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Overson Family Photograph Collection, 1840-1950s (bulk 1920s-1940s)

MS 549


Collection Summary

Creator: Overson, Margaret Jarvis, 1878-1968.
Collection Name: Overson Family Photograph Collection,
Inclusive Dates: 1840-1950s
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1920s-1940s)
Physical Description:14 linear feet
Abstract:Photographs and negatives, primarily prints, glass plate, nitrate, and acetate negatives, but also a few travel stereographs, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and daguerreotypes, mostly relating to the Overson family of St. Johns, Arizona, along with some of townspeople, buildings, and special occasions. There are a few portraits of people taken by Charles Jarvis, circa 1890 to 1910. More were taken by his daughter, Margaret Jarvis Overson, circa 1920 to 1960. A small amount were taken by other photographers and by her adult children, especially Eva M. Overson Tanner. The images include mostly unidentified people, family, student class groups, school athletic teams, and a few celebrations and street scenes. Photographs also include Mormon schools, school groups, church groups and church leaders.
Collection Number:MS 549
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

Charles Godfrey (DeFriez) Jarvis (1855-1919) settled in St. Johns, Arizona in the 1880s and operated a drug store where he also was a dentist, photographer, postmaster, notary public, and U.S. Land Commissioner, and had the first telephone office. He was born to the DeFriez family but was taken in by the Jarvis family and took their name. He married Margaret Jarvis (1857-1934) and they had eight children including Margaret Godfrey Jarvis (1878-1968).

Margaret Godfrey Jarvis assisted her father with photography beginning in her teens. She married Henry C. Overson (1968-1947) in 1896 and they had nine children: Eva M., Henry Victor, Albert N., Edgar P., Harry J., Evan, Ivan, Ross W., and Marion Peter. Henry Overson's construction company built and repaired houses and other buildings in St. Johns. Margaret continued her father's photography work from their home and on location.

The Jarvis and Overson families were members of the Church of Latter Day Saints accompanying many other settlers to St. Johns, Arizona in the early 1880s.


Scope and Content Note

Photographs and negatives relating mostly to the Overson family of St. Johns, Arizona but also from Charles Jarvis and later Margaret Overson's photography business in St. Johns. The images include Overson and related family members, Mormon groups, student class groups, high school sports teams, and a few St. Johns celebrations and street scenes.

Photographs known to be taken by Charles Jarvis consist of a small number of cabinet cards with his studio imprint. These are all studio portraits of individuals, children, and families, taken circa 1890 to 1910, and most appear to be family members although they are unidentified. There are a few school group and church group images probably taken during the late 1890s and forward.

Except for family photographs of Overson children and their activities, most of the collection represents the 1920s to 1940s, a time when Margaret's children were in high school and then marrying and starting their own families. Most of these images are of unidentified family members, and a smaller amount are unidentified portraits of others.

There are also some images of school buildings and students including high school sports teams, bands, drama productions, and graduating classes, mostly from the late 1910s to the late 1930s. Also present are a few images of Mormon church leaders and church groups, women's groups, and a boy scout camping trip (ca. 1930s).

Other highlights include a few images of parades and parade floats, celebrations, cart races at the 1937 Golden Jubilee Parade, and Henry Victor Overson dressed as "Uncle Sam" for a holiday. Other views of rural life include hay harvests, picnics and excursions, building construction, women's gatherings, and home interiors. One image shows a large meterorite on a flat-bed railroad car.

The images are mostly unidentified but some information can be taken from the content, from published histories of St. Johns, and from Margaret J. Overson's published family history which reproduced some of the images. All the images were scanned and are available in digital format. There is a good amount of duplication in the digital scans because images were sometimes scanned as negatives and then as prints, and each print was scanned even if it was a duplicate.

See the spreadsheet for the Overson Family Photographs for more specific information. Please contact an archivist to view spreadsheet.


