Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Park Weed Willis photograph collection, approximately 1865-1958
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Willis, Park Weed
- Title
- Park Weed Willis photograph collection
- Dates
- approximately 1865-1958 (inclusive)18651958
- Quantity
- 790 photographic prints (3 boxes)
- Collection Number
- PH0566
- Summary
- Seattle physician's family photographs , circa 1865-1958
- 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
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Additional Reference Guides
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Seattle physician and surgeon Park Weed Willis was born in Umatilla County, Oregon, on July 10, 1867. His parents, William McCellan and Mary Arabella Keyes Willis, moved to Oregon after their marriage in Iowa. After attending the University of Washington in the winter of 1883-1884, Willis transferred to Whitman College in the fall of 1884. It was at Whitman that he decided to study medicine and, following his graduation in 1888, pursued his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania. After earning his M.D. in 1891, Willis returned to the west coast, where he began his practice in Seattle in 1892. Among the many places he worked was the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, where he performed the first surgical operation at that hospital when it opened in 1907. He was also on the staff of the Seattle General Hospital and the King County Hospital.
Willis was respected for his work both locally and nationally. He was the first president of the Washington State Medical Association, a secretary and president of the King County Medical Society, and a member of the Seattle Surgical Society, the Pacific Northwest Surgical Society, and the Pacific Coast Surgical Association. He was also one of the founders of the American College of Surgeons in 1913, and a fellow of the American Medical Association.
On June 15, 1892, Willis married Georgeanna Clark in Pennsylvania. The couple then immediately headed west, and remained in Walla Walla, Washington, for a few weeks before arriving in Seattle on August 4, 1892. They had two children, Park Weed Willis, Jr. and Cecil D. Willis, and eight grandchildren. Park Weed Willis died at age 91 on October 26, 1958.
Willis was also active in civic affairs and had a wide range of non-professional interests. He was the co-founder and president of the Seattle Community Chest, and a trustee of Whitman College from 1909 to 1949. He enjoyed duck hunting and belonged to the Swinomish Gun Club. In addition, he was the president of the Pioneer Association of Washington and the Monday Club, and was a member of the Rainier Club and the Washington Athletic Club. Willis was also a livestock breeder and bred the largest herd of pure Guernsey cattle in the northwest at his Orchard Hill Farm in Redmond.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The photographs document Willis's family: his parents, siblings, wife Georgia (or Georgiana?), sons Park, Jr. and Cecil. Three photograph albums maintained by Cecil Willis are also included.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Processing Note
The photographs were relocated from the Park Weed Willis Papers, Accession No. 4068, in the repository.
Separated Materials
These materials form part of the Park Weed Willis Papers, which are described and indexed in the guide to the Park Weed Willis Papers, MSS Collection #4068 .
BOX CONTENTS
BOX 1:
FOLDER 1: 1 black and white photograph of McClellan Willis (father), 3 copies. undated; 1 mounted photograph of Stephen Park Willis (uncle) and wife, undated
FOLDER 2: 3 black and white photographs of Mary Arabella Keyes Willis (mother), (3 copies of one image), various dates. 1 cabinet card of Mary Arabella Keyes Willis from Abell Studio, Portland, Oregon. 1 photograph of Sarah Reedes Keyes and Hafsen (?), 1866.
FOLDER 3: 1 cabinet card of Albert Lincoln Willis, 1892. 1 black and white photograph of Albert Lincoln Willis, 1947. 2 photographs of A.L. Willis's gravestones. 2 photographs of Lee and Ella Moorhouse (sister), undated
FOLDER 4: 15 studio portraits and snapshots, 2 silhouettes, 1 tintype, 3 color photographs of Park Weed Willis, 1886-1958.
FOLDER 5: 5 proofs of Park Weed Willis by Edward Curtis, undated
FOLDER 6: 16 black and white photographs. Georgia (or Georgiana?) Clark Willis (wife), undated Photographer noted: Boyd, 711 Front St.
FOLDER 7: 19 black and white photographs. Park Weed Willis, Jr. (son), undated
FOLDER 8: 30 black and white photographs. Cecil Durand Willis (son), circa 1903-1957. Photographers noted: Edward Curtis, Romans Photographic Company. Includes one image of University of Washington crew, undated; group of children with hoops, undated; image with Cecil, hunting dog and dead birds.
