Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at the Huntington Library

BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 32 | Issue 3 Article 8 7-1-1992 Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at the Huntington Library Peter J. Blodgett Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Blodgett, Peter J. (1992) "Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at the Huntington Library," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 32 : Iss. 3 , Article 8. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol32/iss3/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Blodgett: Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at studying the saints resources for research in mormon history at the huntington library peter J blodgett when henry edwards huntington retired in 1910 from a successful career in railroading and land development he turned both his great fortune and his vast experience to the advancement of his fondest personal avocation the collecting of rare books and manuscripts already well known for his accomplishments as a collector he now applied himself with greater effort to this pursuit by the time of his death in 1927 he had assembled one of the finest private holdings then in existence relating to anglo american history and literature the research library established by huntington on the foundation of that private collection has remained one of the preeminent resources for scholarship in america to this day from the beginning it has numbered significant documents of mormon history among its many treasures the earliest mormon acquisitions by huntington resulted primarily from his enthusiasm for printed americana and his decision to buy several large collections in their entirety first and second editions of the book of mormon for example came to his library with the purchases of the E dwight church and augustin macdonald collections in 1911 and 1916 the purchase in 1922 of magners wagner Wag ners5 magnificent library of western americana henry R wagners capped this trend adding seventy eight volumes concerning morclaytona claytons monism alone such as a first edition of william Clay tons renowned saints emigrants guide by 1925 huntington had the latter day saintsemigrantsguide already gathered a fine collection of printed mormon titles particularly focused upon the era of immigration to and settlement of utah peter J blodgett is curator of western historical manuscripts at the henry E huntington library byustudies BYU studies 32 no 3 1992 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1992 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, Iss. 3 [1992], Art. 8 developerand developer henryedwards and book collector operand henry edwards huntington 1850 1927 the devel who devoted much of the last years of his life to gathering and preserving an extensive collection of manuscripts and rare books emphasizing american and english literature in time his collecting embraced western cormons in the west to house these collections americana which included mormons he built and endowed the library that bears his name courtesy of the huntington library https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol32/iss3/8 2 Blodgett: Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at studying the saints 73 in subsequent years that original collection of printed works grew enormously in breadth and depth carefully nurtured by leslie E bliss throughout his lengthy tenure as huntington librarian during the 1920s under blisss blissa administration the library began to expand into the field of unpublished mormon materials that pursuit of original sources reinforced huntingtons Hunting tons own interest in collecting the background materials necessary for scholarly research however pedestrian such materials might seem to rare book collectors the background materials obtained for the field of western americana included letters diaries journals and reminiscences written by latter day saints both famous and anonymous as well as by other observant commentators As early as 1929 the library added significant groups of mormon manuscripts to its collections of original historical documents although not pursued initially with the vigor seen in later years the acquisition of mormon manuscripts began with several notable triumphs in 1929 for instance the huntington obtained a series of six original diaries kept byjohn by john D lee spanning a period from 1846 to 1876 as well as assorted lee correspondence and an original diary from rachel woolsey lee for the years 1856 60 the papers ofofjacob jacob S boreman prominent opponent of the LDS church and presiding judge at the two trials of john D lee were acquired in 1934 and in 1942 as the new deals works progress administration was winding down its operations the huntington secured carbon copies of various pioneer reminiscences and histories as well as original historical ephemera brought together by hugh oneil an editor with the WPA historic records survey in utah measured merely by these three acquisitions the library had thus gathered a small but important collection of mormon manuscripts that touched upon the end of the crucial nauvoo period the transcontinental flight to utah the colonization of the great basin mormons in late and the bitter conflict between gentiles and cormons nineteenth century utah 11 by 1942 of course the united states had joined world war II and most of the nations energies were absorbed by the escalating war effort at the time it must have seemed that the preservation of the past would have to give way to the urgent demands of the present yet at that very moment a series of coincidental events were about to occur that would thrust the huntington library into the forefront of those institutions collecting mormon historical materials 1 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 1992 3 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 32, Iss. 3 [1992], Art. 8 .55 E 0 1- u 52tt C ait c .44 C cz q V P to m r 94.4 Z z0.1V 01 01 ot G 0 rzt p 3 1 1 3 0 4 u i z Q z a 9 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol32/iss3/8 4 Blodgett: Studying the Saints: Resources for Research in Mormon History at studying the saints 75 the first link in that chain of events was forged in 1943 when robert glass cleland professor of history at occidental college became affiliated with the Hunting huntingtons tons research staff cleland a renowned expert in the history of california and the southwest sought ways to promote further research in southwestern history at the library aware of the financial support being given to the study of regional history by the rockefeller foundation cleland prodded the library into applying for a foundation grant the foundations humanities program responded in august 1944 with the offer of an annual award of 10000 a year for a (...truncated)