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Charles Russell Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415

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Charles Russell Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8251qnf Online items available Finding aid to the Charles Russell Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 Finding aid prepared by Marie Myers San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library 2018-05-30 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park San Diego, CA 92101 [email protected] URL: http://sdnhm.org/science/research-library Finding aid to the Charles Russell LA.1994.0415 1 Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library Title: Charles Russell Orcutt Papers creator: Orcutt, Charles Russell, 1864-1929 Identifier/Call Number: LA.1994.0415 Physical Description: 3.75 Linear Feet Date (bulk): 1877-1929 Abstract: The papers consist of correspondence, field notes, and publications of the botanist Charles Russell Orcutt. It also includes biographical material and lists related to Orcutt's natural history collections, library, research, and travels. Language of Material: English Scope and Contents The papers consist of eight boxes of material related to Orcutt's life, collecting trips, and publications. The collection also contains correspondence, field notes, and collecting lists. Material in four series, as follows. I. Biographical material and field notes, 1878-1929; II. Research; III. Orcutt Library, 1918-1939; IV. Publications. Biographical / Historical Charles Russell Orcutt was a naturalist who specialized in botany and malacology. Born on April 27, 1864 in Hartland, Vermont, he moved with his family to San Diego in 1879, where his father established a small horticultural nursery near the ruins of the Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Orcutt married Olive E. Eddy in 1892; her medical practice provided financial support for the family while Orcutt traveled extensively on collecting trips in both southern California and Baja California. He was a prolific writer and editor, publishing multiple journals and magazines including West American Scientist (1884-1919). An early member of the Board of Directors of the San Diego Society of Natural History (the parent organization of the San Diego Natural History Museum), he collected many specimens now currently held in the botany, paleontology, and marine invertebrate departments of that museum. Orcutt collected at least 45 new taxa, including 15 plant species and even one genus that were named in his honor. Many plant names exist today with the specific epithet of orcuttii as testament to his collecting skills. His botanical specimens are found in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Natural History Museum, in addition to the San Diego Natural History Museum. He died on August 25, 1929 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Conditions Governing Access The collection is open to researchers by appointment. Contact the Research Library Director, San Diego Natural History Museum. Conditions Governing Use Copyright may be reserved. Consult the San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library Director for more information. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Charles Russell Orcutt Papers. Research Library, San Diego Natural History Museum. Subjects and Indexing Terms Botanists -- California -- Correspondence Botany -- California Botany -- Mexico -- Baja California (Peninsula) Cactus Malacology Mollusks Plants -- California Series I - Biographical material and field notes 1878-1929 Finding aid to the Charles Russell LA.1994.0415 2 Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 Series I - Biographical material and field notes 1878-1929 Box 304 Field Notes Journal 1879-1897 Scope and Contents Journal and list of plants, shells and other natural history material collected by Orcutt; items numbered consecutively from 1 to 2893, some with location and date. Includes autobiographical sketch, Orcutt family genealogies, and collecting notes. Localities include San Diego and Imperial counties, Baja California, Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Mexico City, and Guadalajara. Includes notes re Asa Gray and C. C. Parry, some drawings. Box 304, Folder 1 Biographical data and notes 1886-1929 Scope and Contents Articles, news clippings, and correspondence regarding Orcutt. Includes San Diego Union obituary published 29 Aug 1929 and Eugene Coan, "Charles Russell Orcutt, Pioneer Californian Malacologist and the West American Scientist," Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, vol. 14, no. 8 (1966); typescript of Orcutt essay "In Baja California" re 1886 trip; typescript "Grasses Collected in Baja California" by C. R. Orcutt. Correspondence re Orcutt includes timeline of Orcutt collecting trips 1882-1919, prepared by Reid Moran. Box 304, Folder 2 Collections in Texas 1913, 1926 Scope and Contents Plant lists for localities in Texas, including Laredo (Mar-Apr 1913) and Corpus Christi (1913). Also includes list of specimens collected by Orcutt at Cloudcroft, New Mexico, 23-26 Jul 1926. Box 304, Folder 3 Field notes 1884 Scope and Contents One handwritten half-page size list, with 4 typescript copies; published list of Gastropoda. Box 304, Folder 