Aruthur C. Parker Papers
1915-1953
SC13604

Quantity: 2 Cubic Feet
Access: Open
Acquisition:
Processed by: Honor Conklin, Archivist, Manuscripts and Special Collections, August 1994

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Historical Note

Arthur Caswell Parker was an archaeologist at the Peabody Museum (Harvard) and the New York State Museum, an ethnologist at the New York State Library, and director of the Rochester (N.Y.) Museum of Arts and Sciences. He was also an editor and an author, writing primarily on the history of the Iroquois. Parker was a member of numerous historical organizations and president of the Society of American Indians, 1914-1915 (collection at N.Y.S.L.). A Seneca, on his father Frederick's side, he was the grandson of Nicholson Henry Parker, the brother of Ely Samuel Parker, U. S. Grant's military Secretary. Nicholson and Ely Parker were sons of William Parker who took the name of an English officer, and descendants of Handsome Lake, the Seneca prophet.

Description of Papers

The Arthur C. Parker Papers are primarily material collected as research for his books on the Iroquois indians and his typescript manuscripts for his series, The Amazing Iroquois.

There is some correspondence to and from Arthur C. Parker, the rest is related to his writing, including the collection of correspondence and writings of his great uncle Ely S. Parker and Parker's friend and collaborator Lewis Henry Morgan.

Memorabilia includes convention ribbons and campaign badges.

There are photographs of Arthur C. Parker and Ely S. Parker.

Printed materials consist of a book jacket for Rumbling Wings and Other Tales, and Parker's pamphlet, Indian Episodes in New York; a Drama-study of the Empire State.

Programs indicate the speaking engagements of Arthur Parker.

Research makes up the bulk of the single-item materials and includes documents, maps, notes, photographs, and writings by Arthur Parker, Ely S. Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse, William Beauchamp and others on the Iroquois and on Mary Jemison, a white captive adopted by the Senecas. This series includes an 1839 census of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Photographs include Sitting Bull, Chauncy Abrams, and Solomon O'Bail.

Writings consist of manuscripts by Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse, William Beauchamp, and others on the Iroquois and two notebooks with entries dated 1850, 1862 and 1873, by William A. Reynolds on spiritualism.

There are also short manuscripts by Ely S. and Nicholson H. Parker.

Finally, there are four titles under the series The Amazing Iroquois charting the Iroquois from 1535 to 1945.

SERIES

Biographical
Correspondence
Certificate
Memorabilia
Photographs
Printed Material
Programs
Research
Writings