Arrangement

This collection is organized into 2 series by type of material.
Series I: Photographs, 1840-1950s bulk 1920s-1940s
Series II: Negatives, circa 1890s-1940s
Subseries 1: Glass plate negatives, 5"x7", circa 1890-1930
Subseries 2: Glass plate negatives, 3"x4", circa 1890-1930
Subseries 3: Negatives, 4"x5", circa 1920s-1940s
Subseries 4: Negatives, 5"x7", circa 1920s-1940s

Restrictions

Restrictions

There are no restrictions on this collection.

Copyright

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner 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.


Access Terms

Personal Name(s)
Jarvis, Charles Godfrey, Photographer.
Overson, Margaret Jarvis, Photographer.

Geographic Name(s)
Saint Johns, Ariz. -- Pictorial works.

Subject(s)
Automobiles -- Arizona -- Pictorial works.
Boy Scouts -- Arizona -- Pictorial works.
Building sites -– Arizona -- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
Camping -- Arizona -- Pictorial works.
Cartes-de-visite.
Children -- Pictorial works.
Daguerreotypes.
Dams -- Arizona -- Design and construction -- Pictorial works.
Domestic life -- Pictorial works.
Infants -- Pictorial works.
Jarvis family.
Meteorites -– Arizona -- Pictorial works.
Mormons -- Arizona -- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
Overson family.
Parades –- Arizona -- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
Photographers -- Arizona.
Photoprints.
Rural women -- Arizona -- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
School children -– Arizona -- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
Schools –- Arizona –- Saint Johns -- Pictorial works.
Sports teams -- Pictorial works.
Stereographs.
Tanner family.


Administrative Information

Credit Line

Overson Family Photograph Collection (MS 549). Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries.

Processing History

Processed by Kim Frontz.


