Archives West Finding Aid

J. Neilson Barry was a researcher and prolific early writer of Pacific Northwest History. Barry was born in 1870, but little is known about his early life. Barry was a trained Episcopal priest, but he retired early to dedicate himself to historical research. Through the twenties and forties, he wrote more than fifty articles and research briefs for Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming historical quarterlies. He is thought to have contributed more articles to the Oregon Historical Quarterly than any other writer.

Sometime in the mid-thirties, Barry became fascinated with John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He pursued, in particular, John Colter's Route on the 1814 Lewis and Clark map. Until his death in 1961, Barry studied early maps of Western states and engaged in a correspondence of hundreds of letters with researchers who shared his interest in Colter history. Barry was also a member of an organization called The Trailseekers Council Incorporated. In 1957, Barry donated his collection of historic material to the Boise Junior College. He died in 1961.

John Colter was born in Virginia in 1774. He was an accomplished outdoorsman, as well as an expert hunter, and this led him to be recruited for the Lewis and Clark expedition. When the expedition came to an end he received permission to stay in the Rocky Mountains with some fur trappers who had joined the expedition. He was the first non-native to discover natural hot springs, however very few people actually believed his discovery was legitimate. John Colter died of jaundice sometime in November of 1813