Items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). Requests to publish should be arranged with the University of Minnesota Archives.
Bell Museum of Natural History records, University Archives, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
The collection was deposited in University Archives by the Bell Museum of Natural History.
The papers are arranged into 19 series:
The records of the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History cover the period 1872-1948 but center around the period 1915-1946 when Dr. Thomas Sadler Roberts served as the Museum's Director. In addition to the departmental records, the collection also includes many of Dr. Roberts’ personal papers except for several of his diaries which are held by the Minnesota Historical Society. The collection also contains diaries and manuscripts of people not officially connected with the Museum but who contributed information regarding the natural history of Minnesota. Because of the continuity of subject matter and correspondents, it was decided that the personal papers would not be separated form the departmental records.
The Bell Museum of Natural History had its roots in the formation of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey organized in 1872. A museum was mentioned in the original plans but no formal action was taken until 1875 when Newton Horace Winchell, Survey Director, brought up the subject in his annual report. As a result, quarters were allotted to the Museum collection in Old Main where the material remained until 1889. At this time the collection was moved to the newly built Pillsbury Hall.
Professor Winchell was Director of the Museum from 1872 to 1889. In 1890 the survey was separated into three divisions: Geological, Zoological and Botanical. The Museum collection was also divided, the zoological material falling under the direction of Henry Nachtrieb. The work of the Zoological Survey came to a halt in 1903 when the funds from the sale of state lands, which had been the Survey’s financial support, ran out.
The Museum continued to exist but no material was added to it except by gift, with the exceptions of the purchase of the Albert Lano collection of bird-skins in 1912. On May 6, 1915 Thomas Sadler Roberts was appointed Associate Curator of the Zoological Museum and Professor of Ornithology in the Department of Animal Biology. Henry Nachtrieb remained Director until 1919 when Dr. Roberts assumed the full directorship.
In 1916 the Zoological Museum was moved to the Animal Biology Building (later named the Zoology Building and razed in 1994) where it remained until 1939 when the Museum of Natural History was built. The Zoological Museum was a separate unit of the University of Minnesota. Its only tie with a college or department was through the Ornithology class, established in 1916, which was offered through the Department of Animal Biology. After 1903 when no more money was received from the state the Museum was financed largely by donations and a small supply fund maintained by the University. On December 9, 1919 a conference was held in President Burton’s office, as a result of which the Museum, for the first time, was given a budget for maintenance and staff salaries. Possibly as a result of this recognition, Dr. Roberts was able to have William Kilgore appointed Curator of the Zoological Museum in 1921.
The Museum is referred to in the University President’s reports as the Zoological Museum of the Zoological Survey until 1928 when the name was changed to Museum of Natural History. In 1967 it was renamed the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History to honor James Ford Bell who was one of the Museum’s greatest benefactors.
Thomas Sadler Roberts remained as Director of the Museum until his
death in 1946. His successor was Walter J. Breckenridge who had been on the
Museum staff since 1926. William Kilgore retired two years after Roberts’
death. A more detailed history of the Museum can be found in T.S. Roberts’
Thomas Sadler Roberts brought to the Directorship of the Museum a great knowledge of the natural history of Minnesota. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1858, the son of John Roberts. His family moved to Minnesota in 1867 hoping to find a healthful climate for the elder Roberts who was suffering from tuberculosis. John Roberts recovered from his illness and was able to guide his son in his first studies of natural history, a subject in which he himself was vitally interested. In 1875 Roberts and some of his friends formed a club which they named the Young Naturalists’ Society. This club lasted for four years then broke up because of the dispersal of its members.
In 1877 Roberts attended the University of Minnesota but was forced to withdraw in his second year due to ill health. He spent four years in the field as a surveyor in the land department of Northern Pacific Railroad, then returned to the University and graduated in 1881. He attended Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania receiving his medical degree in 1885. After interning in Philadelphia, Dr. Roberts returned to Minneapolis and started a general practice. He retired from active practice in 1915. In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Roberts had been appointed Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota in 1901. In 1906 he became Clinical Professor a post he held until 1913 when he retired from teaching medicine as Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Roberts’ contact with the Museum began long before his appointment in 1915. He had written several reports on birds and botany, which appear in the reports of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey. When P.L. Hatch, who had been State Ornithologist since 1876, left his post in 1892 or 1893, Roberts more or less took over the direction of research in this area under Henry Nachtrieb, the State Zoologist. Whether or not he was ever officially appointed State ornithologist is uncertain but from 1893 to 1898 he used the title while directing a survey of the birds of Minnesota.
Through his direction and influence, Dr. Roberts was able to bring the
Museum from its inactive state of 1915 to an active and respected institution
of research and public education. His acquaintance with many of the area’s
wealthy citizens, especially James Ford Bell, was an important factor in the
solicitation of donations, which enabled the Museum to carry on some its more
ambitious projects. The Museum’s relations with other natural history museums
and institutions was greatly enhanced by Dr. Roberts’ friendships with many of
the better known naturalists of the day. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment,
however, is his monumental
Two excellent biographical articles of Dr. Roberts have been written.
