Guide to the Ritter Family Papers,

Transcription

1 No online items Processed by Deborah Day, Monica Peffer; machine-readable finding aid created by Brooke Dykman Dockter Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California Phone: (858) Fax: (858) URL: The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. MC 15 1

2 Collection number: MC 15 Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library La Jolla, California Contact Information: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California Phone: (858) Fax: (858) URL: Processed by: Deborah Day, Monica Peffer Date Completed: September 1996 Encoded by: Brooke Dykman Dockter 1997 Descriptive Summary Title: Ritter Family Papers, Date (inclusive): Collection number: MC 15 Creator: Ritter family Size: 0.8 li. ft. Repository: Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library. La Jolla, California Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the online catalog. Language: English. Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Student and personnel records are restricted in accordance with law and university policy. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Ritter Family papers, MC 15, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library, University of California, San Diego. Provenance The Ritter Family Papers were kept for many years in the attic of the Ritter Family ancestral home in Syracuse, New York. Marion Smith Chester, a great granddaughter of Nelson Ritter donated letters and other material documenting William Emerson Ritter's life and his immediate family to the SIO Archives on July 25, Biography MC 15 2

3 Ezra Ritter ( ), a property owner, and his wife Mary Church Ritter ( ) resided in Syracuse, New York. They had five children, Seneca Dwight, Horatio, George Nelson, Nelson and William Ezra. George Nelson Ritter ( ) and William Ezra Ritter ( ) died while still young. Two other sons, Seneca Dwight Ritter ( ) and Horatio Ritter ( ), moved west to Hampden, Wisconsin, and established adjoining farms prior to During the 1860's and 1870's, the families of Seneca Dwight Ritter and Horatio Ritter struggled to establish the farms during and following the Civil War. Horatio and Leonora Eason Ritter ( ) had five children, Mary Emaline, Ella Louisa, William E., Frank Leslie and Flora Orilla. Seneca Dwight and Damaris Winslow Ritter had three children, Dwight, Jane and Elizabeth. William E. Ritter ( ), founder and first director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was born on November 19, While he was referred to as William Ezra Ritter by his grandmother, his middle name is recorded as Emerson throughout his life. This can be found in Mary Church Ritter's letter to her son Nelson Ritter and his wife on November 21, William E. Ritter worked as a schoolmaster to fund his education. His uncle Nelson Ritter ( ) of Syracuse encouraged his youthful ambition to establish a career, and maintained close family ties between the New York and Wisconsin branches of the Ritter Family. William E. Ritter left his parent's farm to attend the State Normal School at Oshkosh. Afterwards, he attended University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University ( ) and studied under Alexander Agassiz. William E. Ritter was appointed professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in By 1903 William E. Ritter had begun working in San Diego hoping to establish a marine biological station in California. Arrangement Mrs. Chester transferred the papers on three occasions, and the three accessions were later integrated into MC 15. The Ritter Family Papers had no original arrangement, and archivist Deborah Day arranged the papers under five headings: correspondence, legal documents, photographs, poems and receipts. With the exception of receipts, which is organized by type, the papers are arranged chronologically. Scope and Content Note The Ritter Family Papers at the Archives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography consist of 0.8 linear feet of material. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence dated concerning the Ritter families of Syracuse, New York, and Hampden, Wisconsin. The bulk of the letters are dated between 1859 and A considerable part of the letters were written by William E. Ritter to his uncle Nelson Ritter. These letters document the birth of William E. Ritter, the hardships endured on the pioneer farms and Seneca Dwight Ritter's health and periodic episodes of mental illness. During the Civil War years, the letters document Union recruiting and drafting policies in Wisconsin and effects of the war on the community. The letters include information on farm life, crops, and the social and economic life of the families in New York and Wisconsin. Aside from the correspondence, the collection also includes some legal documents, photographs, poems and receipts. Most of the legal documents concern the estate of Ezra Ritter. The majority of the poems have no author, with the exception of one poem written by Mary Church Ritter. Photographs have been arranged in two folders. There are six tintype photographs of William E. Ritter, Damaris Winslow Ritter, Seneca Dwight Ritter, Jane Ritter, Ella Louisa Ritter and a collage of photographs of Horatio, Leonora, William E. and Mary Emaline Ritter. The remaining three photographs include an albumen print of Leonora Eason Ritter, a salted paper print of Horatio Ritter and a carbon print [?] of Ezra and Mary Ritter. However, photographs and postcards related to correspondence, where they are part of a letter or there is writing on the back, are located by date in the correspondence files. Related Collections A large collection (33 cartons) of William Emerson Ritter Papers is available at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (Collection 71/3). The Library has prepared a comprehensive Report and Key to Arrangement of the Papers. The Ritter Papers at the Bancroft include material documenting his career, publications and personal life as well as material describing his activities at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Further information regarding William Emerson Ritter is found in the Title: William Emerson Ritter Papers, Date: , Identifier/Call Number: MC 4, located in the Archives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The archives also holds diaries of Dr. Ritter's wife, Dr. Mary Bennett Ritter, dated (Collection 81-97). Several archival collections at the Archives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography include material documenting Ritter's directorship at the institution. Among these are the Title: Records of the S.I.O. Office of the Business Manager, MC 15 3

4 Date: (82-11), the Title: Charles Atwood Kofoid Papers (82-17), the Title: SIO Biographical Files (81-17) and the Title: SIO Subject Files (81-16).The S.I.O. Annual Reports of the Director during Ritter's administration are cataloged as part of the S.I.O. Archives reference collection. The S.I.O. Archives holds two reports written by Ritter as a member of the University of California Berkeley Department of Zoology in 1901 and 1903 (81-44 and 81-45). The Title: Records of the Marine Biological Association of San Diego (81-38, 81-40, 81-41, 81-42) include material written by and about Dr. Ritter. The SIO Archives also holds several photographs of Dr. Ritter. The Archives of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University include twenty letters from Dr. Ritter to Alexander Agassiz among the Agassiz Papers. These are dated 1893, 1904 and SUBJECT FILES Correspondence Box 1, Folder 1 n.d. Folder Folder c1856 Folder Folder Folder Box 2, Folder 1L Box 1, Folder Folder Folder Folder 10 c1862 Folder Folder c1863 Folder 13 c1863 Folder c1864 Folder 15 c1864 Folder 16 c1865 Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Before 1876 Folder 25 Before 1876 Folder 26 Before 1876 Folder 27 Before 1876 Folder 28 Before 1876 Folder 29 c1876 Folder Folder 31 c1877 Folder 32 c1878 Box 2, Folder 2L 1878 Box 1, Folder MC 15 4

5 SUBJECT FILES Folder Folder 35 c1884 Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder Folder c1900 Folder Folder Folder 48 c Folder [Legal Documents] Box 2, Folder 3L Folder 4L Folder 5L Folder 6L Folder 7L Folder 8L 1891 Photographs Folder 9L c1860's Folder 10L c1870's-c1890's [Original Tintype] Poems Folder 11L n.d. Receipts Box 1, Folder Folder [Personal Receipts] Folder [City Taxes] Folder [City Taxes] Folder [City Taxes] Folder [Bank Receipts] MC 15 5