TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary of the Collection

Administrative Information

Biography of John S. Gray

Scope and Content of the Collection

Organization

Selected Search Terms

Container List

Series 1: Research Notebooks, 1953-1991

Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-1991

Series 3: Works, 1957-1983

Series 4: Research Notes, 1953-1991 1953-1991

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Inventory of the John S. Gray Research Papers, 1942-1991


The Newberry Library
Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610-7324
USA
Phone: 312-255-3506
Fax: 312-255-3646
E-Mail: specialcolls@newberry.org
URL: http://www.newberry.org

Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Lisa Janssen, 2004.

©2004.


Descriptive Summary of the Collection

Creator Gray, John S. (John Stephens), 1910 -
Title John S. Gray Research Papers
Dates 1942-1991
Extent 9 cubic ft. (27 boxes)
Abstract Meticulous research notes, writings, and correspondence of Dr. John S. Gray, Professor of Physiology at Northwestern University and a member of the Chicago Corral of Westerners. Dr. Gray's research focuses on the American West, particularly U.S. - Indian relations.
Language Materials are in English.
Repository Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections
Collection Call Number Ayer MS Gray
Collection Stack Location 3 60 2-3

Administrative Information

Cite As

John S. Gray Research Papers, Midwest Manuscript Collection, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. John S. Gray, 1993.

Processed by

Jill Gage, 2001.

Access

The John S. Gray Research Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The John S. Gray Research Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

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Biography of John S. Gray

Northwestern University physiologist and historian of the American West.

Born August 11, 1910, John S. Gray received his B.S. from Knox College in 1932; he received his M. S. in Physiology in 1934 and his Ph.D. in 1936. He became an instructor at Northwestern University in 1936. In 1946 Gray was awarded his M.D. and was named Chairman of the Department of Physiology that same year, a position he held until his retirement in 1974. When administrative duties precluded him from performing biomedical research, Ray Billington, a fellow Northwestern professor, encouraged Gray to begin doing research in history. Gray quickly focused his research on American frontier history, especially the Indian wars. As an active member of the Chicago Corral of the Westerners, Gray was a frequent contributor to the Brand Book of the Chicago Corral; he also authored two books: Centennial Campaign: The Sioux War of 1876 (1976); and Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed (1991). After his retirement Gray moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died on December 25, 1991.

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Scope and Content of the Collection

Mainly Gray's exhaustive research notes and bibliographies on subjects related to U.S. Indian relations, particularly relating to post Civil War military operations in the West, the fur trade, the Pony Express and other stage lines, and western scouts (including Indian scouts). Also Dr. Gray's published and unpublished writings, including those published in Brand Books of the Chicago Corral of Westerners, and correspondence with fellow researchers, publishers, and federal, state, and local archives. There are also a few photographs and some files concerning Gray's career at Northwestern University.

Narrative descriptions of the subject matter, types of material, and arrangement of each series are available through the Organization section of the finding aid.

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Organization

Papers are organized in the following series:

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Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.

Names

  • Boyer family
  • Boyer, Mitch
  • Bruguier family
  • Buffalo Bill
  • Comstock family
  • Crook, George, 1829-1890
  • Custer, George Armstrong, 1839-1876
  • Galpin family
  • Gerard family
  • Gray, John S. (John Stephens), 1910-
  • Hickock, Wild Bill, 1837-1876
  • Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.)-Employees
  • Picotte family
  • Reynolds family
  • Reynolds, Charley, 1842-1876
  • Slade family
  • Westerners. Chicago Corral

Subjects

  • Bozeman Trail
  • Fort Collins (Colo.)-History-19th century-Sources
  • Fort Phil Kearney (Wyo.)-History-19th century-Sources
  • Fur trade-West (U.S.)-History-19th Century-Sources
  • Generals-United States-History-19th century-Sources
  • Indians of North America-Wars-1866-1895
  • Little Big Horn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876
  • Manuscripts, American
  • Scouts-West (U.S.)-History-19th century-Sources
  • Stagecoach lines-West (U.S.)-History-19th century-Sources
  • United States-History, Military-19th century-Sources
  • Utah Expedition, 1857-1878
  • West (U.S.)-History-19th century-Sources

