Collection ID: LMC 1807
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Owen, Richard, 1810-1890
Abstract:
The Owen mss., 1821-1911, consist mainly of letters and papers of Richard Owen, 1810-1890 (son of Robert Owen), professor at Indiana University, and first president of Purdue University, and his descendants.
Extent:
1 Box (1 standard), 1 bound, and 1 folio
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], Owen mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Richard Owen, 1810-1890, was a geologist and natural scientist known for his expertise on earthquakes. After moving from Scotland to settle at New Harmony, Indiana – a social experiment founded by his father, Robert Owen – Owen assisted his brother, David Dale Owen, with geological surveys and projects, eventually taking over his brother's position as Indiana state geologist after David Dale's death. During his time serving the Union army in the Civil War, Owen oversaw Camp Morton, a prison camp for captured Confederate soldiers; his humanitarian treatment of the prisoners was widely praised. After the war, Owen joined the faculty at Indiana University and served as chair of the natural science department, going on to serve as Purdue University's first president in 1872 for two years. In 1890, Owen drank embalming fluid mistakenly labeled "medicated water" and passed away.

Scope and Content:

The collection consists mainly of the correspondence and papers of Richard Owen, as well as those of his descendants. Included are also some letters of other members of the Owen family and prominent New Harmony, Indiana, citizens.

Among the correspondents are John William Boehne, Jeremiah Tilford Boyle, James LeRoy Davenport, Mrs. Jane Dale (Owen) Fauntleroy, Emery A. Foster, J. B. Hunter, Mrs. Anna Eliza (Neef) Owen, David Dale Owen, Eugene Fellenberg Owen, Horace Pestalozzi Owen, Mrs. Katharine (Fitton) Owen, Katharine Dale Owen, Malcolm Dale Owen, Richard Owen, Robert Owen, Robert Dale Owen, 1801-1877, Robert Dale Owen, 1879-1917, William H. Owen, W. A. Page and Mrs. Lucy Way (Sistare) Say.

The first folder in the collection contains biographical information on Robert Dale Owen, David Dale Owen and William Owen, sons of Robert Owen.

See also Arthur H. Estabrook, "The Family History of Robert Owen," Indiana Magazine of History, XIX, 63-101, March 1923.

See "The Owen Family Papers," offprint by Josephine Mirabella Elliott from the Indiana Magazine of History, Volume LX (December 1964) in the Vertical File.

Acquisition information:
Gift/purchase: 1944, 1945
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Lilly - Folio; Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Owen mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu