Clifford Merrill Drury Papers, 1932-1958

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Drury, Clifford Merrill
Title
Clifford Merrill Drury Papers
Dates
1932-1958 (inclusive)
Quantity
3 boxes., (1.5 linear feet of shelf space.), (150 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 144
Summary
Correspondence, manuscripts of his works, photographs, notes, clippings and printed material concerning the Whitmans, Walkers, and Spaldings. Correspondents include Samuel T. Walker and Ruth Karr McKee.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

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

Major Publications

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection of the papers of Clifford M. Drury, historian and biographer, falls in three categories: correspondence, manuscripts of published works, and minor publications. The correspondence, arranged chronologically, is from that period, 1932-1947, when Drury was actively researching and writing his biographical trilogy on the Whitmans, Walkers and Spaldings. The letters detail aspects of his search for material, his transfer of much of that material to the Washington State University Library, and the publication of his monumental biographies. While the bulk of these letters are from Dr. Drury's own files, some are strays from the files of WSU president E.O. Holland who actively supported Drury's research. In addition to the correspondence there is a typescript of Drury's address at a convocation at WSU in 1937 and a file of clippings, notes, photographs and other papers collected as research material.

Four of Drury's major works are represented here in typescript as received from the printer. These include those sections deleted from the published works in the interest of conserving space. In addition to reprints of a few of Drury's articles there is a copy of Helen Bliss' Bibliography of the works of Clifford Merrill Drury, 1934-1969.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 144, Clifford Merrill Drury Papers . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

The papers of C.M. Drury, historian and biographer, were acquired by Washington State University Library between 1938 and 1972 as a complement to the research material, manuscripts, transcripts, photocopies and other papers concerning the Oregon Missionaries that were received by the library as a result of Dr. Drury's efforts.

Related Materials

Although the greatest bulk of the Clifford Merrill Drury papers were deposited at the Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane, in 1966, some additional material on Drury and his researches may be found in the Eells, Spalding, Walker and Whitman collections which Dr. Drury was instrumental in acquiring for the Washington State University Library.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

CorrespondenceReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Correspondence. Correspondents: Board of Foreign Missions, David Brown, W.O. Forbes, Ernest E. Hubert, L.V. McWhorter, Edmond S. Meany, Samuel T. Walker, Western Reserve Academy.
13 items.
1932-1934
1 2
Correspondence. Correspondents: J.M. Cornelison, Robert S. Fletcher, W.W. Foote, Mary C. Harrison, E.O. Holland, R. Murray Jones, Kathleen Marsh, O.F. Marshal, Eula Green Miller, Richard G. Montgomery, Moscow (Idaho) Chamber of Commerce, Vivian Purves, C. Ben Ross, Spalding Memorial Library, Samuel T. Walker.
41 items.
1935
1 3
Correspondence. Correspondents: Burt Brown Barker, William Douglas, Joe Evans, Charles A. Hawley, E.O. Holland, Ernest E. Hubert, Nard Jones, Richard G. Montgomery, National Archives, Mrs. Alfred W. Peterson, Leroi C. Snow, Albert R. Sweetser, John P. Thomson, Samuel T. Walker, Mrs. George W. Welker.
34 items.
1936
1 4
Correspondence. Correspondents: C.R. Armstrong, Ruth Karr Mckee, C.R. Miller, Mary Eleanor Nichols, G. Donald Smith, U.S. Treasury, Elda R. Walker, Samuel T. Walker.
26 items.
1937-1947

Addresses and notesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 5
" The Walkers," an address by C.M. Drury delivered at convocation at the State College of Washington.
4 page typescript.
May 18, 1937
1 6
Clippings, notes, photographs re: The Walkers, Pierre Dorian, Shoshone Indians, Rev. John Roberts. Also container list (1960).
20 items.
1934; 1960

ManuscriptsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
1 7-9
Marcus Whitman, M.D., Pioneer, patriot and martyr of Old Oregon. (Published by Caxton, 1937) (printers copy).
Approx. 600 leaf typescript
2 10-11
Elkanah and Mary Walker, pioneers among the Spokanes. (Published by Caxton, 1940). (printers copy)
Approx. 400 leaf typescript. Approx.50 photographs
2 12
Elkanah and Mary Walker, pioneers of the Spokanes. (author's copy)
Approx. 250 leaf typescript.
2 13
A tepee in his front yard or a biography of Henry T. Cowley. (printer's copy) (Published by Binfords & Mort, 1949).
Approx. 190 leaf typescript.
3 14
Henry T. Cowley, pioneer of Spokane. (Cowley Family Copy).
Approx. 160 leaf typescript (carbon)
3 15-16
The Spalding and Smith diaries of the Nez Perce Mission, 1838-1842. (author's copy) (Published by A.H. Clarke, 1958).
Approx. 390 leaf typescript (carbon)

PublicationsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 17
Bliss, Helen - Bibliography of the works of Clifford Merrill Drury, 1934-1969. Reprinted from the Journal of Presbyterian History, v.48, n.2 (Summer, 1970) 143-157 .
Publications of C.M. Drury:
Box Folder
3 18
The Beginnings of Talmaks, "Galloping over the butte," the introduction of the Fourth of July address of Talmaks Camp Meeting 1958. Craigmont, Idaho, Printed by Rev. David H. Crawford.
8 pages
1958
3 18
Beginnings in the Synod of Oregon. Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, v. 37, n. 4 (December, 1959) 208-231.
3 18
I, the Lawyer; head chief of the Nez Pierce. The Westerners, New York Posse, Brand Book, v.7, n. 1 (1960) 1-3, 14-21. illus.
3 18
Negative report on Oregon: W.H. Ashley, W.P. Hunt, and J.S. Green. The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral, Brand Book, no. 13, (1969) 192-202.
3 18
Reminiscences of a historian. (Spokane?, 1972) First appeared in Pacific Northwesterners, v.16, n.4 (Fall, 1972) 16 page
3 18
Growing up on an Iowa farm. Annals of Iowa, 3rd series, 42:3 (Winter 1974) 161-197. (Added 18 March, 1974)

Marcus and Narcissa WhitmanReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
4 19
The search for the White Man's book of heaven, being a paper read at the meeting of the Presbytery of Northern Idaho at Kamiah
3 page typescript.
October 10, 1932
4 20
Comments on methods followed by me in the preparation of...Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
2 typescript.
December 13, 1972
4 21
Correspondence and critical notes of Albert W. Thompson and Herman J. Deutsch, Pullman, Washington, re: manuscript of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.
Approx. 150 page typescript.
1970-1972
4 22-25
Manuscript of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. Approx. 1000 page typescript.

Nine years with the Spokane IndiansReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
5 1-6
Nine years with the Spokane Indians; the diary, 1838-1848, of Elkanah Walker.
Approx. 800 page typescript with manuscript corrections and changes.
1976
5 7
Nine years: Comments by A.W. Thompson
Approx. 50 page typescript.
5 8
Nine years: Comments by H.J. Deutsch
approx 4 page manuscript
5 9
Nine years: Correspondence with Larry Parker and others concerning translation of Walker's Spokane primer; also Parker's translation
Approx. 100 page typescript and manuscript (photocopies)
1974

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Drury, Clifford Merrill, 1897- --Archives (creator)
  • Cowley, H. T. (Henry Thomas), 1837-1917
  • McKee, Ruth Karr, 1874-
  • Spalding, Henry Harmon, 1803-1874
  • Walker, Elkanah, 1805-1877
  • Walker, Samuel Thompson, 1852-1939
  • Whitman, Marcus, 1802-1847

Occupations

  • Missionaries -- Northwest, Pacific--History--Sources