Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Dye family photographs collection, circa 1855-1945
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Dye, Eva Emery, 1855-1947
- Title
- Dye family photographs collection
- Dates
- circa 1855-1945 (inclusive)
- Quantity
- 0.45 cubic feet, (205 photographs, 7 photomechanical prints, 2 engravings, 1 ambrotype, and printed materials in 1 document case and 1 oversize folder)
- Collection Number
- Org. Lot 1017
- Summary
- Eva Emery Dye (1855-1947) was a nationally renowned author of historical fiction who popularized Oregon Country history for children and adults. The Dye family photographs collection documents the personal and professional life of Eva and other family members. The collection includes images of her interviewing Se-Cho-Wa, who remembered Lewis and Clark, photographs of Eva's husband, Charles Henry Dye, and their four children and grandchildren.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Eva Lucinda Emery Dye (1855-1947) popularized Oregon Country history for children and adults, and in the process, she made Sacagawea a heroine of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the eyes of the public. She was born in Prophetstown, Ill., to Cyrus Emery and Caroline Trafton Emery. In 1882, she graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio and married Charles Henry Dye (1856-1929), a fellow Oberlin student from Fort Madison, Ia. In 1890, the family moved to Oregon City, Or., where Charles practiced law and Eva obtained a teaching position. They built a home at 902 Jefferson Street, where they spent the rest of their lives.
Eva was a nationally renowned author of historical fiction and produced a book for children and three historical novels set in the Oregon Country which went into multiple printings and remained popular for decades. During her lifetime she published: Stories of Oregon, (1900); McLoughlin and Old Oregon (1900); The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark (1902); McDonald of Oregon, A Tale of Two Shores (1906); and The Soul of America: An Oregon Iliad (1934).
Eva's books were the result of intensive research. She made four trips across the United States tracing the steps of Lewis and Clark, spoke with people about the explorers, and examined journals, letters and documents during her research for The Conquest, her most significant work. The Conquest, written for the Lewis and Clark Centennial, portrayed Sacagawea as a model of 19th century true womanhood.
In addition to writing books, numerous articles, and other shorter pieces, Dye was in demand as a speaker by local, regional, and national organizations. The Willamette Valley Chautauqua, which had its first meeting in the summer of 1893 at Gladstone Park, was jointly founded by Eva and her husband, Charles, and evolved from a Chautauqua circle that met in the Dye's home. She was also active in the Oregon Woman's Suffrage Association. As president of the Sacajawea Statute Association, Eva was instrumental in hiring Alice Cooper to sculpt the copper statute of Sacagawea exhibited at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905. The statue became a permanent fixture in Washington Park at Portland, Oregon.
Eva Emery Dye and Charles Henry Dye had four children, Emery Charles Dye (b. 1884), Trafton Mickelwaite Dye (1886-1974), Everett Willoughby Dye (1896-1988), and Charlotte Evangeline (Eva) Dye Hutchinson (1897-1972). Emery and Trafton graduated from Oberlin College. Emery was admitted to the Oregon bar in 1908; however, he suffered a mental breakdown in young manhood which resulted in his commitment to a state institution for much of his life. Trafton moved to Cleveland, Oh., where he practiced law. Everett graduated from Oregon Agricultural College with a degree in mechanical engineering and settled near Trafton in Cleveland, Ohio. Charlotte graduated from Oregon Agricultural College with a degree in home economics. She married Richard Earl Hutchinson and settled in Los Angeles.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Dye family photographs collection (circa 1855-1945) documents the personal and professional life of Eva Emery Dye and other family members. The personal photographs consist of portraits of Eva from 1874 to 1937 and images of places that shaped her life. Professional photographs include images of her interviewing Se-Cho-Wa, a member of the Walla Walla tribe, who remembered Lewis and Clark, and of her reading McDonald of Oregon. The collection includes photographs of the Clark family, possibly taken in conjunction with Eva's research for The Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark. Images document her books McDonald of Oregon and The Conquest on display in store windows. There is a striking photograph of Eva at age 89 presenting the manuscript of McLoughlin and Old Oregon to Burt Brown Barker for the Oregon Historical Society, and images of the Sacajawea Statue at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and in Washington Park at Portland, Oregon.
Other photographs consist of images of family members, including Eva's husband, Charles Henry, and their four children and grandchildren. Of special interest is a photograph of Everett Willoughby Dye in his World War I uniform. Photographs document the interior and exterior of the Dye family home in Oregon City, Oregon. The collection also includes images of Oregon scenes and portraits of various individuals unrelated to the Dye family.
Photographers in this collection include Trafton Mickelwaite Dye, as well as Lee Moorhouse of Pendleton, Or. and Edith C. Cheney, Preston M. Hart, and Anna Wisner, all of Oregon City, Or., among many others.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Dye family photographs collection, Org. Lot 1017, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into the following series:
- Series A: Eva Emery Dye, circa 1855-1945
- Series B: Charles Henry Dye, circa 1882-1924
- Series C: Dye family, circa 1894-1941
- Series D: Other images, 1876-1932
Acquisition Information
Library accession nos. 246, 293 and 377.
Processing Note
The collection was assembled piecemeal over time as it was donated. The final processing and guide was completed in 2005-2006.
Separated Materials
The Eva Emery Dye papers (Mss1089), plus a large collection of books, serials, and World War I posters were separated from the Dye family photographs collection and are in various collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Letters from Eva Emery Dye are contained in several other manuscript collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library and the University of Oregon Library Special Collections.
Bibliography
Browne, Sheri Bartlett. Eva Emery Dye: Romance with the West. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2004.Related Materials
The Mary Carr Moore Collection (Collection 38) at the University of California Los Angeles Music Library contains materials related to her opera, Narcissa, which was based on Eva Emery Dye's book, McLoughlin and Old Oregon.
