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National Anthropological Archives
Guide to MS 4800 James O. Dorsey papers, circa 1870-1956, bulk 1870-1895
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NAA.MS4800
- Creators:
-
Dorsey, James Owen, 1848-1895
- Dates:
-
circa 1870-1956bulk 1870-1895
- Languages:
-
Collection is inEnglishand variousSiouan-Catawba,Athapascan,Kusan,Takilman,Yakonan, andCaddoanlanguages and dialects.
- Physical Description:
-
30 Linear feet70 boxes, 1 oversized box, 20 manuscript envelopes, 4 rolled maps, and 23 map folders
- Repository:
Reverend James Owen Dorsey (1848-1895) was a missionary and Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist who conducted extensive research on Siouan tribes and languages.The papers of James Owen Dorsey comprise mostly ethnographic and linguistic materials on various tribes of the Siouan language family as well as tribes from Siletz Reservation in Oregon. These materials include texts and letters with interlineal translations; grammar notes; dictionaries; drawings; and his manuscripts. In addition, the collection contains Dorsey's correspondence, newspaper clippings, his obituaries, and reprints.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection contains James O. Dorsey's research and writings as a BAE ethnologist, as well as his earlier work as a missionary among the Ponca. The vast majority of the collection pertains to his research on Siouan-Catawban languages, including the Dakota and Dhegiha languages, Chiwere, Winnebago, Mandan, Hidatsa, Tutelo, Biloxi, and Catawba. His research on Athapascan, Kusan, Takilman, and Yakonan languages from his field work at Siletz Reservation are also present, as well as some notes on the Caddoan languages. Dorsey's research files include linguistic and ethnological field notes, reading notes, stories and myths, vocabularies, drawings, and unpublished and published manuscripts. The collection also contains Omaha, Ponca, Quapaw, and Biloxi dictionaries that he compiled and materials relating to his work editing Steven Riggs' Dakota-English Dictionary. Additional noteworthy materials in the collection are Teton texts and drawings from George Bushotter and drawings by Stephen Stubbs (Kansa), Pahaule-gagli (Kansa), and George Miller (Omaha). The collection also contains Dorsey's correspondence, newspaper clippings, obituaries, and his collection of reprints.
Arrangement
Arrangement
The collection is organized into 6 series: 1) Siouan; 2) Siletz Reservation; 3) Caddoan; 4) General Correspondence; 5) Personal Papers; 6) Miscellaneous & Reprints.
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
Reverend James Owen Dorsey (1848-1895) was a missionary and Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist who conducted extensive research on Siouan tribes and languages.
Dorsey was born on October 31, 1848 in Baltimore, Maryland. He exhibited a talent for languages at an early age. At age 6 he learned the Hebrew alphabet and was able to read the language at age 10. In 1867 Dorsey attended the Theological Seminary of Virginia and was ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1871. In May of that year, Dorsey traveled to the Dakota Territory to serve as a missionary among the Ponca. Plagued by ill health, Dorsey was forced to end his missionary work in August 1873. By that time, however, he had learned the Ponca language well enough to converse with members of the tribe without an interpreter.
Dorsey returned to Maryland and engaged in parish work while continuing his studies of Siouan languages. His linguistic talents and knowledge of these languages attracted the attention of Major John Wesley Powell. Powell arranged for Dorsey to work among the Omaha in Nebraska from 1878 to 1880 to collect linguistic and ethnological notes. When the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) was established in 1879, Powell recruited Dorsey to join the staff.
As an ethnologist for the BAE, Dorsey continued his research on Siouan tribes. His studies focused on languages but also included Siouan personal names, folklore, social organization, religion, beliefs, and customs. He conducted fieldwork among the Tutelo at Six Nations on Grand River in Upper Canada (1882); the Kansa, Osage, and Quapaw in Indian Territory (1883-1884); the Biloxi at Lecompte, Rapides Parish, Louisiana (1892); and again with the Quapaw at the Quapaw Mission (1894). He also worked with Native Americans that visited DC, including George Bushotter (Teton), Philip Longtail (Winnebago), Samuel Fremont (Omaha), and Little Standing Buffalo (Ponca). He also spent time at Siletz Reservation in 1884 to collect linguistic notes on the Athapascan, Kusan, Takilman, and Yakonan stocks.
In addition to his research, Dorsey helped found the American Folklore Society and served as the first vice-president of the association. He also served as vice-president of Section H of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
At the age of 47, Dorsey died of typhoid fever on February 4, 1895.
Sources Consulted
1st-16th Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 1881-1897.
Hewitt, J.N.B. 1895. "James Owen Dorsey" American Anthropologist A8, 180-183.
McGee, W.J. 1895. "In Memoriam." Journal of American Folklore 8(28): 79-80.
1848
Born on October 31 in Baltimore, Maryland.
1871
Ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
1871-1873
Served as a missionary among the Ponca in Dakota Territory.
1878-1880
Conducted fieldwork among the Omaha in Nebraska.
1879
Joined the staff of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
1882
Conducted fieldwork among the Tutelo at Six Nations on Grand River in Upper Canada.
1883-1884
Conducted fieldwork among the Kansa, Osage, and Quapaw in Indian Territory.
1887
Worked with George Bushotter to record information regarding the language and culture of the Dakota.
1884
Conducted fieldwork at Siletz Reservation.
1892
Conducted fieldwork among the Biloxi at Lecompte, Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
1894
Conducted fieldwork among the Quapaw at the Quapaw Mission in Indian Territory.
1895
Died of typhoid fever on February 4th at the age of 47.
Administration
Author
Lorain Wang
Sponsor
Creation of this finding aid was funded through support from the Arcadia Fund. Digitization and preparation of additional materials for online access has been funded also by the National Science Foundation under BCS Grant No. 1561167 and the Recovering Voices initiative at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
Processing Information note
Processed by NAA Staff.
Encoded by Nancy Kennedy and Lorain Wang.
Existence and Location of Copies note
Portions of this collection have been microfilmed and digitized.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The James O. Dorsey Papers are open for research. Access to the James O. Dorsey Papers requires an appointment
Preferred Citation note
Manuscript 4800 James O. Dorsey papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
More Information
Selected Bibliography
- 1881. Omaha Sociology. 3rd Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology: 205-370.
- 1884. Siouan Folk-lore and Mythologic Notes. American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal 6: 174-176.
- 1885. On the comparative phonology of four Siouan languages. Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for 1883: 912-929.
- 1886. Migrations of Siouan tribes. American Naturalist 20(3): 211-222.
- 1888. Osage traditions. 6th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology: 373-397.
- 1889. Indians of Siletz Reservation, Oregon. American Anthropologist A2(1): 55-62.
- 1889. Ponca and Omaha Songs. The Journal of American Folklore 2(7): 271-276.
- 1889. Teton Folk-lore. American Anthropologist A2(2): 143-158.
- 1890. The Cegiha Language. Contributions to North American Ethnology 6. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
- 1890. The Gentile System of the Siletz Tribes. The Journal of American Folklore 3(10): 227-237.
- 1890 Indian Personal Names. American Anthropologist A3(3): 263-268.
- 1890. Riggs, Stephen Return. A Dakota-English Dictionary. Contributions to North American Ethnology 7. James Owen Dorsey, ed. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
- 1891 Omaha and Ponca Letters. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 11. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
- 1891. The Social Organization of the Siouan Tribes. Journal of American Folklore 4(14, 15): 257-266, 331-342.
- 1912 with John Swanton. A Dictionary of the Biloxi and Ofo languages. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 47. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office.
- 1897 Siouan Sociology. 15th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology: 205-244.
- 1892. Siouan Onomatopes. American Anthropologist A5(1): 1-8.
- 1894 A Study of Siouan Cults. 11th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology: 361-544.
Selected Bibliography
Keywords
Repository Contact
National Anthropological Archives
Museum Support Center
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
naa@si.edu
