Reeder, John Raymond, PhD
Reeder, Charlotte Olive
Goodding
Collection Name:
John R. Reeder and Charlotte
Goodding Reeder papers,
Inclusive Dates:
1907-2009
Bulk Dates:
1970-2005
Physical Description:
12 Linear Feet
Abstract:
John Raymond Reeder and Charlotte Goodding Reeder were American
agrostologists known for their expertise regarding grasses found in the western and
southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. They discovered and named
several new species of grasses and concluded their research work at the University of
Arizona Herbarium. This collection consists of biographical materials, professional and
personal correspondence, and research files related to their work on grasses. Also
included are publications, photographic materials, and scrapbooks focused on botanical
subject matters.
Collection Number:
MS 710
Language:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
E-Mail: LBRY-askspcoll@email.arizona.edu
Biographical Note
John R. Reeder and Charlotte Goodding Reeder were American agrostologists, or grass
specialists, and considered leading authorities on grasses in the western and
southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. John Raymond Reeder was born
on July 29, 1914, in Charlotte, Michigan. He attended school at what is now Oregon State
University where he met Charlotte Olive Goodding, whom he married in 1941. John was
conscripted during World War II and was stationed in Papua New Guinea. While there, he
collected grasses for curation sending them back home. Upon his return to the States, he
earned his PhD from Harvard University, while working at the Arnold Arboretum. In 1947,
he accepted a position at Yale University, teaching classes on dendrology, agrostology,
and plant taxonomy through the Forestry Graduate School. He was also Curator of the
Herbarium at the Peabody Museum of Natural History from 1947 to 1968 and retired from
Yale that last year. According to the Peabody Museum website, "Reeder's work centered on
the world's true grasses. Along with his wife Charlotte, he expanded the Herbarium's
collection of Gramineae." Charlotte Olive Goodding was born on July 26, 1916, in
Flagstaff, Arizona. She was the daughter of prominent botanist Leslie Newton Goodding,
whom she helped identify species from a young age. She attended the University of
Wyoming, where she studied under renowned Western botanist Aven Nelson, and earned her
M.A. in 1939 for her thesis on Muhlenbergia. She then took classes at Oregon State
University, where she met John R. Reeder and they married in 1941. While John was
stationed in New Guinea during World War II, Charlotte worked at the Smithsonian
Institution under the sufragette Agnes Chase. After John retired from Yale in 1968, the
Reeders continued their research at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium located at the
University of Wyoming, where John was a curator and head of the Department of Botany. In
1983, they moved to Tucson, Arizona continuing and eventually concluding their research
work at the University of Arizona Herbarium. John and Charlotte Reeder were honored with
a Lifetime Achievement Award at the first annual Arizona Botanists Meeting in 2003. The
botanical species Muhlenbergis reederorum is dedicated to them. John died on February 8,
2009 with Charlotte following on October 23, 2009.
Scope and Content Note
John R. Reeder and Charlotte Goodding Reeder papers, 1907-2009 (bulk 1970-2005). The
collection consists of the personal and professional papers of John R. Reeder and
Charlotte Goodding Reeder relating to their careers as agrostologists. The collection is
comprised of 6 series, with 5 subseries under those in total. Series I includes
biographical materials including curriculum vitae, historical documents, academic work,
and personal records. Series II contains correspondence between the Reeders and
different individuals, organizations, and corporations regarding both personal and
professional matters. Sub-series 1 includes personal and professional correspondence,
mainly queries regarding reprints and grass determinations. There is also international
correspondence with other agrostologists and botanists from around the world. Sub-series
2 contains correspondence during the Reeders' time at the University of Arizona
Herbarium. This correspondence deals mainly with Loans and Determinations. It also
includes information about Accessioning and Collections/Specimens found at the UA
Herbarium. Series III contains general botanical, predominantly grasses, research files
which make up the bulk of the collection. Sub-series 1 are general botanical research
files with grasses being the bulk of the sub-series. Drawings, microphotographs, and
specimens are also present. Sub-series 2 includes the Reeders' work on Muhlenbergia.
Drawings, photocopies, and bound research materials are present. Sub-series 3 contains
the Reeders' contributions to Paul S. Martin's update to Howard S. Gentry's seminal work
on the Rio Mayo plants. Drawings, photocopies, and bound research materials are present.
Series IV contains publications both written by the Reeders, such as offprints, as well
as those used in their research and careers. Some are international publications, both
original and photocopies. Series V contains photographic materials, such as photographs,
negatives, slides, and microfilm. These materials are predominantly of plant research
subjects and pertain to the genetic structure of grasses. There are also travel photos
found in the large number of negatives. Series VI contains scrapbooks consisting of
weekly local newspaper articles by and about Leslie N. Goodding, a renowned botanist who
was Charlotte Goodding Reeder's father. Other articles regarding botanical and
ecological subjects are also found in the scrapbooks.
