Northern Iroquoian

Object Details

Creator: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961; Fenton, William N. (William Nelson), 1908-2005; Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937
Collection Creator: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961

Topic: Iroquoian languages; Mohawk language; Seneca language; Oneida language; Tuscarora language; Names, Geographical; Names, Ethnological; Language and languages -- Documentation; Linguistics; Indians of North America -- Northeast

Creator: Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961; Fenton, William N. (William Nelson), 1908-2005; Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937

See more items in: John Peabody Harrington papers; John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 6: Native American History, Language, and Culture of the Northeast & Southeast

Biographical / Historical: John P. Harrington spent a few days in Ontario in May 1940, where his primary purpose was to interview Delaware speakers. He apparently came into contact, however, with Iroquoian residents Sam Liquors (Lickerish) and Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Davis. According to Delaware field notes, Davis was a storekeeper just west of the Smoothtown home of Josiah Montour, a Delaware informant. Davis was described as a Cayuga Indian, but he provided Mohawk information. Other notes were apparently taken in 1940 at the University of Michigan Linguistics Institute in Ann Arbor, most of them in conjunction with Bureau of American Ethnology ethnologist William N. Fenton. Two of Fenton's informants were Dozy and Shanks. Harrington mentioned John Jimmieson as a third speaker; his name could possibly be Jimmerson.

Collection Citation: John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution; The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.

Existence and Location of Copies: Microfilm and digital surrogates of microfilm are available. See Volume 6, reel 13. Only original documents created by Harrington, his collaborators and field assistants, or notes given to him were microfilmed.

Scope and Contents: This subseries of the Northeast/Southeast series contains Harrington's Northern Iroquoian research. Most of this brief section results from his time in Ontario in 1940. The materials consist of Mohawk and Six Nations linguistic notes, Iroquoian songs, and mixed Iroquoian miscellaneous notes. The Mohawk linguistic notes is comprised of eight pages of random notes given by Mr. and Mrs. Davis on May 4, 1940. The Six Nations linguistic notes contains an interview with Sam Liquors, which provided a variety of linguistic information in Mohawk, Tuscarora, and Seneca, with a slight emphasis on placenames and tribenames. The Mohawk material is usually preceded by the labels "Hag." or "Hagersv.," presumably referring to the Ontario town of Hagersville which Harrington visited in May 1940. A few notes on conversations with Fenton are included, probably taken in 1940 at the University of Michigan. Fenton provided further information on Iroquoian songs in a rough, undeveloped stage. (Fenton later published articles on this subject.) An April 1943 note indicates another conversation with Fenton on Seneca. There are a few pages of highly miscellaneous bits of Seneca, Oneida, and Tuscarora material, some of it from J.N.B. Hewitt. Notes on Iroquoian food preparation were excerpted from a number of secondary sources.