Guide to the Martin W. Gorman Papers
1872-1929

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Overview of the Collection

Creator: Gorman, Martin W.
Title: Martin W. Gorman Papers
Dates: 1872-1929 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 1.5 linear feet (3 containers)
Collection Number: Coll. 169
Summary: Martin W. Gorman (1853-1926) was a leading authority on the flora of the Northwest, especially trees. He traveled to the Yukon several times and did much botanical work in the Pacific Northwest. He is credited with discovering at least ten species new to science. Some of the specimens he gathered are in the Smithsonian Institution and at the University of Oregon Herbarium in Portland. Gorman's private herbarium was received by the University of Oregon in Eugene after his death. The selected papers of Martin W. Gorman consist of correspondence, journals, annotated plant lists and reports, published articles, and collected printed material used primarily in his work. Documenting his botanical studies, the journals and plant lists span Gorman's career from its inception through the last years of his life. Gorman's published articles and various other materials complete the collection.
Repository: University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives

1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1299
URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html

Languages: Collection materials are in English. 
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Note

Martin W. Gorman, the son of Peter and Mary Gorman, was born on a farm near the town of Eaganville, Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada, on November 23, 1853. He attended McGill College in Montreal in 1876 and later worked as a bookkeeper for a wholesale hardware store in Montreal. In February 1885 Gorman moved to Portland, Oregon where he was employed as a bookkeeper in a bank. In a letter to his brother John, in 1892, Gorman wrote that he was studying botany. He made his first journey to the Yukon in 1893, on behalf of a Portland bank which had backed salmon canneries. While there he gathered several boxes of plant specimens.

Gorman traveled to the Yukon several times, with various expeditions, and also did much botanical work in the Pacific Northwest, becoming a leading authority on the flora of the Northwest, especially trees. Some of the specimens he gathered wound up in the Smithsonian Institution and at the University of Oregon Herbarium in Portland. He is credited with discovering at least ten species new to science.

During the summers Gorman made collecting trips to all parts of Oregon and Washington. From findings he made as a member of an expedition on Mount Baker in 1906, he later published a booklet entitled Vegetation of the Northwestern Slope of Mount Baker.

At the close of the Lewis & Clark Exposition, Gorman was appointed curator of the Oregon Forestry Building, a position he held until his death in Portland, Oregon, on October 7, 1926. Gorman's private herbarium was received by the University of Oregon in Eugene after his death.

Content Description

The papers of Martin W. Gorman consist of correspondence, journals, annotated plant lists and reports, published articles, and collected printed material used primarily in his work. Documenting his botanical studies, the journals and plant lists span Gorman's career from its inception through the last years of his life. These are arranged in chronological order. The plant lists and reports Gorman compiled are filed by geographic region or state and alphabetically within each section. Gorman's published articles and various other materials complete the collection. Several photographs have been removed and transferred to the Photograph Collection.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room

Restrictions on Use :  

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation :  

[Identification of item], Martin W. Gorman Papers, Coll. 169, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Collection is organized into the following series: Correspondence; Journals and Plant Lists; Plant Lists and Reports grouped by geographic area; Published Articles by Gorman; and Miscellaneous

Separated Materials :  

Several photographs in this collection are stored separately under call number PH170.


Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Copy of inventory
Container(s)
box
folder
1 1

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Correspondence
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 2 Correspondence; address book 1897-1929

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Journals and Plant Lists
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 3 1872-1874
1 4 1885-1886
1 5 1889
1 6 1890
1 7 1892
1 8 1893
1 9 1894
1 10 1895
1 11 1896
1 12 1897
1 13 December 1898-March 1899
2 1 May 1899-July 21, 1899
2 2 July 22, 1899-December 1, 1899
2 3 1902
2 4 1903
2 5 1904-1906
2 6 1909-1916
2 7 1922-1923

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Plant Lists and Reports Divided Geographically
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Oregon and Pacific Northwest
Box
Folder
3 1 Food Plants of the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest; Important Events in the History of Oregon; List of Native Oregon Plants Suitable for Cultivation; List of Plants Collected on Crater Lake Trip, Aug. 13-25, 1886; List of Plants Used as Greens or Salads; List of Shrubs and Undershrubs of Oregon; List of Shrubs Growing in the Vicinity of Portland
3 2 List of plants in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon August 13, 1886-August 25, 1886
Alaska
Box
Folder
3 3 The Flora of Southeastern Alaska; Ice Cliffs on White River, Yukon Territory; List of Plants collected in the Yukon Valley, April 24-Sept. 20, 1899; Report on a Botanical Survey of the Lake Iliamna Region During the Summer of 1902 April 24, 1899-September 20, 1899; 1902
Washington
Box
Folder
3 4 The Flora of Mt. Adams; List of Plants Collected on Mt. Baker, July 27-Aug 9, 1906; Report on the Vegetation of the Washington Forest Reserve July 27, 1906-August 9, 1906

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Published Articles by Gorman
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
3 5 "Economic Botany of S.E. Alaska." Pittonia. San Francisco: Payot Upham & Co., June 1896; "Forest Resources of Oregon." Appendix to the Report of the State Board of Horticulture (n.p., n.d.); "Vegetation of the Northeast Slope of Mount Baker." Portland, Oregon (n.d.) 1896

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Miscellaneous
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
3 6 Family nomenclature
3 7 Wallowa Lake auto trip 1918
3 8 Mazamas
3 9 Collected printed material

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Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

  • Personal Names :
  • Gorman, Martin W., 1853-1926--Archives.
  • Corporate Names :
  • Mazamas (Portland, Or.)
  • Subject Terms :
  • Botanists--Northwest, Pacific
  • Botany--Northwest, Pacific
  • Trees--Northwest, Pacific--Identification
  • Form or Genre Terms :
  • Photoprints

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