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Ridgway Family Papers, 1864-1950

Overview of the Collection

Title
Ridgway Family Papers
Dates
1864-1950 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 boxes, (2.5 linear feet)
Collection Number
UUS_CAINE COLL MSS 8
Summary
The Ridgway Family Papers contain correspondence and illustrations that contribute to the knowledge of scientific research in the American West during the 1860s and of American scientific illustration during the latter part of the 19th century
Repository
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Robert was born on July 2, 1850 in Mount Carmel, Illinois to David and Harriet Ridgway. By the age of 14 Ridgway had been sent away from home, to work for an uncle. Thus some of the earliest letters in the collection are from this time period, 1864-65. Even at this early age his correspondence reveals Robert's keen interest in ornithology. This interest in ornithology and illustration also surfaced in letters written to Spencer Baird, chief ornithologist, and second in command at the Smithsonian Institution. By 1865, the two had developed a lively correspondence that revolved around ornithology.

Robert returned to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1868 and went to work for the Smithsonian Institution. His primary duty was to prepare a report on his fieldwork. In 1869 he returned to the West to rejoin the expedition at Salt Lake City, Utah. He spent the summer of 1869 working on specimen collection around the Great Salt Lake and in the Wasatch Mountains. This short trip to Salt Lake City generated five letters to and from Ridgway and his mother and Baird. The remainder of the correspondence is mainly between Robert and his mother, while he worked at the Smithsonian. The contents of these letters usually involve family matters, local Illinois' happenings, and Robert's work. This set of correspondence ends in 1875. The remainder of the correspondence to Ridgway comes from a variety of people and some are dated as late as the 1920s. Of interest in this correspondence are a group of letters from Amelia Ridgway, an English relative. These letters discussed Ridgway's English family genealogy.

At the tender age of 17, Ridgway accepted an invitation, by survey director Clarence King, to join the expedition as a zoologist. This opportunity became the starting point for an extremely successful career as a naturalist. The expedition was manned by men in their mid 20s and 30s, so a 17 year old was an oddity, even among this group of young professionals. Due to his age, and his boyhood enthusiasm, the thirteen letters that the young ornithologist wrote home, during the two year survey, offer the scholar a point of view of the American West and of the survey work that is extraordinary. These letters range in content from a detailed list of the expedition's equipment, to descriptions of steamship travel through the Caribbean Sea, land travel through Panama, and travel through the Sierra Nevada mountains and through the Great Basin desert.

Born in 1859, John Ridgway rose to prominence in the field of scientific illustration. By the end of his career he had held the position of chief illustrator for the United States Geological Survey, and scientific illustrator for the California Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution.

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Content Description

The Ridgway papers constitute a significant contribution to the knowledge of scientific research in the American West during the 1860s and of American scientific illustration during the latter part of the 19th century. The collection spans a period from 1864 through the early 1940s and chronicles the lives of two important American naturalists, John and Robert Ridgway. The fact that the two were brothers, and that their collection contains a great deal of family material, adds a unique perspective to the collection. A portion of the collection relates to the preparation and participation of Robert Ridgway as a zoologist on the 1867-68 United States Geological Fortieth parallel Survey. The material on Robert also covers his work at the Smithsonian Institution during the 1870s. Unlike the material pertaining to Robert, the papers that belong to John Ridgway are illustrative. Because of these two distinct differences within the collection it has been organized into three areas: correspondence, miscellaneous, and art.

The correspondence selection pertains totally to Robert Ridgway. This early correspondence with Baird gave Ridgway an entree to be included in the U.S.G.S. Fortieth Parallel Survey of 1867.

In contrast to these letters, the correspondence that Ridgway received from his family portrays different concerns and interests. First and foremost, in the minds of his parents was a concern for his well-being. They worried about him falling off cliffs, being chased by Indians and other images that his parents conjured up about the wild West. The letters also desired to share in Robert's excitement, as they asked for photographs and fresh reports on his work. This correspondence clearly demonstrates the strong sense of family ties between the Ridgways.

