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Photographs and drawings of Asa Shinn Mercer, approximately 1850-1919
Overview of the Collection
- Title
- Photographs and drawings of Asa Shinn Mercer
- Dates
- approximately 1850-1919 (inclusive)18501919
- Quantity
- 10 photographic prints and drawings (1 folder)
- Collection Number
- PH1512
- Summary
- Photographs and drawings of Asa Shinn Mercer
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
- Languages
- English
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
Asa Shinn Mercer (June 6, 1839 – August 10, 1917) was part of one of the founding families of Seattle, Washington. In 1861 he and his brothers helped clear stumps to make way for the new territorial university. Once the building had been completed, Mercer, as a graduate of Franklin College in Ohio, was the only college graduate in town so he was hired as the university's sole instructor. He was the school's first teacher, recruited the students, and was its first president. Later he was a member of the Washington State Senate. He is mainly remembered for his role in bringing the "Mercer Girls" to Seattle--women he recruited to come out to the west to marry Seattle men. Mercer married his wife, Anne Elizabeth Stapens on July 15, 1866, and they had eight children. In 1867 he moved his family to Astoria, Oregon, where he published pamphlets on material resources, and acted as a publicity agent. He moved to Texas in the late 1870s where he owned and published several newspapers. In 1883, he became a cattleman in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he was the editor and publisher of the "Northwestern Live Stock Journal". Mercer moved to northern Wyoming in 1895 where the family started a farm and ranch remaining in the family today. Mercer died in 1917 in Buffalo, Wyoming.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Photographs and drawings of Asa Shinn Mercer and his wife.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View the digital version of the collection
Restrictions on Use
Status of creator's copyrights is unknown; restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Users are responsible for researching copyright status before use.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box-folder:oversize | item | ||
OS7 | 1 | Hand colored photograph of Asa Shinn Mercer | between 1850 and 1860? |
Folder | |||
1 | 2a | Portrait of Asa Shinn Mercer | between 1860 and 1865? |
box:oversize | |||
XF1 | 2b |
Portrait of Asa Shinn Mercer
Item 2b is at conservation lab.
|
between 1860 and 1865? |
box-folder:oversize | |||
OS7 | 3 | Drawing of Asa Shinn Mercer | between 1860 and 1870? |
Folder | |||
1 | 4 | Portrait of Asa Shinn Mercer | between 1880 and 1885? |
1 | 5 |
Portrait of Asa Shinn Mercer with sons Asa Jr., Ralph, and
Bowman
Kirkland's Studio, Cheyenne, Wyoming
(photographer)
|
1890? |
1 | 6-7 | Asa Shinn Mercer sitting in a rocking chair | between 1910 and 1917? |
1 | 8 |
Asa Shinn Mercer's gravestone at Hyattville Cemetery,
Wyoming
Steve Katnich, Vancouver, B.C
(photographer)
Although the gravestone says 1918, Asa Shinn Mercer died on
August, 10, 1917.
|
1918? |
1 | 9 | Drawing of Asa Shinn Mercer's wife, Annie Elizabeth Mercer | between 1910 and 1920? |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Mercer, A. S. (Asa Shinn), 1839-1917--Photographs