The first of them was part of a series entitled “Among Those We Know” by Harry
Woodworth which appeared in the
The Minnesota Historical Society contains the Thomas S. Roberts and family papers, 1857-1947. The papers include diaries, correspondence, and other papers of Roberts, ornithologist, physician, and director of the Minnesota Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. Thomas S. Roberts' diaries (1925-1946) briefly note appointments, lectures, the weather, and his health. Letters to Roberts by Nathan Butler, George Bird Grinnell, Alfred J. Hill, and others contain information on Indian mounds, natural history, and archaeology. Other correspondents were Franklin Benner who first taught Thomas how to collect and prepare bird skins, Cyrus Chamberlain, and E. S. Hall.
Henry Francis Nachtrieb papers
University Archives holds two additional collections regarding the Bell Museum of Natural History that have not been processed (877; 879).
In 1979 two portraits of T. S. Roberts received with the collection were transferred to the University Gallery (now the Weisman Art Museum).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following is a detailed list of the materials in the collection.
This series consists of miscellaneous correspondence and manuscripts of the Zoological Survey Division of the Survey. Much of the correspondence is directed to Henry Nachtrieb, State Zoologist, P.L. Hatch, State Ornithologist, and Dr. Roberts. It concerns fieldwork and publications mainly. The bird correspondence after 1892 is addressed to Roberts or forwarded to him for answering by Prof. Nachtrieb. Much of it concerns a survey of Minnesota birds Dr. Roberts was making from 1893-1898. Supplementing the survey correspondence are six volumes of notebooks to which were appended American Ornithologists; Union checklists of birds. They were sent to selected people to be filled in and returned to the Survey. The results of the survey were never published probably because of the lack of funds after 1903.
The manuscripts include the final draft for P.L. Hatch’s Notes on
the
with Henry Nachtrieb, State Zoologist, and other Survey staff. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Natural History Survey field work, collections and publications. Correspondents include C.L. Herrick and P.L. Hatch.
Published as the Survey's Zoological Series no.1, in 1892.
T.S. Roberts, State Ornithologist, consisting of a bound volume of outgoing correspondence for 1893 (nearly illegible) and six volumes of notes prepared in 1898 by Herbert Armstrong, Clinton J. Cooke, A. Hewitt, Thomas Miller, Whitman Harrison and Oscar B. Warren.
Fragmentary manuscript of an unpublished report by T.S. Roberts and Henry Nachtrieb.
Dr. Roberts kept a diary on almost a day to day basis from 1874 to 1884. These dates cover the period from his late teens to his first two years in the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. After this period the diaries become less personal being mainly journals and notes on birds, plants, photographs, and the weather, made on various trips taken in Minnesota. These diaries cover the period 1886 to 1930. The Minnesota Historical Society also holds some of Dr. Roberts’ diaries and notebooks for the period 1925-1946.
In the winter of 1914 Dr. Roberts was persuaded to take a vacation in Florida in the company of the James S. Bell family. While on the trip, which was mainly by yacht, Dr. Roberts kept a day-to-day journal and collected picture postcards. The journal and the postcards paint an interesting picture of Florida and the keys at that time.
Many of Dr. Roberts’ diaries cover vacations, which he and his family took in Itasca Park. They contain much information on the natural history of the area. On many of his later trips, after 1915, the Roberts family was accompanied by various members of the Museum staff. In addition to the diaries there are several of Robert’s notebooks among which are the catalog of his bird-skin and egg collections. Both of these collections became Museum property.
Though not specifically belonging to this series, some miscellaneous Roberts memorabilia has been included: a folder of Christmas cards many of which are original art work by F.L. Jaques and W.J. Breckenridge and a folder of Miscellaneous commencement invitations, reports cards, certificates of registration for the University of Minnesota, and rent records of John Roberts.
Includes diary entries.
Contains, in addition to diary entries, an undated flora list; Roberts' financial accounts, September 1875 - March 1876; an undated constitution of the Philogian Society of the Washington School, Minneapolis, Minnesota; a general spring record of birds, 1876; Flora of Minnesota, ca. 1877.
One ledger-style notebook containing the treasurer's book of Co. A, 2nd Regt. MWG Minneapolis, S.G. Roberts; a list of captains in their order and time served, George H. Morgan, 1871; Account record of T.S. Roberts for Oct. 1876; Spring record fr 1877 and general notes; fish of Minnesota, and "some remarks on the natural history of the country about Fort Ripley, Minnesota" by J.F Head, Surgeon, U.S. Army, from Smith. Report for 1854, p. 291; Spring record of 1879. filed in Folder 21a.
Diary kept during a visit East in the summer of 1876. Contains Roberts' views of the U.S. Centennial; and a diary of a trip to Northern Minnesota and North Dakota, August 24-29, 1877.
Oversize ledger book stored with other oversize items in map case.
Diary and notes. See also F. Benner's account of the same trip in folder 455.
Roberts accompanied Professor C.W. Hall of the University of Minnesota and Professor Neihtbrat of the St. Paul High School. In two volumes one containing the narrative, the other the notes.
