William Beynon Papers

Mss.B.B467

Date: 1933-1969 1933-1937 | Size: 0.5 Linear feet

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Abstract

Born to a Welsh father and Niska mother of high status, William Beynon was raised in Victoria, B.C., speaking both Niska and English. A member of the Wolf (Laxgibu) phratry, he became an hereditary Tsimshian chief in 1914 upon the death of his maternal uncle, and a year later, began to work with the anthropologist C. Marius Barbeau, collecting narratives and artifacts. During the mid- to late-1930s, Beynon worked closely with Franz Boas, providing him with an extensive series of narratives and translations from the Tsimshian. The Beynon Papers includes a series of correspondence between Beynon and Franz Boas, 1933-1937, along with a small number of narratives in Tsimshian with interlinear English translations. The letters complement, but do not overlap with those in the Boas Papers.

Background note

Born to a Welsh father and Niska mother of high status, William Beynon was raised in Victoria, B.C., speaking both Niska and English. A member of the Wolf (Laxgibu) phratry, Beynon was schooled in some of the traditional responsibilities of a hereditary Tsimshian chief, however he later wrote that when he first traveled to Prince Rupert in 1914 to perform rites associated with the funeral of his maternal uncle, a chief of the wolf phratry, he felt that he was insufficiently knowledgeable about the rituals and obligations of being a chief. Only reluctantly was he persuaded to accept the title he inherited from his uncle, adopting his uncle's name, Gusgain. His status was no doubt enhanced among the coastal Tshimshian by his marriage to a niece of Tsibase, chief of Kitkatla.

During C. Marius Barbeau's first season in the field, 1915, Beynon signed on as a field assistant and translator, beginning what would become a forty year association with anthropologists and linguists. Through Barbeau, he became familiar with Viola Garfield and Edward Sapir, and in 1936, began an intense association with Franz Boas. Working for canneries in the summer months, Beynon avidly pursued ethnographic work at other times of the year, often working for more than one client at a time and, according to Barbeau, occasionally selling material more than once. Following in the shoes of Henry W. Tate and George Hunt, Beynon organized expeditions to both coastal and inland Tsimshian villages, soliciting informants and recording, translating, and interpreting (in more than one sense) texts, rituals, and material culture. Speaking both Nass and Gitksan dialects, he was as productive as he was valuable in describing Tsimshian society, describing secret (and illegal) potlatch ceremonies, and , amassing a remarkable trove of narratives, many of which have yet to be published.

Scope and content

A small collection consisting of both correspondence and ethnographic texts with interlinear English equivalents, the papers of the Tsimshian ethnographer and field assistant William Beynon are a useful addition to the study of the cultures of the Northwest Pacific Coast. From Boas's first, tentative interest in discovering a new field assistant to his eager encouragement to record additional narratives (for a price), the collection also provides an interesting view onto the mediation between an anthropologist and his ethnographic subject.

The letters both to and from Boas chart the development of the relationship between the two, giving detailed information on Beynon's field plans and the steady stream of manuscripts sent back to New York. More valuable than the correspondence, perhaps, is a series of texts recorded, transcribed and (in most cases) translated by Beynon. Among these are two copies of manuscripts that were apparently previously collected by Henry W. Tate, and the first four manuscripts sent east by Beynon. At least two other manuscripts appear to show Boas's efforts to correct (or, at least, understand) Beynon's orthography.

Two additional items of later provenance have found their way into the collection: a 1940 letter from Ella Cara Deloria to Boas, informing him of her new address, and a manuscript by the anthropologist Irving Goldman discussing Boas's ethnographic work on the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw).

Digital objects note

This collection contains digital materials that are available in the APS Digital Library. Links to these materials are provided with context in the inventory of this finding aid. A general listing of digital objects may also be found here.

Collection Information

Provenance

The Beynon manuscripts were once held by Irving Goldman, and were transferred to the APS in September 2002 (M2002-30).

Preferred citation

Cite as: William Beynon Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Catalogued rsc, 2002.

Related material

The Franz Boas Papers (B B61) include 65 letters, bills, or receipts relating to Beynon's work with Boas, 1936-1941. Beynon is also mentioned in Boas' correspondence with Viola Garfield and Marius Barbeau.

