Scope and Contents
The correspondence series (approx. 800 pieces) is organized alphabetically by last name and includes personal letters and correspondence with western writers. Pension materials are organized by date, 1909-1935. Financial files are organized by type. The manuscripts are organized alphabetically by title. Also included in the collection is genealogy material on the Redington family, disabled volunteer solider files, broadsides, newspapers from 1883-1935, photostats, scrapbooks, meeting records, publications and microfilm.
Dates
- 1880-1935
Creator
- Redington, John W., 1851-1935 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
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
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
John Watermelon Redington (1851-1935) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1851. He worked as a printer's devil with the Cambridge University Press. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1874 as a means of traveling to the West. He was discharged in 1874 and travelled to Oregon where he worked for the Salem Oregon Statesman, and founded a job printing establishment in Salem, Oregon. He left job printing to wander through Oregon, Idaho, and Utah as a tramp printer and in search of adventure. He served as a scout in the Nez Perce Indian War and the Bannock Indian War. His small stature and juvenile enthusiasm led General Oliver O. Howard to refer to him as the original boy scout.
Redington took over the Heppner, Oregon Gazette in 1883, and later published papers in Puyallup and Tacoma, Washington. He was a native humorist, inventing tall stories to fill his columns, and issued outrageous political broadsides in a style reminiscent of Bill Nye. He was married to Nellie Meacham, daughter of Alfred B. Meacham. His last years were spent as a wandering journalist, and in and out of the Veterans' Home at Sawtelle, California until his death in 1935.
Extent
4.5 linear feet (13 containers)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
John Watermelon Redington was an Indian War scout, newspaper editor, writer, publisher and humorist. The collection consists of manuscripts, scrapbooks, 19th century newspapers, broadsides, photographs, and approximately 800 pieces of correspondence.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into the following series: Correspondence, Pension Papers, Financial Materials, Manuscripts and Publications.
Other Finding Aids
Paper finding aid with additional information is available in Special Collections & University Archives.
Physical Description
10 clamshell boxes, 2 flat boxes Photo box - 1 flat box
Processing Information
Collection processed by staff, 1994.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Bailey, Harry Lee, 1854-1934
- Brininstool, E. A. (Earl Alonzo), 1870-1957
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Gill, John, 1851-1929
- Humorists, American -- West (U.S.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Journalists -- West (U.S.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Literature Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Manuscripts for publication Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Printers -- West (U.S.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Redington family
- Redington, John W., 1851-1935
- Scouts (Reconnaissance) -- West (U.S.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the John W. Redington Papers
- Status
- Revise Description
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by University of Oregon Libraries, Archivists' Toolkit Project Team and Tanya Parlet.
- Date
- 2011
- 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 production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
