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Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Erskine Wood Family Papers, 1867-1982

Overview of the Collection

Title
Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Erskine Wood Family Papers
Dates
1867-1982 (inclusive)
Quantity
38 boxes
Collection Number
OLPb008WOO
Summary
This collection includes the family papers of Charles Erskine Scott Wood and his son Erskine Wood. The materials collected by Erskine include almost 2,000 family letters, diaries, photographs, and original works of art by C.E.S. Wood. Some of the photographs and diaries document Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, and his family.
Repository
Lewis & Clark College, Special Collections and Archives

Aubrey R. Watzek Library
615 S. Palatine Hill Rd.
Portland, OR
97219
Telephone: 5037687758
Fax: 5037687282
archives@lclark.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection has no restrictions and is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Charles Erskine Scott Wood was a soldier, poet, painter, and lawyer, whose enthusiasm for the arts had a profound influence on the cultural scenes of Portland, Oregon (1880s-1915) and San Francisco/Los Gatos (1915-1944). After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy in 1874, Wood became an aide to General O.O. Howard in 1877, serving with him in the Pacific Northwest during the Bannock and Paiute and Nez Perce Indian wars. Wood was present at Chief Joseph's surrender, and translated his famous surrender speech. He later attended Columbia University, obtained his law degree, and established a practice of maritime and corporation law in Portland, Oregon. While living in the Portland, Wood maintained a close association with Chief Joseph, and his son Erskine lived with Joseph for two separate autumn seasons. In addition to his successful law practice, C. E. S. Wood painted, wrote, and was a champion of social justice. Along with Sara Bard Field (1882-1974), whom he later married, Wood was an active supporter of liberal causes and became the center of an artistic and literary circle in the San Francisco area. He was the author of a number of books including The Poet in the Desert (1915) Heavenly Discourseand (1927), as well as various articles for the Pacific Monthly and Century Magazines Erskine Wood also became an attorney and practiced in the Portland area for his whole life.

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Content Description

This collection is composed of around two thousand items including Wood family photographs; photographs from Chief Joseph's Nez Percé camp; Erskine Wood's journals from Chief Joseph's camp and other travels; original artwork by Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Olin Warner; correspondence between Charles Erskine Scott Wood and his immediate family (1870-1933), as well as correspondence between Erskine Wood and his immediate family (1890-1982).

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish, exhibit, broadcast, or quote from materials in the Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections requires written permission of the Head of Archives & Special Collections.

Preferred Citation

The Charles Erskine Scott Wood and Erskine Wood Family Papers OLPb008WOO, Lewis & Clark College Aubrey Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections, Portland, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in two series: 1. Photographs, manuscript journals, and original artwork (chronological by media type); 2. Correspondence (chronological).

Location of Collection

Special Collections

Custodial History

This collection was assembled by Erskine Wood from his own papers, and the papers of his father.

Acquisition Information

The papers were deeded to Lewis & Clark College by Louise Wood in 2003.

Processing Note

Processed in 2005. Correspondence is housed in acid free sleeves and file folders. Photographs have been housed in acid free photograph sleeves.

Separated Materials

Lewis & Clark College also has a collection of all of the publications of C. E. S. Wood and Erskine Wood; and a collection of family books and artifacts. For additional information about these collections go to: http://www.lclark.edu/%7Earchives/specialcollections/

Bibliography

For more information about the Wood family see: Bingham, Edwin and Tim Barnes, eds. Wood Works: The Life and Writings of Charles Erskine Scott Wood. Corvallis, Ore.: Oregon State University Press, 1997.Wood, Erskine. Life of Charles Erskine Scott Wood. Vancouver, WA: Rose Wind Press, 1991.

Related Materials

Additional manuscript collections relating to Charles Erskine Scott Wood are held at the Huntington Library http://www.huntington.org/LibraryDiv/LibraryHome.html

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Paul Merchant
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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