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Ralph Edgerton Papers, 1929-1996

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Edgerton, Ralph
Title
Ralph Edgerton Papers
Dates
1929-1996 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.48 linear feet, (2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)
Collection Number
WCMss.369
Summary
The Ralph Edgerton Papers contains personal material related to Whitman College and Ralph Edgerton, a 1931 Whitman graduate, lawyer, and judge. This collection, which dates from 1929 to 1996, houses correspondence, newspaper articles, documents related to Whitman College, scrapbooks, photographs and other materials.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Ralph Edgerton was born in Sandpoint, Idaho on June 27, 1908. He attended Whitman College, graduating in 1931 and studying political science. At Whitman, he participated in choir, debate, theater, Glee Club, yearbook, intramural baseball and football, and was the Dramatic Club treasurer. After Whitman, he studied law at Gonzaga University where he would later teach law from 1946 to 1947. From 1936 to 1949, Edgerton practiced private law before being appointed to be a Superior Court Judge in 1949. In 1972, Edgerton was appointed to the State Court of Appeals. Edgerton also served as chairman of the Whitman Board of Overseers from 1959 to 1969. Edgerton was married three times: to Frances Still in 1939, to Ilse Graham in 1967, and to Jean Hardy in 1986. He had one daughter, Lynne Kinnunen, two step daughters, Lynda Wolf and Sandra Padrta, and two step sons, John Graham and John Hardy. Edgerton died on January 31, 1996 in Spokane, Washington.

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Content Description

The Ralph Edgerton Papers houses personal material related to Ralph Edgerton and Whitman College. This collection, which dates from 1929 to 1996, consists of documents and correspondences of the Whitman College Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers, documents regarding student labor, papers about the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, documents about the Eastern Washington State Historical Society, documents about Ralph Edgerton's death, and miscellaneous correspondences involving Ralph Edgerton. It also includes papers of the Society of Mayflower Descendents, two Spokesman-Review articles, Whitman College Financial Planning Committee documents, a copy of "The Penrose Vision" by Robert Allen Skotheim, pamphlets by Ralph Edgerton for The Pacific Northwesterner, a manuscript of Ralph Edgerton's The Lilac City Has a Purple Past, articles and letters about the death of Edgerton's son, Ralph Douglas Edgerton, Whitman College by-laws, photos of Ralph Edgerton's commencement speech, and three scrapbooks.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Ralph Edgerton from April 9, 1971 to May 26, 1994. The accession number associated with this donation is retro-0270.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Edgerton, Erastus Douglas
  • Maxey, Chester C. (Chester Collins)
  • Sampson, Deborah
  • Skotheim, Robert Allen
  • Sparks, Marilyn

Corporate Names

  • Eastern Washington State Historical Society
  • Whitman College
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