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Vernon Bailey papers, 1828-1958

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bailey, Vernon, 1864-1942
Title
Vernon Bailey papers
Dates
1828-1958 (inclusive)
1884-1942 (bulk)
Quantity
9.25 cubic ft. (20 document boxes and 1 slim document box)
Collection Number
00554
Summary
Collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, articles, scientific field reports, journals, notebooks, and photographs documenting Vernon Bailey’s career as a naturalist and revealing his personal and family life as well.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

Vernon Orlando Bailey, naturalist and mammalogist, was born 21 June 1864 at Manchester, Michigan. He was the sixth of eight children born to Hiram and Emily (Taylor) Bailey. He completed high school in Elk River, Minnesota. After farming for several years, he attended the University of Michigan from 1893-1894 and Columbian University (now George Washington) from 1894-1895.

From 1887 to 1896 Bailey was a field naturalist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy. In 1897 he became Chief Field Naturalist and Senior Biologist of the Department of Agriculture’s Biological Survey Bureau, making many field trips throughout the west and southwest until his retirement in 1933. He authored several books on mammals, birds, and plants, including Wild Animals of Glacier National Park, Animal Life of Yellowstone National Park, and Animal Life of Carlsbad Cavern. He was also responsible for adding specimens of North American mammals to the U.S. National Museum collection and writing technical descriptions of new species.

Vernon Bailey founded the American Society of Mammalogists in 1933 and was president of both that society and the District Biological Society. He was also a member of the American Ornithologists Union.

In 1899 Vernon Bailey married Florence Merriam (1863-1948), who herself was an accomplished naturalist and author of several books on ornithology. They had no children. Bailey died at his home in Washington, D.C. on 20 April 1942.

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Content Description

The Vernon Bailey papers, 1828-1958, contain correspondence, manuscripts, articles, scientific field reports, journals, notebooks, and photographs documenting Bailey’s career as a naturalist and revealing his personal and family life as well.

Professional Correspondence includes many letters between Bailey and his brother-in-law, C. Hart Merriam, chief of the U.S. Biological Survey. Personal Correspondence contains a large amount of correspondence with Bailey’s sister, Anna B. Mills, his mother and father, brother, and various nieces and nephews. The Mills Family correspondence contains letters belonging to Anna B. Mills, her husband John, and their daughter Laura, who lived in Fallon, Nevada.

The General Files are mostly scientific in nature, containing articles and manuscripts written by Vernon and Florence Bailey and scientific field reports. There is also information on Vernon Bailey’s interest in humane trapping and his development of the “Verbail” trap. There are several folders with biographical and genealogical data on the Bailey family. Photographs include pictures of both the Merriam and Bailey families, as well as scientific photographs of wildlife and traps.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Vernon Bailey papers, 1828-1958, Collection Number 00554, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

Related Materials

To view other archival materials created by Vernon Bailey, see:

Vernon Bailey Papers, 1889-1941 and undated, Record Unit 7267, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, DC

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The Vernon Bailey papers were donated to the American Heritage Center by Elizabeth Hone during 1958-1959, with additional material from May M. Crew and Richard L. Mills in 1994.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Susan Horan in May 2000. Original order was maintained where possible, and a descriptive folder title was created where no original folder title existed. Newspaper clippings were replaced by preservation copies.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Beaver--North America.
  • Birds--North America.
  • Life zones--North America.
  • Mammals--North America.
  • Ornithology--North America.
  • Trapping--North America.
  • Zoology--North America.

Personal Names

  • Bailey, Florence Merriam, b. 1863.
  • Merriam, C. Hart (Clinton Hart), 1855-1942.

Corporate Names

  • American Ornithologists’ Union.
  • American Society of Mammalogists.
  • United States. Bureau of Biological Survey.
  • United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammology.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries.
  • Photographs.

Occupations

  • Biologists.
  • Ornithologists.

Processed by Susan Horan
2006

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

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