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Container List

Series 1: Research Notebooks, 1953-1991

Contains Dr. Gray's meticulous research notes, particularly concerned with the American West in the late 1800's, and most specifically with Native American-US Army relations and conflicts. Topics include George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Big Horn, Mitch Boyer and the Boyer family, the Bozeman Trail, the Bruguier family, William F. Cody, the Comstock family, George Crook, Fort Collins, Fort Philip Kearney, the fur trade, the Galpin family, the Gerard family, James B. Hickock, Indian scouts, George M. Miles, Orlando H. Moore, Philetus W. Norris, the Picotte family, the Pony Express, Charley Reynolds, Joseph A. Slade, stage lines, Alfred Howe Terry, and the Utah campaign.
Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Box Folder Contents
1 1 1860 Census
1 2-3 1873-1874 Expeditions
1 4-5 1874-1875
1 6-7 Accounts of Custer Massacre
1 8 Battle of the Little Big Horn
2 9 Battle of the Little Big Horn
2 10 Battle of the Little Big Horn - Archaeology
2 11 Battle of the Little Big Horn - Timelines
2 12-13 Boone, A. G.
2 14-15 Boyer Family and Other Missouri Settlers
3 16-17 Boyer, Mitch (Notebook II)
3 18-19 Boyer, Mitch (Notebook III)
3 20 Boyer, Mitch (Notebook IV)
3 21-22 Bozeman Trail 1864
3 23 Bruguier Family
4 24 Bruguier Family
4 25-26 Cache la Poudre
4 27-28 Camp Collins
4 29-30 Cherokee Trail
4 31 Chivington, John M.
4 32 Cody, William F. (Notebook I)
5 33 Cody, William F. (Notebook I)
5 34 Cody, William F. (Notebook II)
5 35-36 Cody, William F. (Notebook III)
5 37-38 Colorado
5 39-40 Comstock Family
5 41 Crook, George (Notebook I)
6 42 Crook, George (Notebook I)
6 43 Crook, George (Notebook II)
6 44 Crook, George (Notebook III)
6 45-46 Custer Xeroxes
6 47-48 Dakota
6 49-50 Eagle Woman - Matilda Galpin
7 51-52 Fort Collins - City
7 53-54 Fort Collins - General
7 55-56 Fort Collins - Military (Notebook I)
7 57-58 Fort Collins - Military (Notebook II)
7 59 Fort Collins - Order Book
7 60 Fort Philip Kearney
8 61 Fort Philip Kearney
8 62-63 Freighters & Fur Companies
8 64-65 Galpin Family (Notebook I)
8 66-67 Galpin Family (Notebook II)
8 68-69 Galpin Family (Notebook III)
8 70-71 Galpin Family (Notebook IV)
9 72 Galpin Family (Notebook IV)
9 73-74 Gerard, Frederic F.
9 75-76 Gerard (Notebook I)
9 77-78 Gerard (Notebook II)
9 79 Gerard (Notebook III)
10 80 Gerard (Notebook III)
10 81-82 Gerard (Notebook IV)
10 83-84 Gibbon, Gen. John
10 85-86 Gold Rush
10 87-88 Grouard, Frank
11 89 Hickock, James B.
11 90-91 Hickock (Notebook II) - Abolitionist / Pro-Slavery Fights in Kansas
11 92 Hickock (Notebook III)
11 93-94 Hockaday, John M.
11 95-96 Hostiles
12 97-98 Indian Chiefs
12 99-100 Indian Scouts
12 101-102 Larimer County
12 103 Medical
12 104 Miscellaneous Notes / Bibliographic Notes
12 105-106 Miscellaneous Notes / Bibliographic Notes (Notebook II)
13 107-108 Montana
13 109-110 Montana, Upper
13 111-112 Moore, Orlando H. and Miles, George M.
13 113-114 Norris, Col. Philetus W.
14 115-116 Official Accounts
14 117-118 Picotte Family
14 119-120 Platte
14 121-122 Plot, Treaty with, and Operations Against Sioux
15 123 Pony Express - Notes and Biographies
15 124 Red Legs
15 125-126 Reynolds, Charley
15 127 Reynolds, Charley - Material
15 128 Reynolds, Charley - Bibliographic Material
15 129-130 Reynolds, Charley - Genealogy (Notebook I)
15 131 Reynolds, Charley - Genealogy (Notebook II)
16 132 Reynolds, Charley - Genealogy (Notebook II)
16 133 Reynolds, Charley - Notes
16 134-135 Ricker, Eli and Bridger, Jim
16 136-137 Scouts
16 138-139 Slade Family (Notebook I)
17 140-141 Slade, Joseph A.
17 142-143 Slade, Joseph A. - Overland Stage Line
17 144-145 Slade, Joseph A. - Death
17 146-147 Smith, John, and Other Traders
18 148 Stage Lines
18 149-150 Stage Lines (Notebook II)
18 151-152 Surrenders
18 153-154 Terry, Gen. Alfred Howe
19 155 Utah 1857 Wagons
19 156-157 Utah Campaign
19 158-160 Whip them into Subjection: Sioux War of 1876,