Organization
This collection is organized into 6 series with 5 sub-series.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from theowner of
the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her
transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and
hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, its officers,
employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he
or she is an owner of copyright.
Specimen collections by the Reeders can be found at the University of Arizona Herbarium,
the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Harvard University Herbaria
& Libraries, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Rocky Mountain
Herbarium.
Howard Scott Gentry papers (MS 657). Special Collections, University of Arizona
Libraries
Separated Materials
Separated digital media includes: Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
Family Disk 1a Ferns – Gymnosperm, Acanth – Cerato (MS710_Reeder_BD001); Box 6, Folder 6
- 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Fam Disk 2a Comps (MS710_Reeder_BD002); Box 6, Folder 6
- 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Box 6, Fam Disk 3A Chenopod – Fagaceae
(MS710_Reeder_BD003); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Family Disk 4a
Fouquieriaceae – Menyath (MS710_Reeder_BD004); Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
Fam Disk 5a Mollug – Pyrolaceae (MS710_Reeder_BD005); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch
1.44MB floppy disk, Fam Disk 6a Raffl – Urtic (MS710_Reeder_BD006); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1
3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Fam Disk 7a Dicot – Valer Monocot – Cyperuc
(MS710_Reeder_BD007); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Fam Disk 8a
Monocots Hydrochar – Zannich (MS710_Reeder_BD008); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, Fam Disk 9a Author Abb. Manuscripts Families (MS710_Reeder_BD009); Box 6,
Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-VPA Disk 1 Ferns Gymnosperms
Acanth-Cerato (MS710_Reeder_BD010); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
untitled (MS710_Reeder_BD011); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-VPA
Disk 3 Chen-Fag (MS710_Reeder_BD012); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
Word-Disk 4 Fouq – Menyanth (MS710_Reeder_BD013); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, Word-Disk 5 Mollug – Pyrol (MS710_Reeder_BD014); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5
inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-Disk 6 Raffl – Urticac. (MS710_Reeder_BD015); Box 6,
Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-Disk 7 Dicots-Valer Mono-(?)-Cypera
(MS710_Reeder_BD016); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-VPA Disk 8
Mono (MS710_Reeder_BD017); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Word-Disk 9
Authorab.doc (MS710_Reeder_BD018); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
untitled (MS710_Reeder_BD019); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, 5.1
Grass 1 A-L (MS710_Reeder_BD20); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, 5.1
Grass 2 M-Z (MS710_Reeder_BD21); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk,
Aug-Sep. 1, 2004 Grasses (MS710_Reeder_BD022); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, Publications (MS710_Reeder_BD023); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, Published Papers (MS710_Reeder_BD024); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, NaKey in M. Word 2. FAIR Reviews (MS710_Reeder_BD025); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1
3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, FNA Manuscript Review-Disk 2 Micro Word
(MS710_Reeder_BD026); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, FNA- Review 3
(MS710_Reeder_BD027); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy disk, Zenith Data
Systems Remote Diagnostic ResQ Disk (MS710_Reeder_BD028); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch
1.44MB floppy disk, Grasses (MS710_Reeder_BD029); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB
floppy disk, Grass 2 (MS710_Reeder_BD030); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch 1.44MB floppy
disk, NOM = Nomenclatural changes TYP (MS710_Reeder_BD031); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch
1.44MB floppy disk, 5.1 Chromosomes (MS710_Reeder_BD032); Box 6, Folder 6 - 1 3.5 inch
1.44MB floppy disk, Disk 2 comps (MS710_Reeder_BD033)
This series consists of the Reeders' and family biographical materials, including
curriculum vitae, historical documents, academic work, and personal records. These
materials are arranged alphabetically.
This series contains correspondence between the Reeders and other agrostologists,
botanical organizations, and various herbaria. The bulk of the correspondence is
professional in nature. These materials are arranged alphabetically.
This sub-series contains personal and professional correspondence to and from
the Reeders. Correspondence is primarily comprised of queries regarding
reprints and grass determinations. There is also international correspondence
with other agrostologists and botanists from around the world. These materials
are arranged alphabetically.
This sub-series contains correspondence under the umbrella of the Reeders' work
at the University of Arizona Herbarium. This correspondence mainly dealt with
Loans and Determinations by and for other institutions and researchers. It also
includes information about Accessioning and Collections/Specimens found at the
UA Herbarium in response to queries.
This series consists of research files on various grasses conducted by the
Reeders. Chief among them is the Reeders' work on Muhlenbergia and their
contribution to Paul S. Martin's updated version of Howard S. Gentry's seminal
work on the Rio Mayo's plants.
