Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Francis H. Gambell Papers
c.00176
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
- Creator
- Gambell, Francis H.
- Title
- Francis H. Gambell papers
- ID
- c.00176
- Date [inclusive]
- 1898-1959
- Extent
- 0.85 Cubic feet 10 Folders, Scrapbook, 98 lantern slides
- Language
- English
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: "Item title, Collection title, Collection Identifier, Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan."
Biographical Note
Francis H. Gambell was born in Iowa in 1870. He grew up on his parents' farm and eventually attended Parsons College in Iowa. He received a medical degree there in 1898 and set up practice in Minnesota. A few months later, bored with his practice, he accepted a government position in Alaska, where the government was trying to introduce reindeer as sources of food and transportation for the Eskimos. Gambell was sent to the Eaton Reindeer Station, north of Yukon River, as the physician for government employees stationed there. He spent three years in Alaska and was appointed supervisor of the government reindeer stations. He returned to Minnesota and his private practice in 1901. When civil war broke out in Russia in 1919, following the Russian Revolution, Gambell traveled with the Red Cross to Siberia, where he worked on the only train transporting wounded to hospitals. He later returned to the United States and his private practice. He moved from Minnesota to California, where he continued his medical work through his eighty-fifth year.
Scope and Contents note
The collection consists primarily of Gambell's written reminiscences. These include published newspaper accounts of his time in Alaska, as well as short stories and poetry based on his experiences in Alaska and as a doctor in California. Gambell also wrote about his childhood in Iowa, his years at Parsons College, and his decision to choose a career in medicine.
In addition, the collection includes news clippings about Gambell, and the transcript of an interview with him about his experiences. It contains a diary (1899) which Gambell kept in Alaska, a scrapbook from his time in Siberia, and drafts of introductions to a book or article that Gambell apparently wrote about Alaska.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections July 1964
Conrad Hall888 Wilson Road, Room 101
East Lansing , MI, 48824
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu
Revision Description
March 2000
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University. Property Rights: Michigan State University.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Diaries
- Letters (correspondence)
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
Geographic Name(s)
- Alaska
- Siberia (Russia)
- Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
Personal Name(s)
- Gambell, Violet
Subject(s)
- Agriculture -- Iowa
- Education -- Iowa
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Alaska
- Medicine
- Reindeer -- Alaska
Collection Inventory
PapersScope and Contents note |
||||
| Folder | ||||
|
Personal Diary 1899 |
1 | |||
|
Correspondence |
2 | |||
|
Articles about Gambell |
3 | |||
|
Published Items by Gambell |
4 | |||
|
Reminiscences |
5-7 | |||
|
Short Stories |
8-9 | |||
|
Verse |
10 | |||
|
|
||||
Scrapbook |
||||
| Volume | ||||
|
Siberian photographs 1918-1919 |
Scrapbook # 90 | |||
|
|
||||
Photographs |
Box Collection photographs |
|||
|
Agriculture. Farm Laborers |
||||
|
Alaska |
||||
|
Homes. Gambell home |
||||
|
People. Gambell, Francis H. |
||||
|
People. Gambel, Mr. and Mrs. Francis H. |
||||
|
People. Sherzer, S. Newman |
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|
|