Series 2: Correspondence, 1942-1991

Correspondence to and from Dr. Gray concerning his research and writings. Correspondents include Mark Brown, members of the Bruguier, Galpin, and Reynolds families, Federal Archives, local and state archives, Northwestern University, and publishers. Topics include extensive genealogical research, particularly on the Bruguier, Galpin, and Reynolds families, comments on Dr. Gray's writings by colleagues and publishers, a limited amount of material regarding his patents and his retirement from Northwestern University, and personal correspondence.
Arranged alphabetically by topic, and by ascending date within each folder.

Box Folder Contents
20 161 Brown, Mark, 1961-1975
20 162 Bruguier & Galpin
20 163 Comments on John S. Gray's Writings, 1959-1990
20 164 Conferences, 1974-1990
20 165 Federal Archives, 1954-1986
20 166 John S. Gray Papers, 1942-1944
20 167-168 Local Archives, 1953-1976
20 169 Northwestern University, 1972-1975
20 170-171 Publishers, 1956-1991
21 172-173 Publishers, 1956-1991
21 174-177 Reynolds Family, 1953-1972
21 178-179 State Archives, 1953-1985
22 180-187 General Correspondence, 1953-1991

Series 3: Works, 1957-1983

Articles written by Dr. Gray on various aspects of the post Civil War American West. Handwritten and typewritten drafts, as well as copies of published articles are included. Drafts are arranged alphabetically by title, and published articles are arranged alphabetically by date.
Drafts are arranged alphabetically by title, and published articles are arranged alphabetically by date

Box Folder Contents
23 188 Articles, Handwritten Drafts
23 189-197 Articles in Typescript, A-V
23 198-199 Brand Book Articles, 1957-1983

Series 4: Research Notes, 1953-1991 1953-1991

Contains Dr. Gray's meticulous research notes, particularly concerned with the American West in the late 1800's, and most specifically with Native American-US Army relations and conflicts. Notes are extracted from diaries and reminiscences, Indian depredation claims, maps, Montana and Sioux City newspapers and the Rocky Mountain News, and veterans' records. alphabetically by type of source.
Arranged alphabetically by type of source.

Box Folder Contents
25 200 Articles, 1919-1954
25 201 Chronologies
25 202 Court Records - Slade Family
25 203-206 Diaries and Reminiscences
26 207-108 Indian Depredation Claim - Estate of John Richard, Jr.
26 209 Maps, Miscellaneous
26 210-211 Montana Newspapers - Notes and Bibliographies
26 212 Rocky Mountain News - Notes and Bibliographies
26 213 Sioux City Newspapers - Notes and Bibliographies
26 214 Veterans' Records
27 215 Miscellaneous Newspapers - Notes and Bibliographies
27 216-217 Miscellaneous Newspaper Articles, 1857-1911