Rolla Kent Beattie Papers

Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960
Title: Rolla Kent Beattie Papers
Dates: 1899-1956 (inclusive)
18991956
Quantity: 8.5 Linear feet of shelf space, (16 Boxes), (56,500 items)
Collection Number: Cage 318 (collection)
Summary: Correspondence and other papers of Rolla Kent Beattie regarding taxonomic investigations of Pacific Northwest plants, notes and references to literature on Northwest flora, and historical and biographical aspects of Northwest botany.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open and available for research use.
Additional Reference Guides: Northwest Botanical Manuscripts : an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla Kent Beattie, and Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library. Washington State University; 1976.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Rolla Kent Beattie was born in Ohio in 1875. He began his botanical career as a student of Charles Bessey at the University of Nebraska. He was an Instructor, then Professor of Botany, at Washington State University from 1899 to 1912, after which he joined the United States Department of Agriculture research staff at Washington, D. C. and remained there as a forest pathologist until retirement in 1946. During his retirement, he traveled extensively and began again the examinations of Northwest Flora which he had largely abandoned in 1912.

In his earlier years, Beattie’s position was mainly that of a collaborator of the more illustrious Charles Vancouver Piper. The work of the two tended to become so intermingled that the respective contributions could not be discerned. However, Beattie’s contribution appears to have been his knowledge of herbaria and literature resources, while Piper had a greater familiarity with field botany and theory. In later years, as Beattie began to see himself as Piper’s successor, his approach continued to follow the line of herbarium and library research. In fact, he took up the line suggested by the "American Rule" school to a much greater degree than had Piper. During this time Beattie amassed a vast compilation of notes on the development of Northwest botany, in which he examined virtually every treatment of all Northwest species from the initial "discovery," through any and all revisions. He also collected much biographical material relative to the various botanists concerned with Northwest Flora.

Beattie spent most of his retirement years collecting this material. His death in 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland followed four years of failing health.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Rolla Kent Beattie fall into two main area, his correspondence and his notes. His correspondence is relative to Northwest botany, and includes correspondence with C. E. Bessey, L. F. Henderson, Aven Nelson, C. V. Piper, Harold St. John, W. N. Suksdorf, and A. R. Sweetser. The major portion of this collection is a compilation of his notes and references to literature on Northwest flora and historical and biographical aspects of Northwest botany. Included in his letter-books are drafts of articles about the spread of introduced plants, as well as considerable correspondence about plants sent to Washington State University by the public for identification.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956 (Cage 318)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The first series, Correspondence, is arranged in chronological sequence. The second series, Notes, is divided into foldered materials, arranged in an alphabetical sequence of biographical subjects, and a card file which contains four parts. First, a section on Northwest flora, arranged according to a standard botanical classification arrangement, with species ordered alphabetically within each genus. A second section consists of biographical information arranged alphabetically by the names of Northwest botanists. A third section consists of extensive notes on David Douglas. Fourth is a partial geographic index of Northwest plants, arranged according to region.

Custodial History

The papers of R. Kent Beattie, 1875-1960, were donated to the Washington State University Herbarium during the period from 1956 through 1960 by Mr. Beattie.

Acquisition Information

The papers, along with those of four other Pacific Northwest botanists, were transferred to the Washington State Library in 1975 by the Marion Ownbey Herbarium on the Washington State Campus.

Related Materials

Northwest Botanical Manuscripts : an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla Kent Beattie, and Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library. Washington State University; 1976.

