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Dierdorff and Ross family photographs collection, circa 1855-1964

Overview of the Collection

Title
Dierdorff and Ross family photographs collection
Dates
circa 1855-1964 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.45 cubic feet, (1 document case)
Collection Number
Org. Lot 1088
Summary
Photographs depicting members of the Ross and Dierdorff families, including images of the Reverend William H. Dierdorff, his wife, Emma Ross Dierdorff, and his brother, Ainsworth W. Dierdorff, as well as the Tualatin Plains Presbyterian church. William H. Dierdorff (1849-1903) emigrated to Oregon with his family in 1856. He became pastor of the Presbyterian church in Tualatin Plains after the death of the Reverend George Ross in 1894, and married Ross's daughter, Emma Ross (1870-1960).
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

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

William Henry Dierdorff was born in 1849 in Pontusac, Illinois. In 1856, he emigrated with his family to Oregon. He worked as a civil engineer and a draftsman before becoming a Presbyterian minister in 1892. In 1894, when Reverend George Ross of the Presbyterian church in Tualatin Plains (known as the Old Scotch Church) died, Dierdorff was appointed as his replacement. Later that same year he married Ross's daughter, Emma Ross (1870-1960); the couple had three sons: Ross Ainsworth Dierdorff (1896-1964), William Henry Dierdorff (1898-1975), and John Dierdorff (1899-1989). In the later 1890s, Dierdorff preached in Klamath Falls, but illness forced him to retire in 1900. He died in 1903 in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; obituary in the Tillamook Headlight, September 17, 1903; obituary for Emma Ross Dierdorff in the Oregonian, June 16, 1960; biographical information provided by Dierdorff's grandson, William Henry Dierdorff III.

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Content Description

Photographs depicting the Ross and Dierdorff families. Collection includes images of the Reverend William H. Dierdorff, his wife, Emma Ross Dierdorff, and his brother, Ainsworth W. Dierdorff; members of the Ross family (descendants of the Reverend George Ross), and the Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church. Formats include cabinet cards and daguerreotypes. Also included are a small quantity of clippings and ephemera.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Dierdorff and Ross family photographs collection, Org. Lot 1088, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

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.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Gift of William Dierdorff, January 2012 (Lib. Acc. 27524).

Related Materials

Dierdorff family papers, Coll 646, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Dierdorff, Ainsworth W., 1847-1885--Photographs
  • Dierdorff, Emma Ross, 1870-1960--Photographs
  • Dierdorff, William H. (William Henry), 1849-1903--Photographs

Family Names

  • Dierdorff family--Photographs
  • Ross family--Photographs

Form or Genre Terms

  • cabinet photographs
  • cartes-de-visite (card photographs)
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