Guide to the George Allan Dyson Papers
1861–1931

Print this Finding Aid | Email this Finding Aid

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Dyson, George Allan
Title: George Allan Dyson Papers
Dates: 1861–1931 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 1.5 linear feet (1 container)
Collection Number: Ax 244
Summary: George Allan Dyson was born in England in 1843 and his family moved to the United States soon after. In 1861 Dyson sailed to California to work in the gold mines. A few years later he moved to Brownsville, Oregon and established the town’s first newspaper, the Brownsville Advertiser, in 1878. Dyson mined in central Idaho in the 1880s, and moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1899, where he worked as a tinsmith until his death in 1935. The collection consists of diaries, letters, ledgers, manuscripts and an autobiography.
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

George Allan Dyson was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, in 1843 and came to the United States around 1845. In 1861, he went to California, via Panama, and worked in San Francisco, St. Helena, California, and Gold Hill, Nevada, as a tinsmith and gold miner. He returned to the Midwest in 1869, but came west again in 1874, this time to Brownsville, Oregon. He established the town’s first newspaper, the Brownsville Advertiser, in 1878, mined in central Idaho in the 1880s, and moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1899, where he resumed his trade as a tinsmith.

Content Description

The George Allan Dyson Papers consist of diaries for 1861-1866, 1868-1870, 1908, 1919, and 1931, a letterbook containing copies of letters sent from Virginia City, Nevada, in 1867, and descriptive essays about Virginia City, and two ledgers, 1892-1893, 1905-1924. Among letters received are fifty-five from Fannie L. Chapman, 1868-1870, written from Black Earth, Wisconsin, Bellvue, Nebraska, Paradise, California, and St. Helena, California. Unpublished manuscripts include a fifty-two-page autobiography titled “Geoffrey Dayton,” and essays on mining days in Nevada. Business records include maps, reports, and descriptions of the Lucky Boy Mine, Gold Hill, Oregon, and other mine papers.

There are four manuscript periodicals in the collection, all edited by Dyson: The Star of Hope (volume 1, number 1, March 3, 1865, published by the New Year and Good Hope lodges, Independent Order Good Templars, St. Helena, California); The Templars Gazette (volume 1, number 1, March 3, 1876, published by Brownsville Lodge No. 250, I. O. G. T.); The Temperance Banner (volume 1, number 1, February 1, 1881, published by the Brownsville Blue Ribbon Club, with printed cover); The Temperance Star (n.p., n.d.).

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], George Allan Dyson Papers, Ax 244, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Collection is organized into the following series: Diaries; Diaries and notebooks; Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and business papers.


Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Diaries
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 1 1902-1916
1 1 1865
1 1 1864
1 1 1864
1 1 1869
1 1 1865
1 1 1866
1 1 1870

^ Return to Top

Diaries and notebooks
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 2 1868
1 2 Notebook 1908
1 2 Diary 1865
1 2 Notebook 1885-1924
1 2 Notebook 1882
1 2 Notebook 1863
1 2 Time book 1896
1 2 Diary 1931
1 2 Diary 1919

^ Return to Top

Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and business Papers
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 3 Copy book
1 4 Articles and essays
1 5 Letters sent
1 6 Personal miscellany
1 7 Letters received, miscellaneous
1 8 Letters received, Chapman family
1 9 Miscellaneous newspapers
1 10 Ophir Mining Company
1 11 Printed material
1 12 Lucky Boy Mine
1 13 Photographs
1 14 Independent Order Good Templars Papers
1 15 Clippings
Volume
1 1 Ledger 1891-1893

^ Return to Top

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 :
  • Chapman, Fannie L.--Correspondence
  • Dyson, George Allan, 1843-1935--Archives
  • Subject Terms :
  • Gold miners--West (U.S.)
  • Gold mines and mining--Nevada
  • Tinsmiths--West (U.S.)
  • Geographical Names :
  • Lucky Boy Mine (Gold Hill, Or.)
  • Virginia City (Nev.)
  • Titles within the Collection :
  • Star of hope (Saint Helena, Calif.)
  • Temperance banner
  • Temperance star
  • Templars gazette
  • Form or Genre Terms :
  • Diaries
  • Manuscripts for publication

    ^ Return to Top