | 10 | Photographs 1. First convocation at Cutler Union 2. Gov. H. Lehmann and a group of Indians, 1935(?) |
1 |
| 1 | 11 | Photos (3) of Ely S. Parker | 1 |
| Printed Materials | |||
| 1 | 12 | Book jacket, Rumbling Wines and Other Tales, by Arthur C. Parker | 1 |
| 1 | 13 | Indian Episodes in New York: A Drama-story of the Empire State by Arthur C. Parker (Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1935) |
1 |
| 1 | 14 | Clippings unrelated to Native Americans. See EL, Folder 1. | 1 |
| 1 | 15 | Programs of historical societies involving Arthur C. Parker, 1923-1947 | 1 |
| 1 | 16 | Accounts, construction of Post Office, 1858 | 1 |
| Biographical | |||
| 1 | 17 | On William M. Beauchamp, 1920 | 1 |
| 1 | 18 | Typescript of will of Jessie M. Chapman | 1 |
| 1 | 19 | Materials on and by Harriet Maxwell Converse | 1 |
| 1 | 20 | Cornplanter's descendants | 1 |
| 1 | 21 | Photocopy of will of Mary Jemison ("made in Sep 3, 1823"); document is also dated April 27, 1835. Original is in vault (V241). | 1 |
| 1 | 22 | Printed materials on Lewis H. Morgan and portrait of Morgan. See EL, Folder 2. | 1 |
| 1 | 23 | View [Census] of the Several Tribes, Clans and Families residing on the Buffalo Creek Reservation, April 1839 | 1 |
| 1 | 24 | Charts: (1) Contributions of the American Indian, (2) The Iroquois Today. See EL Folder 3 | 1 |
| 1 | 25 | Claims, Cayuga land claim, 1851, 1912, 1926 | 1 |
| 1 | 26 | Deed, to Peter Schuyler from Samuel Sexton and George Sextrey, 1843 | 1 |
| 1 | 27 | Maps. See EL Folder 4.
Map of Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga of the Territories of the People of the Long House in 1720. Exhibiting the Homes Country of the Iroquois with the Aboriginal Names of their Villages, Lakes, Rives, Streams & ancient Localities, and the Courses of their principal Trails. By Lewis H. Morgan, 1851. (2 copies) Map No. 3 of the Surveys Made by Lieut. Benjamin Lodge Showing the Route of the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John Sullivan in the Campaign Against the Western Indians 1779. This map is Number 103B of the Simeon DeWitt collection in the Archives of the New York Historical Society, being the manuscript Maps and Surveys of Robert Erskine, Geographer to the Army of the United States, made during the Revolutionary War. Map No. 4 of the Surveys Made by Lieut. Benjamin Lodge Showing the Route of the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John Sullivan in the Campaign Against the Western Indians 1779. This map is Number 103C of the Simeon DeWitt collection in the Archives of the New York Historical Society, being the manuscript Maps and Surveys of Robert Erskine, Geographer to the Army of the United States, made during the Revolutionary War. Map No. 5 of the Surveys Made by Lieut. Benjamin Lodge Showing the Route of the Western Army under Maj. Gen. John Sullivan in the Campaign Against the Western Indians 1779. This map is Number 103D of the Simeon DeWitt collection in the Archives of the New York Historical Society, being the manuscript Maps and Surveys of Robert Erskine, Geographer to the Army of the United States, made during the Revolutionary War. Allegany Reservation of the Seneca Nation, Cattaraugus County, New York, 1890. Located and Platted by Henry B. Carrington, U.S.A. Shultz Site. D.A. Cadzow. 1935. Shows pits, bell pits and burial; includes Witmer family cemetery. Buffalo, New York. Published by Croydon Detroit Publishing Co. ... Detroit, Mich., n.d. [circa 1940s?]. Includes surrounding suburbs; annotated in pencil. |
