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Paul Bigelow Sears Collection,1832-1969 (bulk 1930-1966) MS 455

Collection Number: MS 455


Creator: Sears, Paul B. (Paul Bigelow), 1891-1990
Title: Paul Bigelow Sears Collection
Inclusive Dates: 1832-1969
Bulk Dates: 1930-1966 (bulk)
Quantity: 6.5 Linear Feet
Abstract:The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, grant proposals, reports, photographs, subject files, field notes, pollen samples and data relating to desert ecology which document Paul Sear's career as a botanist, ecologist and educator. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Sears and other researchers. Ecology was the central interest of Paul B. Sears' professional life. Understanding an ecosystem includes understanding its history. Sears used pollen analysis data of bog sediments as a tool, as a means to reconstruct past vegetation and to infer climate which is included in this collection.
Identification: Collection Number: MS 455
Language: English.
Repository: Special Collections, University Libraries
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/

Biographical Note

Paul Bigelow Sears, educator, botanist, ecologist and conservationist was born on December 17, 1891, in Bucyrus, Ohio, to Rufus Victor and Sallie Harris Sears. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, receiving a B.S. degree in 1913 and a B.A. in 1914. From there he went to the University of Nebraska and received an M.A. in 1915, after which he studied at the University of Chicago, earning his Ph.D. in botany in 1922. Sears married Marjorie Lea McCutcheon on June 22, 1917, and served in the United States Army from 1917-1918. The Sears’ had three children, Paul McCutcheon, Catherine Louise (Mrs. Arthur Frazer), and Sallie Harris Sears.

Sears began his teaching career as an instructor in botany at Ohio State University (1915-1919). He then served as assistant and associate professor of botany at the University of Nebraska (1919-1927). From 1928 to 1938 Sears taught at the University of Oklahoma and was head of the Botany Department. He also served as a botanist for the State Biological Survey of Oklahoma. His books from these years presented issues in the study of ecology to the public. These included Deserts On The March (1935), for which Sears received a Book of the Month award, This Is Our World (1937), and Who Are These Americans (1939). Sears also produced ecology study guides and textbooks for science teachers and their students.

From 1938 until 1950, Sears served as professor of botany at Oberlin College. In Ohio, Sears was active in local conservation groups and was instrumental in the founding of Friends of the Land in Ohio. In 1946 he was named to the Ohio Conservation Commission and worked to create an Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Sears was also active in the Ecological Society of America and was elected president of the society in 1948.

In 1950 Sears was named professor of conservation and chairman of the Conservation Program at Yale University. The Conservation Program at Yale was the country's first graduate program in the conservation of natural resources. From 1953 - 1955 Sears also served as chairman of the Plant Science Department at Yale. In 1952 Sears received the Conservation medal from the Garden Club of America and in 1956 he was named Eminent Botanist by the Botanical Society of America. Sears served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1956), Sigma Xi national lecturer (1956), chairman of the board the National Audubon Society (1956-1959), and president of the American Society of Naturalists (1959). From 1958 - 1964, Sears was a member of the National Science Board and from 1959 - 1972 he served on the Plowshare Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission.

In 1960 Sears retired from Yale and was named professor emeritus. Subsequently he served as visiting professor in the Tom Wallace Chair of Conservation at the University of Louisville and was a visiting faculty member at the University of Hawaii, Carleton College, Wake Forest College, and the University of Southern Illinois. From 1963 - 1965 Sears chaired the commission on science education of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1965 Sears was named Eminent Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America. During the decade of the 1960s Sears published Where There Is Life (1962), The Living Landscape (1966), and Lands Beyond the Forest (1969), as well as writing articles of technical and general interest on applied ecology.

Paul B. Sears, perhaps more than any other person, epitomized American plant ecology. In a professional career spanning almost 7 decades, he made major contributions to vegetation mapping, paleoecology and Pleistocene history, vegetation studies, conservation, human ecology and our use of land; and particularly, the varied roles of scientists in modern society. He was one of the most respected and honored ecologists in North America. He died in the medical center at Plaza de Retiro in Taos , New Mexico on April 30, 1990.


Scope and Content

The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, grant proposals, reports, photographs, subject files, field notes, pollen samples and data relating to desert ecology which document Paul Sear's career as a botanist, ecologist and educator. The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence between Sears and other researchers. The collection also includes research reports and manuscripts written by Sears and other researchers; activity files of various meetings and conferences attended by Sears and field notes of peat and pollen data collected and analyzed in different states, Mexico and Canada.


Organization

This collection is organized into three series.
Series List
Series I: Correspondence,1925-1969
Subseries 1: Incoming,1927-1969
Subseries 2: Outgoing,1927-1969
Subseries 3: Others,1925-1968
Series II: Manuscripts and Publications,1934-1967
Series III: Research Files,1832-1967
Subseries 1: Geographic Locations – State,1915-1966
Subseries 2: Geographic Locations – Country,1948-1967
Subseries 3: Subjects,1832-1960
Subseries 4: Activity Files,1945-1966
Subseries 5: People,1911-1959
Subseries 6: Field Notes,1916-1961

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

None


Access Terms

Personal Name(s)
Sears, Paul B. (Paul Bigelow), 1891-1990 - Correspondence

Subject(s)
Botany – Research – Canada
Botany – Research – Mexico
Botany – Research – United States
Desert ecology – United States
Ecology – Research – Canada
Ecology – Research – Mexico
Ecology – Research – United States
Pollen – Research – Canada
Pollen – Research – Mexico
Pollen – Research – United States


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Paul Bigelow Sears Collection (MS 455). Special Collections, UA Libraries.


Container List

Series I: Correspondence,1920-1969
This series is subdivided alphabetically by outgoing, incoming and other correspondence. It contains letters to and from Paul Sears and letters regarding Paul Sears written by others.
Subseries 1: Incoming,1927-1969
boxfolder
11 A,
12 B, 1931-1963
13 Ca-Cl, 1935-1960
14 Co-Cu, 1931-1965
15 D, 1927-1960
16 E, 1934-1966
17 F, 1934-1967
18 G, 1931-1966
19 H, 1934-1966
110 I, 1937-1960
111 J, 1935-1960
112 K, 1932-1968
113 L, 1928-1963
114 M, 1931-1966
115 N, 1931-1969
116 O, 1939-1966
117 P, 1935-1965
118 R, 1931-1966
119 Sa-Sh, 1934-1964
120 Sm-Sz, 1935-1967
121 T, 1931-1967
122 V, 1934-1961
123 W, 1927-1961
123 Z, 1948-1959
Subseries 2: Outgoing, 1927-1969
boxfolder
21 A, 1935-1968
22 B, 1934-1967
23 Ca-Ch, 1927-1967
24 D, 1935-1961
25 E, 1936-1962
26 F, 1928-1962
27 G, 1932-1967
27 H, 1932-1967
210 I, 1952-1963
211 J, 1931-1966
212 K, 1933-1967
213 L, 1933-1965
214 M, 1935-1968
215 N, 1936-1968
215 O, 1939-1968
216 P, 1935-1968
216 R, 1934-1966
217 Sa-Sl, 1935-1968
218 Sm-Sz, 1939-1961
219 T, 1934-1964
220 U, 1937-1960
222 V, 1935-1965
223 W, 1928-1969
224 Y, 1958-1959
225 Z, 1952-1968
Subseries 3: Others,1925-1968
boxfolder
31 A, 1936-1951
32 B, 1935-1958
33 C, 1935-1958
34 D, 1936-1961
35 E, 1938-1955
36 F, 1938-1967
37 G, 1935
38 H, 1937-1956
39 I, 1958
310 J, 1939
311 K, 1933-1961
312 L, 1935-1958
313 M, 1952-1962
314 N, 1939-1955
315 O, 1925-1961
316 P, 1937-1961
317 R, 1939-1955
318 S, 1936-1958
319 T, 1936-1964
320 U, 1947
321 V, 1936-1943
322 W, 1939-1968
323 Y, 1954
324 Z, undated
Series II: Manuscripts and Publications,1934-1967
This series contains written reports and publications by Paul Sears regarding his research and studies on pollen, palynology, climatic changes and plant ecology.
boxfolder
325 Bog Formation (Moor–Bildung) in Mexico, undated
326 Botany - Plant Ecology, undated
327 Climatic Changes in the Basin of Mexico, July 4, 1955
328 Constructive Evidence of Climatic Change in the Prairie States, undated
329 Euphorbia Marginata, undated
330 Evidences of Recent Climatic Changes in Arkansas, undated
331 Determination of World Plant Formations from Simple Climatic Data April 1, 1934
332 Evidences of Climatic Changes in Oklahoma, undated
333 The Green World of Charles Darwin, August 24, 1959
335 Literature, undated
336 NRC Committee on Paleobotany 1952-1953
337 Paleobotanical Publications, 1961
338 Palynologie Report, July 31, 1959
339 Palynology in North America – A Current Report, 1961
340 Palynology in Southern North America II-V, undated
341 Plenary Sessions of Palynologists at the 8th International Congress of Botany, Paris, 2-14 July, 1954
342 Pollen and Spore Circular No. 13 December 1946
343 Pollen Spectra Associated with the Madison County Mastodon Site, undated
344 Pollens Frequent in Post Wisconsin Bogs undated
345 A Preliminary Report on Fossil Pollen of the Pleistocene in Mexico and New Mexico, undated
346 Report on the Ecology of Door Peninsula, Wisconsin, undated
347 Soil – A Basic Resource, undated
348 World Report on Paleobotany, 1961-1967
Series III: Research Files
This series is subdivided by geographic locations, subjects, activity files, people and field notes. All but field notes are arranged alphabetically. Field notes are arranged chronologically. It contains pollen analysis, pollen and bog counts, reports written by researchers, conferences and meetings attended by Paul Sears and field notebooks containing pollen data.
Subseries 1: Geographic Locations – State, 1915-1966
boxfolder
349 Arizona – Correspondence, undated
350 Arizona – Counts 1928-1936
351 Arizona – Diagrams, 1934-1956
352 Arizona - Tucson, 1955-1957
353 Arkansas - Counts 1931
354 Arkansas – Diagrams, undated
355 California – Counts, 1958
356 California – Diagrams, 1958
357 Colorado – Correspondence, 1936-1939
358 Colorado – Counts, 1925-1936
359 Colorado – Diagrams, undated
360 Connecticut – Counts, undated
361 Connecticut – Diagrams 1952
362 Connecticut – Guilford, 1960-1963
363 Florida – Counts, 1935
364 Florida – Diagrams and Correspondence, 1965
365 Georgia – Diagrams and Correspondence, 1965
366 Georgia – Report on Excavation at Irensmound, 1938
367 Illinois – Counts, December 14, 1965
368 Illinois – Diagrams, 1935-1960
369 Illinois – Gray’s Lake, 1935-1956
370 Illinois – Gray’s Lake, 1929
371 Illinois – Gray’s Lake – Pollen Analysis, 1963
372 Illinois – Gray’s Lake, 1955
373 Indiana – Counts, 1933-1935
374 Indiana – Manuscripts, March 11, 1937
375 Iowa – Correspondence, June 15, 1956
376 Iowa – Counts, 1934-1958
377 Iowa – Diagrams, 1934
378 Kansas – Correspondence, February, 1939
379 Massachusetts – Correspondence, 1958
380 Massachusetts – Diagrams – Tables – Counts, 1939/1958
381 Michigan – Counts, 1931-1935
382 Michigan – Diagrams, 1930-1935
383 Michigan – Manuscripts, 1932
384 Minnesota – Correspondence, 1937-1946
385 Minnesota – Counts, 1931-1935
386 Minnesota – Counts, 1931-1935
387 Minnesota – Diagrams, 1931-1935
388 Nebraska – Correspondence, 1927
389 Nebraska – Counts – Notes, 1960
390 Nebraska – Crane Lake, January 21, 1959
391 Nebraska – Diagrams and Tables, undated
392 Nebraska – Hackberry Lake, January 24, 1959
393 Nebraska – Krause Bog, 1962-1963
394 Nevada – Caves – Counts, undated
395 Nevada – Caves – Diagrams, 1960-1961
boxfolder
41 Nevada – Caves – Notes and Correspondence, 1955
42 Nevada – Summary Counts – Checked, 1960
43 New Hampshire – Correspondence and Counts, 1933-1935
44 New Mexico – Correspondence, 1959-1962
45 New Mexico – Counts – Valle Grande – San Augustin, 1950-1956
46 New Mexico – Data, 1955-1960
47 New Mexico – Diagrams – Tables, 1956
48 New Mexico – General Correspondence, 1952-1954
49 New York – Correspondence - Manuscript, 1941-1956
410 New York – Long Island - Peat Deposit – G. B. Sowers and C. Franc Letters, etc., 1941-1956
411 North Carolina – Correspondence, 1941-1956
412 Ohio – Bucyrus – Diagrams, 1935-1955
413 Ohio – Castalla, 1952-1966
414 Ohio – Castalia – Counts, 1952-1966
415 Ohio – Castalia – Diagrams, 1955-1965