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Lantern Slides |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Alaska |
Slides | 1 | ||
| Box | item | |||
|
Alaska Project |
Slides | 2 | ||
|
Juneau |
Slides | 3 | ||
|
Mountain Scene |
Slides | 4 | ||
|
Muir Glacier |
Slides | 5 | ||
|
Bovau Castle |
Slides | 6 | ||
|
Skagway Harbor |
Slides | 7 | ||
|
Face Mountain |
Slides | 8 | ||
|
Water Fall |
Slides | 9 | ||
|
Procession Chilcoot Pass |
Slides | 10 | ||
|
White Plains |
Slides | 11 | ||
|
Dead Horse Gulch |
Slides | 11a | ||
|
Camp Scene |
Slides | 12 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Arm Strong Saw Mill |
Slides | 13 | ||
|
Packer |
Slides | 14 | ||
|
Miles Canyon |
Slides | 15 | ||
|
White Horse Rapids |
Slides | 16 | ||
|
Dawson |
Slides | 17 | ||
|
Midnight Sun |
Slides | 18 | ||
|
(see 11a) Dead Horse Gulch |
Slides | 19 | ||
| Box | item | |||
|
Coal Fields |
Slides | 20 | ||
|
Seward, Alaska |
Slides | 21 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Vegetables |
Slides | 22 | ||
| Box | item | |||
|
Truck Garden |
Slides | 23 | ||
|
Wild Currents |
Slides | 24 | ||
|
Wild Fruits |
Slides | 25 | ||
|
Wild Flowers |
Slides | 26 | ||
|
Wild Roses |
Slides | 27 | ||
|
Float at Fairbanks |
Slides | 28 | ||
|
Hunting Club |
Slides | 29 | ||
|
[Quarry] |
Slides | 30 | ||
|
Cordova |
Slides | 31 | ||
|
Alaska Central R.R. |
Slides | 32 | ||
|
Dog Team and Sled |
Slides | 33 | ||
|
Alaskan Islands |
Slides | 34 | ||
|
U. S. Reserves Cutler |
Slides | 35 | ||
|
St. Lawrence Island |
Slides | 36 | ||
|
St. Michael |
Slides | 37 | ||
|
Mission Church |
Slides | 38 | ||
|
Arctic Owl |
Slides | 39 | ||
|
Geese |
Slides | 40 | ||
|
Caribou |
Slides | 41 | ||
|
Moose |
Slides | 42 | ||
|
Baby Moose |
Slides | 43 | ||
|
Slain Moose |
Slides | 44 | ||
|
Moose Head Cradle |
Slides | 45 | ||
|
Catch of Salmon |
Slides | 46 | ||
|
Caribou Feeding |
Slides | 47 | ||
|
Seal Herd |
Slides | 48 | ||
|
Brown Bear |
Slides | 49 | ||
|
Polar Bear |
Slides | 50 | ||
|
Big Horn Sheep |
Slides | 51 | ||
|
Black Bear |
Slides | 52 | ||
|
Johnson and Jeffries |
Slides | 53 | ||
|
Polar Bear |
Slides | 54-55 | ||
|
Herd of Walrus |
Slides | 56-57 | ||
|
Sleeping Walrus |
Slides | 58 | ||
|
Walrus Head |
Slides | 59 | ||
|
Nome |
Slides | 60 | ||
|
Nome Beach |
Slides | 61 | ||
|
In the Ice Flow |
Slides | 62 | ||
|
Ore Dumps |
Slides | 63 | ||
|
Long Tom [?] Sluicing |
Slides | 64 | ||
|
Off for the Races |
Slides | 65 | ||
|
River Dridger |
Slides | 66 | ||
|
In Eskimo Dress |
Slides | 67 | ||
|
Alaska’s R.R. Engine |
Slides | 68 | ||
|
Reindeer |
Slides | 69 | ||
|
Gold |
Slides | 70 | ||
|
After a Hunt |
Slides | 71 | ||
|
Desolation |
Slides | 72 | ||
|
In Eskimo Dress |
Slides | 73 | ||
|
Herd of Reindeer |
Slides | 73 | ||
|
Section of Herd |
Slides | 74 | ||
|
Rocky Promontory |
Slides | 76 | ||
|
Prince of Wales Village |
Slides | 77 | ||
|
Point Barrow Mission |
Slides | 78 | ||
|
Eskimo Woman |
Slides | 79 | ||
|
Eskimo Berry Pickers |
Slides | 80 | ||
|
Eskimos at Work |
Slides | 81 | ||
|
Eskimos at Play |
Slides | 82 | ||
|
Eskimos Working in Ivory |
Slides | 83 | ||
|
Eskimo Woman and Child |
Slides | 84 | ||
|
Eskimo Bells |
Slides | 85 | ||
|
Eskimo in Kayak |
Slides | 86 | ||
|
Eskimo in Bidorky |
Slides | 87 | ||
|
Eskimos in Bidorky |
Slides | 88 | ||
|
Eskimos in Oomiak |
Slides | 89 | ||
|
Eskimos in Summer Dress |
Slides | 90 | ||
|
Skin Houses (Winter) |
Slides | 91 | ||
|
Skin Houses (Summer) |
Slides | 92 | ||
|
Eskimo (Height of Fashion) |
Slides | 93 | ||
|
Siberian Eskimo Man |
Slides | 94 | ||
|
Eskimo Girl |
Slides | 95 | ||
|
Eskimo Dance |
Slides | 96 | ||
|
Eskimos at Work |
Slides | 97 | ||
|
Lover’s Lane |
Slides | 98 | ||
|
|
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