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Percival R. Jeffcott Papers, 1866-1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Jeffcott, Percival R., -- 1876-1969.; Jeffcott, Percival R., -- 1876-1969. -- Chechaco and sourdough.; Jeffcott, Percival R., -- 1876-1969. -- Nooksack tales and trails.
Title
Percival R. Jeffcott Papers
Dates
1866-1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 boxes
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0015jeffcott
Summary
The Percival R. Jeffcott Papers consist of information collected by Jeffcott in his pursuits of the local history of Whatcom County, Washington. The materials in the collection are concentrated around the topics that interested Jeffcott and contains materials that, without Jeffcott, would have been lost to history. The collection contains both primary and secondary sources, some of which are available in other places and are not archival in composition. The value of the collection lies in the convenience of having these unique and difficult to find materials located in one source. The collection also includes several hundred photographs, negatives, and maps.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

Percival Robert Jeffcott was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 27, 1876. That same year he and his parents moved to Portland, Oregon by way of the Central Pacific Railroad to San Francisco and the steamer "George W. Elder" to Portland. He attended grade school and high school in Portland and graduated from the Oregon School of Education in 1899.

After graduation Jeffcott moved to Whatcom County, Washington where he taught school for 25 years. He taught all but one of those years in the Ferndale and Custer school districts. He organized the first high school class in Ferndale in 1901, where he served as the principal, and also began the first high school class in Custer in 1904. In 1900, P. R. Jeffcott married Rebecca Tarte, the daughter of Sehome pioneers, John F. and Elinor (Smith) Tarte.

Jeffcott was particularly interested in Whatcom County pioneers and began collecting information about them in the 1920's. During his retirement at his "Garden Home Farm" near Ferndale, he published three books: Nooksack Tales and Trails (1949), which depicted pioneer days in Whatcom County between 1848 and 1895; "Blanket" Bill Jarman (1958), in which he attempted to unravel the mystery surrounding one of the first pioneer settlers in Whatcom and Skagit Counties; and Chechaco and Sourdough (1963), a history of the Mt. Baker Gold Rush. In addition, he edited the memoirs of pioneer, Robert Emmett Hawley in Skee Mus, and authored numerous articles pertaining to local history published in the Bellingham Herald, the Ferndale Record, and the Lynden Tribune.

One of Jeffcott's special interests was collecting photographs concerning local history, and among his collection is an extensive group of pictures of pioneer log cabins which were displayed annually at the picnics of the Whatcom County Old Settler's Association in Ferndale's Pioneer Park. P. R. Jeffcott served as historian for the Old Settler's Association and was a member of the Clam Diggers Association and the Whatcom County Historical Society.

Jeffcott remained very active in his later years and was given the honor of helping to name and dedicate Sehome High School. Shortly before his death on January 4, 1969, the Bellingham Herald published the last article of his series concerning the founding of Sehome on Bellingham Bay.

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Content Description

The P.R. Jeffcott Papers consist of information collected by Jeffcott in his pursuits of the local history of Whatcom County, Washington. The materials in the collection are concentrated around the topics that interested Jeffcott. Researchers must pay attention to the fact that this collection directly reflects Jeffcott's own personal interests, biases, and the time period in which he lived. The collection contains both primary and secondary sources, some of which are available in other places and are not archival in composition. The value of the collection lies in the convenience of having these unique and difficult to find materials located in one source. Some of the topics which grabbed Jeffcott's attention include pioneer "Blanket" Bill Jarman, the Mt. Baker Gold Rush, and the settlement of Whatcom County by white settlers. The collection also includes material about the Nooksack tribe in Whatcom County.

The collection consists of ten boxes of material including correspondence, research materials and notes, manuscripts, pamphlets, and books. The collection also includes several hundred photographs, negatives, and maps.

The correspondence has been organized by date, correspondent, and general topic, if clearly evident. All correspondence is incoming unless otherwise noted. The letters span from 1923-1966 and contain responses to Jeffcott's research inquiries regarding various aspects of Whatcom County history. Research materials and notes consist of items used by Jeffcott in his many articles, speeches, and books. The manuscripts include typed as well as handwritten drafts of P. R. Jeffcott's books, copies of published and unpublished articles, as well as some writings of local authors other than Jeffcott. The pamphlets are made up of various pamphlets which reflect Jeffcott's interest in Northwest Washington State and Whatcom County in particular. The books consist of just two books collected by Jeffcott on Washington State topics.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Percival R. Jeffcott Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Percival R. Jeffcott Papers have been organized into the following series:

  • Series I - Correspondence, 1923-1968
  • Series II - Research Notes and Materials, circa 1906-1946; Undated
  • Series III - Manuscripts, circa 1930-1965
  • Series IV - Pamphlets, Undated; 1936-1965
  • Series V - Books, 1879, 1920
  • Series VI - Maps, circa 1866-1966
  • Series VII - Photographs, circa 1875-1960

Acquisition Information

The Jeffcott Family donated P.R. Jeffcott's papers to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

Processing Note

Center staff completed the initial arrangement and description of the P.R. Jeffcott papers in 1988. In 2004, Jason Viers re-engineered the collection finding aid.

Processing Note

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--Photographs.
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--Sources.
  • Indians of North America--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--History--Sources.
  • Land settlement--Washington (State)--Nooksack River Valley.
  • Maps
  • Mines and mineral resources
  • Mines and mineral resources--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--History--Sources.
  • Native Americans
  • Nooksack Indians--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--History--Sources.
  • Nooksack River Valley (Wash.)--Whatcom County--History--Sources.
  • Photographs
  • Pioneers
  • Washington (State)
  • Whatcom County (Wash.)--Gold discoveries--History--Sources.

Personal Names

  • Jeffcott, Percival R.,--1876-1969--Archives.

Geographical Names

  • Whatcom County (Wash.)--History--Maps.
  • Whatcom County (Wash.)--History--Photographs.
  • Whatcom County (Wash.)--History--Sources.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Maps.
  • Photographs.
  • Records (Documents)

Finding aid prepared by Jason Viers
2003

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

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