A microfilm of the extensive collection of William Beynon Tsimshian Manuscripts (Film 1416) at Columbia University is available for consultation at the APS. These are the manuscripts referred to in Beynon's correspondence with Boas.

Several narratives collected by Beynon are located in the collection of the American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, including his "Ethnographic and folkloric texts of the Tsimshian" (no. 35; Freeman and Smith 3771), "Tsmishian Kinship terms" (Pn5a.2, Freeman and Smith 3776) and "Tsimshian word list" (Pn5a.3; Freeman and Smith 3777). Additional material collected by Beynon is found in three of C. Marius Barbeau's reports to the APS Phillips Fund Committee, "The Gwenhoot of Alaska" (Freeman and Smith 3767), "Temlar'ham"(Freeman and Smith 3769), and "Wolf clan invaders from the northern plateau..." (Freeman and Smith 3770).

The other main sources for manuscripts collected by Beynon are Columbia University and the Canadian Centre for Folk Cultural Studies at the National Museum of Man, Ottawa. A portion of the English texts at Columbia have been published by the Metlakatla Indian Community in multiple volumes as Tsimshian Stories.

Bibliography

Winter, Barbara J., "William Beynon and the anthropologists," Canadian Journal of Native Studies 2 (1984), 279-292.

Indexing Terms

Genre(s)

Ethnographic texts

Personal Name(s)

Beynon, William, 1888-1958
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942
Deloria, Ella Cara, 1889-1971
Robinson, James
Tate, Benjamin
Tate, Henry W.

Subject(s)

Gitksan Indians -- Rites and ceremonies
Natural Philosophy -- Study and teaching
Tsimshian Indians
Tsimshian language