Washington State University Botanical Papers, 1881-1973 (Cage 53)

Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf Papers, 1867-1935 (Cage 315)

William Conklin Cusick Papers, 1906-1924 (Cage 316)

Charles Vancouver Piper Papers, 1888-1926 (Cage 317)

Harold St. John Papers, 1912-1957 (Cage 319)

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Correspondence, 1899-1956Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	175 items.	1899-1906
1	2	225 items.	1907-1910
1	3	180 items.	1911-1915
1	4	150 items.	1915-1956
2	5	Letterbook 1 volume.	1904 May-1905 July
2	6	Letterbook 1 volume.	1906 April-1907 January

Series 2: Northwest Botany NotesReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description
Box
3		Abbot, E. K.
3		Abrams, LeRoy
3		Agassiz, Alexander
3		Agricultural History
3		Allen, Miss A. J.
3		Anderson, A. C.
3		Applegate, Elmer J.
3		Austin, Mrs. R. M.
3		Bailey, Liberty Hyde
3		Ball, John
3		Banks, Sir Joseph
3		Barclay, George
3		Barett, Mrs. P. G.
3		Barnhart, John Hendley (biographies)
3		Baronoff, A. A.
3		Bartram, William
3		Baumgarten, Hermann
3		Bebb, M. S.
3		Beechey, F. W.
3		Belcher, Capt. Sir Edward
3		Benson, Lyman
3		Bentham, George
3		Berthand, E. L.
3		Bessey, Charles
3		Bethel, Ellsworth
3		Bigelow, Jacob
3		Billings
3		Blake, William P.
3		Blasdale, W. C.
3		Bloodgood, C. Delavan (Sitka)
3		Bolander, Hendry N.
3		Bolton, H. E. (ANZA)
3		Bongard (at Nootka)
3		Bonneville, B. L. E.
3		Brackenridge, W. D.
3		Bradbury, John
3		Brainerd, Ezra
3		Brandegee, T. S. and Brandegee, Katherine
3		Brandel, Joseph
3		Brewer, William H.
3		Britton, Nathaniel Lord
3		Brodie, David
3		Brown, Jennie Broughton
3		Brown, Robert, of Campster
4		Brown, Robert, of Campster
4		Burke, Joseph
4		Butters, Frederick King
4		Caldwell, Joseph
4		Cannon, Evalina
4		Carruth, W. W.
4		Chamissot de Boncourt, Adlebertus
4		Christ, J. H.
4		Christensen, Carl
4		Clayton, John
4		Collins, J. Franklin
4		Collinson, Peter
4		Coltman-Rogers, Charles
4		Compton, T. B.
4		Cook, Capt. James
4		Cooley, J. G.
4		Cooper, J. G.
4		Coulter, John Merle
4		Coville, Frederick
4		Curtis' Botanical Magazine
4		Cusick, William Conklin
4		Dachnowski-Stokes, A. O.
4		Damon, Samuel
4		Dana, James D.
4		Darlington, H. T.
4		David, Abbe
4		Davis, Mrs. N. J.
4		Dayton, William a.
4		Delacour, Jean
4		Delano, Amasa
4		Demofras, Duflot
4		Dewey, Chester
4		Dietz, H. F.
4		Diller, J. S.
5		Douglas, David 4 Folders
6		Douglas, Sir James
6		Douglas, Robert
6		Douglas, William O.
6		Donaldson, A. B.
6		Drake, Capt. Francis
6		Drummond, Thomas
6		Eastwood, Alice
6		Eaton, Amos
6		Eaton, Walter P.
6		Edwards' Botanical Register
6		Eggleston, Willard W.
6		Elmer, A. P. E.
6		Englemann, George
6		Epling, Carl
6		Ermantinger, Edward
6		Eschscholtz, Johan
6		Espinoza y Tello, Jose
6		Etches, Jon
6		Evans, John
6		Fernald, M. L.
6		Findler, Augustus
6		Flett, J. B.
6		Forbes, Charles
6		Franchere, Gabriel
6		Fraser, Simon
6		Fremont, John C.
6		Frye, Else M.
6		Fuller, George W.
6		Gabrielson, Ira N.
6		Gairdner, Meredith
