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Jay Ellis Ransom papers, 1903-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Ransom, Jay Ellis
Title
Jay Ellis Ransom papers
Dates
1903-1995 (inclusive)
1931-1994 (bulk)
Quantity
16 cubic feet, ((46 document cases and 1 oversize folder))
Collection Number
MSS 2723
Summary
Writings, correspondence and ephemera related to Jay Ellis Ransom's life and work.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Jay Ellis Ransom was born in Missoula, Montana in 1914. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1935. The following year the Bureau of Indian Affairs sent him to Nikolski, Alaska, where he served as a community worker and teacher, accompanied by his wife Barbara Callaran. He later worked in Stevens Village, Alaska. After his time in Alaska, Ransom earned a Master’s Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ransom was a prolific writer. In addition to working for newspapers such as the Oregon City Enterprise-Courier, the Oregon Journal, the Siskiyou Daily News, the Pacifica Tribune, the Sacramento Bee, and the Oxnard Press-Courier, he worked as a free-lance writer, and was a contract writer for Harper & Row Publishers, for whom he wrote such books as Gems and Minerals of North America and The Gold Hunter’s Field Guide. He also wrote about anthropology, education, and linguistics.

Starting in the early 1970s, Ransom resided in The Dalles, Oregon. He was active in community affairs, and served on the Wasco County Juvenile Services Commission.

In the early 1990s, Ransom was involved in the controversy concerning the usage and preservation of the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming. Ransom argued that the wheel was an Aztec-Tanoan cosmological structure, and that claims of modern-day Native American tribes having used the site for spiritual purposes were false.

Ransom was married three times. His first wife was Barbara Elizabeth Callarman, with whom he had two children, Jay Frederick and Alix-Gay. His second wife was Frances Lake McKenna. His final and longest marriage was with Dutch-born Wilma Johanna Buitelaar, with whom he had three children: Scott; Lisa Johanna; Stuart.

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Content Description

The papers consist of correspondence, journals, writings, newspaper articles, publications, and ephemera related to Jay Ellis Ransom’s life and work. There is extensive correspondence between Ransom and Ray O. Wright, his mother Lucy Sophia Adams Ransom, his sister Margot Edith Ransom Paul, his daughter Alix-Gay Ransom Harper DeVito, and his wife Wilma Buitelaar Ransom. Written works include typescript copies of his books The Bighorn Medicine Wheel: The Birth and Death of Humanity and Aleutian Adventures, as well as correspondence and other papers related to his books Gems and Minerals of America and The Gold Hunter’s Field Guide. There are also issues of periodicals that published his writing, including Northwest Ruralite.

There are materials related to Ransom’s teaching jobs and his time in Australia from 1967 to 1969, documents related to the Wasco County Juvenile Services Commission, and documents pertaining to his son Scott Ransom’s education and career.

The papers also house many newspaper clippings. These include articles by Jay Ellis Ransom that appeared in the Oregon City Enterprise-Courier and other newspapers, but also articles by other writers at a variety of newspapers about subjects such as education, archaeoastronomy, anthropology and linguistics.

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Other Descriptive Information

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright holders.

Preferred Citation

Jay Ellis Ransom Papers, MSS 2723, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged in the following series:

  • Series A: Correspondence
  • Series B: Australia
  • Series C: Big Horn Medicine Wheel
  • Series D: Community Activism
  • Series E: Education
  • Series F: Journalism
  • Series G: Logbooks
  • Series H: Research Notes & Papers
  • Series I: Teaching
  • Series J: Wasco County Juvenile Services Commission
  • Series K: Western America Institute for Exploration, Inc.
  • Series L: Writings of Jay Ellis Ransom
  • Series M: Other Jay Ellis Ransom-Related Material
  • Series N: Other Ransom Family Papers
  • Series O: Others' Writings
  • Series P: Songbooks
  • Series Q: Clipping & Printed Material
  • Series R: Other Material
  • Series S: Restricted Material

Custodial History

Acquisition Information

Lib. Acc. 18836, Lib. Acc. 22657, Lib. Acc. 22974, and possibly others.

Processing Note

Processed by Megan Friedel and Jeffrey A. Hayes

Separated Materials

Loose photographs moved to Org. Lot 392.

Bibliography

Related Materials

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Anthropologists
  • Archaeoastronomy
  • Authors - Oregon
  • Education
  • Journalists - Oregon
  • Lingusitics - Aleut Language
  • Mineralogy - Handbooks & Manuals

Personal Names

  • DeVito, Alix-Gay Ransom Harper
  • Paul, Margot Edith Ransom
  • Ransom, Jay Ellis, 1914- - Archives
  • Ransom, Lucy Sophia Adams
  • Ransom, Scott Pieter
  • Ransom, Wilma Johanna Buitelaar, 1929-1996
  • Wright, Ray O.

Corporate Names

  • Harper & Row, Publishers

Family Names

  • Ransom family

Geographical Names

  • Alaska - Education
  • Australia - Education
  • California - Education
  • The Dalles, Or. - Authors

Form or Genre Terms

  • Correspondence
  • Manuscripts for publication
  • Serials (publications)
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