Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections
Cage 318
Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960
Rolla Kent Beattie Papers
1899-1956
8.5 Linear feet of shelf space
16 Boxes
56,500 items
Correspondence and other papers of Rolla Kent Beattie
regarding taxonomic investigations of Pacific Northwest plants, notes and references
to literature on Northwest flora, and historical and biographical aspects of
Northwest botany.
Collection materials are in English
Rolla Kent Beattie was born in Ohio in 1875. He began his botanical
career as a student of Charles Bessey at the University of Nebraska. He was an
Instructor, then Professor of Botany, at Washington State University from 1899
to 1912, after which he joined the United States Department of Agriculture
research staff at Washington, D. C. and remained there as a forest pathologist
until retirement in 1946. During his retirement, he traveled extensively and
began again the examinations of Northwest Flora which he had largely abandoned
in 1912.
In his earlier years, Beattie’s position was mainly that of a
collaborator of the more illustrious Charles Vancouver Piper. The work of the
two tended to become so intermingled that the respective contributions could
not be discerned. However, Beattie’s contribution appears to have been his
knowledge of herbaria and literature resources, while Piper had a greater
familiarity with field botany and theory. In later years, as Beattie began to
see himself as Piper’s successor, his approach continued to follow the line of
herbarium and library research. In fact, he took up the line suggested by the
"American Rule" school to a much greater degree than had Piper. During this
time Beattie amassed a vast compilation of notes on the development of
Northwest botany, in which he examined virtually every treatment of all
Northwest species from the initial "discovery," through any and all revisions.
He also collected much biographical material relative to the various botanists
concerned with Northwest Flora.
Beattie spent most of his retirement years collecting this material.
His death in 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland followed four years of failing
health.
The papers of Rolla Kent Beattie fall into two main area, his correspondence and his
notes. His correspondence is relative to Northwest botany, and includes
correspondence with C. E. Bessey, L. F. Henderson, Aven Nelson, C. V. Piper, Harold
St. John, W. N. Suksdorf, and A. R. Sweetser. The major portion of this collection
is a compilation of his notes and references to literature on Northwest flora and
historical and biographical aspects of Northwest botany. Included in his
letter-books are drafts of articles about the spread of introduced plants, as well
as considerable correspondence about plants sent to Washington State University by
the public for identification.
The first series, Correspondence, is arranged in chronological sequence. The second
series, Notes, is divided into foldered materials, arranged in an alphabetical
sequence of biographical subjects, and a card file which contains four parts. First,
a section on Northwest flora, arranged according to a standard botanical
classification arrangement, with species ordered alphabetically within each genus. A
second section consists of biographical information arranged alphabetically by the
names of Northwest botanists. A third section consists of extensive notes on David
Douglas. Fourth is a partial geographic index of Northwest plants, arranged
according to region.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Rolla Kent Beattie Papers, 1899-1956 (Cage 318)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The papers of R. Kent Beattie, 1875-1960, were donated to the Washington State University Herbarium during the period from 1956 through 1960 by Mr. Beattie.
The papers, along with those of four other Pacific Northwest botanists, were transferred to the Washington State Library in 1975 by the Marion Ownbey Herbarium on the Washington State Campus.
Northwest Botanical Manuscripts : an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of
Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla
Kent Beattie, and Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library.
Washington State University; 1976.
Northwest Botanical Manuscripts
: an Indexed Register of the Papers, 1867-1957, of Wilhelm Nikolaus
Suksdorf, William Conklin Cusick, Charles Vancouver Piper, Rolla Kent Beattie, and
Harold St. John in the Washington State University Library. Washington State
University; 1976.
Washington State University Botanical Papers, 1881-1973 (Cage 53)
Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf Papers, 1867-1935 (Cage 315)
William Conklin Cusick Papers, 1906-1924 (Cage 316)
Charles Vancouver Piper Papers, 1888-1926 (Cage 317)
Harold St. John Papers, 1912-1957 (Cage 319)
This 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.
Beattie, R. Kent (Rolla Kent), 1875-1960 -- Archives.
Bessey, Charles E. (Charles Edwin), 1845-1915.
