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Collection Overview

Title:
Sarah Goodspeed Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5x21tp752
Dates:
1913-1915
Size:
1 box and 0.4 linear feet
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box B-001554
Language:
English

Abstract

Consists of photographs, correspondence, and other papers of Sarah Goodspeed, a white Christian missionary for the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society (WABHMS), documenting her work on the Crow Indian Reservation in Pryor, Montana, in the 1910s. Materials include a linguistic journal, eighty photographs of Crow and Ojibwa (Ojibwe, Chippewa) people, handwritten poetry and notes, several letters and postcards, and printed and typescript articles and essays.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of photographs, correspondence, and other papers of Sarah Goodspeed, a white Christian missionary for the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society (WABHMS), documenting her work on the Crow Indian Reservation in Pryor, Montana, in the 1910s. Materials include a linguistic journal, eighty photographs, handwritten poetry and notes, several letters and postcards, and printed and typescript articles and essays.

The linguistic journal contains twenty-four pages of Goodspeed's documentation of various Apsáalooke (Crow) phrases and their English translations. Three letters and from Goodspeed to her parents detail her daily routine and discuss the poor treatment of Crow people by white government agents, maintenance of the missionary buildings, church services, and school attendance figures, as well as deaths, baptisms, and other events in the community. Also present are a fundraising letter, postcards, nearly forty pages of poetry and lecture notes, cancelled checks, and handwritten cards describing Crow cultural objects (not present) and their provenance. There is also a group of printed and typescript articles and essays, by both Crow and missionary authors, which appear to have been published in local newspapers or in newsletters sent to missionary organizations. These include a handbill titled "Indians Baptized at the Crow Indian Reservation," printed accounts of John White Man Runs Him (Spies on the Enemy Strong) and Chief Bell-Rock and his grandson James Buster Bell Rock, an unattributed story titled "Bull Snake," and other articles and essays relating to wedding news and other events.

The collection also includes extensive photographic documentation of the Crow Reservation, including eighty annotated photographs, mostly picturing Crow people. Subjects are often identified by name, with annotations mentioning Mrs. Stronglefthand, Plenty Crow, Myrtle Wood Lick, Sarah Male Bear, Alexander Hair Feather and his wife, The Corn Woman, The Turnsback Plenty Family, Bull Snake, Ten Bear, Lucy Turns Back Plenty, Ralph Turns Back Plenty, Coyote That Runs, Dora Travels Well Known and her baby, Gibson Male Bear, Mrs. Medicine Rock, Guy Bull Tail, Ten Bears and his wife, and numerous others. According to Goodspeed's notations, two of the subjects, Dora Yellow Face and Among the Willows died in the first year after she arrived at Pryor; a third, Theodore White Mouth, died sometime during her service. Many of the photographs picture children, and some show Crow people and Baptist missionaries together at events such as Sunday dinners, picnics, and the baptism of Old Corn Woman. Identified locations in the photographs include the Pryor General Store and Post Office, Pryor Pass, various houses belonging to the missionaries, the school, the mission, the Bowler Post Office ("about 25 miles from Pryor"), the Custer Battlefield Memorial, and the chapel. Goodspeed may have also spent some time as a missionary or passed through the White Earth Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, as three photographs also depict Ojibwa (Ojibwe, Chippewa) people.

Arrangement

Original order was maintained.

Collection Creator Biography:

Goodspeed, Sarah

Sarah Goodspeed was a white Christian missionary for the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society (WABHMS). Born in Michigan, Goodspeed worked on the Crow Indian Reservation in Pryor, Montana, in the early 20th century as a Sunday School teacher, sewing instructor, nurse's assistant, and chaperone. Eventually, she taught full-time at the Baptist day school begun at Pryor in 1918, which was opened at the request of Crow parents who resisted the brutal assimilationist tactics used at the government boarding school at Pryor.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchased from William Reese Company in 2020 (AM 2021-28).

Appraisal

No materials were removed from the collection during 2021 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in January 2021. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in January 2021.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Sarah Goodspeed Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/5x21tp752
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Box B-001554