6		Gambel, William
6		Gannett
6		Gardners' Magazine (London)
6		Garry, Nicholas
6		Geiser, Samuel Wood
6		Geology of the Pacific Northwest
6		Geyer, Karl Andreas
6		Ghent, W. J.
6		Gibbs, George
6		Golder, Frank A.
6		Good
6		Gorman, M. W.
6		Gould, Dorothy Fay
6		Gray, Asa
6		Gray, Capt. Robert
6		Gray Herbarium
7		Greene, E. L.
7		Griffith, David
7		Haenke, Thaddaeus
7		Hancock, Samuel
7		Harshberger, John William
7		Hartwig, Theodor
7		Hatch, W. R.
7		Hayden, F. V.
7		Hecata, Bruno
7		Heller, Amos Arthur
7		Hemenway, Ansel
7		Henderson, L. F.
7		Henky, Alexander
7		Hilgard, Eugene Waldemar
7		Hitchcock, A. S.
7		Holway, E. W. D.
7		Hone, D. S.
7		Hooker, Joseph Dalton
7		Hooker, William Jackson
7		Horsford, F. H.
7		Hough, J. B.
7		House, Homer D.
7		Howard, L. O.
7		Howell, John T.
7		Howell, Thomas and Howell, Joseph
7		Hudson's Bay Company
7		Hulten, Eric
7		Ingram, D. C.
7		James, Edwin
7		Jefferson, Thomas
7		Jennings, O. E.
7		Jepson, Willis Linn
7		Jewitt, S.
7		Johnson, J. E.
7		Jones, George Neville
7		Jones, Marcus E.
7		Juan de Fuca
7		Judson, Katherine
7		Kalm, Peter
7		Kauffman, Karl F.
7		Kelley, Hall J.
7		Kellogg, Albert
7		Kew Collections
7		Kimmel, Edward
7		Kin, Mattias
7		Kip, Lawrence
7		Kleeberger, George R.
7		Kotzebue, Otto von
7		La Gasca y Segura, Mariano
7		La Perouse
7		Lake and Hull
7		Lamson-Scribner, F.
7		Laut, Agnes
7		Leiberg, John B.
8		Lemmon, J. G.
8		Lesquereux, Leo
8		Lewis, Meriwether (and Clark, William)
8		Lindley, John
8		Linnean Society of London
8		Linnaeus, Carolus
8		Lobb, William
8		Luders, F. G. J.
8		Lutke, Frederic
8		Lyall, David
8		Lyman, W. D.
8		Lyons, Maj. H. G.
8		Mackenzie, Alexander
8		McKenzie, Donald
8		Macoun, John
8		Malispina Expedition
8		Mayne, R. N.
8		Marcy, Oliver
8		Maxon, William R.
8		Meader, James
8		Meany, Edmond S.
8		Meares, John
8		Meehan, Thomas
8		Meinecke, E. P.
8		Menzies, Archibald
8		Merriam, C. Hart
8		Merrille, C. D.
8		Mertens, Henry
8		Meyer, Frank N.
8		Michaux, Andre
8		Michaux, Francois Andre
8		Miyabe, Kingo
8		Mocino, D. Jose Mariano
8		Mourelle, Don Francisco Antonio
8		Munro, William
8		Murchison, Sir Roberick
8		Murray, Andrew
8		National Herbarium
8		Nautical Magazine
8		Nee, Luis
8		Neilson, Thomas G.
8		Nelson, Aven
8		Nelson, David
8		Nevius, Reuben Denton
8		Newberry, J. S.
8		Newcombe, C. F.
8		Nordhorr, Charles
8		Northwest Passage (by K. Roberts)
8		Nuttall, Thomas
8		Page, Elizabeth
8		Pallas, P. S.
8		Palliser, John
8		Palmer, Edward
8		Parish, S. B.
9		Parker, Rev. Samuel
9		Parry, C. C.
9		Paullin, Charles O.
9		Paxton, Sir Joseph
9		Peck, Morton E.
9		Pennell, Francis W.
9		Perez Expedition
9		Pickering, Charles
9		Pinch, Jeremy
9		Piper, Charles V. (General Information)
9		Piper, Charles V. (Index to Flora of Washington)
9		Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium) 4 Folders
10		Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium) 2 Folders
10		Piper, Charles V. (Index to notes, pp. 1-1131)
10		Plant introduction into America
10		Portlock, Capt. Nathaniel
