Guide to the Welborn Beeson Papers
1848-1893

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Table of Contents
  Overview of the Collection
   
  Biographical Note
   
  Content Description
   
Use of the Collection
   
Administrative Information
   
Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Inventory

 

Diaries

 

Expenses and Accounts

  Subjects

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Beeson, Welborn, 1836-1893
Title: Welborn Beeson Papers
Dates: 1848-1893 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 2 linear feet (4 containers)
Collection Number: Ax 799
Summary: Welborn Beeson was a farmer in Jackson County, Oregon during the late 1800s. The Beeson family came overland to Oregon in 1853, settling in Jackson County along Wagner Creek. In 1851, when Welborn Beeson was fifteen years old, he began to keep a diary and continued to do so until his death in 1893. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Beeson returned to farm in Jackson County, and was active in politics and in the social life of the area. The collection includes diaries, 1891-1893, and account books, 1848-1893.
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 written in English. 
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Note

Welborn Beeson was born in LaSalle County, Illinois in 1836 to parents John and Ann Beeson. The family came overland to Oregon in 1853, settling in Jackson County along Wagner Creek. Welborn Beeson later built a school on the property. He married Mary Katharine Brophy and had seven children. As the Civil War began, Beeson joined the Union Army. After the war, Beeson returned and continued to farm the Jackson County land.

Welborn Beeson kept a diary from 1851 until his death in 1893. He was a farmer, active in politics and in the social life of the area. Beeson was buried in Sterns Cemetery located near the Beeson farm.

Source: Kimball, Violet T. Stories of Young Pioneers in Their Own Words. Missoula Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 2000.

Content Description

The collection includes diaries, 1891-1893. A diary (September 19, 1859–December 29, 1860) of Charles J. Cummings is also included. The diaries are both descriptive and contemplative. They have additional importance because of their references to Beeson’s father, John Beeson, author of Plea for the Indians (NY: 1857).

There are two imprecise transcripts of the earlier diaries. Version 1 contains a transcription of the 1851–1859 diaries, plus the entry for February 5, 1893. Version 2 contains a transcription of the 1851–1856 diaries.

Also found in the collection are account books, 1848–1893, including an account of the game killed by Beeson in the years 1848–1856.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

Collection is open to the public.

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

Preferred Citation :  

[Identification of item], Welborn Beeson Papers, Ax 799, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Collection is organized into the following series: Diaries; and Expenses and Accounts.

Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Inventory
Container(s)
box
folder
1 1

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Diaries, 1852-1893
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 2 Diaries April 1852-June 1852
1 3 Diaries February 1854-December 1854
1 4 Diaries January 1855-June 1855; March 24, 1855-April 20, 1855
1 5 Diaries 1856
1 6 Diaries June 18-August 30 (year not given)
1 7 Transcripts of Diaries, Version 1 1851-1855
1 8 Transcripts of Diaries, Version 1 1857-1859; also entry for 1893, February 5
1 9 Transcripts of Diaries, Version 2 1851-1853
1 10 Transcripts of Diaries, Version 2 1854-1856
2 Diaries July 22, 1851-August 28, 1851; July 13, 1852-June 16, 1853
2 Diaries July 22, 1851-December 31, 1853 (copy)
2 Diaries 1857; January 1858-July 1858; February 5, 1893
2 Diaries 1858
2 Diaries July 22, 1859-December 31, 1859
2 Diaries September 19, 1859-December 29, 1860
2 Diaries 1860
2 Diaries February 1, 1853-March 2, 1853 (copy); September 11, 1859 (note); January 1, 1861-February 3, 1862
3 Diaries February 1862-September 1862
3 Diaries October 1862-1863
3 Diaries April 1864-March 1866
3 Diaries 1865
3 Diaries March 1866-February 1868
3 Diaries March 1868-1870
3 Diaries June 9, 1872-December 31, 1882
3 Diaries 1878
3 Diaries 1879
4 1 Account of game killed by Welborn Beeson 1848-1856
4 Diaries 1880
4 Diaries 1881
4 Diaries 1882
4 Diaries 1883
4 Diaries 1884
4 Diaries 1885
4 Diaries 1886
4 Diaries 1887
4 Diaries 1888
4 Diaries 1889
4 Diaries January 1, 1891-July 11, 1891
4 Diaries July 12, 1891-December 31, 1891
4 Diaries 1892-March 2, 1893
4 Diaries January 1893-March 1893
4 Diaries No year, June 18-August

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Expenses and Accounts,   (bulk 1858-1893)
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
4 Expenses 1858-1859
4 Expenses 1861
4 Accounts 1862-1863
4 Accounts 1866-1867
4 Accounts 1891-1893

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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 :
  • Beeson, Welborn, 1836-1893--Archives.  ( creator)
  • Subject Terms :
  • Jackson County (Or.)
  • Oregon National Historic Trail
  • Oregon--History--To 1859
  • Overland journeys to the Pacific
  • Pioneers--West (U.S.)--Diaries
  • Form or Genre Terms :
  • Diaries
  • Journals (accounts)

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    Finding aid prepared by Vida Germano
    ©2004