In 1939, Eva Emery Dye donated her handwritten manuscript for McLoughlin and Old Oregon to the University of Oregon Library, where it is located in the Manuscript Collections (F813 D986).
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series A: Eva Emery Dye, circa 1855-1945Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Portraits--Dye family
members
Includes photographs of Caroline Brackton Trafton Emery,
Mary Emery Stevens, and Eva Emery Dye's sister, Carrie.
|
circa 1857-1902 |
1/2 | Portraits--Hattie
Stark |
undated |
Vault | Portraits--Ambrotype of
unidentified infant |
1855 |
1/3 | Portraits--Eva Emery
Dye |
circa 1874-1900 |
1/4 | Portraits--Eva Emery
Dye
Eva Emery Dye
|
circa 1901-1937 |
1/5 | Prophetstown,
Ill.
Includes letter from Eleanor Secor.
|
1941 |
1/6 | Prophetstown,
Ill.
Includes 1904 calendar.
|
circa 1904 |
1/7 | Professional life
Includes photographs of interview with Se-Cho-Wa, a member
of the Walla Walla tribe, who remembered Lewis and Clark; other Native
Americans, including Red Elk and Umatillas; and the Shoshone cemetery at the
Wind River Reservation.
|
circa 1900-1931 |
1/8 | Eva Emery Dye presenting
manuscript of McLoughlin and Old Oregon to Burt
Brown Barker for the Oregon Historical Society |
1945 |
1/9 |
McDonald of Oregon
Includes photographs of Eva reading from the book, as well
as illustrations for it and a window display advertising it at A. C. McClurg
& Co., Chicago, Ill. in 1906.
|
circa 1906 |
1/10 |
The
Conquest: The True Story of Lewis and Clark
Includes family portraits of William Hancock Clark, grandson
of William Clark; John O'Fallon Clark with George Rogers Clark II; and Mrs.
John O'Fallon Clark, as well as Clark family homes in Louisville, Ky. and
Virginia.
|
1902-1906 |
1/11 | Sacajawea Statue from Lewis
and Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, Or. |
circa 1905 |
Series B: Charles Henry Dye, circa 1882-1924Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/12 | Portraits |
circa 1882-1918 |
13 | Dye brothers and their
wives |
circa 1924 |
Series C: Dye family, circa 1894-1941Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/14 | Charles Henry Dye and Eva
Emery Dye
Includes their children and families, as well as their
gravestone in Oregon City, Or.
|
circa 1900-1929 |
1/15 | Charlotte Evangeline Dye
Hutchinson with husband and children
Husband Richard Earl Hutchinson, and children Charles
Richard, Elizabeth Jean and Dorothy Mae
|
circa 1901-1939 |
1/16 | Emery Charles Dye |
circa 1900 |
1/17 | Everett Willoughby Dye, his
wife Harriett, and their children Charles and Marjorie |
circa 1905-1941 |
1/17 | Everett Dye in World War I
uniform |
1917 |
1/18 | Trafton Micklewaite Dye, his
wife Mary, and their children Mary Elizabeth and Charles Sherman |
circa 1900-1918 |
1/19 | Exterior of Oregon City
home |
circa 1903; 1941 |
1/20 | Dye family |
circa 1900-1935 |
1/21 | Genealogy of the Dye family
(photocopy) |
undated |
1/22 | Interior of Oregon City
home |
circa 1894-1903 |
Series D: Other images, 1876-1932Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/23 | Places in Oregon |
1876-1922 |
Columbia River--Cabbage
Rock |
||
Columbia River--Cascades
of the Columbia River |
||
Columbia River--Fishing
at the mouth of Columbia River |
||
Columbia River--Oneonta
Gorge |
||
Columbia River--Pillars
of Hercules |
||
Columbia River--West Fork
of Hood River |
July 1922 | |
Oregon City and Falls of
the Willamette |
||
box:oversize | ||
Portland--Chautauqua
Assembly at Gladstone Park |
circa 1920 | |
Portland--Steel
Bridge |
||
Box/Folder | ||
23 | Portland--Harbor with
Steamship "Columbia" |
|
23 | Portland--Oregonian
Building |
|
Tillamook Rock
lighthouse |
||
1/24 | Portraits |
circa 1890-1932 |
Albert Pope
Boone |
undated | |
Elbert B.
Charman |
1918 | |
Mrs. George Law
Curry |
undated | |
Rev. John F.
Damon |
undated | |
John B.
Finley |
undated | |
Joseph Gaston |
undated | |
John B.
Horner |
1930 | |
Julia Hughes |
undated | |
Ella
Higginson |
undated | |
Marian
McDonald |
undated | |
Joaquin Miller,
Chautauqua Assembly, Gladstone Park |
July 1906 | |
Anne Shannon |
1932 | |
1/25 | Other images |
circa 1890-1920 |
Captain Gray's sea
chest |
||
Dye's Jersey cow
Daisy |
||
Hop fields with
pickers |
||
Presbyterian Church in
Sidney, Iowa |
||
Salmon fishing with drag
nets and clubs |
||
Seaplane, first one to
cross Hawaiian waters |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Dwellings--Oregon--Oregon City--Photographs
- Indians of North America--Oregon--Photographs
- Statues--Oregon--Portland--Photographs
- Women photographers
- Women authors, American--Oregon--Photographs
Personal Names
- Dye, Eva Emery, 1855-1947--Homes and haunts--Photographs
- Dye, Eva Emery, 1855-1947--Photographs
Corporate Names
- Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (1905 : Portland, Or.)--Photographs
Family Names
- Clark family--Photographs
- Dye family--Photographs
Form or Genre Terms
- Ambrotypes
- Calendars
- Engravings
- Photographic prints
- Photomechanical prints