10		Postels, Alexander
10		Pringle, Cyrus G.
10		Pursh, Frederick
10		Rafinesque, C. S.
10		Ramsbottom, John
10		Rees, Abraham
10		Rich, William (Hutton)
10		Richards, C. Audrey
10		Rigg, George B.
10		Rogers, H. Thomas
10		Roll, Julius
10		Rosendahl, C. O.
10		Rugel, Ferdinand
10		Ruiz, Hipolito
10		Rusby, H. H.
10		St. John, Harold
10		Sandberg, J. H.
11		Sargent, Charles Sprague
11		Schafer, Joseph
11		Scouler, John
11		Scribner, Frank (see Lamson-Scribner)
11		Seeman, Berthold
11		Seese, Martin
11		Shinn, Charles H.
11		Simpson, George
11		Smet, P. J. de
11		Smith, Alexander
11		Smith, Charles Piper
11		Smith, Jedediah
11		Sorel, Henry Andrew
11		Spalding, Rev. H. H.
11		Spaulding, Perley
11		Sperlin, O. B.
11		Spillman, W. J.
11		Sperlin, O. B.
11		Spillman, W. J.
11		Stacey, J. W.
11		Stevens, Isaac I.
11		Stevens, Neil E.
11		Stevens, O. A.
11		Stewart, Sir William G. P.
11		Strange, James
11		Sudworth, George B.
11		Suksdorf, Wilhelm
11		Swallen, Jason R.
11		Swallow, Prof.
11		Swan, James
11		Sweetser, A. R.
11		Thompson, David
11		Thorington, J. Monroe
11		Tidestrom, Ivar T.
11		Tolmie, W. F.
11		Torrey, John
11		Tuckerman, Edward
11		Tweedy, Frank
11		Vancouver, George
11		Vancouver Island
11		Vasey, George and George R. Vizcaino
11		Wagner, Henry R.
11		Whetzel, Herbert H.
11		Wildox, E. T.
11		Whited, Kirk
11		Wilkes, Expedition
11		Wilks, W.
11		Willson, Beckles
11		Wilson, Ernest
11		Winsor, Justin
11		Wood, Alonzo
11		Wood, C. B.
11		Wood, C. W.
11		Work, John
11		Wright, Charles
11		Wyeth, Nathaniel
11		Wynd, F. Lyle
11		Young Naturalists Society of Seattle
11		Zeller, S. M.
12		Type Localities 4 Folders
		Geographic Notes:
Box
13		Washington State
13		Oregon
13		Idaho
13		Wyoming
13		British Columbia (Nootka)
13		California
13		Northwest America localities
		Personal Notes
Box
14		British Museum (South Kensington)
14		Washington State University Herbarium
14		University of Idaho, Southern Branch, Herbarium
14		University of Oregon
14		Texas
14		Rusby Herbarium
14		California Academy of Sciences
14		Colorado Agriculutural and Mechanical College Herbarium
14		Collection in the Pacific Northwest, 1946
14		Miscellaneous notes of Northwest botany
14		Notes for Piper and Beattie's Floras, 1914-1915
Box
15		Berberidaceae
15		Circaea
15		Fagacaea
15		Impatiens
15		Mimulus
15		Tobacco
15		Plants to be looked for in the Siskiyou Mountains
		Card File
Box	drawer
16	1-6	Northwest Flora
16	6-7	Biographical Notes
16	7	David Douglas Notes
16	7-8	Geographic Notes

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Botanists -- United States -- Correspondence.
Botany -- Research -- Northwest, Pacific.

Personal Names

Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960 -- Archives.
Bessey, Charles E. (Charles Edwin), 1845-1915.
Henderson, L. F. (Louis Fourniquet), 1853-1942.
Nelson, Aven, 1859-1952.
Piper, Charles V. (Charles Vancouver), 1867-1926.
St. John, Harold.
Suksdorf, Wilhelm, 1850-1932.
Sweetser, Albert R. (Albert Raddin), 1861-1940.

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