Container List

Box Folder Contents
Box 1 1 Biographical
Correspondence
2 To and from Arthur C. Parker, 1915-1953
3 To Nicholson Henry Parker from F.B. Hough, 1855
4 Lewis Henry Morgan to Ely S. Parker and his sister, Caroline Parker, photostats, 1844-1868
6 Lewis Morgan to others, 1868-1869
6 Miscellaneous - Telegrams [2], 1924; 2 notes, 1888 and n.d.; letter to E.G. Foote from Seneca Indians, 4/16/1839
7 Sagoyontha to Reverend Asher Wright, 1838
8 Certificate, to permit Conyatauyou, or Handsome Lake, to return from the seat of government, by N. Dearborn, Washington, 1802, [photographic copy]
9 Memorabilia, includes ribbons, and campaign badges, bank notes
10 Photographs (2)
  1. First convocation at Cutler Union
  2. Gov. H. Lehmann on a group of Indians, 1935?
11 Photos [3] of Ely S. Parker
Printed Materials
12 Book jacket, Rumbling Wines and Other Tales, by Arthur C. Parker
13 Indian Episodes in New York: a Drama-Story of the Empire State, by Arthur C. Parker, Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1935
14 Clippings unrelated to Native Americans
15 Programs of historical societies involving Arthur C. Parker, 1923-1947
Research
16 Accounts, construction of Post Office, 1858
Biographical
17 On William M. Beauchamp, 1920
18 Typescript of will of Jessie M. Chapman
19 Materials on and by Harriet Maxwell Converse
20 Cornplanter's descendants
21 Will of Mary Jemison, photostat of original in N.Y.S.L., Sept. 3, 1823
22 Printed materials on Lewis H. Morgan and portrait of Morgan
23 Census, view of several tribes, clans and families residing on the Buffalo Creek Reservation, April 1839
24 Charts
  • Contributions of the American Indian
  • The Iroquois Today
25 Claims, Cayuga land claim, 1851, 1912, 1926
26 Deed, to Peter Schuyler from Samuel Sexton and George Sextrey, 1843
27 Maps
28 Notebook, subscription book for The Commercial Reading Room, the Rochester Athaneum and Mechanics Association [1899?]
Notes
29 Account of a meeting between [the Onondagas?] and [? ], n.d.
30 Miscellaneous notes re: archeology
31 Notes on Indian artifacts at a Wilkes-Barre, PA museum
32 Notes while at John Kennedy's, 1905
33 Indian names of places [in N.Y.S.], by Ely S.
34 On treaties between the United States and New York State Indians
35-36 Vocabularies, songs, phrases, etc. translated from [Seneca?] to English, 2 folders
37 Writings on Seneca White Dog Sacrifice by Parker and S.L. Knapp
38 Notes (financial), to pay Alexander Alexander, per VanRensselaer and Elkanah Watson to General Philip V. Cortlandt, Oct. 16, 1791 re: "Western Tour"
Box 2 33 Photographs, see also The Amazing Iroquois manuscripts
39 Portraits and groups, includes Sitting Bull, Chauncy Abrams, Solomon O'Bail
40 [? Reservation]
41 Treaties, artifacts, monuments
42 Sculpture, printings, illustrations, diorama
43 Photostats, miscellaneous of Native American documents; also lists of names
Printed Material
44 Clippings, photocopies
45 Clippings, brittle, see photocopies
46 Miscellaneous - Hints for Ethnological Inquiry among the Tribes of North America, W.W. Tunner, 4 p., n.d.
Advertisement for Nembutal illustrated by an article on the symbolism of Crosses, 1935?
47 On Senecas, including Report of the Committee of Investigation, Appointed by the Seneca Council, to Examine the Accounts of Andrew John, Late Treasurer. Buffalo: Clapp, Matthews and Co., 1854
48 On Indian welfare organizations, 1855-1944
49 Illustration of Andrew John
50 Cowenhoven, Conover name
51 Minutes of the Advisory Council on Indian Affairs, 1923
Writings
52 On maternity pipes, by Harrie Maxwell Converse and by William Beauchamp, including Algonquin wampum, 1899
53 On Iroquois brooches, by Harriet Maxwell Converse
54 "The Last Indian Council on the Genesee," by David Gray, [Scribner's, July 1877]
55 "Prehistoric Iroquois Sites in Northern New York, Report of Peabody Museum Expedition, 1906," by M. R. Harrington
56 "Cuba Lake Reservation," by Henry S. Manley
57 Notebooks on spiritualism, by William A. Reynolds, Rochester, NY, 1850, 1862, 1873
58 "Successful Indian Mechanic," by Frank C. Sherman
59 "Looking into the Future," by Arthur C. Parker
60 "The Origin of Iroquois Silversmithing," by Arthur C. Parker
61 "Old Alb Wins a Bet," [Arthur C. Parker?]
62 "Quakers and the Social Pattern," by Arthur C. Parker
63 "The Society of Friends and the Seneca," by Arthur C. Parker, address before the Friends Yearly Meeting, Collins, NY, 1953
64 "Which Way Now America?," by Arthur C. Parker
65 [An Account of an Indian Council], by Ely S. Parker
66 [Unidentified], by Ely S. Parker, mutilated manuscript
67 "An Old Man. A Shipwreck. An Eclipse of the Moon," by N. H. Parker, n.d.
68 "Iroquois Mythology as Motive." A Study of Iroquois Mythology and its Impact on their Culture: A Lecture by Arthur C. Parker at the University of Toronto, Dept. of Anthropology, December 1950, 40 p.
69 "Yot-Don-Dak-Koh: Opening Ceremony of the Pygmy Society," by A.C. Parker, 4 p.
70 "An Outline Programme of Wa-a-no-naogwa-shot; the Cornplanting Ceremony," by A.C. Parker, 4 p.
71 "The Bird Mask," by A.C. Parker, 3 p.
72 "The Secret Societies of the Seneca," by A.C. Parker, 7 p.
73 "Additional Notes on the Otter Society," by A.C. Parker, 3 p.
74 "Hodigoshosga: Medicine Men's Dance after ashes are put over patient's head," by A.C. Parker, 1906, 5 p.
75 "Minutes of the Council of the Six Nations upon the Cattaraugus Reservation," Dec. 1, 1862, by A.C. Parker, 1906, 17 p.
76 "Bridal Hunt of the Algonquins," A.C. Parker, 1906, 3 p.
77 "Sagowenota, The Isle of Tears," by A.C. Parker, 24 p.
78 "Address to the Maple, Chief of Trees and the Prayer to the Creator, A Seneca Ceremony," by A.C. Parker, 2 p.
79 "Notes. Data concerning the Medicine Societies of the Seneca," by A.C. Parker, 14 p.
80 "The Funeral Address," by A.C. Parker, 1906, 6 p.
81 "Ka-is-to-wan-ea and Ka-ja-noh, The Two-Headed Serpent and the Brave Boy." "To-no-do-oo, The Supreme Ruler," by Harriet M. Converse, 4 p.

Boxes 3-6: The Amazing Iroquois A 10-volume series of typewritten manuscripts "being an account of the internal history of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, their struggle for survival in competition with European powers, a summary of their wars of conquest, a digest of their laws, rites, and ceremonies, their participation in Continental conflicts, a description of their acculturation, their reservations and their adjustment to modern life, from 1535 to 1945.

Box Contents
Box 3 Iroquois Blood for Beaver: an Account of the Interplay of the Iroquois with the Forces of France and England, 1609-1779, 3 volumes
Box 4 The Whirlwind and the Dust: an Account of the Iroquois from the Time of Sir William Johnson to the Expedition of Major General John Sullivan, 1750-1779, 2 volumes
Box 5 Red Embers of the Long House: a Perspective of the Modern Iroquois/an Account of the New York Iroquois After the American Revolution, 3 volumes, includes photographs of Council House and documents
Box 6 Forever the Five Nations: a Survey of the Amazing Iroquois and Their Way of Life, 2 volumes; vol. 2 includes photographs of a Arleigh M. Hill and Brig. D. M. Martin

 

Last Updated: October 4, 2012