416 Ohio – Castalia - Maps, 1965
417 Ohio – Castalia – Notes, 1915-1966
418 Ohio - Correspondence, 1955
419 Ohio – Counts, 1935-1965
420 Ohio – Data, 1955-1956
421 Oklahoma – Counts, undated
422 Oklahoma – Diagrams, undated
423 Pacific Coast – Counts, undated
424 Pennsylvania – Counts, 1932
425 Pennsylvania – Diagrams, 1931-1932
426 Rhode Island – Maps, undated
427 South Dakota – Correspondence – Counts, 1957-1958
428 Tennessee – Counts, 1934-1935
429 Tennessee – Diagrams and Tables, 1934-1951
430 Texas – Correspondence, 1935
431 Texas – Counts, 1934
432 Utah – Ogden – Correspondence, etc., 1958-1959
433 Virginia – Counts, undated
434 West Virginia – Counts, undated
435 Wisconsin – Counts, 1933-1934
436 Wyoming – Counts, 1933-1935
437 Wyoming – Diagrams, 1933-1937
Subseries 2: Geographic Locations – Country, 1948-1967
boxfolder
438 Canada – Counts, undated
439 Canada – Diagrams, undated
440 Central America and Mexico – Correspondence, 1959
441 Greenland – Correspondence, undated
442 Jordan – Pella – Counts, 1967
443 Mexico – Counts, undated
444 Mexico – Diagrams and Tables, 1950-1962
445 Mexico – General correspondence, 1955
446 Mexico – General correspondence, 1955
447 Mexico – Miscellaneous, 1948-1955
448 Mexico and New Mexico – Miscellany, 1953
449 Mexico – Notes, etc., 1952-1955
450 South America – Correspondence, undated
Subseries 3: Subjects, 1832-1960
boxfolder
51 Bibliographies on Pollen Analysis, undated
52 Bog Development, 1923-1934
53 Botanical Gazette, 1938-1943
54 Chronology, 1935
55 Climate, 1931-1933
56 Clippings Related to Fossil Pollen, 1937-1951
57 Collections, 1950-1953
58 Collections – Pollen, 1930-1948
59 Electronic Flash – Illumination for Photomicrography, undated
510 Fossil Pollen in Peat Bogs in Northeastern North America by Preston Smith, 1939-1940
511 Geological Survey, 1951-1959
512 Ice Profiles, 1953
513 International Committee on Palynology, 1954-1956
514 Literature – Pollen, 1908-1933
515 Map Information, 1947-1958
516 Michillinda, undated
517 National Science Foundation, undated
518 Nuclear Science and Engineering Corporation, undated
519 Owl Swamps – Counts and Correspondence, undated
520 Peat, 1931-1934
521 Peat – German Pictures – Sphagum, 1899-1904
522 Pelargonium Pollen Notes, 1925
523 Pleistocene, undated
524 Pollen, 1932
525 Pollen Abstracts, 1922-1926
526 Pollen Analysis, 1930
527 Pollen Analysis Circular, no. 1-8, 1943-1944
528 Pollen and Spore Circular, 9, 10 and 11, 1944-1945
529 Pollen and Spore Circular, 12, 13 and 14, 1945-1952
530 Pollen and Spore Circular, 13, 14, 15 and 17, 1948-1949
531 Pollen – Bibliography, 1957
532 Pollen Grants and Requests, 1957
533 Pollen – Icons, 1832-1927
534 Pollen Investigations – Notes – Miscellany, 1920-1959
535 Pollen Keys, 1927
536 Pollen – Maps – Bog Locations in N.E. North America, undated
537 Pollen Notes, 1882-1935
538 Pollen Notes – Miscellaneous, 1948
539 Pollen Photos, 1950-1953
540 Pollen – Plant, 1955
541 Pollen Profiles, undated
542 Pollen Research Budget, 1953
543 Pollen Structure, 1926-1928
544 Pollen Workers – International Address List, undated
545 Quarternary Climate, 1930
546 Research, 1953
547 Sampling – Soil Testing Services, Inc. – MJA Corp., 1952
548 Species Ranges, undated
549 S.W. Palynology, 1960
boxfolder
61 Technique, 1956-1960
62 Tree Rings, 1937
63 Western Speleological Institute, 1957-1960
64 Yale University and Oberlin – Cooperating, undated
65 Zempoala Pollen Analysis, 1956
Subseries 4: Activity Files, 1945-1966
boxfolder
66 Friends of Pleistocene Geology 22nd Reunion, May 15-17, 1959
