W.J. Gilstrap
Papers
MSS.Gilstrap
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections & Archives Research Center
121 The Valley
Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
Phone:
541-737-2165
Email:
archives@oregonstate.edu
Web:
http://archives.library.oregonstate.edu
Collection materials are in
English.
0.05 cubic feet
1 box
1 document file
1 Mbyte
1897-1950
The W.J. Gilstrap Papers
consist of a memoir written by Gilstrap describing his family, education,
and career as a physician as well as publications documenting his
activities as an Oregon Agricultural College student and alumnus. Gilstrap
earned a BS in Agriculture in 1898 from Oregon Agricultural College. After
completing his medical degree in 1903, he worked as a physician and
druggist in Sheridan and Portland, Oregon.
Gilstrap, W. J. (William Jasper),
1870-1957.
The
Alumni
Assocation Records (RG 035) include additional information about
the Class of 1898. The Archives' holdings include other collections
documenting the student experience at Oregon Agricultural College in the
1890s, including the
Leroy G.
Mattley Papers, the
Harvey L.
McAlister Collection, and the
Abigail
and Mattie Wright Collection. The
Memorabilia
Collection includes programs for oratorical contests in the 1890s
(MC-Oratorical Contests). Other materials pertaining to Native Americans
are part of the
Oregon
Multicultural Archives.
W.J. Gilstrap Papers, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis,
Oregon.
The materials were donated to the Archives by William J. Gilstrap's
granddaughter, Ruth W. Shearer, in 2011.
Collection is open for research.
The W.J. Gilstrap Papers consist of the
Memoirs of W.J. Gilstrap and other
materials written and asembled by Gilstrap reflecting his association with
Oregon State University. The Memoirs were
written by Gilstrap in 1947-1950 and edited by his descendants in
2010-2011. Gilstrap describes his childhood in Missouri, student
experience at Oregon Agricultural College (OAC) in the 1890s, and his
medical practice in various Oregon locales. He also explores his family
history extending back to mid-18th century Scotland. Passages related to
OAC include descriptions of Gilstrap's participation in college oratorical
contests; military training; coursework in agriculture, veterinary
science, anatomy, histology, physiology, and chemistry which prepared him
for pursuing a medical degree; his work in the Zoology Department and
association with Professor Arthur Cordley; and living arrangements in
various rental houses adjacent to campus during his student years.
Gilstrap provides information about the Oregon communities where he
practiced medicine, including St. Johns, Sheridan, and the Grand Ronde
Indian Reservation. Gilstrap also devotes chapters to his thoughts on
socialization of medicine, medical and health care in Portland, allergies,
early medical education in the Northwest, investing in the stock market,
and human nature.
The
Memoirs are only available online at:
http://hdl.handle.net/1957/19922
The Papers also include publications reflecting Gilstrap's oratorical
work as a student, his participation in alumni reunion activities, and his
daughter Carlie's graduation from OSU in 1927. These materials include the
November 1897 and June 1898 issues of the
College Barometer. Gilstrap's commencement
address, "Practical Education" was published in the June 1898 issue; an
essay "Instinct or Reason, Which? An Interesting Discussion Concerning the
Mental Powers of the Lower Animals" was published in the November 1897
issue. The oration given by Gilstrap at the State Oratorical Contest,
"Brain and Brawn" was published in the March 1898 issue of the
Albany College Student, which is also part
of the collection.
Other publications are the 1927 commencement program; the June 5, 1948
issue of the
Barometer campus newspaper; Silver Jubilee
(25th) reunion booklets for the Class of 1898 (1923) and 1899 (1924); and
several issues of the OAC Alumnus (1923 and
1925) and Oregon Stater (1948) alumni
magazines.
Biographical Note:
William Jasper Gilstrap graduated from Oregon Agricultural College
(OAC) in 1898 with a BS degree in agriculture and worked as an instructor
in the Zoology Department at OAC for one year beginning in the fall of
1898. Gilstrap was employed as a teacher and agricultural worker until he
entered medical school in 1901. He earned his medical degree (M.D.) from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco in 1903 and
returned to Oregon to practice medicine. Gilstrap practiced medicine in
Sheridan, Oregon until 1914 and then moved his practice to Portland,
Oregon; while in Sheridan, he provided medical services to Native
Americans living on the Grand Ronde reservation. He was also a registrered
druggist and operated a prescription department as part of his medical
practice.
Gilstrap was active in alumni activities and organized the 50th
anniversary of the Class of 1898 that was held in 1948.
Gilstrap was born in 1870 and died in 1957.
Cordley, A.
B. (Arthur Burton), 1864-1936.
Oregon
Agricultural College--Students.
Oregon State
University--Alumni and alumnae.
College orations--Oregon
Agricultural College.
College
students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Indians of North
America--Medical care--Oregon.
Corvallis
(Or.)
Grand Ronde
Indian Reservation (Or.)
PDF.
Colleges
and Universities
Corvallis
Electronic Records
Medicine
and Health
Native
Americans
Oregon
Portland
Student
Life