Accounts of a land examining trip to Northern Minnesota made when Roberts was working for Northern Pacific Railroad.
Account of a land examining experiences in the Anoka area with party which included Henry Nachtrieb.
Land examining experiences in the St. Cloud and Crookston areas.
Early medical school experiences in Philadelphia.
Land examining experiences in North Dakota and medical school experiences in Philadelphia.
Scattering of diary entries and an 1878 financial account of property owned by Elizabeth Roberts.
Bird notes.
Contains also lists of birds seen on a trip down the Mississippi River in June, 1898.
Trip was taken in company with Leslie O. Dart. The journal also contains miscellaneous notes from 1903.
Notes on subject, meter readings, etc.
Three volumes. Roberts was accompanied by Leslie O. Dart, Dr. Thomas Lee, and E.L. Brown.
Three volumes of notes. The 1901 notes were partly kept by Mabel Densmore under Roberts' supervision.
Notes, bird lists, and a typewritten copy of the notes entitled "Itasca Park bird notes".
Contains a description and plant list of Gull Rock.
Memorabilia and several letters from Mrs. Roberts.
Contains diaries, original and typed copies; photographs; and used and unused picture postcards of Florida scenes. Roberts accompanied the Bell family of Minneapolis.
Contains journal, notes, report (typed version incomplete), brochures, maps and postcards.
Roberts was accompanied by Jenness Richardson
Roberts was accompanied by William Kilgore on the Cass Lake trip and by Jenness Richardson on the Lake of the Woods trip.
Diary and bird lists. Roberts was accompanied by his family and Jenness Richardson.
Also contains an account of a Mille Lacs Lake trip taken October 4-8, 1927
Diary and lists. Roberts was accompanied by Harry C. Oberholser and Jenness Richardson.
Bird lists and notes.
The 1919 portion contains bird notes. Roberts was accompanied on the 1920 trip by Mrs. Roberts and William Kilgore.
Bird and weather notes. The July 31 and August 1 entries are for an Itasca Park trip.
Roberts was accompanied by Mrs. Roberts and John Nordquist, the family chauffeur. They were later joined by William Kilgore.
Bird and weather records.
Bird and weather notes.
Roberts was accompanied by William Kilgore, J.N.L. Huff and John Nordquist.
Also contains some notes on short summer trips.
Plant list for Burntside Lake, journal of trip to Pipestone, October 6-October 11, 1925. The Pipestone trip was made for the purpose of collecting background material for the Museum's Pipestone group. Roberts was accompanied by R. Bruce Horsfell, William Kilgore, and John Nordquist.
Consists of picture postcards of Pipestone quarries, and newspaper clippings collected for the Pipestone group.
Party consisted of Roberts, William Kilgore, and W.J. Breckinridge.
The covers of this volume were removed because of their poor condition. The constitution and membership records of the Young Naturalist Society found here were placed in folders 92 and 93.
Contains records of bird watchers statewide.
Presented to Roberts by his sister, Emma, on December 25, 1879. Roberts used the volume as a subject index for the books and magazines he read.
This and the proceeding volume serve as catalogs of Roberts' collection.
Many of these cards are from artists as F.L. Jaques and G.M. Sutton. As many of them are undated, they are arranged alphabetically by sender.
Letter written to Roberts' father, John, asking his assistance
in nominating a man for the U.S. Presidency (undated, but written in
Pennsylvania); Burns'
Roberts' bookplates and printing block from which the bookplates were made. Filed in Folder 91.
Roberts and several of his friends organized this club while in their late teens. Among the members besides Roberts, were two other boys who were to become fairly notable naturalists in their own rights. They were Robert S. Williams and Clarence Herrick. The former became one of the world’s foremost experts on the mosses, the latter organized and became the first president of the University of New Mexico.
The boys formed committees to study assigned branches of natural history and gave reports on their findings. A number of these reports as well as the minutes of the meetings and various other official papers appear in the collection.
In 1939 C. Judson Herrick, a brother of Clarence Herrick, became interested in the Young Naturalists’ Society and, after a considerable amount of correspondence with Dr. Roberts, wrote three articles about the organization which were published in the Scientific Monthly in 1942. These articles, which are included in this series, give an excellent history of the club and it’s members.
list of standing committees, 1875; attendance records, 1876-1878.
Includes drawings of a calf and Rotifers probably done by Clarence Herrick.
One volume, the arrangement based on Gary's
"Scientific pioneering in the Middle West." January, 1942. "The Young Naturalists' Society." March, 1942. "Incubation stages of scientific investigation." April, 1942. Correspondence concerning these articles may be found in the Museum of Natural History correspondence for 1939-1942.
This correspondence forms the most personal part of the collection. Its subject content is completely divorced from any mention of natural history. It consists of incoming letters from Dr. Roberts’ patients, family, and tenants. It shows the type of medical practice he had, his relations with his patients, and what type of landlord he was (the Roberts family owned a few family residences in Minneapolis).
