Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library
Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205
Phone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Mss230
Judge,
James, b. 1866
James Judge
Papers
1894-1907
1.5 cu. ft. (3 document cases, 1
card file box)
Papers of an Assistant United State
Treasury Agent to the seal fisheries at St. George, Pribilof Islands, Alaska.
Includes detailed notebooks and diaries containing observations on seals,
foxes, coal, and other matters; fox and seal reports; census of St. Paul and
St. George Islands; letters from U.S. Treasury agent Joseph Murray; and a diary
of Judge's wife, Helen.
The collection is in
English.
Biography of James Judge:
James Judge (b. 1866) was the Assistant United States Treasury Agent to
the Seal Fisheries at Pribilof Islands. Along with his wife Helen, he was
stationed at St. George, Pribilof Group, from 1894 to about 1910.
The collection includes 28 pocket notebooks of James Judge dating
between 1897 and 1907, and two kept by Helen Judge in around 1894. These record
daily happenings, observations on foxes, seals, coals, and other matters. Among
the papers are Judge's reports for the years 1895, 1897, 1900, 1901, 1903, and
1905; seal reports, 1896-1904; fox reports, 1900, 1901, 1903-1904; journals
kept in 1896-1897, 1900, 1901; census of St. Paul and St. George Islands,
Pribilof Group, 1900; personal and business correspondence, 1894-1903,
including letters from Joseph Murray, Special United States Treasury Agent
stationed at St. Paul Island, Pribilof Group; and miscellaneous documents,
receipts, and ephemera.
Notable among the correspondence is a letter from Thomas O'Hare, Sept.
16 1896, describing the U.S. presidential campaign. Letters from Joseph Murray
provide details of life on St. Paul Island. Murray also traveled to Washington,
D.C. and wrote of the political situation in the capital in 1896. Among the
diaries, of particular interest are Judge's notes from interviews with elderly
natives, dated July 28, 1899 (box 4, folder 2), and a diary of Helen Judge.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series A: Correspondence, 1894-1903
- Series B: General materials, 1894-1900, undated
- Series C: Reports, 1895-1905
- Series D: Diaries, journals, and notebooks, 1896-1907
The collection is open to the public.
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 publication 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.
James Judge Papers, Mss230, Oregon Historical Society Research
Library
Gift of Mrs. Judge K. McBride, 1959 November 1.
Jean Van Nostrand, "The seals are about goneà" in American Heritage, Vol. XIV, No. 4 (June, 1963), p. 11.
The collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or
places should search the catalog using these headings:
Judge,
James, 1866-1910--Correspondence
Judge,
Helen
Murray,
Joseph, fl. 1895-1898--Correspondence
Alaska--Description and
travel
Pribilof Islands
(Alaska)--History
St. George
(Alaska)--History
St. Paul Island
(Alaska)--History
Eskimos--Alaska--History
Fox
trapping--Alaska--Pribilof Islands
Foxes--Alaska--Pribilof
Islands
Seals
(Animals)--Alaska--Pribilof Islands
Women--Alaska--Pribilof
Islands
Alaska
Fisheries and Wildlife
Native Americans
Women
Diaries
Letters
Notebooks
Series A
Correspondence
1894-1903
General
Correspondence
1/1
Correspondence
1894-1896
1/2
Correspondence
1897-1899
1/3
Correspondence
1900-1903
1/4-8
Letters from Joseph
Murray
1895-1898
undated
Series B
General Materials
1894-1900
undated
1/9
Census of St. Paul
Island
1900
1/10
Historical notes on Alaska
and the Irish people
undated
1/11
General materials
- "The lady of the lake" (manuscript) by William J.
Judge
- Ticket sales for Ladies Auxiliary of the AOH,
1895
- Report on sea otter and other pelts (manuscript),
Circa 1896
- Indenture contract between U.S. Government and
North American Commercial Company for lease of property in St. Paul and St.
George Islands (typescript copy), undated
- Sample insurance policy, undated
1/12
Receipts
1894-1896
Series C
Reports
1895-1905
2/1
Report
1895
2/2
Report
1897
2/3
Report
1900
2/4
Report
1901
2/5
Report (copy of
above)
1901
2/6
Report
1903
2/7
Report
1905
2/8
Seal reports
1897-1904
2/9
Fox reports
1900-1904
Series D
Diaries, journals, and
notebooks
1896-1907
All items are by James Judge unless otherwise noted
Loose-leaf
journals
3/1
1896 December 9-1897 May 9
3/2
1900 June 11-July 29
3/3
1900 June 11-August 25
3/4
1901 June 8-August 7
Pocket diaries and
notebooks
4/1
Account book
circa 1896
4/2
Notes, tallies, and other
information
circa 1896-1899
Includes notes on interviews with elderly natives, 1899
July 28.
4/3
Diary
1897 January 10-September 10
4/4
Diary
1897 December-1898 January 4
4/5
"Clarke: journal on
foxes"
1898 October 16-1899 May 28
Also includes "Summary of year foxing", 1899 April 1;
and "Seal Notes", 1899 November 28.
4/6
Diary and
notebook
1899 June 25-August 10
4/7
Diary, notes and
tallies
1899 July 13-August 14
4/8
Coal record
1899 August 9-1900 July 25
4/9
Diary
1900 June 25-July 21
4/10
Diary
1900 July 29-November 7
4/11
Diary
1901 June 3-19
4/12
"Journal of
observation"
1901 June 20-July 9
4/13
Diary
1901 July 10-August 6
4/14
Diary, inventories and
accounts
1901 August 7-17
4/15
Diary
1902 June 8-July 24
4/16
Coal tallies
1902 July 9-1904 July 27
4/17
Fox record
1902 November 20-December 12
4/18
Diary
1902 December 30-1903 March 23
4/19
Diary
1903 March 17-August 28
4/20
Diary
1904 May 4-August 8
4/21
Diary
1904 August 9-December 29
Also includes list of seal legislation, 1903-1904; and
accounts, 1904 June-November
4/22
Diary
1904 December 30-1905 June 27
4/23
Diary
1906 July 8-August 2
4/24
Diary titled "Pencil
memo"
1906 August 2-4
October 20-23
4/25
Diary
1906 August 3-1907 January 18
4/26
Coal weights and
accounts
1906
4/27
Diary
1907 January 19-September 11
Includes some data for 1905
4/28
Helen Judge
diary
1894 August 29-September 15
4/29
Helen Judge
notebook
1902-1907
Includes lists of letter received and answered, books
read, recipes, and souvenir spoons.