Archives West Finding Aid

[From The Record: Friends of the Library, State College of Washington (Pullman, Washington), January 1948, pp. 6-7.]

"Doctor Annie Heloise Abel Henderson [1873-1947] was undoubtedly one of the ablest women historians of her day. Honors came to her early in her career, for her doctoral dissertation on "The History of Events, Resulting in Indian Consolidation West of the Mississippi" won her the coveted Justin Winsor prize bestowed upon her by the American Historical Association in 1906.

Throughout her scholarly career native policies of the British and American governments constituted her chief but not sole interest. The Slave Holding Indians, a large three-volume tome, was published during the ten-year period 1915-1925 and is considered by most historians as her crowning achievement. One of her most interesting assignments she set for herself, however, was to track down the journal of Pierre Antoine Tabeau. In her pursuit of this treasure, she revealed all of the patience, astuteness, and penetrating powers of deduction expected only of a Sherlock Holmes or G-man. On one occasion a class in Pacific Northwest history had the good fortune to hear her tell her experiences on the trail of this significant document. Several students were so interested that they requested the opportunity to meet her later and get more of her stories about these treasure hunts. Inclined to be somewhat formal in her public appearances, she was definitely at her best in a small circle of kindred spirits.

Retirement from teaching did not stop her researches and professional work. Her book reviews were models of critical analysis. She made it a practice to trace to the original sources all statements of facts used by an author to form a conclusion. Frequently her critiques were more painstaking than those made by the author. She continued to ferret out hidden documents and manuscripts. During the last months of her life, she was working on two papers. One of these was on the subjects of "British Native Policy and the Colonization of South Australia"; the other has the title "Removal, a One-Time Phase of Canadian Indian Policy." Both the unfinished manuscripts and the transcribed copies of the source materials were sent to the State College. They will be completed and edited by members of the staff of the Department of History and sent to the proper scholarly journals for publication.

Doctor Henderson gave the State College autographed presentation copies of each of the books she published. She also made the College the beneficiary of most of her working library. Her scholarship was proof that these books were subject to continued use; the fine condition of the books attest to the great respect this scholar had for the printed page.

Although a scholar first and foremost, Doctor Henderson was an ardent protagonist of closer understanding between English speaking peoples. Her acquaintance was not merely with British and Yankee, but she knew the peoples of all of the countries which make up the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations. She shared with others the conviction that closer ties between those who upheld the Anglo Saxon traditions of liberty and freedom could well lead to their realization by all peoples of the world."