Ellen Adeline (Clark) Ricketts, born August 3, 1883, and her husband, Oliver Preston Ricketts, born October 27, 1879, were longtime residents of Pullman. The couple had four children: Mrs. Auril Brown, Bernard, Evelyn (d.1925), and Vernon. Ellen graduated from Washington State University in 1933 and was subsequently engaged in social work with the King County Welfare Department. Oliver was a Post Office mail carrier for twenty-seven years.
After retirement, the Ricketts managed their Pullman apartment building, and Ellen pursued her interest in family and pioneer history. Ellen passed away in her eighty-fifth year on September 23, 1968 and Mr. Ricketts followed three years later.
The materials consist primarily of transcripts of audio recordings, either Ellen recording herself or someone else interviewing her. There are transcripts from eight different interviews conducted over about seven weeks, some with second transcripts (both versions have been retained). The audio recordings themselves are not present, only the transcripts. Some family genealogy is also present.
Based on text in the first interview, this was likely a WSU History department project looking at local pioneer families, with Stanley Smith and Larry Smith assisting with the interview, and Stanley asking questions in some of them.
The interviews are in chronological order, with the genealogy at the end. One interview is undated and has been placed based on someone’s added numbering.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Ellen Ricketts Papers, 1960 (Cage 2072)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Donation information for this collection is unknown, but it was at WSU MASC no later than 1977 (and no earlier than its 1960 creation). This was apparently a gift of Larry Smith.
University Archivist Mark O’English reprocessed this collection in August, 2026, correcting an earlier misprocessing. It had previously been titled/described as a Stanley Smith oral history; while he is involved, that is not a fair description of the materials.
Oliver and Ellen Ricketts Papers, 1923-1973
William Clark Family Papers, 1740-1926
The Charles H. Kincaid Interview, 1960 December 06
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.