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Blanche M. Schroer papers, 1812-1998

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Schroer, Blanche M., 1907-1998
Title
Blanche M. Schroer papers
Dates
1812-1998 (inclusive)
Quantity
7.30 cubic ft. (17 boxes, 1 F24 shares folder)
Collection Number
10575
Summary
Papers of this writer of history on her theories on the identity of Sacajawea, or Porivo, addressing the controversy between those who maintained that the Indian guide for Lewis and Clark was buried in Lander, Wyoming, versus a site in South Dakota. Includes personal research notes, correspondence, photographs, articles, journals, and books for reference.
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

Blanche M. Carlson (Schroer) was born December 23, 1907, in Gilbertville, Iowa, the daughter of Dudley and Mable Alma (Moore) Carlson. Blanche Schroer lived most of her life in the Lander Valley and the Fort Washakie area of Wyoming, working for Matt McGuire at the Post Trading Company for many years.

Blanche M. Schroer was a historian of the American West and was a recognized, though controversial, authority on the history of Sacajawea and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She challenged the beliefs of Grace Raymond Hebard and the native Shoshone tribe that Sacajawea lived into old age and was buried in Wyoming. Schroer claimed that a woman, who lived to old age, named Porivo, took on the false identity of Sacajawea in Lander, Wyoming. Schroer favored the theory that Sacajawea died at Fort Manuel Lisa, South Dakota, in her mid-twenties and was buried there. A prolific writer, Blanche M. Schroer received a Western Writers of America Spur Award and also did research on the life of Butch Cassidy and Josephine Baldwin. She died July 4, 1998, in Riverton, Wyoming.

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Content Description

The Blanche M. Schroer papers, 1812-1998, include her research files for her historical writing on the identity of Sacajawea and doubts about the authenticity of the gravesite in Lander, Wyoming. Research files consist of photocopied 19th century documents; her extensive notes and cross-references; correspondence with other historians; and photographs of Native Americans, fort and monument sites in Wyoming and South Dakota, plus friends and fellow historians. Her notes and formal writing in debate with Grace Raymond Hebard’s theories on Sacajawea are of particular note. Schroer’s files contain extensive correspondence to and from Irwin Anderson and Harry Webb, other writers on the Sacajawea topic. The collection also includes extensive printed material related to Sacajawea, Chief Washakie, and the Shoshone tribe: journals and magazines, newspaper clippings, and books, all annotated with page references and cross references by Schroer.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The Estate of Blanche M. Schroer holds exclusive copyright. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Blanche M. Schroer papers, 1812-1998, Collection Number 10575, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at https://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~186~186.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by Blanche M. Schroer at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Charles D. Moore, representative for the Estate of Blanche M. Schroer, donated the papers in 1998.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Melanie Francis in January 2003.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Processed by Melanie Francis
2006

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

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