Angus Munn Woodbury papers
Collection
Identifier: MS 0176
Scope and Contents
The Angus Munn Woodbury papers (1899-1967) consist of diaries, professional and personal correspondence, manuscripts and publications, research files, teaching materials, and field notes produced by Woodbury; a professor of zoology at the University of Utah, a naturalist, historian, ecologist, and administrator. Woodbury also worked with the U. S. Forest Service in Central Utah. Although the bulk of the collection centers on Woodbury's professional life, personal items include biographical and genealogical documents, correspondence, financial documents, and memorabilia.
Perhaps the most informative materials in the collection are Woodbury's diaries and notebooks. They cover Woodbury's years in the Forest Service, in Zion National Park and at the University of Utah. During his years with the Forest Service, Woodbury was required to keep a daily log of his activities and a record of his work hours. There are over thirty Forest Service diaries, each written in a small hardbound book filled with yellow graph paper. All are stamped U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The entries in the diaries are brief, non-descriptive, and record only Woodbury's official activities; still, the diaries are an extremely valuable record of the interaction of the Forest Service and local residents.Of the remaining diaries, two concern Zion National Park and one deals with Woodbury's tenure at the University of Utah in 1943-1944. Three incomplete diaries record Woodbury's work as an agricultural inspector and census enumerator from 1923-1926. The notebooks contain field notes and addresses. Two of these apparently are not Woodbury's. Woodbury's personal diaries, dating 1919-1964, are also included.
Woodbury's manuscripts and publications, including the handwritten drafts of his thesis and dissertation, are also present. There are many essays on Zion National Park and a large manuscript entitled "History of Zion Canyon." Several drafts of Woodbury's textbook, General Ecology, are included, as well as manuscripts for other books. Class notes, lecture notes, and teaching materials round out the documents related to Woodbury's academic career.
Finally, there are Woodbury's project and research notes. Research projects spanning the years 1934-1964 are represented in the collection. Included are his studies on the Joshua tree, the Great Salt Lake Desert, reptiles, and on the mountain lion. These files contain research notes, manuscripts, published works, clippings, and correspondence. In addition, there are documents and data related to Dugway Proving Ground, the Pacific Islands, Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Woodbury's notes and manuscripts on religion and science are also present.
Click here to view digitized materials from the collection or the links below.
Perhaps the most informative materials in the collection are Woodbury's diaries and notebooks. They cover Woodbury's years in the Forest Service, in Zion National Park and at the University of Utah. During his years with the Forest Service, Woodbury was required to keep a daily log of his activities and a record of his work hours. There are over thirty Forest Service diaries, each written in a small hardbound book filled with yellow graph paper. All are stamped U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The entries in the diaries are brief, non-descriptive, and record only Woodbury's official activities; still, the diaries are an extremely valuable record of the interaction of the Forest Service and local residents.Of the remaining diaries, two concern Zion National Park and one deals with Woodbury's tenure at the University of Utah in 1943-1944. Three incomplete diaries record Woodbury's work as an agricultural inspector and census enumerator from 1923-1926. The notebooks contain field notes and addresses. Two of these apparently are not Woodbury's. Woodbury's personal diaries, dating 1919-1964, are also included.
Woodbury's manuscripts and publications, including the handwritten drafts of his thesis and dissertation, are also present. There are many essays on Zion National Park and a large manuscript entitled "History of Zion Canyon." Several drafts of Woodbury's textbook, General Ecology, are included, as well as manuscripts for other books. Class notes, lecture notes, and teaching materials round out the documents related to Woodbury's academic career.
Finally, there are Woodbury's project and research notes. Research projects spanning the years 1934-1964 are represented in the collection. Included are his studies on the Joshua tree, the Great Salt Lake Desert, reptiles, and on the mountain lion. These files contain research notes, manuscripts, published works, clippings, and correspondence. In addition, there are documents and data related to Dugway Proving Ground, the Pacific Islands, Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Woodbury's notes and manuscripts on religion and science are also present.
Click here to view digitized materials from the collection or the links below.
Dates
- 1899-1967
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
Angus Munn Woodbury was a man of science and of religion; an historian, a naturalist, an ecologist. He sought throughout his life to understand how geology, history, biology, and botany had merged to create the awe and beauty of the world around him. His love of nature lead him far--from rancher to Professor of Zoology. Woodbury had a talent for describing the complexities of nature in terms which all could understand and enjoy. Yet he could write as an expert, communicating with his scientific peers on the technicalities of cortisone extraction from the Joshua tree to biotic relationships in the Great Salt Lake Desert. He published numerous scientific and historical articles and a college textbook on general ecology.
Angus Munn Woodbury was born in St. George, Utah on July 11, 1886. His parents, John Taylor and Mary Evans Woodbury, owned a farm in Pine Valley, north of St. George. Angus was raised in St. George and educated at the Brigham Young Academy. In 1908 he began working for the U. S. Forest Service in the newly created Dixie National Forest. During his twelve years with the Forest Service, he worked in nearly every forest in Region Four, which included Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. The majority of his time, however, was spent in southwestern Utah at the Dixie and Fillmore (later the Fishlake) National Forests.