This sub-series contains various plant research files, predominantly grasses,
which are arranged alphabetically. Drawings, microphotographs, and specimens
are present. These materials are arranged alphabetically.
box
folder
3
39
Achiachne drawings, 1967
3
40
Agronomia, 1969
3
41
Alopecurus, 1996
3
42
Andropogon, 1997, undated
3
43
Aristida, undated
box
folder
4
1
Aristida (in Arizona), 1990
4
2
Arizona flora, 1979
4
3
Arizona grasses, undated
4
4
Arizona grasses – Pringle collections, undated
4
19
Catalogue of Arizona gramineae, 1988-1996, undated
4
20
C.C. Mez ms, 1991
4
21
Cenchrus, 1963, 2001, undated
4
22
Chiapas, 1989, undated
4
23
Chiapas grass, 1983, 1991, 1995
4
24
Chloris – Leptochloa, undated
4
25
Chromosomal structures, undated
4
26
Chromosome drawings, 1969, undated
4
27
Chromosome numbers, 1964, 1965, undated
4
28
Chromosomes – Buchloë/Muhlenbergia, 1972
4
29
Chromosomes – Mexico, 1983
4
30
Chromosomes – photographs, undated
4
31
Cleistogenes, undated
4
32
Collections, 1999
4
33
Collections in AZ, NM, and TX, 1990, 2001-2004
4
34
Coronado National Forest Herbarium, 2005-2006
4
35
Crypsis, 1976-1980
4
36
Crypsis ms, 1980
4
37
Darbyshire, undated
4
38
Digitaria, undated
4
39
Digitaria (MX), 1987, undated
4
40
Echinochloa, 2005
4
41
Eragrostis, 1986-1990
4
42
Eragrostis pectinacea-pilosa, undated
4
43
Elymus, 2000, undated
4
44
Elymus cinerus, 1995
box
folder
5
1
Embryo list, undated
5
2
Embryo material, circa 1938
5
3
Epicampes, undated
5
4
Epidermis, undated
5
5
Eragrostis cialianensis, 1986
5
6
Evolution and systematics, undated
5
7
Fescue grasses, 1991
5
8
Festuca, 1993-1997
5
9
Festuca idahoensis Elmer, undated
5
10
Festuca localities, 1990, 1993
5
11
Flora of Veracruz, 1979-1983
5
12
Galapagos notes, 1974
5
13
General notes, circa 2005
5
14
Gramineae (United States), undated
5
15
Grasses, 1992-2004
5
16
Grasses – loans and collections, 1966-1967
5
17
Grasses from Harvey, 1971
5
18
Grasses of Arizona, undated
5
19
Grasses of southwestern, 1951, undated
5
20
Grasses of the upper San Pedro, undated
5
21
Grasses of the West Indies, 1971
5
22
Gray cards, 1992-1993
5
23
Herbarium reprint files, undated
5
24
Hilaria, 1956
5
25
Hitchcock and Chase Library, 1917, 1924-1925,
undated
This sub-series contains research files on the genus Muhlenbergia. Drawings,
photocopies, and bound research materials are present. These materials are
arranged alphabetically.
box
folder
7
11
Annotation labels made, undated
7
12
Awnlesss annual species of Muhlenbergia, 1974, undated
This sub-series contains research files on the Rio Mayo flora included in the
updated version of Howard S. Gentry's seminal work on the area's flora, which
are arranged alphabetically. Drawings, photocopies, and bound research
materials are present. These materials are arranged alphabetically.
This series contains publications both written by the Reeders, such as offprints,
as well as those used in their research and careers. Some are international
publications, both original and photocopies. These are arranged
alphabetically.
box
folder
8
13
Abbreviations used in the Department of Agriculture, 1939
This series contains photographic materials, such as photographs, negatives,
slides, and microfilm. These materials are predominantly of plant research
subjects and pertain to the genetic structure of grasses. There are also travel
images found in the large number of negatives. Materials are predominantly
arranged alphabetically, while the negatives are housed separately in a binder
with no formal arrangement.
box
folder
9
22
Chromosome photographs, undated
9
23
Lodicules of spartina cynosuroides photographs, undated
This series contains scrapbooks consisting of weekly local newspaper articles by
and about Leslie N. Goodding, a renowned botanist who was Charlotte Goodding
Reeder's father. Other articles regarding botanical and ecological subjects are
also found in the scrapbooks. These materials are arranged chronologically.
box
folder
11
1
Little Chats about Plants scrapbook, 1952-1958
11
2
Glimpses, This & That, and Letters scrapbook, 1953-1957
11
3
Letters to the Editor, Glimpses, Autobiography scrapbook, 1953-1958