Henderson, L. F. (Louis Fourniquet), 1853-1942.
Piper, Charles V. (Charles Vancouver), 1867-1926.
St. John, Harold.
Sweetser, Albert R. (Albert Raddin), 1861-1940.
Suksdorf, Wilhelm, 1850-1932.
Nelson, Aven, 1859-1952.
Botanists -- United States -- Correspondence.
Botany -- Research -- Northwest, Pacific.
Science
Colleges and Universities
Washington (State)
Series 1: Correspondence
1899-1956
1
1
1899-1906
175 items.
1
2
1907-1910
225 items.
1
3
1911-1915
180 items.
1
4
1915-1956
150 items.
2
5
Letterbook
1904 May-1905
July
1 volume.
2
6
Letterbook
1906 April-1907
January
1 volume.
Series 2: Northwest Botany Notes
3
Abbot, E. K.
3
Abrams, LeRoy
3
Agassiz, Alexander
3
Agricultural History
3
Allen, Miss A. J.
3
Anderson, A. C.
3
Applegate, Elmer J.
3
Austin, Mrs. R. M.
3
Bailey, Liberty Hyde
3
Ball, John
3
Banks, Sir Joseph
3
Barclay, George
3
Barett, Mrs. P. G.
3
Barnhart, John Hendley
(biographies)
3
Baronoff, A. A.
3
Bartram, William
3
Baumgarten, Hermann
3
Bebb, M. S.
3
Beechey, F. W.
3
Belcher, Capt. Sir Edward
3
Benson, Lyman
3
Bentham, George
3
Berthand, E. L.
3
Bessey, Charles
3
Bethel, Ellsworth
3
Bigelow, Jacob
3
Billings
3
Blake, William P.
3
Blasdale, W. C.
3
Bloodgood, C. Delavan (Sitka)
3
Bolander, Hendry N.
3
Bolton, H. E. (ANZA)
3
Bongard (at Nootka)
3
Bonneville, B. L. E.
3
Brackenridge, W. D.
3
Bradbury, John
3
Brainerd, Ezra
3
Brandegee, T. S. and Brandegee,
Katherine
3
Brandel, Joseph
3
Brewer, William H.
3
Britton, Nathaniel Lord
3
Brodie, David
3
Brown, Jennie Broughton
3
Brown, Robert, of Campster
4
Brown, Robert, of Campster
4
Burke, Joseph
4
Butters, Frederick King
4
Caldwell, Joseph
4
Cannon, Evalina
4
Carruth, W. W.
4
Chamissot de Boncourt, Adlebertus
4
Christ, J. H.
4
Christensen, Carl
4
Clayton, John
4
Collins, J. Franklin
4
Collinson, Peter
4
Coltman-Rogers, Charles
4
Compton, T. B.
4
Cook, Capt. James
4
Cooley, J. G.
4
Cooper, J. G.
4
Coulter, John Merle
4
Coville, Frederick
4
Curtis' Botanical Magazine
4
Cusick, William Conklin
4
Dachnowski-Stokes, A. O.
4
Damon, Samuel
4
Dana, James D.
4
Darlington, H. T.
4
David, Abbe
4
Davis, Mrs. N. J.
4
Dayton, William a.
4
Delacour, Jean
4
Delano, Amasa
4
Demofras, Duflot
4
Dewey, Chester
4
Dietz, H. F.
4
Diller, J. S.
5
Douglas, David
4 Folders
6
Douglas, Sir James
6
Douglas, Robert
6
Douglas, William O.
6
Donaldson, A. B.
6
Drake, Capt. Francis
6
Drummond, Thomas
6
Eastwood, Alice
6
Eaton, Amos
6
Eaton, Walter P.
6
Edwards' Botanical Register
6
Eggleston, Willard W.
6
Elmer, A. P. E.
6
Englemann, George
6
Epling, Carl
6
Ermantinger, Edward
6
Eschscholtz, Johan
6
Espinoza y Tello, Jose
6
Etches, Jon
6
Evans, John
6
Fernald, M. L.
