Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Donegan Reeder Wiggins papers, 1839-1952
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Wiggins, Donegan Reeder, 1888-1950
- Title
- Donegan Reeder Wiggins papers
- Dates
- 1839-1952 (inclusive)18391952
- Quantity
- 3.45 cubic feet, (3 record cartons)
- Collection Number
- Mss 1612
- Summary
- Collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, manuscript drafts, and legal papers related to columnist and firearms expert Donegan Reeder Wiggins, dating from approximately 1906-1950. Also included are sermons, correspondence, and legislative papers relating to Duncan S. Donegan, maternal grandfather of Donegan Reeder Wiggins, which date from approximately 1839-1881.
- 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
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Donegan Reeder Wiggins was born in Dodge City, Kansas on February 10, 1888. His parents were Henry Gilbert Wiggins (1859-1932) and Nancy Elizabeth (Lizzy) Donegan Wiggins (1859-1920). In 1913, the Wiggins family moved to Salem, Oregon. There, Wiggins and his father operated the Salem Heights Grocery. In 1927, Wiggins went to work for the Oregon Secretary of State's office. Wiggins was also a firearms and ballistics expert. During World War I, he served as an armorer with a machine gun battalion of the U.S. Army. After the war, he performed as a trick shooter, assisted the Oregon State Police with servicing firearms, and testified in court cases as a ballistics expert. Wiggins also worked as a firearms consultant and editor for Adventure Magazine for 30 years. He regularly wrote short stories, poetry, and nonfiction articles on firearms, ballistics, famous gunfights, and the history of the American West for Adventure Magazine and several other publications.
Sources: "D. R. Wiggins, Arms Authority Dies in Salem," Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), July 26, 1950; biographical information in the collection, titled "The Don Wiggins Story," by Ernest E. Baker.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Duncan S. Donegan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 11, 1831. He emigrated to the United States between 1850 and 1858. He worked as a teacher and Baptist preacher in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and California. Donegan also served in the Missouri legislature during the 25th General Assembly from 1869-1970. He died in Marlow, Oklahoma, on January 18, 1911.
Source: Biographical information in the collection, titled "The Don Wiggins Story," by Ernest E. Baker.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Collection consists of personal and professional correspondence, manuscript drafts, and legal papers related to columnist and firearms expert Donegan Reeder Wiggins, dating from approximately 1906-1950. The bulk of the collection consists of D. R. Wiggins' work as a firearms consultant for Adventure Magazine, and focuses on topics related to firearms, ballistics, famous gunfights, and the history of the American West. This includes correspondence with magazine publishers, weapons manufacturers, historians, friends, and family. In addition, the collection includes drafts of Wiggins' short stories, poems, and manuscripts written for "Adventure Magazine" and other publications. Also included are genealogical materials and a history of D. R. Wiggins and the Wiggins family that was compiled and written by Ernest E. Baker between 1951 and 1952.
Other papers in this collection are related to Duncan S. Donegan, D. R. Wiggins' maternal grandfather, and date from approximately 1839-1881. These include drafts of his sermons, correspondence, legal documents, and legislative papers relating to Donegan's time in the Missouri state legislature between 1869 and 1870.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Donegan Reeder Wiggins papers, Mss 1612, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Acquisition Information
Transfer from the Oregon State Library, February 1961 (Lib. Acc. 9259).
Custodial History
Collection materials were originally donated to the Oregon State Archives in 1952 from the estate of Donegan Reeder Wiggins, care of Ernest E. Baker.
Separated Materials
Photograph materials donated with this collection were separated to the Wiggins photographs, Org. Lot 19, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Baptists--Clergy
- Firearms
Personal Names
- Donegan, Duncan S., 1831-1911
- Wiggins, Donegan Reeder, 1888-1950
Form or Genre Terms
- certificates
- correspondence
- legal documents
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Baker, Ernest E. (compiler)
- Donegan, Duncan S., 1831-1911 (creator)