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Cage 246
Annie Abel-Henderson
Papers, 1860-1939

Biographical Note

[From The Record: Friends of the Library, State College of Washington (Pullman, Washington), January 1948, pp. 6-7.] 

THE DOCTOR ANNIE H. ABEL HENDERSON LIBRARY AND MANUSCRIPTS

"Doctor Annie Heloise Abel Henderson [1873-1947] was undoubtedly one of the ablest women historians of her day. Honors came to her early in her career, for her doctoral dissertation on "The History of Events, Resulting in Indian Consolidation West of the Mississippi" won her the coveted Justin Winsor prize bestowed upon her by the American Historical Association in 1906.

Throughout her scholarly career native policies of the British and American governments constituted her chief but not sole interest. The Slave Holding Indians, a large three-volume tome, was published during the ten-year period 1915-1925 and is considered by most historians as her crowning achievement. One of her most interesting assignments she set for herself, however, was to track down the journal of Pierre Antoine Tabeau. In her pursuit of this treasure, she revealed all of the patience, astuteness, and penetrating powers of deduction expected only of a Sherlock Holmes or G-man. On one occasion a class in Pacific Northwest history had the good fortune to hear her tell her experiences on the trail of this significant document. Several students were so interested that they requested the opportunity to meet her later and get more of her stories about these treasure hunts. Inclined to be somewhat formal in her public appearances, she was definitely at her best in a small circle of kindred spirits.

Retirement from teaching did not stop her researches and professional work. Her book reviews were models of critical analysis. She made it a practice to trace to the original sources all statements of facts used by an author to form a conclusion. Frequently her critiques were more painstaking than those made by the author. She continued to ferret out hidden documents and manuscripts. During the last months of her life, she was working on two papers. One of these was on the subjects of "British Native Policy and the Colonization of South Australia"; the other has the title "Removal, a One-Time Phase of Canadian Indian Policy." Both the unfinished manuscripts and the transcribed copies of the source materials were sent to the State College. They will be completed and edited by members of the staff of the Department of History and sent to the proper scholarly journals for publication.

Doctor Henderson gave the State College autographed presentation copies of each of the books she published. She also made the College the beneficiary of most of her working library. Her scholarship was proof that these books were subject to continued use; the fine condition of the books attest to the great respect this scholar had for the printed page.

Although a scholar first and foremost, Doctor Henderson was an ardent protagonist of closer understanding between English speaking peoples. Her acquaintance was not merely with British and Yankee, but she knew the peoples of all of the countries which make up the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations. She shared with others the conviction that closer ties between those who upheld the Anglo Saxon traditions of liberty and freedom could well lead to their realization by all peoples of the world."

Provenance and Bibliographic Note

Gift of Judge and Mrs. W. H. Abel [ca. 1948]

Judge and Mrs. W. H. Abel, Montesano, have presented to the State College of Washington between four and five-hundred carefully selected volumes from their own private library in memory of their sister, Doctor Annie Heloise Abel Henderson. Appropriate book plates have been placed in these volumes, which are now available to the students, the faculty, and the increasing number of visitors making use of our great collection of books, newspaper files, brochures, and manuscripts. [From original Library records.]

Arrangement and Description

The Annie Abel-Henderson Papers consist of notes, letters, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and printed material relating to her scholarship on native (Indian) policies of various English-speaking countries ( Canada, Great Britain, Britain in the South Seas, and the U.S.) and other historical subjects, including Australia, New Zealand, American History, Russian History, and woman's suffrage. The time-span is chiefly the nineteenth century. An appendix following this guide lists Annie Abel Henderson holdings at The University of British Columbia Library in Vancouver. This information is unverified.

Number of Containers: 17
Linear feet of shelf space: 5

The present organization of this collection appears to reflect the state achieved after original processing. It is not possible to clearly determine when this work was done or the extent to which this arrangement reflects the original order of the collection or its re-organization by the archivist (whose name is not given in the extant records). This guide reflects the contents and arrangement of the original archival finding aid, though it was slightly expanded and revised by Manuscripts Librarian Robert N. Matuozzi in March of 2001.