Detailed Inventory


Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Correspondence	1933-1937		Request Series for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Series
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-05-22	May 22, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Recommended to Boas for his interest in Tsimshian narratives by Viola Garfield, Edward Sapir and Marius Barbeau. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155601
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-06-01	June 1, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Is interested in pursuing Tsimshian stories. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155612
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-06-14	June 14, 1933	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Enclosing account of the holder of the chief name Nieswexs took his place. Terms for providing texts. Differences between Tsimshian villages, informants. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155623
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-07-08	July 8, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Will write about proposed work. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155634
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-08-17	August 17, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Beynon's price is more than he can afford. Sending a copy of a manuscript by Henry Tate, which should be rewritten in proper style. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155645
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-08-28	August 28, 1933	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Negotiation on compensation for work. Has begun work on four short manuscripts. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155660
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-09-05	September 5, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending on of Tate's manuscripts. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155656
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-09-11	September 11, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending more of Tate's manuscripts dealing with the adventures of the Gispaxlot's tribes and Legex.. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155661
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-09-14	September 14, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Very interested in Beynon's stories and the price is not excesive. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155662
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-09-22	September 22, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Suggests he spend not more than $50 a month for Boas. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155602
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-09-28	September 28, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Thanks for payment and books. Enclosing manuscripts 5 and 6. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155603
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-10-11	October 11, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Boas collected the tale of Dzagagilac in 1888 and 1900. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155604
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-10-25	October 25, 1933	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Enclosing manuscripts 7-10, synopses. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155605
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-10-26	October 26, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155606
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-11-09	November 9, 1933	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Wishes clarification on writing several words. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155607
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-11-10	November 10, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Understands that there must be several stories about the origins of the four societies (phratries). Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155608
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-11-11	November 11, 1933	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Enclosing manuscripts 11-14, synopses. Offers services at Hartley Bay and Kitamat, which he will visit in December or January. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155609
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-11-29	November 29, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Much to be done in Gitamat. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155610
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1933-12-06	December 6, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155611
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-12-11	December 11, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending manuscripts from Tate's work. Has secret societies stories imported from the southern tribes into the northern. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155613
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1933-12-22	December 22, 1933	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending more of Tate's work. Tate's difficult style. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155614
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-01-08	January 8, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending more Tate material. Odd story of hermaphrodite, for which he had seen a reference when he was on the Nass. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155615
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1934-01-18	January 18, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
It has been a long time since he has heard Tsimshian, but there are some things about which he is doubtful in Beynon's work. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155616
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1934-01-18	January 18, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Regarding compensation for work. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155617
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-01-22	January 22, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Concentrating on Tate's material. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155618
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-02-03	February 3, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Fees. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155619
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1934-02-12	February 12, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Has sent money. Cannot raise the monthly total for informants to $75. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155620
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-03-11	March 11, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Fees. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155621
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1934-03-12	March 12, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending $32.70. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155622
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-03-19	March 19, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Fees. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155624
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1934-03-22	March 22, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Representing spelling of Tsimshian. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155625
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-04-27	April 27, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Enclosing manuscript 34, the last of Tate's, and 35-39, synopses. Manuscript 39: "It was an elaborite affair staged in a moderbn atmosphere. Even the food served was entirely white man's food in the manner of the white man. The Chief himself was a half-breed with a splendid education and a very bright man in public life, with little or no knowledge of his Native antecedents having been raised in the south in the city of Victoria. But the older people created the atmosphere for the festivity which was very impressive. Their distribution of wealth to the guests took the form of money presents." Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155626
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-04-30	April 30, 1934	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Could come to New York. Still studying Boas's grammatical questions. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155627
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-05-21	May 21, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Completing a new series of Hartley Bay stories. Social organization amongthe coastal tribes: Halait groups may be more important and less variable than clans. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155628
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-05-26	May 26, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending the Halait manuscript. Studies of the Halait. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155629
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-06-25	June 25, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 45-48, including continuation of the Halait material. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155630
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-07-16	July 16, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sorry to hear plans for the visit have fallen through. Asks for prompter remittances. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155631
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-07-28	July 28, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending manuscripts 49-53 and bill. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155632
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-10-29	October 29, 1934	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Remitting manuscripts 59-63. Working with three informants to standardize phonetic spelling and pronunciation: the best informants in his and Viola Garfield's view. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155633
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1934-12-19	December 19, 1934	3p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Manuscripts 64-68; synopses. Asks again for sufficient sum each month for informants and whether there has been improvement in his phonetics. Includes invoice listing stories, consultants used for each, rates paid, and time required. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155635
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-03-18	March 18, 1935	3p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Manuscripts 69-74, synopses. Includes invoice listing stories, consultants used for each, rates paid, and time required. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155636
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-04-15	April 15, 1935	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sorry he would not advance him money, but will take Boas's offer of advance of $25 for Kitkatla and Skeena River villages. Hopes for advance to cover informant expenses during summer field work among the Gitksan, Gitselasu, and Kitzemgelelm. Understands from Garfield that nothing has been done in Gitksan; Beynon speaks both Gitksan and Nass dialects. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155637
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-04-22	April 22, 1935	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Main informant is an excellent one. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155638
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-05-12	May 12, 1935	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 80-86. Includes invoice listing stories, consultants used for each, rates paid, and time required. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155639
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-08-09	August 9, 1935	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 97-104. Attempting to record the myth 'Am'ala, which Boas wanted. Hopes to be able to provide a full account of Gitksan potlatches in the winter. Says that the Gitksan have retained their old ways better than most Tsimshians since their hunting territories are about their only asset and because they have a sympathetic Indian agent. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155641
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-08-09	August 9, 1935	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Receipt. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155640
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1935-12-30	December 30, 1935	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 114-118, including account of elevation of Ginax'engik chiefs. Has recorded a Tsimshian version of Lagabula from informant who had worked by Henry Tate. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155642
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Franz Boas to William Beynon. 1936-01-06	January 6, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Desires a description of the objects used in the Halait, particularly the meaning of a tube open at both ends. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155643
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-01-23	January 23, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 119-122, synopses. Legex. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155644
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-01-27	January 27, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Information on Halaits. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155646
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-03-30	March 30, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 123-126. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155647
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-06-15	June 15, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 127-129. Leaving next month for the Skeena canneries and will get material, particularly Lagabula narrative. Will also try to get Gitksan material. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155648
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-07-04	July 4, 1936	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 130-133. Using two new informants, Harry Brooks and William Henry Pierce. Has recorded the story of how a woman cohabited with a dog from an elderly woman who gave a version that included the "embarrassing scenes" omitted by Pierce. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155649
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-09-12	September 12, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 139-145. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155650
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-10-17	October 17, 1936	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Survey for the Forestry Dept. has been delayed by weather. Discusses significance of secret societies as a general matter. Mentions Nisga'a and Gitksan. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155651
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1936-12-18	December 18, 1936	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 152-158. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155652
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1937-01-15	January 15, 1937	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Chief Tsiba-sa of Kitkatla has died at 98. "The writer as a chief of the Wolf clan was visited by messengers that had beensent out by the Kitkatlas to invite all of the Tsimshian chiefs and their spokesmen. I made a complete record of all the events... Even though I lived in Prince Rupert the delgatio[n] came to my residence very early in the morning and as soon as they entered they sang a dirge song and gave me my ground hog gift which notified me that there was a royal death at Kitkatla..." Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155653
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1937-02-15	February 15, 1937	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Working on information on the death and ceremony of Tsibasa; none of the older type of speech heard twenty years ago. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155654
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1937-06-23	June 23, 1937	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscripts 175 and 176. Looking into Boas's question of the origin of royal groups. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155655
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. 1937-08-30	August 30, 1937	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Forwarding manuscript on royal status. Certain that Hartley Bay and Kitamat are the best places to study halait; "The difficulty with Port Simpson informants is that the religious contacts made with them has resulted in their almost total loss of past knowledge concerning the halait." Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155658
Beynon, William, 1888-1958. William Beynon to Franz Boas. Undated	n.d.	1p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Invoices. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155657
Deloria, Ella Cara, 1889-1971. Ella Deloria to Franz Boas. Circa 1940.	[1940]	2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Sending her address. Access digital object: https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:155659
Boas, Franz, 1858-1942. Originals of TLsS to William Beynon	1933-1936	17 TLsS	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
BRITTLE: HANDLE ONLY WITH CARE.

Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Texts	1928-1945		Request Series for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Series
T-1 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Gispaxlot tribal situation	ca.1933	TMs, 2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
T-2 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 1. Gid'astsu (Klemtu). Phratryal Peculiarities among the Gidastsu	1933	AMsS, 8p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Tsimshian with interlinear English.
T-3 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 1. Phratrial peculiarities among the Gid'astsu	1933	TMs, 2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
In English. Free translation of T-2.
T-4 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 2. Origin name he.l gitxala. Account of the arrival of the first white man	1933	AMsS, 28p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
In Tsimshian with interlinear English. Marginal notes, added in red in unknown hand.,
T-5 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 2. Origin name He.l, Gitxala, also an account of the arrival of the first white man	1933	TMs, 7p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Informant: George McCankey
T-6 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 3. The myth of Nugu.n'aks: Gid'astsu. Myth ofthe house of Temks... and all its subdivisions among the Tsimsyen	1933	AMsS, 43p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
In Tsimshian with interlinear English. Marginal notes, added in red in unknown hand. "All of these houses on the different groups of people use this myth in connection with their myth of origin and crests and dirge and nursery songs." Related by James Robinson, age 70.
T-7 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 4. Retaliation of animals, or the extinction of the Gitwalksabe	1933	AMsS, 4p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
In Tsimshian with interlinear English. Marginal notes, added in red in unknown hand. Informant Benjamin Tate.
T-8 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Manuscript 54(?). Grammatical Forms	[1934]	AMsS, 5p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
In Tsimshian with English translation.
T-9 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Melska wala wileksam wildogita dzimsyen dil gidaganitz	1910-1926	TMs,17p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Typed narrative with interlinear transcription in different Tsimshian orthography.
T-10 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Melska wal wileksam wildogit tsimsyen dil gidaganit and Melsgam waldogitga Haida dil gispaxlats	ca.1928-1945	AMs,2p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Incomplete narratives with interlinear English.
T-11 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Tate Mss (1928)	1928-1946	AMs,19p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Incomplete narrative with interlinear English.
T-12 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Tate Mss	n.d.	AMs,18p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Incomplete narrative with interlinear English.
T-13 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Tsimshian word list	n.d.	AMs, 5p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Tsimshian words with English equivalents.
T-14 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. "The words you selected and the way in which I mean them"	n.d.	AMs, 5p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
T-15 Beynon, William, 1888-1958. Miscellaneous manuscripts	n.d.	AMs, 6 items	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Includes first page (mutilated) of "The history of great war between..."; partial inventory of Beynon manuscripts; 4 cards with Tsimshian and English.
T-16 Goldman, Irving. The mythology of myth	October 10, 1992	TMsS, 13p.	Request Item for Reading Room Access Request a Copy of this Item
Paper given at symposium, Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of Franz Boas, held at Barnard College, 1992. "Master copy".