Scope and Contents note
The papers of Martin W. Gorman consist of correspondence, journals, annotated plant lists and reports, published articles, photographs, and collected printed material used primarily in his work. Documenting his botanical studies, the journals and plant lists span Gorman's career from its inception through the last years of his life. These are arranged in chronological order. The plant lists and reports Gorman compiled are filed by geographic region or state and alphabetically within each section. Gorman's published articles and various other materials complete the collection. A box of prints is included
Dates
- 1872-1929
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use note
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical/Historical note
Martin W. Gorman, the son of Peter and Mary Gorman, was born on a farm near the town of Eaganville, Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada, on November 23, 1853. He attended McGill College in Montreal in 1876 and later worked as a bookkeeper for a wholesale hardware store in Montreal. In February 1885 Gorman moved to Portland, Oregon where he was employed as a bookkeeper in a bank. In a letter to his brother John, in 1892, Gorman wrote that he was studying botany. He made his first journey to the Yukon in 1893, on behalf of a Portland bank which had backed salmon canneries. While there he gathered several boxes of plant specimens.
Gorman traveled to the Yukon several times, with various expeditions, and also did much botanical work in the Pacific Northwest, becoming a leading authority on the flora of the Northwest, especially trees. Gorman's private herbarium was received by the University of Oregon Herbarium in Eugene after his death; in May 1993 those specimens were transferred to the Oregon State University Herbarium in Corvallis. Other specimens he gathered are in the Smithsonian Institution. He is credited with discovering at least ten species new to science.
During the summers Gorman made collecting trips to all parts of Oregon and Washington. From findings he made as a member of an expedition on Mount Baker in 1906, he later published a booklet entitled Vegetation of the Northwestern Slope of Mount Baker.
At the close of the Lewis & Clark Exposition, Gorman was appointed curator of the Oregon Forestry Building, a position he held until his death in Portland, Oregon, on October 7, 1926.
Extent
2.5 linear feet (4 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Martin W. Gorman (1853-1926) was a leading authority on the flora of the Northwest, especially trees. He traveled to the Yukon several times and did much botanical work in the Pacific Northwest. He is credited with discovering at least ten species new to science. The selected papers of Martin W. Gorman consist of correspondence, journals, annotated plant lists and reports, published articles, several photographs, and collected printed material used primarily in his work. Documenting his botanical studies, the journals and plant lists span Gorman's career from its inception through the last years of his life. Gorman's published articles and various other materials complete the collection.
Arrangement note
Collection is organized into the following series: Correspondence; Journals and Plant Lists; Plant Lists and Reports grouped by geographic area; Published Articles by Gorman; and Miscellaneous
General Physical Description note
4 containers
Processing Information
Collection processed by staff.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Alaska Subject Source: Local sources
- Botanists -- Northwest, Pacific Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Botany -- Northwest, Pacific Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Forestry and Forestry Products Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Gorman, Martin W., 1853-1926
- Mazamas (Portland, Or.)
- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Photographic prints Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Science Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Trees -- Northwest, Pacific -- Identification Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Washington (State) Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Title
- Guide to the Martin W. Gorman Papers
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Rose M. Smith
- Date
- ©2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