There is an insignificant amount of family correspondence. Most of it is from Dr. Roberts’ brother, Walter, who was employed by a lumber firm in Wisconsin at the time. No correspondence was found for the years 1901, 1902 and 1904.
Because of the unchanging nature of the subjects and correspondents over the years no folder breakdown has been made. For general description of contents and arrangements see section 4 in narrative.
This series comprises Dr. Roberts’ correspondence on natural history in general and on birds in particular from 1872 to 1915. There is no great change in the subject matter during these years, only in the bulk of the correspondence and number of correspondents.
Dr. Roberts arranged all of his correspondence alphabetically within the year and this arrangement has been maintained for this series and the succeeding series. Outgoing correspondence, which does not occur until 1915, has been filed chronologically at the end of the alphabetical section.
In the correspondence for 1879 and 1880 there are letters from such men as Edward Driniker Cope, the paleontologist; Elliot Coues, the ornithologist; and Asa Gray, the botanist, all of whom were pioneers in their fields. Regular correspondents include J.C. Hvoslef, Rev. P.B. Peabody, Thomas Miller, and Wells W. Cooke, local amateur naturalists; and William Dutcher, T. Gilbert Pearson and Frank M. Chapman who were professional naturalists. After May 15, 1915 all correspondence came out of the Museum of Natural History.
Because of the unchanging nature of the subjects and correspondents over the years no folder breakdown has been made. For general description of contents and arrangement see Section 5 in narrative.
This is the largest series of the collection. Though it is the departmental correspondence of the Museum, much of the correspondence is of a purely personal nature. This is especially true of Dr. Roberts’ correspondence with such people as Mabel Densmore, William Finley, Francis Lee Jaques, Herbert Gleason, and Frank M. Chapman. However, the body of the correspondence is of a business nature relating to equipment, specimens, shoptalk with other museums of natural history, dealings with the U.S. Biological Survey, National Audubon Society, Inland Bird Banding Association and other organizations, and answering questions from the public.
The collection shows the change in the study of ornithology from the gathering of information about what birds present in a given area and for how long, to the study of more involved matters such as migration, behavior, ecology, and physiology. One of the interesting sidelights of this series is that it reveals the advance northward of the Cardinal. Also shown is the gathering interest of the public in conservation as the nation’s wildlife resources were depleted.
Dr. Roberts’ relations with his staff and students were often quite close. When World War II started a number of young men who had either been students in ornithology and/or worked at the Museum went into the armed services. Their letters about their experiences in the war are interesting and sometimes quite exciting. The war correspondents include: Robert and Warren Nord, Cyril Plattes, Charles Reif, and George Rysgaard.
Incoming correspondence is located in Folders 154-277.
Outgoing correspondence is located in Folders 278-347
A complete folder description had not been made of this section because of the large amount of correspondence involved and the general homogeneity of subject matter. The following lists some of the outstanding correspondence.
From the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Correspondence is filed under James Ford Bell and E.W. Nelson.
Other correspondence regarding the act is filed under T. Gilbert Pearson.
Concerning appointment of Breckenridge to replace Jenness Richardson as museum preparatory.
Containing information about the Inland Bird Banding Association.
Concerning a bird identification contest the magazine was running. Roberts was one of the judges.
Concerning the passage of the Bald Eagle Protection Act filed under U.S. Congress.
Concerning its problems with the Emergency Conservation Committee.
Concerning Jane Cleveland Roberts' death
Regarding ownership of plates for
Describing the Young Naturalists' Society
To Dr. Roberts concerning the Thomas S. Roberts Ornithology Club founded in 1934.
Request for aid for his research on his brother, Clarence Herrick, and the Young Naturalists' Society. This correspondence continues into 1942.
To Jack requesting and giving information about the "Gull Lake Biological Station" and the Seaside Station.
Regarding the transferral of Johan Hvosleff's diaries,
Explaining the legal conditions for the ownership of the plates
for
Testimonial to Dr. Roberts for Distinguished Service to science and to the state.
See letters from Mrs. Boynton and Roberts' letter to her, August 4.
Concerning the E. L. Brown notebooks. See folders 474-484.
Regarding T.S. Roberts' obituary to be published in the
This consists of material which because of its nature or format could not be filed in any of the correspondence series. It includes a folder of the speeches given at the dedication of the new museum building and manuscript copies of the Director’s reports to the President of the University from 1915/17 to 1936/38. The reports quite often contain information not included in the printed versions.
Only schedules kept were those of which there is no copy in Archives.
Mainly concerns borrowing films from various agencies.
Correspondence
Mainly requests from public schools for permission to come to see the Museum's exhibits.
Delivered at the dedication of the new museum building in 1940. Includes speeches by Fred B. Snyder, James Ford Bell, Thomas S. Roberts, and Louis B. Wilson.
Undated manuscript copies of labels, several loose photographs and one album of some of the smaller exhibits.
Often contains information not used in printed version.
This correspondence, with various official and departments of the University, covers the administrative problems of the Museum.
