Robert Spurrier Ellison research and reference file, 1833-1951
Scope and Contents
Contains materials collected by Ellison pertaining to the full range of his interests in the history of the American West. The files contain typescripts, holographs, newsclippings, reprints, brochures, biographical sketches, and occasional correspondence. The files contain a large number of copied sources and newspaper articles saved by Ellison, as well as a number of original manuscripts, both holograph and typewritten, such as those of William Carey Brown, T. J. Brundage, William Francis Hooker, and Thomas Stuart McFarland. Materials dated 1833 to 1951.
Dates
- 1833-1951
Creator
- Ellison, Robert Spurrier (creator, 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 History
Robert Spurrier Ellison (1875-1945) was a prominent Colorado lawyer, businessman, politician, historian, and author.
Robert Spurrier Ellison (1875-1945) was born in Rushville, Indiana. After graduating from Indiana University in 1900, Ellison studied law. He was admitted to the Colorado bar in 1903 and specialized in mining litigation with the Colorado Springs law firm Schuyler and Schuyler. Ellison married Vida F. Gregory of Colorado Springs in 1907.
In 1911, Ellison was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He moved to Denver in 1915, and to Casper, Wyoming in 1919. While in Wyoming, Ellison became vice-president of the Midwest Refining Company. He helped to found Wyoming's Historical Landmark Commission and served as regional director of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association. Ellison also compiled and financed a history of the Pawnee nation, for which the Pawnee Supreme Council named him a tribal chief. In 1930, Standard Oil of Indiana bought the Midwest Refining Company and transferred Ellison to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ellison returned to Colorado Springs following his retirement in 1940, where he was elected president of the Bank of Manitou, mayor of Manitou Springs and director of the Boy Scouts of the Pikes Peak Region. Ellison wrote several books on the American West, and was considered Colorado's greatest book collector. His Western Americana collection was once said to be the second largest in the United States.
Ellison died at his home in Manitou Springs August 16, 1945.
Extent
152 folders
Language of Materials
English
Other Finding Aids
Finding aid available in repository.
Other Finding Aids
File-level inventory available online. http://files.lib.byu.edu/ead/XML/MSS782.xml
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States