Guide to the Isom Cranfill Papers
1847–1903

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Overview of the Collection

Creator: Cranfill, Isom
Title: Isom Cranfill Papers
Dates: 1847–1903 ( inclusive )
Quantity: .5 linear feet (1 container)
Collection Number: Ax 127
Summary: Isom Cranfill lived in various areas of Oregon, working as a cabinetmaker, farmer, and itinerant preacher. He was justice of the peace in Clackamas County in 1848 and ran a general store in Oregon City from 1849-1850. The collection consists mainly of diaries: 1847, 1860, and 1863–1877 (16 volumes). The 1847 diary is an account of his overland journey and the others are a record of daily activities in Oregon.
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

Isom Cranfill was a minister in the Regular Predestinarian Baptist Church. He was born in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee and Illinois before coming overland to Oregon in 1847. He was justice of the peace in Clackamas County in 1848 and ran a general store in Oregon City, from 1849-1850. Cranfill later moved to Peoria, Albany, Roseburg, Lookingglass, and Eugene, working as a cabinetmaker, farmer, and itinerant preacher.

Content Description

The collection consists mainly of diaries: 1847, 1860, and 1863–1877 (16 volumes). The 1847 diary is an account of his overland journey and the others are a record of daily activities in Oregon. In 1870, Cranfill was charged with doctrinal and polity irregularities by the Mount Zion Church in Roseburg. A copy of the charge, and Cranfill’s reply, are included in the collection. In connection with this incident, Cranfill edited and published three numbers (volume 1, number 1, February 1870; volume 1, number 2, July 1870; volume 1, number 3, May 1872) of Zion’s Messenger (Portland and Roseburg, 1870-1872). These have been removed to the Oregon Collection (286.405 Z67). The collection also includes financial materials; 9 issues of Signs of the Times, 1897–1903; and two account books.

Several works are based on the Isom Cranfill papers, including: Miller, Clifford R. Baptist Beginnings in Oregon (Ph. D., History, University of Oregon, 1955) and Warden, Albert T. Baptists in Oregon (Portland, 1969).

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], Isom Cranfill Papers, Ax 127, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

Collection is organized into the following six series: Diaries; Charge and Defense; Financial Materials; Volumes; Miscellaneous; Account Books.

Separated Materials :  

Cranfill edited and published three numbers (volume 1, number 1, February 1870; volume 1, number 2, July 1870; volume 1, number 3, May 1872) of Zion’s Messenger (Portland and Roseburg, 1870-1872). These have been removed to the Oregon Collection (286.405 Z67).


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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Series I:  Diaries
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 2 Overland journey account, original and typescript 1847
1 2 Diaries
16 volumes
1860; 1863–1877

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Series II:  Charge and Defense
Container(s)

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Series III:  Financial Materials
Container(s)

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Series IV:  Volumes
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box
Folder
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 65, no. 10 May 15, 1897
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 65, no. 15 August 1, 1897
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 65, no. 19 October 1, 1897
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 66, no. 12 June 15, 1898
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 67, no. 5 March 1, 1899
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 70, no. 24 December 15, 1902
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 71, no. 1 January 1, 1903
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 71, no. 2 January 15, 1903
1 5 Signs of the Times; Devoted to the Old School Baptist Cause, Vol. 71, no. 3 February 1, 1903

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Series V:  Miscellaneous
Container(s)

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Series VI:  Account Books
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Volume
1 Account of a general store, Oregon City, Oregon 1852–1873
2 Accounts 1852-1855

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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 :
  • Cranfill, Isom--Archives  ( creator)
  • Subject Terms :
  • Overland journeys to the Pacific
  • Pioneers--West (U.S.)--Diaries
  • Primitive Baptists
  • Primitive Baptists--Oregon
  • Subject Terms :
  • Oregon National Historic Trail
  • Oregon--History--1859-
  • Oregon--History--to 1859

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