MS-001
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Overview of the Collection | |
| Creator: | Wetherill, John Wetherill, Benjamin Alfred, 1861-1950 Wetherill family |
| Title: | Wetherill family collection, |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1867-1964 |
| Bulk Dates: | (bulk 1906-1946). |
| Quantity: | 20.4 cm textual records, 222 photographic images (222 prints, 3 safety negatives), 1 blueprint, one oversized page |
| Abstract: | The Wetherill family was involved in a number of activities in the Colorado Plateau. While they may be best known for their various trading posts, many of them were involved with expeditions in the region. This collection contains records that detail these activities, as well as provides genealogical and photographic records of the family itself. |
| Identification: | MS-001 |
| Language: | Material in English and Navajo |
| Repository: |
Museum of Northern Arizona 3101 N. Fort Valley Rd. Flagstaff, AZ 86001 928-774-5211 ext. 256 or 269 library@mna.mus.az.us |
The Wetherill family first arrived in the Colorado Plateau region in 1880 when Benjamin and Marion Wetherill moved their family to a homestead in the region. For the next several years, members of the family operated trading posts throughout the Colorado Plateau in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Some Wetherill family members are also credited with archaeological and exploratory activity in the area including the discovery of Rainbow Bridge.
Benjamin Kite Wetherill (1832-1898) married Marion Thompson in 1856 and together they had Richard (1858-1910), Benjamin Alfred “Al” (1861-1950), Clayton [1861-1921], Anna (1865- 1935), John (1866-1944), Winslow [1870-1939], and Alice (birth date unknown, died in infancy). B.K. Wetherill relocated to Colorado in 1879, began homesteading near the Mancos River in Colorado in 1880, and was joined by the rest of the family the following year. In 1882, the family began construction of a log house, which would be called the Alamo Ranch.
John Wetherill married Louisa Wade in 1896, and in 1900, the couple moved with their two children to New Mexico. There, they operated three trading posts at Ojo Alamo, Chavez, and Chaco Canyon, and organized guided tours of the area. In 1906, the couple relocated to Oljato in southern Utah, where they built and operated their own trading post. John Wetherill is known for organizing discovery expeditions in the region, and in 1909, he explored and is often credited with discovering the Rainbow Bridge. He also led a number of expeditions throughout remains of cliff dwellings, and in Tsegi Canyon, Tsegiotsosi Canyon, Monument Valley and Navajo Mountain. In 1910, the couple moved their trading post to Kayenta, Arizona, where they remained until the 1940s. He also served as U.S. Deputy Marshall at the National Parks Service’s Navajo National Monument from 1909 until 1938 for which he never collected a salary.
In 1934, John Wetherill’s nephew, Milton Wetherill was selected to act as seasonal ranger at the Navajo National Monument. He continued to serve in this post for a total of five summers.
Records consist of Wetherill photographic images, correspondence, and journals from Wetherill excavations in the Colorado Plateau. It contains correspondence and papers relating to the Wetherill trading posts, John Wetherill’s correspondence as custodian at Navajo National Monument, and various articles and notes relating to the family’s research on Navajo language and culture. Additionally, there are family portraits, one blueprint, one oversized census record, and an unidentified account ledger from Texas in 1867.
This collection contains culturally sensitive material. Therefore, portions of this collection have been restricted. Contact the Museum of Northern Arizona archivist for more information.
Published and unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Several family and regional archaeological records have been donated to the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado by family members in fifteen separate accessions.
Materials created by John Wetherill between 1915 and 1938 remained in the custody of Milton Wetherill until their donation in 1958, 1960, 1961, and 1964. Materials created by Ben Wetherill in 1937 remained in the custody of his granddaughters, Dorothy Leak and Johnnie Lou Duncan until their donation in 1964. Assorted family materials were donated by Helen Wetherill Zimmerman, daughter of Winthrop Wetherill, in 1973.
Wetherill Family collection, MS-001 [Box Number]. Museum of Northern Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona.
Milton Wetherill donated John Wetherill materials created between 1915 and 1938 in five separate donations: 1958, 1960, 1961, and two in 1964. Dorothy Leake and Johnnie Lou Duncan (granddaughters of John Wetherill) donated Ben Wetherill materials created in 1937 in 1964. Helen Wetherill Zimmerman, daughter of Winthrop Wetherill, donated family materials in 1973.
Processed in February of 2009.
No further accruals are expected.