6
Findler, Augustus
6
Flett, J. B.
6
Forbes, Charles
6
Franchere, Gabriel
6
Fraser, Simon
6
Fremont, John C.
6
Frye, Else M.
6
Fuller, George W.
6
Gabrielson, Ira N.
6
Gairdner, Meredith
6
Gambel, William
6
Gannett
6
Gardners' Magazine (London)
6
Garry, Nicholas
6
Geiser, Samuel Wood
6
Geology of the Pacific
Northwest
6
Geyer, Karl Andreas
6
Ghent, W. J.
6
Gibbs, George
6
Golder, Frank A.
6
Good
6
Gorman, M. W.
6
Gould, Dorothy Fay
6
Gray, Asa
6
Gray, Capt. Robert
6
Gray Herbarium
7
Greene, E. L.
7
Griffith, David
7
Haenke, Thaddaeus
7
Hancock, Samuel
7
Harshberger, John William
7
Hartwig, Theodor
7
Hatch, W. R.
7
Hayden, F. V.
7
Hecata, Bruno
7
Heller, Amos Arthur
7
Hemenway, Ansel
7
Henderson, L. F.
7
Henky, Alexander
7
Hilgard, Eugene Waldemar
7
Hitchcock, A. S.
7
Holway, E. W. D.
7
Hone, D. S.
7
Hooker, Joseph Dalton
7
Hooker, William Jackson
7
Horsford, F. H.
7
Hough, J. B.
7
House, Homer D.
7
Howard, L. O.
7
Howell, John T.
7
Howell, Thomas and Howell,
Joseph
7
Hudson's Bay Company
7
Hulten, Eric
7
Ingram, D. C.
7
James, Edwin
7
Jefferson, Thomas
7
Jennings, O. E.
7
Jepson, Willis Linn
7
Jewitt, S.
7
Johnson, J. E.
7
Jones, George Neville
7
Jones, Marcus E.
7
Juan de Fuca
7
Judson, Katherine
7
Kalm, Peter
7
Kauffman, Karl F.
7
Kelley, Hall J.
7
Kellogg, Albert
7
Kew Collections
7
Kimmel, Edward
7
Kin, Mattias
7
Kip, Lawrence
7
Kleeberger, George R.
7
Kotzebue, Otto von
7
La Gasca y Segura, Mariano
7
La Perouse
7
Lake and Hull
7
Lamson-Scribner, F.
7
Laut, Agnes
7
Leiberg, John B.
8
Lemmon, J. G.
8
Lesquereux, Leo
8
Lewis, Meriwether (and Clark,
William)
8
Lindley, John
8
Linnean Society of London
8
Linnaeus, Carolus
8
Lobb, William
8
Luders, F. G. J.
8
Lutke, Frederic
8
Lyall, David
8
Lyman, W. D.
8
Lyons, Maj. H. G.
8
Mackenzie, Alexander
8
McKenzie, Donald
8
Macoun, John
8
Malispina Expedition
8
Mayne, R. N.
8
Marcy, Oliver
8
Maxon, William R.
8
Meader, James
8
Meany, Edmond S.
8
Meares, John
8
Meehan, Thomas
8
Meinecke, E. P.
8
Menzies, Archibald
8
Merriam, C. Hart
8
Merrille, C. D.
8
Mertens, Henry
8
Meyer, Frank N.
8
Michaux, Andre
8
Michaux, Francois Andre
8
Miyabe, Kingo
8
Mocino, D. Jose Mariano
8
Mourelle, Don Francisco Antonio
8
Munro, William
8
Murchison, Sir Roberick
8
Murray, Andrew
8
National Herbarium
8
Nautical Magazine
8
Nee, Luis
8
Neilson, Thomas G.
8
Nelson, Aven
8
Nelson, David
8
Nevius, Reuben Denton
8
Newberry, J. S.
8
Newcombe, C. F.
8
Nordhorr, Charles
8
Northwest Passage (by K. Roberts)
8
Nuttall, Thomas
8
Page, Elizabeth
8
Pallas, P. S.
8
Palliser, John
8
Palmer, Edward
8
Parish, S. B.