Container List

Series I: Photographs, 1840-1950s bulk 1920s-1940s
This series is arranged topically.
boxfolder
11 Overson, Eva Margaret, studio portraits, 1897-1920s
12 Overson, Eva, family and activities, 1910s-1930s
13 Overson, Eva - LeRoy Tanner (husband), 1910s-1920s
14 Overson, Evan and Ivan, 1910s-1930s
15 Overson, Harry James, 1920s-1940s
16 Overson, Henry Christian, 1880s-1910s, 1940s
17 Overson, Margaret Godfrey Jarvis, 1890s-1940s
18 Overson, Henry C. and Margaret J., 1920s, 1940s
19 Overson, Henry Victor, studio portraits, 1900s-1920s
110 Overson, Henry V., family and activities, 1920s-1930s
111 Overson, Marion Peter, 1920s-1940s
112 Overson, Ross Wallace, 1930s-1940s
113 Overson children (groups), including Victor as Uncle Sam, 1900s-1930s
boxfolder
21 Overson children (unidentified), 1900s-1930s
22 Tanner, Wallace Ove and Lee Henry, 1920s-1940s
23 Overson family groups, 1920s-1940s
24 Overson family homes, 1900s-1940s
25 Oveson family, Lars, Peter and Ove (correct spelling for earlier generation), 1880s-1920s
26 Oveson, Ove Christian and Mary K. Christiansen and children (correct spelling for earlier generation), 1888-1920
27 Overson, David and Annie (Jarvis) and children, 1890-1910s
28 Overson, George Conrad, 1902
29 Overson, Ove Ephraim, 1902
210 Overson -- Miscellaneous identified -- (Carol, Merrill Lyman), 1900-1940s
211 Godfrey-Jarvis family, 1860s-1880s
212 Jarvis, George and Ann Prior, 1860s-1911
213 Jarvis, Charles and Margaret and children, 1880s-1920s
214 Portraits –- Identified, A-E (Anderson, Burk, Bigelow, Davis, Christiansen), 1880s-1940s
215 Portraits –- Identified, F-L (Greer, Hamblin, Knowles, Heap, Farr, Gibbons), 1890s-1940s
216 Portrait –- Hunt, George W.P. (FILED IN BOX 8), 1914
217 Portraits –- Identified, M-R (Rogers, Mineer, Pace, Rencher, Pena, Noakes, Milne, McFate, Morgan, Pulsipher, Pershing), 1890s-1940s
218 Portraits –- Webb, William, Jr. and family, 1890s
219 Portraits –- Identified, S-Z (Shumway, White, Whiting, Sherwood, Tenney, Wilkins, Richey, Dora Sherwood Udall), 1890s-1940s
220 Cartes-de-visite, Men, women, children, families, including Paul Paulson (Photographers: C.R. Savage, Dagmar N. Jonstrup, G.F. Anderson, Crocwell and Ottinger), 1870s-1880s
boxfolder
31 Portraits –- Children, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
32 Portraits –- Children, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
33 Portraits –- Children, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
34 Portraits –- Children, First communion/confirmation, 1930s-1940s
35 Portraits –- Couples, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
36 Portraits –- Couples, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
37 Portraits –- Couples, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
38 Portraits –- Wedding couples, unidentified, 1890s-1920s
39 Portraits –- Wedding couples, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
310 Portraits –- Wedding groups, unidentified, 1920s-1940s
311 Portraits –- Families –- reprints, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
312 Portraits –- Families –- cabinet cards, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
313 Portraits –- Families –- studio portraits, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
314 Portraits –- Families –- outdoors, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
boxfolder
41 Portraits –- Families, unidentified (1 of 2), 1930s-1940s
42 Portraits –- Families, unidentified (2 of 2), 1930s-1940s
43 Portraits –- Families, fireplace background, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
44 Portraits –- Men, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
45 Portraits –- Men, studio portraits, unidentified (1 of 2), 1900s-1920s
46 Portraits –- Men, studio portraits, unidentified (2 of 2), 1900s-1920s
47 Portraits –- Men, outdoors and small prints, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
48 Portraits –- Men, older men, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
49 Portraits –- Men, younger men, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
410 Portraits –- Men, portraits in folders, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
411 Portraits -– Men, in uniform, unidentified, 1910s-1940s
412 Portraits –- Women, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
413 Portraits -– Women, unidentified (1 of 2), 1900s-1910s
414 Portraits -– Women, unidentified (2 of 2), 1900s-1910s
boxfolder
51 Portraits –- Women, portraits in folders (1 of 2), 1900s-1920s
52 Portraits –- Women, portraits in folders (2 of 2), 1900s-1920s