FOLDER 9: 82 photographs and proofs. Park Weed Willis, Jr. and Cecil Durand Willis (sons) together with family, friends, nursemaids, pets, etc. Some prints and proofs are from the Edward Curtis Studio. Circa 1900-1915. Includes image of 1909 Oakland automobile.
FOLDER 10: 3 black and white photographs. Grandchildren of Park Weed Willis, circa 1950.
FOLDER 11: 13 black and white photographs. Park Weed Willis's career as a physician. Includes P.W. Willis's and Dr. Gideon doctor's office in the Burke Bldg. (ca. 1893-1895); horse- drawn ambulances; nurses at Pasadena Hospital (1903); Medical association photographs.
FOLDER 12: 21 black and white photographs. Clinical images of occurrences of leprosy, goiter and Siamese twins. undated
FOLDER 13: 21 black and white photographs (some duplicates). Residences and automobiles. Includes houses and farms of the Willis family, neighbors and friends. The Willis residence was at 1316 Columbia St., they also had a farm at Orchard Hill. Notes on the automobile images: "Dr. Park Weed Willis had a 1908 Franklin roadster for making calls - lic. #1918. [In 1909] had a Peerless Touring car (Packard, Pierce, Peerless, the 3 big cars at the time). 1910 ordered a new Peerless and on delivery traded in for Packard 1910 because unions would not give a warranty on a Japanese driven car. P.W.W. had a Japanese driver. After that bought Packards."
FOLDER 14: 30 sepia toned photographs. Miscellaneous images: small panoramas of Cote d'Azur, France (circa 1910?); Nice and environs, Eze/La Turbie, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Roquebrune, Menton.
FOLDER 15: 20 black and white photographs, 1 postcard. Miscellaneous images of identified individuals and localities. Includes: Seattle scenes from First Hill (?), street scene outside of steamship office, government locks, Log Cabin, B.C. railroad station, ship in Rotterdam harbor, Pendleton Roundup in 1910 (Native Americans). 1910-1940s.
FOLDER 16: 50 photographs. Miscellaneous images including snapshots of group events, children's parties, forest outings and picnics, auto excursions, horseback trips, patriotic events, amateur theatricals, undated
FOLDER 17: 32 photographs. Livestock including cows and steers, Orchard Hill Farm in Redmond, children.
FOLDER 18: 1 photograph in OS4. University of Washington crew in boat.
BOX 2: Albums
FOLDER 1:
Album 1: 22 black and white photographs. Family pictures of the Willis brothers as small children including carriage rides, examples of Christmas trees, undated (Many pages are empty, some photos removed. Photos are frequently reproduced elsewhere in the collection. No identification or captions)
Album 2: 62 black and white photographs. Includes family snapshots, Pendleton Roundup (1913), outings with friends at Point No Point, Puget Sound images, fraternity brothers, student outings, Vancouver B.C. harbor (1917), Snoqualmie Middle Fork rustic cabins (1921), Alaska trip (1919)
FOLDER 2: Album 3: 255 black and white photographs and postcards. (Noted on inside cover "Cecil D. Willis") Includes family, friends, Willis family farm at Orchard Hill, camping excursions, snow holidays, Sammamish River, fraternity brothers and house (17th and 45th), Lake Washington Ship Canal, Puget Sound views, Mt. Rainier, Nisqually Glacier, trip to Long Beach, Lake Cushman, construction of Smith Tower, view of downtown Seattle from First Hill, UW engineering student taking some site surveys (1916), Pendleton Roundup (undated), Cascade Mountains Scenery, Geology Dept. camping trip, first airplane flight in Seattle (Curtis biplane) at the "Meadows" with C.K. Hamilton as pilot (1910), Glacier National Park (1914), 1916 snowfall, Second Pendleton Roundup (1913), Sorority women (1917), San Juan Islands (1916), Cecil's radio station (1914).
FOLDER 3: 67 black and white photographs. Cecil D. Willis snapshot collection. Skiing trips to Snoqualmie and Mt. Rainier (ca. 1920-1941), Naval service as radio operator: ship scenes, Panama Canal.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