  

Annie H. Abel-Henderson Papers

CONTAINER LIST

Box Folder Description
   
Miscellaneous
1 1 Correspondence with Dr. Annie H. Abel-Henderson and Miscellaneous Judge W. H. Abel re: the acquisition of the Abel Henderson collection by Washington State University.
(Provides a good summary and scope of the collection).
(Provides a good summary and scope of the collection)
  2 Reviewed and republished articles by Annie H. Abel Henderson.
  3 Correspondence re: Honor System carried on by Dr. Abel-Henderson as head of the Honors Committee at Smith College, 1916-19.
  4 New England and New Zealand and the High Water Mark of British Colonization.''
  5 Lectures re: American relations with Britain and British colonies; Western attitudes toward formation of Choctaw Indian state.
  6 Letters from Roger Casement to Foxbourne, 1894, Old Calabar, West Africa.
  7 Newspaper clippings on British and American Suffragists.
     
2  
Material re: British Native Policy
  8 Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of State (Permanent and Parliamentary) for the Colonies (list).
  9 Newspaper clippings re: England, Ireland, and Scotland.
  10 Notes re: British Native Policy in the nineteenth century.
  11 Notes re: British Native Policy in the nineteenth century.
     
Box Folder Description
     
3 12 Notes on English and Australian History.
  13 Notes taken from the Hodgkin Papers re: British native policy.
     
4  
British Native Policy in the South Seas
  14 "British Native Policy and the Colonization of South Australia," (mss).
  15 Newspaper clippings on Australian Aborigines.
  16 Personal letters re: Australian Aborigines and the formation of a model Aboriginal state in Australia.
  17 Official documents regarding missions to the New South Wales Aborigines.
  18 Transcript of "John Barton Hack Journal and Autobiographical Sketches."
  19 "Australasia: A Brief Account of its History, Its Present Condition and Its Prospects," (mss.)
  20 Notes of South Australia's policies taken from the of the South Australian Branch of the Royal Geographical Society.
     
5 21 "New Zealand¾ The Young Doninion," (mss.)
  22 Notes taken on settlement of New South Wales in Library of Early Settlers' Association of Otago.
  23 Notes and correspondence taken from the Public Records Office re: South Australia Colonisation Commission, 1836-37.
  24 "South Australia, 1840-." (mss.)
  25 Lectures re: British colonisation policy in South Pacific.
     
  26 Newspaper clipping re: Australia and New Zealand.
Box Folder Description
     
27 Notes re: Maritime Provinces; Circumstances conditioning the Annexation of Fiji; A.P.S. Second Report; "The Patriot,"; British Native Policy.
  28 Notes re: Glenelg, Normanby, Russell; Sir 1'.E. de Strzelicki; "Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land."
6 29 Notes re: J.B. Clench Letter Book, 1816-1854; Chesley Letter Book; Miscellaneous, Thunder Bay, etc.
  30 London Missionary Society¾ Australia, 1818-1838; and New South Wales, 1798-1838.
  31 Notes re: Indian Affairs; South Sea Sea Islands; Items about natives of Port Lincoln¾ report from Robert Todd to Gov. Cawler; Presents distributed at Amherstburg; Bigsby "Shoe and Canoe" I: 273-275.
     
7 32 - 37 Notebooks re: British native policy.
     
  38 - 46 Notebooks re: Australian and New Zealand history.
[Note: Item 38 missing as of 5/5/2004]
     
8 47
Canadian Indian Policy
    Copies of reports from the Canadian Commission of Indian Affairs re: Canadian Indians.
  48 "Canadian Indians," by the Dept. of Indian Affairs.
  49 Map of townships in Mifsifsaqua Indian reservation.
  50 Photostats of Canadian Indian Records, 1830-1840.
  51 "One of the Makers of Canada," a review of Narcisse E. Dionne's biography of Samuel De Champlain.
  52 "Removal, a One-Time Phase of the Canadian Indian Policy, (mss.)
Box Folder Description
     
53 Notes taken at Dominion Archives, Ottawa in preparation for "Removal, a One-Time Phase of Canadian Indian Policy."
9 54 Notes on Canadian Indian Policy.
  55 Notes from the Darling Letter Book, Napier Letter Book, and the Geo. Ironside Letter Book.
  56 Notes re: Indian Affaris¾ Montreal office; United States Indian Policy vs. Canadian Indian policy.
     
