Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Robinson Family Papers, 1865-1960
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Robinson Family
- Title
- Robinson Family Papers
- Dates
- 1865-1960 (inclusive)18651960
- Quantity
- 2.5 cubic ft. (6 boxes) + artifacts
- Collection Number
- 00453
- Summary
- The Robinson Family papers include materials on the operation of the Emerald Mining Company in Laramie County (now Platte County), Wyoming and personal letters of Elizabeth Robinson. The related McLauchlin Family papers span Scotland, Canada, and the western United States. Also included are photographs, postcards, scrapbooks and ledgers from both families.
- 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.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The McLauchlin Family emigrated from the west of Scotland to Canada in the 19th century. Archibald McLauchlin (also spelled McLachlan) and his wife Elizabeth (McKellar) McLauchlin moved from the province of Alberta to Wyoming in 1877, where they settled on the Davis Ranch. Elizabeth died in 1897, Archibald died ca. 1906. The couple had several children among whom were: Margaret Isabel (married Harold Loomis) (1866-1930), who lived with her parents until her marriage in 1898; Susan J. (married George Van Zandt), who lived in Cheyenne; Colin (married Isabel), of Montana; and John (married Annie), who returned to live in Canada.
Elizabeth McLaughlin Robinson (1886-1965) was the daughter of one of Archibald’s and Elizabeth’s children. She grew up in the Horsecreek, Wyoming, area and in Sturgis, South Dakota. She graduated from the Spearfish, South Dakota, Normal School and came to Wheatland in 1906. She married Howard Archer Robinson of Wheatland, Wyoming, in 1911. The couple had two children: Dorothy, born 1912 , and Frank Delos, born ca. 1914. After his marriage, Howard Robinson worked as an agent for the International Harvester Company. He died ca. 1958.
Howard Robinson and his father, Roswell Delos Robinson, were partners in the Emerald Mining Company, which mined primarily iron ore in Laramie County, Wyoming, from 1904 to about 1908. R.D. Robinson was born in 1849 in New York and married Harriet Rogers of that state in 1869. This marriage produced one daughter, Laura (married Frank Wiley). After his first wife’s death in 1874, R.D. Robinson married Lizzie Archer in 1881. Their son, Howard Archer Robinson, was born in 1883. In November, 1886, R.D. Robinson came to Wheatland, Wyoming, to work as a carpenter for the Wheatland Development Company. In 1888 he moved to Uva, Wyoming, where he ran a hotel (from 1891-1895) and then a general store (from 1895-ca. 1903). R.D. Robinson died in 1911.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The McLauchlin Family papers are personal in nature and display the desire of a large family dispersed across Scotland, Canada, and the western United States to retain contact with each other. They center on family news and local conditions. The Robinson Family documents are primarily concerned with the operations of the Emerald Mining Company in Laramie County, Wyoming, although some later letters, addressed to Elizabeth Robinson, are personal. The Home Medical & Surgical Infirmary records come from a private treatment facility in Iowa, and their connection to either the Robinson Family or the McLauchlin Family is uncertain. They are primarily concerned with attempts to collect debts for treatment from patients who were either too indigent or too dissatisfied to pay. Two letters, signed only Boyce (or Bryce), were written by an officer in a medical corps from the Korean War theater in 1952. The writer’s relationship with the family is unclear, but the letters have been included with the McLauchlin Family correspondence because the writer apparently lived in South Dakota near the home of Elizabeth McLaughlin Robinson.
The ledgers and scrapbooks have been combined since some ledgers were re-used by the Robinson Family as scrapbooks. Two ledgers appear to contain records of a livery stable which rented teams and saddle horses. The later pages of several ledgers have been used by Elizabeth Robinson and her mother-in-law to track their efforts in poultry-raising.
The photographs and postcards illustrate the areas in which the Robinson and McLauchlin Families lived. Many of the postcards also include brief messages from family members and friends.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Copyright InformationThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Preferred Citation
Preferred CitationItem Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Robinson Family Papers, 1865-1960, Collection Number 00453, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Related Materials
Related MaterialsThere are no other known archival collections created by the Robinson Family at the date of processing.
Acquisition Information
Acquisition InformationThe Robinson Family Papers were given to the American Heritage Center by Elizabeth (Mrs. Howard A.) Robinson between 1958 and 1961.
