Charles Willoughby papers, 1878-1908

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Willoughby, Charles, 1832-1888
Title
Charles Willoughby papers
Dates
1878-1908 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.12 cubic feet (3 boxes)
Collection Number
4972 (Accession No. 4972-001)
Summary
Sea captain and Indian Affairs agent of Washington State
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

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Charles Willoughby was born in New London, Connecticut in 1832. He first went to sea as a boy, and by the age of twenty-one took charge of a vessel traveling to ports on the Pacific Coast. He came to Puget Sound in the early 1860s, and worked as a captain in the service of the Coast Survey until 1865. In 1877, he was named the Indian Agent at the Neah Bay reservation. During his time at Neah Bay, charges were filed against him that called into question his administration of agency affairs, but these were later dismissed in his favor. He then assumed the same position of agent at the Quinault reservation. Charles died in 1888.

Charles and Sarah Cheney Willoughby were married in Port Townsend in October 1865. Together they had five children: Adeline, Oliver, John, Joseph, and Frederick. Willoughby was a widower when he met Sarah, and also had a son, Charles, from his first marriage. Sarah was born in Massachusetts on May 27, 1841, to parents John Lorenzo and Cynthia Cram Cheney. After graduating from Lowell High School and the Maplewood Institute in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, she traveled on Asa Mercer’s first expedition to Washington Territory in 1864 at the age of twenty-two. She intended to teach art at the University of Washington; however, there were very few students and she soon left the university to teach in Port Townsend. She maintained her interest in the arts throughout her life, and often sketched scenes and transcribed Native American legends while her family lived on the reservations. Following Charles’ death in 1888, Sarah returned to Port Townsend, where she died on November 7, 1913.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Correspondence, financial and legal documents, reports, writings, and artwork pertaining to the Willoughby family. The majority of the correspondence is from Charles Willoughby's work as an Indian agent at the Neah Bay and Quinault reservations, and includes many exchanges with the United States Office of Indian Affairs. This correspondence also includes letters from Otis T. Mason, the curator of ethnology at the United States National Museum (Smithsonian Institution), who first contacted Willoughby in 1885 in search of information about tribes on the Northwest Coast. Most of the financial records and legal documents also relate to Willoughby's career, and include testimonies regarding crimes and murders committed on the reservations.

The correspondence in this collection also includes letters written to and by Sarah Cheney Willoughby. Correspondence written by her is addressed to two of her sons, Charles and Oliver, and recount the family's everyday life on the reservation. Also included is a unpublished manuscript written by Sarah, as well as two writings by Adeline Willoughby McCormack that recount the shipwreck of the Sir Jamsetjee family as well as the Willoughby family's c. 1884 trip from Port Townsend to Quinault.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from this collection in digital format

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Loaned by Mrs. Adeline McCormack, 5/1/1957

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Certificates Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
United States Inspectors Certificate to Masters
10 April 1883
1/1
United States Inspectors Certificate to Mates
22 August 1887

Correspondence Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Incoming to Charles Willoughby
Box/Folder
1/2
A. Baine & Co.
15 March 1884
1/2
Brewer, James H.
26 May 1884
1/2
Cheney, Edwards
1882
1/2
Crocker, Minerva C.
May 1887
1/2
Davie & Pooley, Barristers and Attorneys
18 October 1880
1/2
First National Bank of Portland
30 September 1881
1/2
Pullen, Daniel
7 December 1882
1/2
Smith, A. J.
4 July 1879
1/2
Stevens, W. H.
1 August 1881
1/2
Willoughby, A.
11 February 1880
1/3
Mason, Otis T., Curator of Ethnology at United States National Museum
1885-1889
1/4-6
United States Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs
1878-1887
1/7
United States Treasury Department, Second Auditor's Office
1883-1887
Incoming to Sarah Cheney Willoughby
Box/Folder
1/8
Cheney, Ellen W.
24 May 1908
1/8
Cheney, John
10 July 1886
1/8
Cheney, John L.
1887-1888
1/8
Crocker, Minerva C.
4 May 1887
1/8
Sherman, Clay & Co.
6 June 1896
1/8
Soule, Tadie
26 August 1888
Outgoing from Charles Willoughby
Box/Folder
1/9
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
1878-1888
1/10
Larson
1878
1/10
White, Capt. H. W.
1881
1/10
Smith, Harrington
29 July 1882
1/10
Cashier of First National Bank, Portland
1 February 1888
Box
3
Letterpress volume of outgoing correspondence
1885-1886
Outgoing from Sarah Cheney Willoughby
Box/Folder
1/11
Willoughby, Charlie
1887
1/11
Willoughby, Oliver
1886-1887
Correspondence between Others
Box/Folder
1/12
Newall, W. A. to Kimball
Includes copy of correspondence of 26 January 1881 from E. H. McAlmond to W. A. Newall regarding Charles Willoughby's (Jr.?) performance working in charge of the L. B. Station.
29 January 1881
1/12
Sutherland, John to Daniel Pullen
13 October 1882
1/12
Hoss, J. C. to Secretary of the Interior
26 June 1883

Financial Records Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Receipts
Box/Folder
1/13
The Aberdeen Herald
5 March 1887
1/13
The Chehalis Valley Vidette
2 December 1886
1/13
Crocker, Minerva C.
19 May 1887
1/13
Fancy Goods, Notions, Etc.
9 June 1882
1/13
Hoquiam Mills
1886
1/13
Lodge Receipt
1887
1/13
Order of the Iron Hall
1885-1887
1/13
Puget Sound Argus
31 January 1887
1/13
United States Indian Service
1883, undated
Box/Folder
1/13
Vouchers for traveling expenses
1880-1882
1/13
Miscellaneous receipts, invoices, and inventories
1886-1891, undated

Legal Documents Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/14
Official Bond and Affidavit of Surety for Indian Agent
1883
1/15
Affidavits regarding charges against Charles Willoughby's activities as Indian Agent
1883-1885
2/1
Agreement between Charles Willoughby and Ira McGary
12 November 1884
2/2
Ship Inspector documents
1883
Reports and Proceedings
Box/Folder
2/3
"Proceedings of an Inquiry held at Neah Bay, Washington Territory"
"Charges against 3 Quillehute Indians, 'Obi,' Sheesh-che-kop, and a Squaw, wife of Obi, of assault with intent to kill, committed upon a white settler."
29 July 1882
2/3
Statements given "by the Indians in the case of Obi killing a white man on the beach" and other murders
1882
2/3
"Charges against Obi killing white man on Beach"
1882
2/3
"Case of Tow-a-la-mak for murder of white man"
undated

Reports Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/4-5
Financial Reports
1878-1888

Writings and Artwork Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/6
"Tales and Totems..." manuscript by Sarah Willoughby
undated
2/7
"Wreck of the Sir Jamsetjee Family, Quinaielt, Dec. 2, 1887 near Point Elizabeth" by Adeline Willoughby McCormack
undated
2/7
"The Trip of Capt. Charles Willoughby and family from Port Townsend to Quinault about 1884" by Adeline Willoughby McCormack
undated
2/8
Miscellaneous notes and writings
undated
2/9
Sketches
1883, 1887, undated

Ephemera Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/10
Course and time table of Steamship Dakota
5 December 1882

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Folklore--Washington (State)
  • Indians of North America--Folklore
  • Indians of North America--Government relations
  • Indians of North America--Washington (State)

Personal Names

  • Willoughby, Charles, 1832-1888--Archives

Corporate Names

  • United States. Office of Indian Affairs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Willoughby, Sarah, 1841-1913 (creator)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)