The correspondence has been arranged in an alphabetical and chronological order. The outgoing correspondence, from Robert Ridgway, has been placed in chronological order, while the incoming correspondence has been arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Folders 1a, 1b, and 1c are an addendum to this collection and consist of twenty-one letters between Ridgway and Baird from 1844—1866. This correspondence provides a rich view of Ridgway's early artwork, bird watching, and involvement in the sciences. The materials in these three folders are photocopies of the originals housed in the Smithsonian Institute Archives, Record Unit 7167. The Smithsonian's citation numbers have been retained on these letters.

The material about and by John Ridgway is mainly artwork. In this collection are oil paintings, pencil drawings, brush drawings and pen and ink illustrations done by John. The earliest dated piece was done in 1889 and the latest dated piece was finished in 1942. The finest material, done by John, in the collection are a series of drawings and proof prints that have been placed into a scrapbook. Many of these pieces are unpublished.

The remainder of the material is miscellaneous and has been processed topically. The material consists of photographs, printed material, and family items.

Conservation Note: Conservation measures that have been taken for this collection are as follows. With the exception of the art, the remainder of the papers have been de-acidified in a solution of Wei T'O. Where necessary, the letters and other items have been repaired and encapsulated. The Ridgway papers have been placed into acid free folders and then housed in acid free Pohlig Brothers Boxes. Any nitrate photo negatives were removed and placed in cold storage.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Ridgway Family Papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: Ridgway Family Papers USU_CAINE COLL MSS 8 Box [ ], Fd [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.

Following Citations:USU_CAINE COLL MSS 8, USUSCA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Incoming correspondence has been arranged in alphabetical and chronological order while outgoing correspondence has been arranged chronologically.

Processing Note

Processed in March of 2005

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection were purchased in conjunction with the Newel Hart papers in 1984 by USU Special Collections & Archives for inclusion in the Marie Eccles-Caine Archive of Intermountain Americana. The correspondence in Box 1, Fds 33-37 were transferred to USU in 2015 by the Kevin Sheehan, Collections Manager at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Related Materials

44 drawings have been removed and placed in the Art and Book Arts Collection and can be found via the online catalog.

Separated Materials

Nitrate photo negatives were removed and placed in cold storage. Patrons must request to view these negatives 3 hours in advance.

Items removed to Art and Book Arts Collection:

One of John Ridgway's notebooks containing artist proofs and original pen and ink drawings that Ridgway drew while serving as the chief illustrator for the United States Geological Survey, and the scientific illustrator and artist for the California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Institution of Washington. (Portfolio Shelf 2-5, Box 251-R1)

Two art portfolios containing: 6" x 10" watercolor of two partridges by Robert Ridgway, 13-1/2" x 18" painting of two road runners by John Ridgway, 15" x 20" painting of two road runners by John Ridgway, 12-1/2" x 15" two red winged black birds by John Ridgway (1941), 13" x 16" painting of three birds by John Ridgway, 14-3/4" x 19" three purple crackles with a California city in the background by John Ridgway (1920), 10-1/2" x 15-1/2" painting of two mockingbirds mounted on a board by John Ridgway (1920), 7" x 10" drawings of a globe mounted on a board by John Ridgway (1920), 10" x 14" brush drawing of a foot-bone of a fossil elephant from a specimen at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, 4" x 9" oil painting of a vase with flowers by John Ridgway (1889), 9-1/2" x 4" oil painting of a vase signed "Study" by John Ridgway, 8" x 9" oil portrait of a woman artist by unknown artist, 11" x 15" painting of a northwestern mountain by unknown artist, 12" x 16" painting of two trees with mountains in the background by unknown artist, 10-1/2" x 12" pencil drawing of Mt. Caramel, Illinois, by unknown artist, 10-1/2" x 13" pencil drawing of two men in a newspaper office by unknown artist, 12-1/2" x 13" two drawings sketched on either side of a piece of illustrators paper by unknown artist, and 10" x 13-1/2" pastel of a river scene (probably set in the Midwest) by unknown artist. (Portfolio Shelf 2-5, Box 351-R1 and Box 351-R2)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Botanists--United States--Archives
  • Naturalists--United States--Archives
  • Ornithologists--United States--Archives
  • Scientific illustrators--United States--Archives

Personal Names

  • Ridgway, John (John Livesy) 1859
  • Ridgway, Robert, 1850-1929

Corporate Names

  • Geological Survey (U.S.)--Western Region

Zachary Jones
2011

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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