Earlier, more detailed inventories are available upon request. Numbers written on photographs correspond to such inventories, yet are no longer applicable to current arrangement.
| Series 1: Rainbow Bridge/Navajo National Monument Expeditions circa 1900-1961 5.5 cm of textual records, 200 photographic images (200 prints, 1 safety negative) | |||||||||||
| This series contains photographs, journal pages, menu plans, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and a guest register of people taken on John Wetherill’s excavations between 1927 and 1934, which took place in and around Rainbow Bridge, Navajo National Monument, and Monument Valley. It also contains manuscripts and notes on the Flattum and Stearns 1931 Rainbow Bridge Expedition, and a Frederic Sterns manuscript later published in Plateau. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | John Wetherill’s Expedition Journals and Correspondence, 1927-1934 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Frederic Stearns’ 1931 expedition, circa 1960s | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Kiet Siel excavation sites, 1909-1934, (bulk 1927-1934) | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Betatakin excavation site, circa 1927-1937 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Zion excavation site, circa 1934 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Frijoles Canyon Ruins in New Mexico, circa 1927-1937 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Kayenta excavation sites, 1934 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Marsh Pass excavation sites, circa 1927-1934 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Rainbow Bridge, Round House Ruin, etc, circa 1900-1934 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Unidentified excavation sites, circa 1920-1937 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Unidentified excavation sites, circa 1920-1937 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Expeditions notebook copies, Zion National Park plans, 1934, 1938 | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | Archaeology newspaper clippings, 1899, 1936-1963 | |||||||||
| 2 | 13 | Benjamin “Al” Wetherill correspondences, 1933, 1948 | |||||||||
| 2 | 19 | Excavation sites, no locations, circa 1930s | |||||||||
| Series 2: Navajo Research Materials, circa 1910-1930 2.1 cm of textual material | |||||||||||
| Series contains handwritten sheets and note cards of Navajo language translations and symbols, a brochure on Navajo language released by Petty and Chapman’s Indian Trading Post, and documents/lectures on Navajo culture. It also contains one Wetherill and Colville receipt book, which has been filled with handwritten Navajo stories. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Navajo language translations, stories, notes, circa 1910-1930 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Navajo witchcraft notes, circa 1939 | |||||||||
| Series 3: Wetherill Trading Post Materials 1867, 1878, 1911-1937 11 cm textual materials, 1 oversized page | |||||||||||
| Series consists of trading post account ledgers, account sheets, letter from Office of Indian Affairs Commissioner C.J. Rhoads to Senator Lynn J. Frazier, blueprint of Navajo and Zuni Reservation. Ledger and letter contained in folder 1 of the series contains no obvious connection to the Wetherill family as it is dated 1867 and comes from King County, Texas. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Trading post ledger, correspondence, 1867 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Account ledger, correspondence, blueprint, 1911-1937 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| MF 1 | 1 | Census record, 1937 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Ben Wetherill Navajo and Zuni jewelry correspondence, 1940 | |||||||||
| 2 | 14 | Wetherill and Hubbell Trading Post clippings, 1903, 1930 | |||||||||
| 2 | 15 | Winslow Wetherill trading post materials, 1906-1917 | |||||||||
| 2 | 16 | Hilda Wetherill trading post article, 1928 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Trading Post Account Books – Two Gray Hills and Hyde Exploring Expedition, 1900-1904 | |||||||||
| 3 | 2 | Trading Post Account Books, 1878 | |||||||||
| Series 4: John Wetherill Navajo National Monument Custodial Materials, 1915, 1931-1937 .3 cm textual records, 1 blueprint | |||||||||||
| Records consist of correspondence between John Wetherill and Arno Cammerer (Director, National Parks Service), Frank Pinkley (Superintendent, Southwest Monuments branch of the NPS), and other NPS employees). The series also contains a newspaper clipping regarding transfer of land to the Navajo people, and one blue print of the Marsh Pass Project on the Navajo Reservation. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Navajo National Monument correspondence, clippings, blueprint, 1915, 1931-1937 | |||||||||
| Series 5: Wetherill family materials circa 1870-1964, 2.5 cm textual records, 22 photographic images (22 prints, 2 safety negatives) | |||||||||||
| The Wetherill Family Materials series consists of family portraits, A.W. Wetherill’s journey from Mancos to Dandy Crossing, newspaper clippings reporting on family events (obituaries, etc), a telegram, and various postcards. | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Wetherill family portrait, circa 1870 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | A.W. Wetherill journal, circa 1897 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Sara Robert Wetherill history of Wetherill family, 1964 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Ben Wetherill obituary (photocopied for preservation), 1950 | |||||||||
| 2 | 17 | Wetherill family newspaper clippings, 1944-1954 | |||||||||
| 2 | 18 | Wetherill family genealogy, correspondence, etc., 1944-1956 | |||||||||
| 2 | 20 | Wetherill family portraits/photos, circa 1914-1946 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | Families from Village Wetheral, 1948-1950 | |||||||||