4 List of donated books n.d. Scope and Contents Memoranda pad with list of journal titles donated to the "Scientific Library" of the San Diego Society of Natural History. Box 304, Folder 5 Orcutt essay "By Wagon to Baja" 1886 Scope and Contents "By Wagon to Baja" Orcutt essay of 1886 trip, prepared as article for Environment Southwest. Typescript, 5 pp. Includes brief (1 p.) biography of Orcutt by Reid Moran. Box 304, Folder 6 Letters 1878-1924 Scope and Contents Letters from Orcutt to his parents, 1900-1903. Also includes one letter to his cousin, Lydia Gray, 1878, and five letters to his son Heman, 1922-1924. Box 304, Folder 7 Letters 1882-1883; 1910 Scope and Contents Photocopies of letters to George Engelmann (1882-1883) and J. M. Greenman (1910) of Missouri Botanical Garden regarding cacti. Box 304, Folder 8 Letters 1883-1894 Scope and Contents Letters from Orcutt to his parents, 1883-1894. Finding aid to the Charles Russell LA.1994.0415 3 Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 Series I - Biographical material and field notes 1878-1929 Box 304, Folder 9 Letters 1890-1894 Scope and Contents Letters from Orcutt to his parents. Includes one letter from San Diego Natural History Museum director Clinton G. Abbott to Orcutt regarding donation. Box 304, Letters 1927-1929 Folder 10 Scope and Contents Two letters. Letter dated 1927 from Laurence M. Klauber regarding Orcutt donation to the San Diego Society of Natural History. Letter dated June 1929 from Orcutt to his daughter Eunice. Box 304, folder 11 Biographical notes Scope and Contents Biographical notes prepared by museum staff; includes Orcutt's U.S, passport, issued 1919. Box 304, Family reminiscences and other biographical material Folder 12 Scope and Contents Reminiscences of Orcutt's daughter Mary Orcutt Bisbee; note to Orcutt granddaughter Barbara Bisbee with news clipping re Grantville and Orcutt post office. Also includes obituary of Maryette Foster Eddy (Orcutt's mother-in-law), d. 1903. Box 304, Photos Folder 13 Scope and Contents 5 b/w photographs. (1) Flower of Pachycereus Orcuttii, taken 10 Jun 1905 (copy of San Diego Natural History Society's type photograph); 4 x 5 in. (2) Orcutt portrait; 8 x 10 in. (3) Orcutt with cactus; 5 x 7 in. (4 and 5) Museum staff inspecting Orcutt Library at Old Town, August 1927; 4 x 5 in. Box 304, Clippings 1867 Folder 14 Box 304, Shell lists Folder 15 Scope and Contents Handwritten lists of shells for sale and exchange. Includes some names of collectors to whom Orcutt sent shells. Box 304, Item 1 Orcutt essay "A Lost Mine" 1879 Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Orcutt, published in the San Diego Daily Union, 21 Dec 1879 as "A Lost Mine." Includes transcription. Box 305 Series II - Research Material Scope and Contents Series consists of four notebooks, two envelopes, and seven folders of research material about Orcutt and his collecting activities, including Ethel Bailey Higgins notes about Orcutt. Includes three folders of Orcutt's own handwritten technical notes on cacti. Includes handwritten Orcutt manuscript (circa. 1919) entitled "Historical Review of Scientific Activity in San Diego." Includes envelope of information collected by Orcutt (circa 1919) on the early history of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This envelope includes biographical notes by Orcutt of Fred Baker and W. C. Crandall. Also includes archival photocopies of Review of the Cactaceae. Series III - Orcutt Library 1918-1939 Finding aid to the Charles Russell LA.1994.0415 4 Orcutt Papers LA.1994.0415 Series III - Orcutt Library 1918-1939 Box 79, Orcutt Papers 1918-1921 Item Envelope Scope and Contents Papers relating to the formation of the San Diego Scientific Library. Box 197 Orcutt Library - Museum Administration documents 1918-1929 Scope and Contents Approximately one inch of documents, bulk originals of material included in Box 79. Includes correspondence and legal documents regarding donation of Orcutt's Library to the San Diego Society of Natural History. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Fred Baker, Howard H. Cleaves, J. C. Harper, Laurence M. Klauber, Charles Russell Orcutt, Olive L. Eddy Orcutt, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr. Box 79, Folder 1 Deed of Trust Correspondence 1920-1923 Scope and Contents Photocopies of correspondence. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Fred Baker, Howard H. Cleaves, J. C. Harper, Charles Russell Orcutt, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr. Bulk of material copies of material in Museum Administration Box 197. Box 79, Folder 2 Letters - Orcutt Library 1927-1933 Scope and Contents Letters relating to Orcutt's Library. Correspondents include Clinton G. Abbott, Laurence M. Klauber, Frank Stephens, U. S. Grant, IV, Ralph E. Jenney. Box 79, Folder 3 Natural History Museum early holdings 1938 Scope and Contents List of books donated by Orcutt to the San Diego Society of Natural History; 1 bound volume (6 x 8"). Box 79, Orcutt Library inventory 1939 Item Bundle Scope and Contents Handwritten inventory of Orcutt library, prepared as part of WPA project. Includes Manuscript Depository Form of Works Project Administration, Division of Women's and Professional Projects Historical Records Survey, 1937.
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