Also in this series, filed separately are the University committees on which Roberts and other members of the Museum staff served. Though not a University committee, the State Committee on Conservation of Cultural Resources has been included here. Dean Theodore C. Blegen and Dr. Roberts were both active members of the committee whose function was to formulate policy on the storage and protection of cultural material if the United States was attacked in World War II.
Most of this correspondence is routine in nature so a detailed folder inventory has not been made. It is arranged chronologically, and the outstanding correspondence listed below.
Concerning cash gifts from James Ford Bell.
Explains relationship of the Museum to the Dept. of Animal Biology.
Gives biographical information on William Kilgore.
Regards the gift of Beebe's
Regards a proposed Yellowstone Park biological station.
Includes a complete list of monetary gifts to the Museum
Explains the handling of Museum publicity.
Concerns the W.O. Winston family's gift of the Audubon portfolio.
Offer to collect specimens for the Museum in Alaska.
Explains the University's inability to match funds for a new museum building.
Rosendahl thanking Roberts for his gift of plant specimens to the Herbarium. Regent's thanks is dated Dec. 8, 1931
Explains the policy of separate publication of plates for
Regards new museum building.
Recommendations for new museum building.
Regards the new museum building.
Regards University Press' tea for Francis Lee and Florence Paige
Jaques at the time of the publication of
Setting policy for lending Museum material.
Regarding Roberts' honorary degree.
Regarding setting up a class in museum techniques to be taught by Breckenridge.
Regards Roberts' gift of his library to the University.
Concerning Museum's place in the University administration.
Confirming his appointment as Director of the Museum.
Understanding for cooperation between the University of Minnesota and the Department of Conservation in the field of teaching and research in fisheries and wildlife management.
Minutes and memos.
Reports and correspondence.
Concerns mainly the Ruffed Grouse Investigation.
State committee of which Dean T.C. Blegen and Roberts were members.
Memos and minutes.
The ornithology class was the only academic course taught by Museum staff in the period covered by this collection. In its early years the class was largely composed of women in science education. Men did not start taking the course in numbers until it became a required course for those going into game management.
Because of the class’s limited size and the close contact between the instructor and the students, a friendly, somewhat paternal relationship was built up between Dr. Roberts and his students. For many years he sponsored a picnic at the Long Meadow Gun Club on Memorial Day for his students. They, in turn, would give Dr. Roberts a present as a memento of the class. Often, after they had left the University, the ornithology class students would write to Dr. Roberts and send him wedding announcements and newspaper articles about themselves. Among the bird class students were Olga Lakela, the Minnesota Botanist, and Gustav Swanson the biologist.
The bird class material includes lecture outlines, field trip notes, correspondence and mementos from the students, and a sampling (every five years) of tests, class records and Dr. Roberts’ teaching load statistics.
Thelma A. Giles, 1917; Mildred Mandel, 1920; R. Ordway, 1920.
Marriage announcements, class pictures, correspondence, and "A Bird Lover's Odyssey" by Evadene A. Burris (later Mrs. Gustav Swanson) ca. 1934.
This series consists of material on various national and local natural history organizations with which Roberts and the other Museum staff members were affiliated. Local organizations include the Minneapolis Audubon Society, Minnesota Bird Club, and the Minnesota Game Protective League. There is information covering the formation of the Minneapolis Audubon Society in 1915.
Dr. Roberts had been one of the first members of the American Ornithologists’ Union, which was founded in 1883. He was an active member and seldom missed a meeting. His early motion pictures of birds were among the first shown to the Union when he used them at an annual meeting in 1916. The collection of A.O.U. material consists mostly of announcements of meetings, programs, election information, and copies of Auklet, a humor magazine put out by the Union at it’s annual meetings.
In 1940 the annual meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Club was held in Minneapolis. A local committee for arrangements included Dr. Roberts, Kilgore, Breckinridge, and Olin Sewall Pettingill who taught ornithology at Carlton College in Northfield. The correspondence of the committee has been included in this series. In 1941-1943 and 1946-1947 Walter J. Breckenridge was chairman of the Illustrations Committee of the Wilson Ornithological Club, a post that involved considerable correspondence, which is also included here.
Announcements of annual meetings, programs, copies o the Auklet (humor magazine put out at the annual meetings), invitations, memos and lists of nominees to membership.
Contains some information on the founding of the society but consists mainly of announcements of meetings.
Correspondence, miscellaneous items.
Bird nesting records kept by club members.
Brochures, information leaflets, reports, announcements, clippings.
Chiefly surrounding the committee which was formed to handle the problems of the 26th annual meeting which was held in Minneapolis in 1940.
Correspondence centers on periods when W.J. Breckenridge was chairman of the committee. Correspondents include George M. Sutton, Roger Tory Peterson, Richard P. Grossenheider, Karl Maslowski, T.M. Shortt, Josselyn Van Tyne and Hal Harrison.
Conducting tours through the Museum for school children was one of the public services performed by the Museum staff. After the tour, the children would often write letters to the Museum thanking the tour director and commenting on what they saw. There are many of these letters scattered throughout the general correspondence. This series contains only a sampling of the type of letter received by the Museum from 1921-1927. In 1940 the letters from the Minneapolis Public school were bound and presented to Dr. Roberts as “Expressions of Appreciation.” This volume has been included in this series.
