Oral history interview with David C. Duniway

Collection

Identifier: SR 9430

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with David C. Duniway was conducted by Linda S. Dodds in Salem, Oregon, and at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, from January 9 to June 11, 1981, as part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program. At the time of the interview, Dodds’ name was Linda S. Brody. The interview was conducted in three sessions.

In this interview, Duniway speaks at length about his family background, including the education and career of his father, Clyde Augustus Duniway. He talks about his career as an archivist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and as Oregon’s first state archivist. He discusses his involvement with the historic preservation of several buildings in Salem, and speaks at length about his relationship with Oregon governors, including Charles Sprague, Mark Hatfield, and Earl Snell. He closes the interview by sharing anecdotes about his grandmother, Oregon suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway.

Dates

1981 January 9-June 11

Creator

Duniway, David (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Biographical note

David Cushing Duniway was born in Missoula, Montana, in 1912. He grew up in Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, and England. He attended Stanford University for one year, then completed a bachelor’s degree at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1933. He earned a master’s degree and a library certificate from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1937, he became an archivist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. In 1944, Duniway was transferred to the West Coast as a field representative for the National Archives at the Office of Price Administration. The next year, he moved to Salem, Oregon, and he became Oregon’s first state archivist in 1946. He retired in 1972. He helped found the Marion County Historical Society, served as president of the Salem Art Association, and served as director for the Mission Mill Museum. He was active in efforts to preserve historic buildings in Salem.

Duniway was married twice, first in 1943 to Gretchen Prines Ellen, with whom he later had two children. They divorced in 1962, and the next year he remarried, to Frances Lebaron Haley Thornton. Duniway died in 1993.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (6 audiocassettes (6 hr., 7 min., 5 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with David C. Duniway conducted by Linda S. Dodds from January 9 to June 11, 1981. Duniway discusses his career as Oregon's first state archivist and his involvement in the historic preservation of several buildings in Salem.