10 57 Newspaper clippings re: Canadian politics.
  58 Notes re: Indian Dept. Letter Books; Indians of Canada; Sam. P. Jarvis to C.F. Murdoch.
  59 Montauk Indians of Long Island (mss.)
  60 Notes from U.S. Indian office re: Pacific Northwest Indians, 1873-76.
  61 Notes from the records of the Office of Indian Affairs re: U.S.- Indian relations in the 1860s. Deals with the organization of territory.
11  
Unites States Indian Policy
  62 Notes on George Champlin Sibley, Indian Factor at Fort Osage.
  63 Pamphlets, notes and articles re: American Indian affairs.
     
12 65 Photostat copies of (U.S. Indian agent Cass Letter Books, 1819-21. (Remarks of Ramsey Crooks to Gov. L. Cass.)
  66 "Notes on Stubb's charters and documents. "; The Curia Regis in Relation to the Parliament and the law courts (chart); Map Showing Fort McCullough.
  67 Notes re: Indians in Kansas.
Box Folder Description
     
68 "To the President of the United States from the Delaware Indians," January 14, l904.
  69 "The Policy of the Spanish government Toward the Indians," (mss.)
  70 Notes re: the Delaware Indians in the American Revolution.
  71 Notes re: Iowa Land Grants, Roleffe road.
  72 Notes from Geo. C. Sibley Papers.
  73 Newspaper clippings re: Indians.
  74 Newspaper clipping re: Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
  75 Notes on U.S. Indian Policy.
     
13 76 - 77 Notes on American History.
     
14 78 Notes on American History.
  79 "A Protestant Missionary Bishop: Rt. Rev. Geo. K. Dunlop, S.T.D. Bishop of New Mexico and Arizona, 1880-1886 (journal article).
  80 Newspaper clippings re: Custer; Audubon.
  81 Clippings, reprints, etc. re: U.S. History; Slavery; Philippines; the Treaty of Ghent.
  82 Newspaper clippings re: Jason Lee.
     
15 83 Notes from a Constitutional History course under Geo. Burton Adams.
  84 Notes from an American Colonial History course under Dr. E. G. Boure.
Box Folder Description
     
85 Notes from an American National History course under Dr. E. G. Boure.
  86 Notes on the Russian Revolution.
16 87 - 88 Notes on the Russian Revolution.
     
17 89 - 90 Transcripts, Calif. Files, U.S. Indian Affairs, 1849-52.
  91 - 92 Transcripts, Calif. Files, U.S. Indian Affairs, 1853-59.
  93 - 94 Transcripts, Calif. Files, U.S. Indian Affairs, 1860-72.
with notes for 1875-76.
     
     

Appendix to Cage 246
Annie Abel Henderson
Papers, 1823-1934
In the University of British Columbia Library, Vancouver
Approximately 6ft.

1. Testimony of Col. 11. B. Carrington, regarding Sioux outbreak, Red Cloud., etc. 1866.
2. Notes of Col. Homer W. Wheeler, in "Buffalo Days".
3. Notes made on June 1924, from newspapers on file at Olympia, regarding early Indian affairs in Washington.
4. Material relating to B.L.E. Bonneville and Washington Indian affairs.
5. Notes from secondary sources regarding Indian affairs in Old Oregon.
6. Notes on Russian American - Hudson Bay Relations.
7. Copies of a series of letters on the colored population in Canada.
8. Copies of letters regarding slave labor and trade, Indian laborers, etc.
1833-34, 1840-45
1846-54
1865-93
1926, undated
9. Report on Trinidad made by the Rev. J. M. Trew, July 1837 to the Trustees of the Mico Charity.
10. Carbon copy of a portion of the Sturge Journal, pages 2-25.
11. Proposed testimonial to John Scoble on retiring from the British Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.
12. Copy of the title page of a tract in Anti-Slavery Tracts, 1840, re: Hill Coolies.
13. Reprint from The Times, Wednesday, August 1, 1934. "This Freedom".
14. Leaflet. Slavery. Abyssinia-Sudan. Letter from Sir Austen Chamberlain to the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society.
15. Copies of Anti-Slavery documents 1823-1833.
16. Newspaper clippings regarding slavery.
17. British & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Notes from Minute Books.
18. Rev. William Knibb's speech. Proceedings of the public meeting held in Exeter-Hall, May 22, 1840.
19. A statement of facts illustrating the administration of the abolition law, and the sufferings of the Negro apprentices in the Island of Jamaica. London, 1837.
20. Miscellaneous newspaper clippings, articles, etc.
21. Index cards and notes.