67 Friends of Pleistocene Geology Meeting at London, Ontario, 1945 Annual Meetings 1945
68 Geological Society of America, May 16-17, 1959
69 Geological Society of America – Fifty-Eighth Annual Meeting – Hotel William Penn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dec. 27-29, 1945
610 International Conference on Palynology, Tucson, AZ, April 1962
611 International Conference on Palynology , Utrecht, August 29-September 3, 1966
612 Mailing List of Paleobotanists, undated
613 Members of the Paleobotanical Section, Botanical Society of America, January 7, 1957
614 Minutes of Annual Business Meeting, Paleobotanical Section, Botanical Society Of America, January 7, 1957
615 Paleobotanical Section , Fellow Members, April 6, 1964
616 Paleobotanical Section, Field Trip, undated
617 Paleobotanical Section of the Botanical Society of America, Membership List, 1959 1962-1963
618 Palynology Symposium, Yale University, Feb. 21, 1953
619 Pleistocene Questionnaire, 1953
620 Pollen Conference, Aug. 1956
621 Report of a Conference to Plan Coordinated Anthropological Research in the Valley Of Mexico, 1960
622 Second National Pollen Conference, Dec. 28-29, 1953
623 Third National Pollen Conference, Oberlin, May 1956
624 Wenner-G ren Foundation, 1952
625 Yale University and Oberlin Cooperating, Grant Applications, 1953
Subseries 5: People, 1911-1959
boxfolder
626 Antevs, Ernst, undated
627 Barkley, Fred A., undated
628 Boyko, Hugo, 1921-1943
629 Campbell, Thomas D., 1948
630 Clisby, Kathryn H., undated
631 Clisby, P. J. and Kathryn., 1911-1953
632 Conner, Ruth Ann, undated
633 Eckerson, S. H., 1926
634 Ennis, David B., undated
635 Fanshawe, John R., undated
636 Folger and Thomson, undated
637 Fuechsel, C. F., 1957
638 Grayson, John F., undated
639 Hafsten, Ulf, undated
640 Hammen, T. van der, undated
641 Hansen, Henry P., 1944
642 Harrison, A. E., undated
643 Iverson, Johannes, 1955
644 Johnson, L. E., undated
645 Kaiser, M., 1955
646 Kapp, R. O., undated
647 Kezerian, Stephen, 1952
648 Lawrence and Elson, 1953
649 Lawrence, Donald B., undated
650 Leopold, Estella B., undated
651 Lyon, Charles J., 1935
652 MacClintock, Paul, undated
653 Martin, Paul S., undated
654 Parsons, Elsie Clews, 1939
655 Potter, L., undated
656 Ralska, M., 1957
657 Smiley, Terah L., undated
658 Smith, C. C., undated
659 Smith, E. R., undated
660 Smith, John B., 1959
661 Smith, Preston, 1933-1939
662 Taber, Stephen, undated
663 Terra, Helmut de, 1952
664 Thomas, H. H., undated
665 Tsukada, Matsuo, 1959
666 Wells, B. W., undated
665 Wendorf, Fred, 1958
668 Whitaker, Thomas, Cutter, Hugh C. and MacNeish, Richard S. 1957
669 Whitton, E. S., 1927
670 Wilcox, Arthur N., undated
671 Wilson, L. R., 1945-1963
672 Winder, C. G., undated
673 Wright, H. E., undated
674 Zimmermann, Prof. Dr., undated
Subseries 6: Field Notes, 1916-1961
boxfolder
675 1916-1919 - Logs
676 1921 – Logs
677 1925 – Logs
678 1926-1928 – Logs
679 1927-1929 – Pollen
680 1928-1930 – Logs
681 1930 – Logs
682 1930-1965 – Peat Collections
boxfolder
boxfolder
71 1931-1933 – Logs
72 1934 – Logs
73 1935 – Logs
74 1936-1941 – Pollen Analysis
75 1938 – Logs
76 1942-1948 – Mexico Core Notes
77 1946-1947 – Logs
78 1948 – Logs
79 1948 – Mexican Pollen Counts
710 1948 – Peat Log – Mexico
711 1948-1955 – Fossil Pollen Collections
712 1950-1953 – Logs
713 1953 – Castalia – Techniques – Logs
714 1953 – Logs
715 1955-1960 – Procedure Records
716 1956 – Herbarium Records
717 1956 – Notes on Pollen Structure
718 1956-1960- Michellinda – Miscellaneous Notes
719 1959 – Logs
720 1959 – Pollen Samples At Gibbs
721 1961 – Logs
722 Logs – Castalia, undated