George H. Atkinson papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 1152

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The George H. Atkinson papers include correspondence, miscellaneous speeches, journals, pamphlets, expense books, ministerial manuals, and a biography of Atkinson. The collection provides information on missionary life on the Oregon frontier and documents the growth of the Oregon public education system. Also included are two publications by Atkinson describing the Pacific Northwest and the Columbia Basin: "Address delivered by Rev. G. H. Atkinson, D. D. before the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York upon the possession, settlement, climate and resources of Oregon and the Northwest coast, including some remarks upon Alaska" (1868) and "The Northwest Coast, including Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, a series of articles upon the N.P.R.R. in its relations to the basins of the Columbia and of Puget's Sound" (1878). The collection also includes letters from Nancy Bates Atkinson's sister Lydia Bates Grout, written while she was a missionary to the Zulus in Natal, South Africa, in the late 1840s and 1850s, and describing her work there.

Dates

1814-1953
Majority of material found within 1847-1878

Creator

Atkinson, G. H. (George Henry), 1819-1889 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical note

George Henry Atkinson (1819-1889) was a missionary, educator, scientist, and publicist who played a key role in establishing Oregon's public school system. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, he was educated at Dartmouth College and the Andover Theological Seminary. He married Nancy Bates Atkinson in 1846, and they came to Oregon via Hawaii as Congregational missionaries in 1848. Serving at first as pastor of the Congregational Church in Oregon City, Atkinson founded the Clackamas County Female Seminary and later Tualatin Academy, which became Pacific University in Forest Grove. He was instrumental in the establishment of a public school system for the new Oregon Territory, and went on to serve as school superintendent for both Clackamas and Multnomah counties. He moved to Portland in 1865 and became the pastor of the First Congregational Church there. After leaving that post in 1872, he returned to missionary work and was appointed Superintendent of Missions of Congregational Churches of Oregon and Washington Territory. He continued as head of the Oregon superintendency after 1885.

Among the family of Nancy Bates Atkinson was her sister Lydia, who married the Reverend Lewis Grout, a classmate of George H. Atkinson at Andover Theological Seminary and later a missionary. The Grouts were assigned to a Zulu mission in Natal, South Africa, and sailed from Boston in 1846.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet (2 document cases)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of an Oregon missionary, educator, scientist, and publicist who played a key role in establishing Oregon's public school system. Includes letters of George H. Atkinson and his wife, Nancy Bates Atkinson, as well as speeches, journals, and ephemera.