Woodbury left the Forest Service in 1920 to manage his father's farm. He settled his family, at last, in a permanent home in St. George. During his twelve years with the Forest Service, Woodbury had moved his wife Grace and their six children nineteen times. To supplement his income from the farm, Woodbury worked as an inspector for the Utah State Department of Agriculture and as a temporary enumerator for the special 1925 agricultural census.
The flora, fauna, and history of the Dixie region had always captivated Woodbury. He spent his spare time on field trips collecting plants, insects, and relics of the Indian and pioneer residents of the area. In order to better understand the world around him, he returned to school at the age of forty. He began taking courses at Dixie College. He received his B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1927. A year later he was awarded a Master's degree from the University of Utah. Woodbury then attended the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Ph.D. in 1931. His dissertation, entitled Biotic Relationships of Zion Canyon, reflects two of his life long interests--ecology and the spectacularly carved canyon which was Utah's first National Park.
While in school, Woodbury spent his summers as Naturalist in Zion National Park. He was the pioneer of the naturalist program in Zion. Under his direction trails were built, interpretive aids prepared, and a museum constructed. He also initiated the nightly camp fire lecture which is still a tradition in Zion Park. Woodbury left his position in Zion National Park in 1933 to accept a faculty appointment at the University of Utah. He relocated his family in Salt Lake City, which was his residence until his death. He became a professor of Zoology and in 1948 was named head of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. He held this post until 1952 when he became Director of Ecological Research at Dugway, Utah. He retired in 1956.
Dr. Woodbury and his wife died in an automobile crash near Loveland, Colorado, in 1964.
Angus Munn Woodbury was born in St. George, Utah on July 11, 1886. His parents, John Taylor and Mary Evans Woodbury, owned a farm in Pine Valley, north of St. George. Angus was raised in St. George and educated at the Brigham Young Academy. In 1908 he began working for the U. S. Forest Service in the newly created Dixie National Forest. During his twelve years with the Forest Service, he worked in nearly every forest in Region Four, which included Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. The majority of his time, however, was spent in southwestern Utah at the Dixie and Fillmore (later the Fishlake) National Forests.
Woodbury left the Forest Service in 1920 to manage his father's farm. He settled his family, at last, in a permanent home in St. George. During his twelve years with the Forest Service, Woodbury had moved his wife Grace and their six children nineteen times. To supplement his income from the farm, Woodbury worked as an inspector for the Utah State Department of Agriculture and as a temporary enumerator for the special 1925 agricultural census.
The flora, fauna, and history of the Dixie region had always captivated Woodbury. He spent his spare time on field trips collecting plants, insects, and relics of the Indian and pioneer residents of the area. In order to better understand the world around him, he returned to school at the age of forty. He began taking courses at Dixie College. He received his B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1927. A year later he was awarded a Master's degree from the University of Utah. Woodbury then attended the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Ph.D. in 1931. His dissertation, entitled Biotic Relationships of Zion Canyon, reflects two of his life long interests--ecology and the spectacularly carved canyon which was Utah's first National Park.
While in school, Woodbury spent his summers as Naturalist in Zion National Park. He was the pioneer of the naturalist program in Zion. Under his direction trails were built, interpretive aids prepared, and a museum constructed. He also initiated the nightly camp fire lecture which is still a tradition in Zion Park. Woodbury left his position in Zion National Park in 1933 to accept a faculty appointment at the University of Utah. He relocated his family in Salt Lake City, which was his residence until his death. He became a professor of Zoology and in 1948 was named head of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. He held this post until 1952 when he became Director of Ecological Research at Dugway, Utah. He retired in 1956.
Dr. Woodbury and his wife died in an automobile crash near Loveland, Colorado, in 1964.
Extent
37.5 Linear Feet (71 boxes and 1 oversize box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Angus Munn Woodbury papers (1899-1967) consist of diaries, professional and personal correspondence, manuscripts and publications, research files, teaching materials, and field notes produced by Woodbury, a professor of zoology at the University of Utah, a naturalist, historian, ecologist, and administrator. Woodbury also worked with the U. S. Forest Service in Central Utah.
Arrangement
The original donation is arranged in five series: 1) Personal Material, 2) Diaries and Notebooks, 3) Manuscripts and Publications, 4) Projects, and 5) Research Files. The addenda to the collection each constitute a series: 6) 1995-1996 Addendum, and 7) 2000-2011 Addendum. The addenda contain further material related to each of the five series designations.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the Woodbury family in 1969.
Donated by Donna Woodbury in 1995 and 1996.
Donated by J. Walter Woodbury in 2000 and 2011.
Donated by Donna Woodbury in 1995 and 1996.
Donated by J. Walter Woodbury in 2000 and 2011.
Separated Materials
See also the Angus Munn Woodbury photograph collection (P0176) in the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.
Processing Information
Processed by Della L. Dye, Susan M. Neel, Scott Springer, Mark Jensen, Deb Allred, and Karen Carver between 1979-2011.
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Creator
- Title
- Inventory of the Angus Munn Woodbury papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Della L. Dye.
- Date
- 1979 (last modified: 2011 and 2019)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu