Collection is open for research.
The collection is arranged in three series:
Edward R. Geary was born in Boonsboro, Maryland on April 30, 1811. He arrived in Oregon in 1851 as a Presbyterian missionary, preaching at Brownsville, Pleasant Grove and Albany, before settling in Eugene in 1875. In 1866, Geary co-founded Albany College, but in 1876 became a regent of the University of Oregon. He served as secretary to the superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon and Washington from 1853-1855, and as superintendent from 1859-1861.
Originals of John W. Geary letters are located at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.
Edward R. Geary papers, Mss 68, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Papers of Edward R. Geary include correspondence and other materials pertaining to his life and activities, as well as financial records and correspondence relating to the Office of Indian Affairs, primarily from the period in which he was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon and Washington. Personal correspondence includes copies of letters to Geary from his brother, John W. Geary, containing details of John Geary's experiences in Panama, Mexico, Harrisburg, and as the first mayor of San Francisco; and a typescript copy of an 1851 letter from Edward Geary to John McClellan, describing his voyage to the Pacific coast via the Isthmus of Panama. Other materials include speeches and sermons; papers relating to the estate of John Webster Perit Huntington and to the Oregon Central Railroad; and Geary's will.
Materials in the collection that relate to the Office of Indian Affairs include Geary's certificates of nomination and appointment as superintendent; correspondence; and extensive documentation of the Oregon agency's expenditures from 1859 through 1861. Vouchers contain itemizations of purchases, including gifts and provisions given to Native peoples in fulfillment of treaty obligations. Lists include names of individuals and their tribes. A letter dated July 9, 1861, from Indian agent A. J. Cain (filed in "Cattle Contracts of July 2, 1860") describes relations between Native people and emigrants. The records are meticulously written and probably reflect the work of Geary's clerk, Quincy A. Brooks.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Detailed list of letters at front of Folder 1. Letters include two from Edward R. Geary and one from John W. Geary's son Edward.
Three letters written from Lecompton, Kansas, when John W. Geary was governor of Kansas Territory. Letter of February 5, 1857, concerns political and social conditions in the state.
Letter sent from Clatsop Plains, Oregon Territory, to John McClellan, describing voyage to the Pacific Coast via Panama.
Includes letter dated January 6, 1848, concerning the service in the Second Pennsylvania Regiment in Mexico of Lieutenant Colonel Geary (possibly John W. Geary), Colonel Robert, and Major Brindle.
Includes draft of speech given at opening of a canal, Linn County, Oregon.
Includes will of Edward R. Geary, legal documents, and materials relating to the Philadelphia exposition in 1876.
Two certificates for the appointment of Edward Geary as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon and Washington, signed by President James Buchanan.
These records were originally folded and collated in packets, which were rehoused into folders for preservation purposes. Folder titles duplicate the descriptions that were written on the packet wrappers.