This series contains a nearly complete collection of the
manuscripts of Roberts’s publications, the notable exception being that of his
largest work,
May have been compiled for Ina Firkins' bibliography of faculty publications.
Manuscript not dated and use not indicated. The latest date
noted was 1905. Much of the same material and pictures were used in
Published as Museum Occasional paper no.1
Published in the
Report was made up from reports from Minnesota birdwatchers. The
reports for December 15, 1927 - August 15, 1936 are missing. Correspondence
regarding these reports is filed with the Museum correspondence under
Published as University of Minnesota
Published as
Published by University of Minnesota Press.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press as
Early and incomplete manuscript.
Consists mainly of manuscripts for articles published in
journals such as
Arranged chronologically. Occasion for speech indicated when known.
This material, mainly data on the Finch family, may have been presented in a lecture series Roberts gave in 1879. Correspondence on the series of lectures is filed with the Natural History Correspondences, 1879.
These talks were broadcast on the University of Minnesota Program. Manuscripts and responses and requests for copies of the talks are included.
Given January 10, 1927; March 16, 1939; May 7, 1941, and May 8, 1942.
The largest part of this series is taken up by the correspondence
surrounding the publication of the 1932 and 1936 editions of
In 1938 Dr. Roberts received the Brewster Medal from the American Ornithologists’ Union for “the most meritorious work on American birds.” There is a folder of congratulatory messages.
Not filed with the correspondence because of their size and format
are four scrapbooks on the two editions of the bird book and the abridged
edition entitled
Consists mainly of requests and acknowledgments.
Consists of gifts, bill, requisitions and royalty notices.
The bulk of the correspondence concerns the first edition: donations, obtaining permission from authors and their publishers to use quotes, and requests for information and advice from various individuals or agencies. The correspondence in 1932 mainly consists of requests for copies of the book. The 1933-34 period concerns revision of the book. On July 22, 1933 Roberts wrote to Starett about the statistics on the publication and handling of the first edition. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Correspondence is mainly with Margaret S. Harding, Editor of the Press, concerning the physical preparation of the book and publicity.
The American Ornithologists' Union awarded the medal to
Roberts for his work on
Four scrapbooks which contain congratulatory letters, reviews,
and newspaper clippings on the book. The third scrapbook concerns mainly
This series contains a biography file maintained by Dr. Roberts
over the years. It contains pictures, obituary notices, newspaper clippings and
autobiographies of people who were active in the study of Minnesota natural
history. Dr. Roberts used much of the information collected here in the
biographical section of
Sam G. Anderson, Carlos Avery, Franklin Benner, Charles H. Bennett, Mrs. Fred H. Bigelow, Capt. Thomas Blakiston, Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Boyd, A.D. Brown, Ernest C. Brown, Eloise Butler, Frank Commons, George Cantwell, M.E. Chamberlin, John Crawford, Leslie O. Dart, Francis S. Davidson, Dr. William de la Barre, Mabel Densmore.
One photograph of Carlos Avery filed in Folder 449.
D.C. Estes, E.A. Everett, John Werner Franzen, P.O. Fryklund, E.S. Gaylord, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Gleason, U.S. Grant, Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Green, Louisa Hale, Philo Louis Hatch, Clarence Luther Herrick, Glen Eaton Hodson, Sara Hubbard, Johan C. Hvoslef.
Mrs. C.F. Keyes, Terrence King, Joseph Kittredge, John Knox, Dietrich Lange, G.H. Luedtke, Thomas Miller, William F. Munch, Olaus Johan Murie, Abe Nelson, Frank Nutter, Alfred Peterson, George Ryssgard, Edward S. Stebbins, Thaddeus Surber, Swan C. Swanson, Robert Ornsby Sweeny, William Montgomery Sweney.
Mrs. J.A. Thabes, Mary Tillisch, Almira Christina Torgerson, Thomas H. Trippe, D.H. Truman, W.F. Volkenant, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Bird Warren, F.L. Washburn, Robert S. Williams, Nellie O. Wilson, Eva Emerson Wold, Mrs. Phelps Wyman.
This series consists of material, which was given to the Museum over the years. It is rich in information about Minnesota natural history with the emphasis on birds. The material has been filed alphabetically by the name of the person responsible for the contents.
Perhaps the most important series are the following: the bird banding papers of Frank and Marie Commons and E.A. and Constance Everett and the diaries and notebooks of J.C. Hvoslef.
The Commons’ bird banding station at their estate, Tanager Hill, on Lake Minnetonka was considered at the time (1923-1933) one of the most important stations in the United States. The data they collected is very detailed and recorded in every possible way. The data they collected is very detailed and recorded in every possible way. In 1938, after her husband’s death, Marie Commons wrote the Logbook of Tanager Hill, an account of their activities. An early and final draft of the manuscript has been included in this series.
The Everetts, of Waseca, while not quite so detailed in their work as the commons, were banding at the same time. They also kept very complete records, as well as diaries, on spring migration. Constance Everett carried on the work at the station after her father’s death in 1938.