Processing Note
Processing InformationThe collection was processed by D.C. Thompson in May 2002. Revised by D.C. Thompson in July 2004.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I. Correspondence and Other PapersReturn to Top
Arranged alphabetically by family and subject, then chronologically. Personal and business correspondence of the McLauchlin and Robinson Families, the Emerald Mining Company, and the Home Medical & Surgical Infirmary. Also includes deeds, contracts, stock certificates, and other legal and financial papers.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1897-1899 | |
| Folder | |||
| 2 | Home Medical and Surgical Infirmary |
1900-1903 | |
| 3 | Home Medical and Surgical Infirmary |
1904 | |
| 4 | Home Medical and Surgical Infirmary |
1906-1907 | |
| 5 | Home Medical and Surgical Infirmary |
undated | |
| 6 | Home Medical and Surgical Infirmary – Financial |
1895-1905 | |
| 7 | McLauchlin Family: Dugald McKellar and others; Canada and Scotland |
1865-1881 | |
| 8 | McLauchlin Family: Ida Shaw, Flora McLachlan; California and Scotland |
1883-1884 | |
| 9 | McLauchlin Family: to Maggie McLauchlin from friends |
1885-1887 | |
| 10 | McLauchlin Family: to Maggie McLauchlin from friends and regarding teaching |
1888 | |
| 11 | McLauchlin Family: various family and friends; Scotland and U.S.; includes fragments |
1889-1899 | |
| 12 | McLauchlin Family: various family |
1910-1915 | |
| 13 | McLauchlin Family: Korean War letters |
1952 | |
| 14 | McLauchlin Family – Financial and Legal |
1880-1913 | |
| 15 | McLauchlin Family – Taxes: Cheyenne and Laramie County |
1896-1912 | |
| 16-19 | Robinson Family: Emerald Mining Company |
1900-1908 | |
| 20 | Robinson Family: to Elizabeth Robinson and others |
1911-1923 | |
| 21 | Robinson Family: Henkle and Joyce Hardware |
1924-1925 | |
| 22 | Robinson Family: to Elizabeth Robinson |
1931-1960 | |
| 23 | Robinson Family – Financial |
1902-1928 | |
| 24 | Robinson Family – Financial: Emerald Mining Company |
1903-1910 | |
| 25 | Robinson Family – Financial Docket |
1919-1922 | |
| 26 | Robinson Family – Stock Certificates: Boston & Wyoming Copper-Gold; Colorado Springs Oil & Gas; Wheatland Boosters; Wheatland Co-operative Creamery |
1903-1910 | |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1906-1907 | |
| Folder | |||
| 2 | Van Zandt Family: to Susan McLauchlin Van Zandt |
1909-1911 | |
| 3 | Van Zandt Family: to Susan McLauchlin Van Zandt; from Wheatland and Calgary |
1912-1913 | |
| 4 | Van Zandt Family: to Susan McLauchlin Van Zandt; from Wyoming, Alberta, Montana |
1914-1915 | |
| 5 | Van Zandt Family: to Susan McLauchlin Van Zandt |
1916 | |
| 6 | Van Zandt Family: from Alex McLauchlin, Ambulance Corps; Kansas and New Mexico |
1918 | |
| 7 | Van Zandt Family – Financial |
1900-1913 | |
Series II. Ledgers and ScrapbooksReturn to Top
Arranged alphabetically. Includes business ledgers, personal scrapbooks, and ledgers which have been re-used as scrapbooks.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 2 | 8 | Livery Stable Ledger |
1913-1915 |
| Folder | |||
| 9 | Livery Stable Ledger |
1916-1918 | |
| 10 | McLauchlin Family Scrapbook |
1890 | |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1935-1938 | |
| Folder | |||
| 2 | Robinson Family Miscellaneous: ledger re-used as drawing paper by child |
1904-1917 | |
| 3 | Robinson Family Miscellaneous: ledger re-used for poultry settings and as scrapbook of farm and poultry clippings |
1904-1907, 1920-1921 | |
| 4 | Robinson Family Miscellaneous: Emerald Mining Company Ledger re-used as Frank D. Robinson scrapbook and as poultry records and poultry scrapbook |
1904-1905, 1926-1929 | |
| Box | Folder | ||
| 4 | 1 | circa 1912-circa 1936 | |
| Folder | |||
| 2 | Uva (?) General Store Ledger: includes Robinson Family personal accounts |
1901-1902, 1911 | |
Series III. PhotographsReturn to Top
Arranged alphabetically. Includes family and historical prints of Fort Laramie, Wheatland, and Uva, Wyoming, and of several ranches in the area.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 5 | Calbick Family |
circa 1870-1906 |
| 5 | Fort Laramie |
1927, circa 1949, undated |
| 5 | Fourteen Ranch |
circa 1958 |
| 5 | Friends (includes notes with biographical information) |
1908-1909, undated |
| 5 | Haying and Harvesting: Crawford, Nebraska |
1918, undated |
| 5 | Ku Klux Klan Funeral: Lead, South Dakota |
Nov. 2, 1924 |
| 5 | McLauchlin/McLaughlin Family |
undated |
| 5 | Montana - Miscellaneous: Big Fork; Custer monument; Polson; etc. |
1922-1929 |
