John William Hamilton photographs from Alaska

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sova.nmai.ac.323

Summary: This collection includes 9 albumen and silver gelatin photographs taken by Bishop John William Hamilton from 1887 to 1890 among the Tlingit and Haida communities in Alaska.

Biographical / Historical: John William Hamilton (1845-1934) was born in Weston, Virginia. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Union College in 1865 and a theology degree from Boston University in 1871. He served as a pastor in several congregations across Massachusetts before being elected as secretary of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society to build schools for freed slaves. He also worked to establish the first Methodist churches in Alaska and Hawaii. After retiring as a Bishop in 1916, Hamilton spent six years as chancellor of American University in Washington, D.C. He passed away in 1934 and is buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston.

Type: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Albumen prints; Gelatin silver prints

Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); John William Hamilton photographs from Alaska, image #, NMAI.AC.323; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Processing Information: Collection processed by Mattie Lewis, Archives Technician in 2025.

Rights: Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Scope and Contents: This collection contains six silver gelatin and three albumen photographs taken in Hoonah, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau, Alaska. The images depict homes, totem poles, and boats in Tlingit and Haida communities. Images numbers P19894-P19902

Restrictions: Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Separated Materials: Blue trade beads were also donated with this collection: 23/411524/1133

NMAI.AC.323

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv459e2ad26-82dc-49c7-9ae6-be24f44b1e38

NMAI.AC.323

NMAIA