Arthur Caswell Parker papers

Collection

Identifier: A.P23

Staff Only

Biographical / Historical note

Arthur Caswell Parker, archaeologist, historian, and museologist, was born on April 5, 1881, on the Cattaraugus Reservation of the Seneca Nation of New York. He was the son of Frederick Ely Parker of the Seneca nation and Geneva Griswold Parker, a teacher on the reservation of European descent. In 1903, A. C. Parker was adopted into the tribe and given the Seneca name Gawaso Wanneh (Big Snowsnake). His uncle, Nicholson Henry Parker, was an influential Seneca leader, and his grandfather's younger brother was Ely Samuel Parker, Seneca chief as well as brigadier general and military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War. With an upbringing influenced by both traditional Seneca religion and Christianity and a strong interest in history, A.C. Parker went on to write many articles and become a noted authority on American Indian culture. Parker founded the Society of American Indians in 1911 and edited their publication, American Indian Magazine, from 1915-1920, and he directed the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration-sponsored and WPA-funded Indian Arts Project in the 1930s. Parker was the director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences from 1924 to 1945, and he was elected the first President of the Society for American Archaeology in 1935. While residing near Naples, New York, Arthur Caswell Parker died on January 1, 1955, at the age of 73.

Scope and Contents

The Arthur Caswell Parker Papers contains correspondence including letters written by Ely Samuel Parker, as well as Frederick Ward Putnam, Horace Porter, Theodore Roosevelt, Nathan L. Miller, Allen Macy Dulles, Woodrow Wilson, James Schoolcraft Sherman, William Howard Taft, and Lewis Henry Morgan. This collection also includes Parker's extensive research, published and unpublished articles, and lectures on museums, archaeology, and American Indians, particularly those of New York State, including their history, culture, problems, legislation, administration, rights and citizenship. Related topics include the American Indian in World War I, American Indian Day, Harriet Maxwell Converse, Cornplanter, Lewis Henry Morgan, Mary Jemison, the Parker family, and Red Jacket. There are six volumes of radio scripts delivered in 1937 through 1938 under the title A Romance of Old Indian Days as well as the 1943-1944 radio scripts of the Rochester War Council's Speakers' Bureau.

Creator

Parker, Arthur Caswell, 1881-1955 (Person)

Dates

Creation: 1855-1952

Language of Materials

English

Extent

14 box(es)

Access

The Arthur Caswell Parker Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books, Special Collections ∓ Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Arthur Caswell Parker Papers were presented to the University of Rochester Library by Dr. Arthur Caswell Parker on June 21, 1952, and January 1, 1953.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Arthur Caswell Parker Papers, A.P23, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester