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GUIDE to the
GLENN D. SHIRLEY WESTERN AMERICANA COLLECTION, circa ? - 2002
Western Americana Series
152 Document boxes (50.7 cubic feet)
Location: 1291-1341


Series Description:

Research Materials (1868-2002) The Glenn D. Shirley Collection’s Western Americana Series contains nearly 4000 folders on the American West. The research materials include newspaper and journal articles, maps, postcards, and correspondence on western subjects ranging from towns, legendary figures, missionaries, Native American tribes, battles, and influences in society. This series is arranged alphabetically with the articles in chronological order in most of the files.

Shirley meticulously typed the date, title of the journal and volume number on the first page of each article. The majority of the articles Shirley collected are from magazines and newspapers whose titles include Tombstone Epitaph, Old West, True West, Real West, Frontier Times, Tulsa World, The Daily Oklahoman and Chronicles of Oklahoma.

Shirley’s vast knowledge of the west compelled other researchers and authors to contact him about western subjects. This is noted in the correspondences contained in the some of the files. People often queried Shirley’s knowledge of specific subjects for their own genealogy or for book and article research. The manuscript, Life in the Ozarks, written by author Lutwich Carl Dreher, also contained in the files, was originally sent to Shirley for editing. In another folder entitled, Stagecoaches of the West, in correspondence from Shirley, he refers to himself as Historical Consultant of Western Publications, which includes journals The Old West Quarterly and True West Monthly.

Shirley’s background in law enforcement is revealed in the collection of materials on Gunmen in the West, Cowboy Weapons, the Gatling gun, lawmen such as Wyatt Earp, William Barclay "Bat" Masterson, and John Henry "Doc" Holliday and outlaws including Frank and Jesse James, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and Martha "Calamity Jane" Canary. Shirley was also interested in weapons, in the folder titled Johnny Medina, an avid collector of rifles, is a photograph of a gun that Medina owned with his name inscribed.

Shirley gathered extensive information on the societal changes that occurred in the West. This is documented in his files on education, homesteading, religion, the Civil War, railroads, navigation, the "Indian Problem," medicine, and ranching. Several of the articles on medicine include information about what pioneers used to cure ailments, nurses and doctors in Indian Territory, also medicine before there were doctors in the area, how the pioneers treated illnesses including their partnerships with Indians.

Finally, the number of articles on Women in the West is impressive. Many of the women are unknown, but to researchers seeking this information, the collection is vast. Some of the more popular names include Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter and exhibition shooter, Carrie Nation, a leader in the temperance movement, Lily Langtry, a British actress best known for her famous admirer Judge Roy Bean, Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who helped lead Lewis and Clark, and Belle Starr, the famous female outlaw and other subjects including Women’s Suffrage, and Indian Women.

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Subject Terms:

Personal Names:
Adams, Grizzly, 1812-1860
Allison, Clay, 1840-1887
Audubon, John James, 1785-1851
Barnum, Phineas Taylor, 1810 -1891
Bass, Sam, 1851-1878
Bean, Judge Roy, 1829-1903
Bolton, Black Bart, 1835-1917
Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820
Booth, John Wilkes, 1839-1865
Bowie, Jim, 1796-1836
Bridger, Jim, 1804-1881
Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925
Canary, Calamity Jane, 1852-1903
Carson, Kit, 1809-1868
Chisholm, Jesse, 1805 -1868
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
Colt, Sam, 1815 - 1862
Columbus, Christopher, 1451-1506
Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de, 1510-1554
Crockett, Davy, 1786-1836
Curtis, Charles, 1860-1936
Earp, Wyatt, 1848-1929
Garfield, James Arnold, 1831-1881
Gore, Thomas P., 1870-1949
Hardin, John Wesley, 1853-1895
Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893
Hearst, William Randolph 1863-1951
Hickok, Wild Bill, 1837-1876
Holliday, Doc, 1852-1887
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859
Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
James, Frank, 1843-1915
James, Jesse, 1847-1882
LaGuardia, Fiorello, 1882-1947
Langtry, Lily, 1853-1929
Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870
Masterson, Bat, 1853-1921
Murray, Alfalfa Bill, 1869-1956
Nation, Carry Amelia, 1846-1911
Oakley, Annie, 1860-1926
Parker, Quanah, 1847-1911
Poe, Edgar Allen, 1809-1849
Polk, James K., 1795-1849
Quantrill, William Clarke, 1837-1865
Sacagawea, 1786-1884
Sequoyah, 1773-1843
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896
Strauss, Levi, 1847-1902
Thorpe, Jim, 1887-1953
Villa, Poncho, 1878-1923

Corporate Names:
Adams Express Company
Levi-Strauss
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Wells Fargo

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Native American Tribes:
Listed Alphabetically in finding aid

Anasazi
Apache
Bannock
Blackfeet
Caddo
Cherokee
Cheyenne & Arapaho
Chickasaw
Chippewa
Choctaw
Comanche
Cree
Creek
Crow
Delaware
Euchee
Flathead
Hohokam
Hopi
Huron or Wendat
Kaw
Kickapoo
Kiowa
Mandan
Miami
Modoc
Mohave
Navajo
Nez Perce
Omaha
Ottawa
Paiute
Papago
Peoria
Piegan
Pueblo
Quapaw
Seattle
Seneca-Cayuga
Seminole
Shawnee
Shoshone
Sioux
Snoqualimich
Spokane
Tehuacana
Tigua
Tonkawas
Ute
Walapai
Wichita
Winnebago
Wyandotte
Yakimas
Yaqui
Yuma
Zuni

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Processing Information:

The Glenn D. Shirley Collection’s Western Americana Series was processed by Jessica Nguyen from January to May of 2007.


Ownership & Literary Rights:

TBA


Restrictions on Access:

This series is open for research. It is advisable for researchers to discuss their research with staff prior to visiting the Center.


Preferred Citation:

Glenn D. Shirley Western Americana Collection, Box ##, Folder ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK.

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