| 5 | O’Brian (John) Family: Tolland Cattle Company ranch |
circa 1900 |
| 5 | Pollock (G.N.) Ranch: ranch house and outbuildings |
1959 |
| 5 | Robinson and Yates Families |
circa 1890s-1956 |
| 5 | Sunrise Mine (Wyo.) |
1931 |
| 5 | Uva, Wyoming: Teschemacher and deBillier Hotel; elephant in Laramie River |
circa 1900 |
| 5 | Wheatland, Wyoming: General view; Miller store interior |
circa 1900 |
| 5 | Wightman Family |
circa 1880s |
| 5 | World War I – New Mexico-Mexico Border |
circa 1918 |
| 5 | Wyoming – Miscellaneous: Devil’s Tower; Cottonwood Falls; Guernsey Dam; Sundance; etc. |
1906-1942 |
| 5 | Yellowstone River |
undated |
Series IV. PostcardsReturn to Top
Arranged geographically or by subject. Many of the cards include brief messages. Most show images of South Dakota, Wyoming, or the western U.S.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 5 | Alberta, Canada: Calgary |
1909 |
| 5 | Arizona and California: Grand Canyon; Turlock; missions; San Francisco earthquake ruins; burning of Cliff House; San Pedro |
1903-1930 |
| 5 | Colorado: road to Cripple Creek; Estes Park, James Peak |
undated |
| 5 | Cowboys and Cattle: branding cattle in a squeezer |
1908 |
| 5 | Fort Meade (South Dakota) |
circa 1910s |
| 5 | Idaho and Montana: sawmill at Potlatch; Boise; Flathead Valley; Flathead River |
1906-circa 1912 |
| 5 | Indians: Appah; Bull Thigh; Crazy Snake; unidentified |
1909, undated |
| 5 | Massachusetts and Pennsylvania: Milford; Johnstown |
1909-1919 |
| 5 | Michigan and Missouri: Flint; Chillicothe; Cassville |
undated |
| 5 | Nebraska: Omaha; Sidney |
1908-1910 |
| 5 | Oregon and Washington: Rooster Rock; Seattle |
1911, undated |
| 5 | South Dakota – Black Hills: Sylvan Lake; Harney Peak; Horseshoe Curve, etc. |
1907-1909 |
| 5 | South Dakota – Deadwood |
1907-1911 |
| 5 | South Dakota – Eastern: Brookings; Huron; Yankton |
1908, undated |
| 5 | South Dakota – Lead |
1905, undated |
| 5 | South Dakota – Scenery: Mount Rushmore; Badlands; Missouri River; Needles Highway |
1908, undated |
| 5 | South Dakota – Spearfish and Sturgis: also Spearfish River; Spearfish Falls; Bear Butte; Spearfish Canyon |
1907-1911 |
| 5 | South Dakota – Western: Belle Fourche, Custer, Hot Springs, Rapid City, Whitewood |
1908, undated |
| 5 | Stage Coaches: South Dakota and Wyoming |
1900-1909 |
| 5 | Texas and Oklahoma: Ardmore; El Campo; cattle; steam plowing |
1906, undated |
| 5 | Utah: Ogden; Salt Lake City |
undated |
| 5 | Wyoming – Cheyenne |
1909-1910 |
| 5 | Wyoming – Cheyenne Frontier Days |
1909, undated |
| 5 | Wyoming – Miscellaneous: Goose Egg Ranch house; Medicine Bow Range; Medicine Bow Lodge; Thermopolis hot springs |
1907, 1950, undated |
| 5 | Wyoming - Oil Industry: Big Muddy Oil Field, etc. |
circa 1917 |
| 5 | Wyoming – Towns: Douglas; Glendo; Lusk; Rawlins; Torrington; Wheatland |
1909-1951 |
Series V. Printed MaterialReturn to Top
Arranged alphabetically. Includes newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and miscellaneous materials regarding people and places of interest to the Robinson and McLauchlin Families.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 5 | Advertisements - Singer Sewing Machines |
undated |
| 5 | Fort Laramie: clippings; pamphlet; siding fragment |
ca. 1940s |
| 5 | Newspaper Clippings: historical interest; obituaries; etc. |
1931-1958 |
| 5 | Pamphlets – Canadian Rockies |
undated |
| 5 | Pamphlets – Wheatland: WTK Club |
1911-1912 |
Series VI. ArtifactsReturn to Top
No arrangement. Pitcher and snuff jar. Possibly from Teschmacher and deBillier Hotel in Uva, Wyoming.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Artifact Storage | Brown glazed ceramic pitcher: no markings |
undated |
| Artifact Storage | Light tan glazed ceramic snuff jar |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Korean War, 1950-1953.
- Mines and mineral resources--Wyoming--Platte County.
- Ranches--Wyoming--Platte County.
Geographical Names
- Laramie County (Wyo.)
- Platte County (Wyo.)
- Wheatland (Wyo.)
- Wyoming--History--1890-1918.
- Wyoming--History--1919-1945.
- Wyoming--History--1946-.
- Wyoming--History--To 1889.
Form or Genre Terms
- Daybooks.
- Leases.
- Scrapbooks.
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- McLauchlin, Archibald.
- Robinson, Elizabeth, 1886-1965.
- Robinson, Harold A., 1883-1957.
- Robinson, Roswell Dello, 1849-1911.
- Van Zandt, Susan.
Corporate Names
- Bard Ranch. Records.
- Emerald Mining Company. Records.
- Wheatland Development Company.
Processed by D.C. Thompson
2005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
