William Conklin Cusick Papers, 1906-1924
Table of Contents
- Overview of the Collection
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Biographical Note
- Content Description
- Use of the Collection
- Administrative Information
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Detailed Description of the Collection
- Correspondence, letters from C. V. Piper, 1914-1921
- Biographical Sketch of Cusick by Willard W. Eggleston, 1924
- A Catalogue of Grasses of Eastern Oregon, 1908
- A List, From Memory, of the Plants to be Seen Near at Hand in Crossing the Canyon of the Immaha Near its Source, 1911
- An Annotated List of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Northeastern Oregon: Wallawa, Union, Baker and Umatilla Counties, 1909
- Distribution of Characteristic Alpine and Hudsonian Plants of the Wallowa Mountains, undated
- Distribution of Characteristic Alpine and Hudsonian Plants of the Wallowa Mountains, undated
- Names and Subjects
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Cusick, William C. (William Conklin), 1842-1922
- Title
- William Conklin Cusick Papers
- Dates
- 1906-1924 (inclusive)19061924
- Quantity
- 0.5 Linear feet of shelf space, (1 Box), (24 Items)
- Collection Number
- Cage 316 (collection)
- Summary
- Cusick’s extant papers consist primarily of his field books, which doubled as the catalog for the second herbarium, and the draft list of the floral surveys he conducted about 1910.
- Repository
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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
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This collection is open and available for research use.
- Additional Reference Guides
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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
Biographical Note
William C. Cusick was born in Illinois in 1842 and emigrated to Oregon while a youth. He had a modest "collegiate" education and worked as a teacher for a time. Most of his adult life he spent as a rancher in the area of the Wallowa Mountains. He began botanical collecting and distribution sometime in the 1870s, encouraged by Harvard’s Asa Gray. Most of his plants came from the area of the Wallowa and Blue Mountains and were arranged in two successive herbariums, one of which he transferred to the University of Oregon, while the second went to Washington State University.
Encouraged by C. V. Piper, Cusick’s second herbarium project included extensive and exhaustive botanical surveys of the area in the two mountain ranges. Unlike his earlier efforts, this second phase did not include large distributions of plants. Cusick died in 1922.
Content Description
William C. Cusick’s extant papers consist primarily of his field books, which doubled as the catalog for the second herbarium, and the draft list of the floral surveys he conducted, circa 1900-1910. A few surviving items of correspondence with C. V. Piper, and a biographical sketch of Cusick by W. W. Eggleston are also included.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Preferred Citation
[Item description]
William Conklin Cusick Papers, 1906-1924 (Cage 316)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
The Cusick papers are arranged to content, with the meager extant correspondence segregated. The field books follow Cusick’s numbering system.
Custodial History
The papers of William C. Cusick, 1842-1922, of Union County, Oregon, were acquired by the Washington State University Herbarium about 1921, along with Cusick’s Second Herbarium
Acquisition Information
The materials in this collection of botanical documents were transferred to the Washington State University Library in 1975 from the university’s Ownbey Herbarium.
Bibliography
Cusick’s life and botanical experiences are discussed in Irwin F. Lange, Pioneer Botanists of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon Historical Quarterly, 57 (1956) 115-118 and Harold St. John, William Conklin Cusick, Rhodora, 25 (1923) 101-105.
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)
Xerpha Mae Gaines Papers, 1948-1970 (Cage 122)
Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf Papers, 1867-1935 (Cage 315)
Charles Vancouver Piper Papers, 1888-1926 (Cage 317)
Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956 (Cage 318)
Harold St. John Papers, 1912-1957 (Cage 319)
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Description: Correspondence, letters from C. V. Piper3 items.Dates: 1914-1921Container: Box 1, Folder 1
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Description: Biographical Sketch of Cusick by Willard W. Eggleston1 item.Dates: 1924Container: Box 1, Folder 2
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Description: A Catalogue of Grasses of Eastern Oregon1 item.Dates: 1908Container: Box 1, Folder 3
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Description: A List, From Memory, of the Plants to be Seen Near at Hand in Crossing the Canyon of the Immaha Near its Source3 items.Dates: 1911Container: Box 1, Folder 4
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Description: An Annotated List of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Northeastern Oregon: Wallawa, Union, Baker and Umatilla Counties2 items.Dates: 1909Container: Box 1, Folder 5
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Description: Distribution of Characteristic Alpine and Hudsonian Plants of the Wallowa Mountains2 items.Dates: undatedContainer: Box 1, Folder 6
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Description: Distribution of Characteristic Alpine and Hudsonian Plants of the Wallowa Mountains2 items.Dates: undatedContainer: Box 1, Folder 7
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Field Books/Catalogs 1906-1916
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Description: Specimen Number 2739-2783Container: Box 1, Folder 7
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Description: Specimen Number 3060-3145Container: Box 1, Folder 8
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Description: Specimen Number 3150-3339Container: Box 1, Folder 9
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Description: Specimen Number 3340-3420Container: Box 1, Folder 10
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Description: Specimen Number 1 (3509)-51 (3560)Container: Box 1, Folder 11
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Description: Specimen Number 3422-3709Container: Box 1, Folder 12
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Description: Specimen Number 3710-4038Container: Box 1, Folder 13
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Description: Specimen Number 4039-4241Container: Box 1, Folder 14
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Description: Specimen Number 4242-4435Container: Box 1, Folder 15
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Description: Specimen Number 4436-4522Container: Box 1, Folder 16
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Description: Specimen Number 4546-4783Container: Box 1, Folder 17
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Description: Specimen Number 4604-4883Container: Box 1, Folder 18
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Description: Specimen Number 4884-4935Container: Box 1, Folder 19
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Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Botanists -- United States -- Correspondence.
- Botany -- Research -- Oregon.
Personal Names
- Cusick, William C. (William Conklin), 1842-1922 -- Archives.
- Eggleston, W. W. (Willard Webster), 1863-1935.
- Piper, Charles V. (Charles Vancouver), 1867-1926.
