Descriptive summary
|
creator:
|
Sherman, Althea
R. (1853-1943) |
|
title:
|
Collection |
|
dates:
|
1913-1952, n.d. |
|
extent:
|
0.21 linear ft.
(1 half-document box)
|
|
collection number:
|
MS
462 |
|
repository:
|
Archives of
Women in Science and Engineering,
Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.
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Administrative
information
|
access:
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Open for research
|
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publication rights:
|
Consult Head, Special Collections Department
|
|
preferred
citation:
|
Althea R.
Sherman Collection, MS 462, Archives of Women in Science and
Engineering, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.
|
Biographical
note
|
|
Althea Rosina Sherman was
born in 1853. Eight years later her family arrived in northeast
Iowa and settled near Farmersburg. She received her B.A. (1875) and
M.A. (1882) from Oberlin College in art. During that time she also
studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. After receiving her
master's degree Sherman taught art at Carleton College and was
supervisor of art in the Tacoma, Washington, schools.
Sherman was a self-taught
ornithologist, but it wasn't until she was over fifty years of age
that she fully immersed herself in the study of birds. She moved
back to the family homestead in 1895 to take care of her ailing
parents. After her parents' death she began recording observations
of birds on her farm. She eventually filled 60 notebooks with
meticulous observations, joined 15 scientific societies, and wrote
numerous papers for professional journals. Sherman became a leading
ornithologist in her day despite having any formal scientific
training.
Birds of an
Iowa Dooryard
(call no.
QL684.I6 S5) was published after her death in 1943. The book
includes Sherman's observations on the chimney swift, phoebe, house
wren, short-billed marsh wren, catbird, screech owl, flicker, and
several other species of bird. |
|
Collection description
|
|
The collection
(1913-1952, n.d.) primarily contains reprints of published articles
written by Althea Sherman. The articles present Sherman's studies
on the house wren, sparrow hawk, hummingbirds, bird conservation,
and other topics of related interest. Also included is an article
by Margaret Morse Nice reflecting on correspondence between Sherman
and herself and a copy of Iowa Bird Life (June 1943)
containing a thorough biography of Sherman written by Mrs. H. J.
Taylor. |
|
Organization
|
|
The collection
is arranged alphabetically.
|
Container list
| Box
|
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
| 1 |
1 |
"Additional Evidence Against the House Wren" |
1925 |
| 1 |
2 |
"'Animal
Aggregations': A Reply" |
1924 |
| 1 |
3 |
"Are
Birds Decreasing in Numbers?" |
1927 |
| 1 |
4 |
"Bird
Conservation" |
1920 |
| 1 |
5 |
"Birds
by the Wayside" |
1916 |
| 1 |
6 |
"Birds
by the Wayside in Egypt and Nubia" |
1915 |
| 1 |
7 |
"Birds
by the Wayside in Greece" |
1916 |
| 1 |
8 |
"Carolinian Avifauna in Northeastern Iowa" |
1913 |
| 1 |
9 |
"A
Choice of Birds" |
n.d. |
| 1 |
10 |
"Down
with the House Wren Boxes" |
1925 |
| 1 |
11 |
"Experiments in Feeding Hummingbirds During Seven Summers" |
1913 |
| 1 |
12 |
"Historical Sketch of the Park Region about McGregor, Iowa and
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin" |
1919 |
| 1 |
17 |
"Iowa's Woman
Ornithologist: Althea Rosina Sherman, 1853-1943." Iowa Bird Life
(June 1943) |
1943 |
| 1 |
13 |
"A
National Bird Day" |
1922 |
| 1 |
14 |
"The
Nest Life of the Sparrow Hawk" |
1913 |
| 1 |
15 |
"The Old
Ornithology and the New" |
1930 |
| 1 |
16 |
"Some
Letters of Althea Sherman" by Margaret Morse Nice |
1952 |
|