9
Parker, Rev. Samuel
9
Parry, C. C.
9
Paullin, Charles O.
9
Paxton, Sir Joseph
9
Peck, Morton E.
9
Pennell, Francis W.
9
Perez Expedition
9
Pickering, Charles
9
Pinch, Jeremy
9
Piper, Charles V. (General
Information)
9
Piper, Charles V. (Index to Flora of
Washington)
9
Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium)
4 Folders
10
Piper, Charles V. (Herbarium)
2 Folders
10
Piper, Charles V. (Index to notes, pp.
1-1131)
10
Plant introduction into
America
10
Portlock, Capt. Nathaniel
10
Postels, Alexander
10
Pringle, Cyrus G.
10
Pursh, Frederick
10
Rafinesque, C. S.
10
Ramsbottom, John
10
Rees, Abraham
10
Rich, William (Hutton)
10
Richards, C. Audrey
10
Rigg, George B.
10
Rogers, H. Thomas
10
Roll, Julius
10
Rosendahl, C. O.
10
Rugel, Ferdinand
10
Ruiz, Hipolito
10
Rusby, H. H.
10
St. John, Harold
10
Sandberg, J. H.
11
Sargent, Charles Sprague
11
Schafer, Joseph
11
Scouler, John
11
Scribner, Frank (see
Lamson-Scribner)
11
Seeman, Berthold
11
Seese, Martin
11
Shinn, Charles H.
11
Simpson, George
11
Smet, P. J. de
11
Smith, Alexander
11
Smith, Charles Piper
11
Smith, Jedediah
11
Sorel, Henry Andrew
11
Spalding, Rev. H. H.
11
Spaulding, Perley
11
Sperlin, O. B.
11
Spillman, W. J.
11
Sperlin, O. B.
11
Spillman, W. J.
11
Stacey, J. W.
11
Stevens, Isaac I.
11
Stevens, Neil E.
11
Stevens, O. A.
11
Stewart, Sir William G. P.
11
Strange, James
11
Sudworth, George B.
11
Suksdorf, Wilhelm
11
Swallen, Jason R.
11
Swallow, Prof.
11
Swan, James
11
Sweetser, A. R.
11
Thompson, David
11
Thorington, J. Monroe
11
Tidestrom, Ivar T.
11
Tolmie, W. F.
11
Torrey, John
11
Tuckerman, Edward
11
Tweedy, Frank
11
Vancouver, George
11
Vancouver Island
11
Vasey, George and George R.
Vizcaino
11
Wagner, Henry R.
11
Whetzel, Herbert H.
11
Wildox, E. T.
11
Whited, Kirk
11
Wilkes, Expedition
11
Wilks, W.
11
Willson, Beckles
11
Wilson, Ernest
11
Winsor, Justin
11
Wood, Alonzo
11
Wood, C. B.
11
Wood, C. W.
11
Work, John
11
Wright, Charles
11
Wyeth, Nathaniel
11
Wynd, F. Lyle
11
Young Naturalists Society of
Seattle
11
Zeller, S. M.
12
Type Localities
4 Folders
Geographic Notes:
13
Washington State
13
Oregon
13
Idaho
13
Wyoming
13
British Columbia (Nootka)
13
California
13
Northwest America
localities
Personal Notes
14
British Museum (South
Kensington)
14
Washington State University
Herbarium
14
University of Idaho, Southern Branch,
Herbarium
14
University of Oregon
14
Texas
14
Rusby Herbarium
14
California Academy of
Sciences
14
Colorado Agriculutural and Mechanical
College Herbarium
14
Collection in the Pacific Northwest,
1946
14
Miscellaneous notes of Northwest
botany
14
Notes for Piper and Beattie's
Floras, 1914-1915
15
Berberidaceae
15
Circaea
15
Fagacaea
15
Impatiens
15
Mimulus
15
Tobacco
15
Plants to be looked for in the Siskiyou
Mountains
Card File
16
1-6
Northwest Flora
16
6-7
Biographical Notes
16
7
David Douglas Notes
16
7-8
Geographic Notes