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Tag: Washington Territorial Librarian

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Eliza Des Saure Newell, 1882-1887

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Eliza Des Saure Newell, 1882-1887

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Eliza Des Saure Newell, 1882-1887 The longest serving Territorial Librarian was born in 1853 in New Jersey. In 1882 her father, the eccentric William Augustus Newell, was the Governor. Gov. Newell had appointed his daughter Eleanor as his personal secretary. His other daughter, Eliza, he appointed to the post of Territorial Librarian. The Governor’s nepotism forced the Legislature to change the Territorial laws regarding women in office. Maryan Reynolds picks up the…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Walter Newlin and James Ferry

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Walter Newlin and James Ferry

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Walter W. Newlin, 1879-1880 Born in Pennsylvania ca. 1841, Walter W. Newlin was living and working in Olympia as early as 1870 as a lawyer. Appointed Territorial Librarian in Aug. 1879 by Gov. Ferry, his tenure was brief but eventful. With Newlin, we see the first glimmer of the kind of librarian we recognize in modern times. His Oct. 1, 1879 report laments the lack of a catalog and the poor facilities….

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Elwood Evans 1877-1879

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Elwood Evans 1877-1879

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff It is difficult to get away from Elwood Evans while reading about the political history of Washington Territory. Born in Philadelphia Dec. 29, 1828, he was appointed a Deputy Collector of Customs under Simpson P. Moses and arrived in Olympia with the Moses brothers in 1851. Admitted to the bar shortly after setting up shop, he became one of the Territory’s earliest lawyers. His initial stay in Washington Territory was brief, in…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Frederick S. Holmes, 1875-1877

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Frederick S. Holmes, 1875-1877

Frederick S. Holmes, 1875-1877 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff He was born May 8, 1849 in Chicago and spent his early years in Kenosha, Wis. Holmes arrived in Olympia Nov. 9, 1853 with his parents, Samuel and Mary. Only 25 years of age, he was the first Territorial Librarian to be appointed directly by the Governor. According to Maryan Reynolds in The Dynamics of Change, When Yantis vacated the position of librarian in 1875, members of the…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Benjamin F. Yantis, 1873-1875

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Benjamin F. Yantis, 1873-1875

 Benjamin Franklin Yantis, 1873-1875 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Born Mar. 19, 1807 in Garrard County, Ky., B.F. Yantis emigrated to Missouri in 1835, where he became the Superior Court Judge of Saline County. In 1850 (some sources say 1852) he was part of an overland party to the Oregon country that was an ordeal even by pioneering standards. His wife was included among the several deaths in the group. Judge Yantis ran a stage line to…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873

Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff “We doubt not,” said the Daily Pacific Tribune, “that Mr. Mossman will make an efficient and faithful librarian” when the fourth Territorial Librarian for the year 1870 was named. He was born Aug. 8, 1830 in Centerville, Indiana. Mossman arrived in Oregon City Oct. 20, 1853 as part of the Miller Party. Isaac took part in the 1855-1856 Indian War, holding the rank of Corporal and fighting…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Champion B. Mann

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Champion B. Mann

Champion B, Mann   From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Longtime Olympia political fixture, C.B. Mann was born Nov. 2, 1844 in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Mann attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and graduated from Portland Business College before arriving in Olympia in March 1870. He was assigned to the position of Territorial Librarian and served from Aug. 1 to Nov. 6, 1870. C.B. initially held the occupation of school teacher in Oregon and was chosen school district…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians- Woodruff, Chapman, Shelton and Mabie 1866-1870

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians- Woodruff, Chapman, Shelton and Mabie 1866-1870

Samuel Nelson Woodruff, 1866 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff He was born Mar. 6, 1829 in Ohio. His journal during the 1852 overland trip to Olympia is now in the University of Washington’s collection. He married Samantha Packwood in Feb. 1854 and set himself up as a farmer. Woodruff was listed as “Town Marshall” in a July 1864 edition of the Pacific Tribune, an early territorial paper out of Olympia. His year-long term as Territorial Librarian was…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Thomas Taylor, 1862 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Although no oath of office record exists today, Taylor was apparently Librarian in 1862. The March 29, 1862 issue of the Washington Standard includes this Library Notice: “All persons having books belonging to the Territorial Library will please return at once, or the by-laws will be put in force. Thos. Taylor, Ter. Librarian.” He quite probably was the same aged Thomas Taylor who was born Oct. 17, 1793 (some…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – James Clark Head, 1860 – 1861, 1863, 1865

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – James Clark Head, 1860 – 1861, 1863, 1865

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff (Head served three nonconsecutive terms as Territorial Librarian.) J.C. Head was born in Washington County, Ky. in 1810. His family apparently lived in Illinois before their arrival in Olympia, Aug. 18, 1853. A carpenter by trade, Head also was made a Justice of the Peace and in 1856 presided over the case of the accused murderer of Leschi’s brother, Quiemuth. Bion Kendall was the attorney for the defense, Elwood Evans the prosecutor….

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