|
| 1 | 28 | Notebook, subscription book for the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Association commercial reading room, [1899?] | 1 |
| 1 | Notes (Folders 29-37) | ||
| 1 | 29 | Account of a meeting between [the Onondagas?] and [?], n.d. | 1 |
| 1 | 30 | Miscellaneous notes re: archaeology | 1 |
| 1 | 31 | Notes on Indian artifacts at a Wilkes-Barre, Penn. museum | 1 |
| 1 | 32 | Notes while at John Kennedy's, 1905 | 1 |
| 1 | 33 | Indian names of places [in N.Y.S.], by Ely S. Parker | 1 |
| 1 | 34 | On treaties between the United States and New York State Indians | 1 |
| 1 | 35-36 | Vocabularies, songs, phrases, etc. translated from [Seneca?] to English | 1 |
| 1 | 37 | Writings on Seneca White Dog Sacrifice by Parker and S.L. Knapp | 1 |
| 1 | 38 | Notes (financial), to pay Alexander Alexander, per Van Rensselaer and Elkanah Watson to General Philip V. Cortlandt, Oct. 16, 1791 re: "Western Tour" | 1 |
| Research | |||
| Photographs (Folders 39-42) (See also The Amazing Iroquois manuscripts) | |||
| 2 | 39 | Portraits and groups, includes Sitting Bull, Chauncey Abrams, Solomon O'Bail | 2 |
| 2 | 40 | [? Reservation] | 2 |
| 2 | 41 | Treaties, artifacts, monuments | 2 |
| 2 | 42 | Sculpture, printings, illustrations, diorama | 2 |
| 2 | 43 | Miscellaneous photostats of Native American documents; also lists of names | 2 |
| Printed Materials | |||
| 2 | 44 | Clippings (brittle). | 2 |
| 2 | 45 | Clippings (brittle). See EL Folder 5. | 2 |
| 2 | 46 | "Hints for Ethnological Inquiry among the Tribes of North America," W.W. Turner, 4 p., n.d. Advertisement for Nembutal illustrated by an article on the symbolism of crosses, 1942 |
2 |
| 2 | 47 | Items related to Senecas, including Report of the Committee of Investigation, Appointed by the Seneca Council, to Examine the Accounts of Andrew John, Late Treasurer (Buffalo: Clapp, Matthews and Co., 1854) | 2 |
| 2 | 48 | Items related Indian welfare organizations, 1855-1944 | 2 |
| 2 | 49 | Andrew John (photographic image that had been printed in a book) | 2 |
| 2 | 50 | Cowenhoven, Conover name | 2 |
| 2 | 51 | Minutes of the Advisory Council on Indian Affairs, 1923 | 2 |
| Writings | |||
| 2 | 52 | Notes on maternity pipe and bone pipe by Harriet Maxwell Converse, 1899
Notes on maternity pipe and Algonquin wampum by William Beauchamp, 1899 |
2 |
| 2 | 53 | On Iroquois brooches, by Harriet Maxwell Converse | 2 |
| 2 | 54 | "The Last Indian Council on the Genesee" by David Gray, (Scribner's, July 1877) | 2 |
| 3 | 55 | "Prehistoric Iroquois Sites in Northern New York: Report of Peabody Museum Expedition, 1906" by M.R. Harrington |
2 |
| 3 | 56 | "Cuba Lake Reservation" by Henry S. Manley | 2 |
| 3 | 57 | Notebooks on spiritualism, by William A. Reynolds, Rochester, N.Y., 1850, 1862, 1873 |
2 |
| 3 | 58 | "Successful Indian Mechanics" by Frank C. Sherman | 2 |
| 3 | 60 | "The Origin of Iroquois Silversmithing," by Arthur C. Parker | 2 |
| 3 | 61 | "Old Alb Wins a Bet" [by Arthur C. Parker?] | 2 |
| 3 | 62 | "Quakers and the Social Pattern" by Arthur C. Parker | 2 |
| 3 | 63 | "The Society of Friends and the Seneca" by Arthur C. Parker, address before the Friends Yearly Meeting, Collins, N.Y., 1953 | 2 |
| 3 | 64 | "Which Way Now America?" by Arthur C. Parker | 2 |
| 3 | 65 | [An Account of an Indian Council] by Ely S. Parker | 2 |
| 3 | 66 | [Unidentified mutilated manuscript] by Ely S. Parker | 2 |
| 3 | 67 | "An Old Man. A Shipwreck. An Eclipse of the Moon" by N.H. Parker, n.d. | 2 |
| 3 | 68 | "Iroquois Mythology as Motive: A Study of Iroquois Mythology and Its Impact on Their Culture" (A lecture given by Arthur C. Parker at the University of Toronto, Dept. of Anthropology, December 1950), 40 p. |
2 |
| 3 | 69 | "Yot-Don-Dak-Koh: Opening Ceremony of the Pygmy Society," by A.C. Parker, 4 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 70 | "An Outline Programme of Wa-a-no-na-o-gwa-shot, the Cornplanting Ceremony" by A.C. Parker, 4 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 71 | "The Bird Mask" by A.C. Parker, 3 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 72 | "The Secret Societies of the Seneca" by A.C. Parker, 7 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 73 | "Additional Notes on the Otter Society" by A.C. Parker, 3 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 74 | "Hodigoshosga: Medicine Men's Dance after Ashes are Put over Patient's Head" by A.C. Parker, 1906, 5 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 75 | "Minutes of the Council of the Six Nations Upon the Cattaraugus Reservation, Dec. 1, 1862" (First page stamped: Arthur C. Parker, and dated 1906), 17 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 76 | "Bridal Hunt of the Algonquins" A.C. Parker, 1906, 3 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 77 | "Sagowenota: The Isle of Tears" by A.C. Parker, 1906, 24 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 78 | "Address to the Maple, the Chief of Trees and the Prayer to the Creator: A Seneca Ceremony" by A.C. Parker, 2 p. | 2 |
| 3 | 79 | "Notes. Data Concerning the Medicine Societies of the Seneca" by A.C. Parker, 14 p. |
2 |
| 3 | 80 | "The Funeral Address" by A.C. Parker, 1906, 6 p. – Missing Feb. 2007 | 2 |
| 3 | 81 | "Ka-is-to-wan-ea and Ka-ja-noh: The Two-Headed Serpent and the Brave Boy" and "To-no-do-oo: The Supreme Ruler," by Harriet M. Converse, 4 p. |
2 |
| "The Amazing Iroquois" typescript (Boxes 4-7) | |||
| 4 | "Iroquois Blood for Beaver: An Account of the Interplay of the Iroquois with the Forces of France and England, 1609-1779" (3 volumes) | 3 | |
| 5 | "The Whirlwind and the Dust: An Account of the Iroquois from the Time of Sir William Johnson to the Expedition of Major General John Sullivan, 1750-1779" (2 volumes) | 3 | |
| 6 | "Red Embers of the Long House: A Perspective of the Modern Iroquois/an Account of the New York Iroquois After the American Revolution" (3 volumes); includes photographs of Council House and documents) | 4 | |
| 7 | "Forever the Five Nations: A Survey of the Amazing Iroquois and Their Way of Life" (2 volumes); includes photographs of Honondowahneh (Arleigh Hill) and Brig. O.M. Martin | 4 | |
| Extra-large documents (formerly box 8) | |||
| EL | 1 | Clippings unrelated to Native Americans | 1 |
| EL | 2 | Printed materials on Lewis H. Morgan and portrait of Morgan | 1 |
| EL | 3 | Charts: (1) Contributions of the American Indian, (2) The Iroquois Today. | 1 |
| EL | 4 | Maps | 1 |
| EL | 5 | Clippings (brittle) | 2 |