Scope and Contents
The Ellmaker family papers collection contains material that documents the life of Oregon Trail pioneer Enos Ellmaker and the lives of his decedents in Lane County, Oregon. This collection also contains some 18th century documents related to the Ellmakers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Material includes personal papers of members of the Ellmaker family; maps, drawings, and photographs; artifacts; books and periodicals; and genealogical research and resources.
The personal papers series contains a variety of written and graphic materials created by Enos Ellmaker, his son Amos, Ulysses Ellmaker and his wife Ruth La Van Ellmaker, as well as Elaine Ellmaker Clark and her husband Gordon. A small number of documents attributed to other members of the Ellmaker family have been described in this series as other family papers.
The maps, drawings, and photographs series contains maps and surveys of the Ellmaker ranch and the Lane County area; 19th and early 20th century family and class portraits; 20th century family photo albums; as well as architectural plans and drawings of Ellmaker family properties.The artifacts series contains sentimental items collected by members of the Ellmaker family including common household and personal items, such as spoons and shaving razors, homespun samples, and keepsake locks of hair.
The books and periodicals series consists of works published in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Publications include religious writings, children’s textbooks, novels, poetry compilations, and works focused on Oregon and the Pacific Coast. The genealogical research and resources series contains materials used and generated by Michael Ellmaker while writing his family history, The Ellmaker Chronicles. Items include photocopies and transcripts of primary sources, published memoirs and family histories, and correspondence.
Dates
- 1768-2005
Creator
- Clark, Elaine Ellmaker (Person)
- Ellmaker, Enos S., 1807-1890 (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
The Ellmakers are a prominent pioneer family who first settled in Lane County, Oregon in the 1850s following their journey across the United States on the Oregon Trail.
Originally from Rhine-Neckar region of Germany, the Leonard and Anna Ellmaker settled in the colony of Pennsylvania in 1726. The family flourished in Lancaster County, and three Ellmaker sons fought as part of the county militia in the Revolutionary War. Many of the Ellmaker's were involved in Pennsylvania and national politics, but were, primarily, farmers.
Enos Ellmaker, was born on May 15, 1807 in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania to Adam Ellmaker and his first wife, Magdalena. Enos and his siblings, Ruben and Eliza, migrated from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1837. Enos, a farmer and blacksmith, married Elizabeth Fisher Ellmaker in 1840, and together they had six children: Byron, Alice Ann, Melinda, Mary Jane, Amos Fisher, and Levi Robb. In March of 1853, Enos and Elizabeth left Iowa and began their journey west on the Oregon Trail. Upon reaching Oregon, the Ellmakers established a homestead on a donation claim of 320 acres on the Long Tom River in what would become Lane County, Oregon.
Amos Fisher and Levi Robb both continued to farm in Lane County. Amos died unmarried with no children, while Levi Robb married Frances Almeda Baker in 1881. They had three children, Reuel, Jewel Miriam, and Ulysses. Ulysses married Ruth Le Van in 1915, and had one daughter Elaine. Elaine, a school teacher and award winning nature photographer, graduated from the University of Oregon in 1938 after marrying her husband, Gordon Clark, in June of 1937.
The Clark’s collection of Oregon nature photographs were also donated to the University of Oregon’s Special Collections and University Archives along with the Ellmaker family papers.
Extent
25.6 linear feet (15 containers )
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Ellmakers are a prominent pioneer family who first settled in Lane County, Oregon in the 1850s following their journey across the United States on the Oregon Trail. The Ellmaker family papers include personal papers of members of the Ellmaker family; maps, drawings, and photographs; artifacts; books and periodicals; and genealogical research and resources.
Arrangement
The Ellmaker family papers are arranged in five series:
I. Personal papers, 1768-1991
II. Maps, drawings, and photographs, circa 1890s-1966
III. Artifacts, circa 1853-1940s
IV. Books and periodicals, 1807-1909
V. Genealogical research and resources, 1965-2005
Series I., personal papers, is arranged in five subseries:
A. Enos Ellmaker papers, 1832-1911, 1937, 1942
B. Amos Ellmaker papers, 1875-1944
C. Ulysses and Ruth Le Van Ellmaker papers, 1891-1979, 1991
D. Elaine Ellmaker and Gordon Clark papers, circa 1929-1980s
E. Other family papers, 1768-1963
Material within this collection is minimally arranged. Any arrangement is either derived from the records' creators or custodians or from staff at the time of initial processing. It may be necessary to look in multiple places for the same types of materials.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Elaine Ellmaker Clark, Keith L. Clark, Megan Jean Clark, Jennifer Jacobus-Buell, and Bruce H. Clark in 2004-2005.
Physical Description
10 record center cartons, 2 oversize boxes, 1 rolled storage tube, and 1 oversize flat file
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alexandra M. Bisio, 2017.
- Century farms -- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Century farms -- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Clark, Elaine Ellmaker
- Eugene Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Eugene Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Family histories Subject Source: Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing
- Family histories Subject Source: Genre Terms: A Thesaurus for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloguing
- Family papers Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Family papers Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Oregon -- Lane County Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Oregon -- Lane County Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Home and Family Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Home and Family Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Lane County (Or.) -- History -- Sources Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Lane County (Or.) -- History -- Sources Subject Source: Lcnaf
- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Oregon National Historic Trail -- Description and travel Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Oregon National Historic Trail -- Description and travel Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Overland Journeys to the Northwestern United States Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Overland Journeys to the Northwestern United States Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Pioneers Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Pioneers Subject Source: Archiveswest
- Pioneers -- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Pioneers -- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Source
- Clark, Elaine Ellmaker (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Ellmaker Family Papers
- Status
- Revise Description
- Author
- University of Oregon Libraries, Archivists' Toolkit Project Team. Additional description completed by Alexandra M. Bisio in 2017.
- 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.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