53 Portraits –- Women, unidentified (1 of 2), 1920s-1930s
54 Portraits –- Women, unidentified (2 of 2), 1920s-1930s
55 Portraits -– Women, portraits in folders, 1930s-1940s
56 Portraits –- Women, studio portraits (1 of 2), 1940s-1950s
57 Portraits –- Women, studio portraits (2 of 2), 1940s-1950s
58 Portraits -– Women, small images and outdoors, 1940s-1950s
59 Portraits –- Women, copy prints, 1920s-1940s
boxfolder
61 Portraits, group, unidentified, circa 1860s-1890s
62 Portraits, group, unidentified, 1900s-1920s
63 Portraits, group, unidentified, 1930s-1940s
64 Portraits, group –- Mormon church groups, 1910s, 1940s
65 Portraits, group –- Students-Band, orchestra and theater, 1900s-1940s
66 Portraits, group –- Students, 1900s-1920s
67 Portraits, group –- Students, 1930s-1940s
68 Portraits, group –- Students, sports teams, 1910s-1930s
69 Portraits, group –- Students, sports, mounted, 1910-1930s
610 Portraits, multiple images/copy prints, undated
611 Subjects –- Adults and children with animals, undated
612 Subjects –- Scouts and camping, 1920s-1940s
613 Subjects –- Firearms, hunting and fishing, 1910s-1930s
614 Subjects –- Picnics, etc., 1900s-1930s
615 Subjects -– Transportation, 1910s-1930s
616 Subjects -– Work, 1910s-1940s
617 Subjects –- Meteorite "Navajo", June 16, 1922
618 Places –- St. Johns, 1910s-1930s
619 Places –- St. Johns -– Celebrations, 1910s-1930s
620 Places –- St. Johns –- Celebrations -– World War I soldiers "welcome home" parade, 1918-1919
boxfolder
71 Places –- St. Johns and unidentified -– Businesses, 1910s-1930s
72 Places -– St. Johns and unidentified -– Homes, 1890s-1930s
73 Places -– St. Johns and unidentified –- Buildings, 1900s-1930s
74 Places –- Dams, lakes, rivers and bridges, 1890s-1930s
75 Places –- Scenic views, 1910s-1930s
76 Places -– Scenic postcards, 1930s-1950s
77 Places –- Travel, 1910s-1940s
78 Stereographs -– Travel, etc., 1898-1904
79 Album pages, small, 1915-1920s
710 Album pages, loose photos (1 of 2), 1915-1920s
711 Album pages, loose photos (2 of 2), 1915-1920s
712 Album pages, loose photos, girls excursion, 1915-1920s
713 Large album pages, 1920s-1930s
714 Miscellaneous snapshots, 1910s-1940s
715 Miscellaneous photographs (Mother and casket, the Pledgers, cemetery, garden, cakes), 1910s-1930s
716 Documents, photos of, 1842 and undated
717 Envelopes and notes, 1920s-1940s
box
8 Wooden box with glass (photographic equipment), undated
Series II: Negatives, circa 1890s-1940s
Subseries 1: Glass plate negatives, 5"x7", circa 1890-1930
This series is arranged by the date of scanning and assigned number.
For example: 2012 0311-169 was scanned on 03-11-2012 and numbered 169 during scanning. See an archivist regarding access to the digitized versions.
box
9 2012 0311_169 to 0311_194, 2012
box
10 2012 0311_195 to 0311_220, 2012
box
11 2012 0311_221 to 0311_223; 2012 0427_0001 to 0427_0023, 2012
box
12 2012 0427_0024 to 0427_0034; 2012 0505_0360 to 0505_0373, 2012
box
13 2012 0505_0374 to 0505_0399, 2012
box
14 2012 0701_0955 to 0701_0979, 2012
box
15 2012 0701_0980 to 0701_1004, 2012
box
16 2012 0701_1005 to 0701_1030, 2012
box
17 2012 0701_1031 to 0701_1048; 2012 1007_1 to 1007_15, 2012
box
18 2012 1007_17 to 1007_63, 2012
box
19 2012 1021_1807 to 1021_1831, 2012
box
20 2012 1021_1832 to 1021_1856, 2012
box
21 2012 1021_1857 to 1021_1866, with 5 oversize plates: 2013 0120_30, 2013 0120_62, 2012 0427_0017, 2012 0701_1029 plat map, Plat map 1888 no ID number, 2012-2013
Subseries 2: Glass plate negatives, 3"x4", circa 1890-1930
This series is arranged by the date of scanning and assigned number.
For example: 2012 0311-169 was scanned on 03-11-2012 and numbered 169 during scanning.
box
22 2012 0318_0224P to 0408_0225, 2012
box
23 2012 0408_0256 to 0408_0285, 2012
box
24 2012 0408_0286 to 0415_0320, 2012
box
25 2012 0415_0321 to 0415_0355, 2012
box
26 2012 0415_0356 to 0415_0359 (also 2 very broken plates, 2 not scanned), 2012
Subseries 3: Negatives, 4"x5", circa 1920s-1940s
This series is arranged by the date of scanning and assigned number.
For example: 2012 0311-169 was scanned on 03-11-2012 and numbered 169 during scanning.
box
27 2012 0506_0035 to 0617_0806, 2012
box
28 2012 0617_0811 to 1021_1618, 2012
box
29 2012 1021_1621 to 2013 0101_068, 2012
box
30 2013 0101_069 to 0127_101, 2013
Subseries 4: Negatives, 5"x7", circa 1920s-1940s
This series is arranged by the date of scanning and assigned number.
For example: 2012 0311-169 was scanned on 03-11-2012 and numbered 169 during scanning.
box
31 2012 0512_various numbers; 0152-0154, 0158, 0519-0523, 0740, 790-0792, 0795-1730; 2012 12-02_1tb; 2013 01-27_083, 2012-2013