J.C. Hvoslef was a doctor who practiced in Lanesboro, Minnesota at the turn of the century. His natural history diaries cover the period of 1881 to 1918. The first thirty-eight volumes, 1881-1897, are in Norwegian. There is then a gap of two years after which the volumes are in English. The first two volumes, 1881-1882, have been translated. These diaries were considered by Dr. Roberts to be an important record of Minnesota natural history.
Notes on the Leech Lake Expedition, see Sumner, Frances B.
Contains minutes, reports, and notes. Benner was secretary of the organization at the time.
See also T.S. Roberts' account of the trip in folder 23.
Berthel was a member of the Museum staff in 1940-1941. He died in 1944 while doing field work for the Conservation Department. The Sandhill Crane group was funded in his name by his family.
Poetry.
Facts and fallacies about snakes and toads and other lowly
creatures. Published in
Early photographs of Minneapolis and vicinity, 1849-1885. The photographs, actually picture postcards, were removed from a badly worn postcard album.
Transcribed and collated by the Minnesota Historical Society. The original volumes are being held in the Society.
Excerpts from "Vertebrate notes from Itasca Co., Minn.", 1920. Originally submitted to Carlos Avery, Commissioner of the Minnesota Conservation Department, for publication.
Blarney Park bird report for 1958.
Concerns birds and bird banding.
Day-to-day record in notebook form.
Forms used to tabulate year's work. The yearly record is arranged by species.
Tabulated records of birds banded, returns and other miscellaneous data. Some reports on special projects and an account of how the Commons' became banders are also included.
Reports on the Red Winged Blackbird, Harris' Sparrow, and on sparrows in general.
These cards were sent to the bander when someone turned in a band to the Bureau. Another card was sent to the person who turned in the band informing who banded the bird and where.
Monthly record of birds banded.
These lists were compiled on trips the Commons' took.
Consists of birds seen or birds that could be seen at the Commons' home on Lake Minnetonka.
Early potential draft.
Final manuscript. Condensed banding records, 1923-1928. (Oversize (m) volume).
Notes: Mourning Warblers breeding at Leech Lake, June 1902. Birds found near Walker, May 26 - June 11, 1902.
Ornithological record, 1890-1895. Record of birds observed, shot, and mounted.
Birds of Southeast Minnesota, ca. 1930.
Everett was a Waseca businessman interested in birds. Constance was his daughter.
Statistical record arranged by American Ornithologists' Union Checklist number. It records first arrival and the date when the bulk of the birds return in the spring.
Arranged in the same manner as above. It also serves as an index to Everett's bird-skin collection.
Accession record which is indexed by the Spring Arrival Records (folder 528-530).
Records were kept alphabetically by species on U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey record sheets.
Explanation for use of index included.
Arranged by American Ornithological Union checklist number.
Field notes, two volumes, March 1910-September 1916.
Notes on the summer birds of parts of Ottertail and Aitkin Cos., 1893.
Records species dates, place collected, and other pertinent information.
"Report of the birds of Minnesota". Minnesota Academy of Natural
Sciences
Strange actions of a migrating flight of Lesser Scaup
Bird trapping station reports, 1924-1934
Volumes 1-38, 1881-1897, are in Norwegian: Volumes 1-13, 1899-1918 are in English. Volumes 102, 1881-1882, have been translated.
Hvosleff, Johan C. Dagbook, May 17, 1884 - February 4, 1885. Filed in Folder 548a.
Bird notes from observations made at Lake City, Minnesota, 1902-1934. This is a copy made by D.J. Pletsch, one of Koch's students in the Lake City public schools.
Collection of bird skins, ca. 1913. The collection was purchased by the Museum on September 5, 1913.
Breeding notes, Cambridge, Minnesota, ca. 1915. Arranged by species.
Catalogue of shells, n.d.
1943 Gegoka deer hunting survey. Nelson was a Game Biologist with the Minnesota Conservation Department.
Notes on birds eggs (1863-1893).
Bird lists, ca. 1915. Sighting list with dates for Stillwater and Faribault areas.
Annotated list of Minnesota birds, 1898.
Review of the winter birds in Minnesota for the season of 1919-1920.
List of birds in Becker Co., with annotations, Spring, 1886.
Donated by George N. Rysgaard, 2000.
Bird observations, 1884-1887.
Notes on Leech Lake expedition, 1897.
A few notes from and about the birds of Minnesota, 1898
Chippewa names of Minnesota birds. List obtained in Itasca Park, July 15, 1932. Taylor was with the University of Minnesota School of Chemistry.
Bird banding report and correspondence, 1930. Thompson's station was in the South Minneapolis area.
Correspondence include C. Hart Merriam, Walter B. Barrows (Michigan zoologist), Ruthven Deane, Albert Lano and William Dutcher.
Concerns the abundance and the extinction of these birds.
Forms distributed by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy.
Two volumes
The series appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune. It is undated but probably appeared sometime in the early 1900's.
Contains photos taken by Williams while on expeditions to the Phillippines, Bolivia, Europe, and in the United States.
This correspondence consists of reports on birds sighted,
migration records, and other seasonal phenomena. It constitutes a cooperative
effort on the part of the Minnesota bird watchers to collect information on
birds in their areas. The information Dr. Roberts received in this way was
often used in his “season” reports, which were published in the journal
Because this correspondence is valuable mainly for it’s subject content and the information it can give on birds from a regional viewpoint, it has been filed alphabetically within the year. A list of the correspondents and their addresses has been placed in the first folder of the series.
The outgoing correspondence consists of mainly of thank-you letters from Dr. Roberts for the information given him. It has been filed chronologically at the end of the alphabetical section.
This series is very closely related to the preceding series. It consists of forms distributed to birdwatchers, by the Museum, entitled “checklist of Minnesota Birds and Migration and Nesting Record blank”. Again, because the information is regional, a list of the observers and their addresses has been placed in the first folder of the series.
These records, for the most part, consist of forms which were distributed by the Museum for the purpose of recording migration and nesting dates. The form, entitled "Checklist of Minnesota Birds and Migration and Nesting Record Blank," was also used as a sighting record by the observers. Nearly all of the observers are from Minnesota. The records are filed alphabetically. A list of the observers has been compiled and placed in folder 720.
The pictures are undated and unidentified. They are mostly of birds and habitats.
Articles are dated, identified as to source and indexed.
Concerning the Minneapolis meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For the most part the articles are dated and source is identified. Some of them are not complete.
Many of the clippings are undated and unidentified. The subject content is extremely varied.
Contains articles on natural history, birds, conservation and
Marie Commons' "Birds of Hennepin County" which ran in the
For description see inventory for folder 446.
Several of these scrapbooks were probably kept by Roberts in his
youth and are of rather a miscellaneous nature. However, there are two sets,
which are valuable for the information contained in them. The first set is the
four scrapbooks on
These scrapbooks constitute an excellent coverage of Museum activities. They contain correspondence, newspaper and journal articles, photographs, and posters announcing Museum speakers. "Thank you" letters from school children are also found in abundance. Some of the more outstanding features are brought out below"
Correspondence, May 1915, between Roberts and George E. Vincent regarding Roberts' appointment as Professor of Ornithology and Associate Curator of the Zoological Museum (Nachtrieb was at this time the Curator).
Correspondence and clippings, 1924-1926, regarding E.L. King's (of Winona) offer to collect specimens for the Museum on a hunting trip to Africa. Articles regarding Jenness Richardson's resignation and W.J. Breckenridge's appointment as taxidermist, 1926.
Letter from President Coffman to Roberts in which the name of the Museum is changed from Zoological Museum to Museum of Natural History.
Correspondence regarding gift of the double elephant portfolio
of Audubon's
Articles concerning E.A. Everett's bequest to the Museum, 1929.
Correspondence and articles regarding financial donation to the
Museum for
Correspondence and articles, 1931, regarding James Ford Bell's offer to match funds with the University of Minnesota for the purpose of constructing a new museum building. The University could not meet the offer.
Articles about
Correspondence, articles, and photographs regarding the construction of the new museum building, 1938-1939. Of note are the step-by-step photos showing how the building grew and the list of articles placed in the cornerstone.
Articles regarding the honorary degree awarded Roberts on July 15, 1940. Also included is D. Minnich's statement about Roberts when the degree was conferred.
Correspondence and other materials about the dedication of the new Museum, 1940.
Material regarding the 1940 meeting of the Wilson Ornithological Club held in Minneapolis.
Correspondence regarding Roberts' gift of his library to the University.
Biography of Roberts written in 1940 by Virginia Dustin.
Articles about the Brewster Medal award given to Roberts in 1938.
Roberts obituaries, 1946.
This series contains several old maps of Minnesota and neighboring states, group photos taken at some of the annual meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union which Dr. Roberts attended, and some notebooks too large to be included in their logical places in the collection. The absence of these notebooks is indicated in the folder inventory.
.
Cloth sign probably used when the Minnetonka area was first proclaimed a game refuge.
See Roberts' diaries and notebooks for further information.
For further information see Commons under "Diaries, notebooks, and manuscripts" section.
Attached to an advertisement of J.S. Redfield, a New York publisher.
Biological life zones have been colored in.
State of Minnesota prepared by Minnesota Highway Department.
See also no. 29.
Probably published by G.R. Zickrick, Wahkon, Minnesota. Found with 1915 material on Mille Lacs.
Compiled and published by Jewett & Son
Minnesota Geological Survey, Sheet 2,
Shows roads, trails, firebreaks and cabins drawn under direction of W.T. Cox, State Forester, Minnesota Forest Service
St. Louis, Lake and Cook Counties reached by D. & I. R.R. Duluth and Iron Range Railroad Co.
On verso: Rand McNally official 1924 auto trails map, Minnesota.
Dept. of the Interior, Canada
Group photographs taken at the annual meetings for 1913, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. Two fo the photos are undated.
Group photograph of annual dinner