Valentine McGillycuddy diary
Scope and Contents
Materials contain handwritten record of McGillycuddy's duties as a surgeon with General George Crook during the Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876. They also include a description of the Battle of Slim Buttes on September 9, 1876, and the death of the Oglala chief, American Horse. The diary continues, beginning December 14, 1876, in the hand of McGillycuddy's wife, Fanny, and describes garrison life at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. Also contains a transcription of the diary. Dated from 1876 to 1877.
Dates
- Creation: 1876-1877
Creator
- McGillycuddy, Valentine, 1849-1939 (author, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to use material from this collection must be obtained from Reference Services at specialcollections@byu.edu.
Biographical / Historical
Valentine McGillycuddy (1849-1939) was a surgeon in the U.S. Army and was an Indian Agent at Pine Ridge Reservation.
Valentine Trant McGillycuddy was born on February 14, 1849 in Racine, Wisconsin. He graduated from the Detroit Medical College in a degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1869. In 1871, he served on the U.S. Boundary Survey Commission for the U.S. government as a topographer, and was in this position until 1874. He was assigned as the topographical engineer and physician to the Jenney Black Hills expedition in 1875, and then in 1876, he was appointed surgeon of the 2nd U.S. Calvary. In this position, he oversaw service in South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Montana, and was the attending physician when Crazy Horse, the Indian chief, was fatally wounded.
In 1879, McGillycuddy was appointed Indian Agent at the Pine Ridge Reservation. While trying to bridge relationships between the whites and Indians, he received criticism, but establised an Indian police force and a boarding school for the Native American children. He left the position in 1886, and helped in the business affairs of several companies in Rapid City, South Dakota. After 1912, he moved to California and practiced medicine until he retired. McGillycuddy died in Berkeley, California on June 06, 1939.
Extent
2 folders (0.1 linear ft.)
Language of Materials
English
Custodial History
Purchased from Fred A. Rosenstock in 1974.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased; Fred A. Rosenstock; 1974.
Appraisal
Utah and Western American cultural, family, social, intellectual, and religious history (19th Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts collection development policy, V, b, v, 4; March 2020)
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcription available in folder 2.
Processing Information
Processed; Meghan Hoesch; March 2020.
Subject
- American Horse, 1846-1876 (Person)
- Crook, George, 1829-1890 (Person)
- McGillycuddy, Valentine, 1849-1939 -- Diaries (Person)
- Title
- Register of Valentine McGillycuddy diary
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Elisa Visick
- Date
- 2010 June 14
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States