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Collection Overview
Title: John Rison Fordyce Papers, 1856-1939
Predominant Dates:1856-1939
ID: MS/MS/ms047
Primary Creator: Fordyce, John R. (1869-1939)
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 10/17/2003
Languages: English
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The John Rison Fordyce Papers consists primarily of material towards a history of the DeSoto expedition, entitled "Trailing DeSoto." In addition to chapter drafts, the collection contains typed and autograph notecards, various maps, and a scrapbook.
Collection Historical Note
John Rison Fordyce (November 7, 1869 - June 9, 1939) was an engineer, inventor, amateur historian and archaeologist, and candidate for U.S. Congress. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Fordyce received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering at Washington University in St. Louis in 1892, later also studying at Harvard University. In 1894, he was a member of Dr. Frederick Cook’s expedition to the Arctic. In 1896, he moved to Little Rock, joining Thomas Manufacturing. In 1902, he became president of Thomas-Fordyce Manufacturing, which engaged in cotton-gin machinery manufacturing.
Fordyce was commissioned a major in the Engineers’ Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army on April 18, 1917 and was designated constructing engineer for camp. At the end of World War I, Fordyce was promoted to colonel, U.S. Army Reserve. Fordyce also served on U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover’s Commission on Flood Control in 1939 and on the Arkansas Highway Commission.
Fordyce, whose Hot Springs property included Indian Mountain and a portion of Gulpha Gorge, was also an amateur archaeologist. He was assigned to the Smithsonian expedition led by John R. Swanton in search of Hernando de Soto’s route through the southeastern United States.
Administrative Information
Repository:
MS Manuscripts
Access Restrictions:
Open.
Use Restrictions:
Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.
Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
Acquisition Source:
Gift
Acquisition Method:
Accession number 21659. Unknown, October 17, 2003.
Accession number 22936. Gift of Edward Fordyce, February 28, 2000.
Preferred Citation:
Name of the Collection, Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Trailing DeSoto],
[
Series 2: Maps],
[
Series 3: Scrapbook],
[
All]
- Series 1: Trailing DeSoto

- Manuscripts towards "Trailing DeSoto." Consist of manuscript drafts of chapters and index card notes. 3 items. Box 1-2
- Sub-Series 1.1: Manuscript Drafts

- Manuscript drafts of 19 chapters towards "Trailing DeSoto." Chapters I, II, III, and VI also have two drafts of each. 672 pages.
- Box 1

- Folder 1: Chapter I: "The Beginning of the Trail"

- 27 pages
- Folder 1a: Alternate draft of Chapter I: "The Beginning of the Trail"

- 19 pages
- Folder 2: Chapter II: "The Trail in Central America"

- 25 pages
- Folder 2a : Alternate draft of Chapter II

- 27 pages
- Folder 3: Chapter III: "The Trail in Peru"

- 30 pages
- Folder 3a: Alternate draft of Chapter III

- 6 pages
- Folder 4: Chapter IV: "The Trail Leads Back to Spain"

- 31 pages
- Folder 5: Chapter V: "Assembling the Personelle [sic]"

- 15 pages
- Folder 6: Chapter VI: "The Trail Leads Over the Sea to Cuba"

- 16 pages
- Folder 6a: Alternate draft of Chapter VI - autograph marked "Abandoned"

- 17 pages
- Folder 7: Chapter VII: "The Trail in Florida"

- 28 pages
- Folder 8: Chapter VIII: "The Spaniards Find the Trail into the Back Country"

- 35 pages
- Folder 9: Chapter IX: "The First Great Sight"

- 32 pages
- Folder 10: Chapter X: "The Trail Leads North Eastward From the Gulf to the Ocean"

- 37 pages
- Folder 11: Chapter XI: "The Trail Leads to the Northwest From the Ocean to the Mountains"

- 35 pages
- Folder 12: Chapter XII: "The Trail Leads Down the Tennessee River into Alabama"

- 38 pages
- Folder 13: Chapter XIII: "The Trail Leads to the Choctaws"

- 38 pages
- Folder 14: Chapter XIV: "The Trail Leads to the Chickasaws"

- 40 pages
- Box 2

- Folder 15: Chapter XV: "The Trail From the Chickasaws to the Mississippi River"

- 40 pages
- Folder 16: Chapter XVI: "The Trail to Pacaha and Quiguate [?]"

- 39 pages
- Folder 17: Chapter XVII: "The Trail Leads to the Hills and Winterquarters"

- 32 pages
- Folder 18: Chapter XVIII: "DeSoto Comes to the End of the Trail"

- 39 pages
- Folder 19: Chapter XIX: "The Trail if Moscasa [?]"

- 21 pages
- Sub-Series 1.2: Miscellaneous Manuscript Notes

- Box 2

- Folder 20: Miscellaneous manuscript notes toward "Trailing DeSoto"

- 5 pages
- Sub-Series 1.3: Typed and Autograph Index Cards

- Box 2

- Folder 21: Typed and autograph index cards containing notes toward "Trailing DeSoto"

Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Trailing DeSoto],
[
Series 2: Maps],
[
Series 3: Scrapbook],
[
All]