Scope and Content Note
The papers of Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856-1916) span the years 1864-1918, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1876-1916. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, supplemented by reports, printed matter, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous material. The papers are organized into six series: Family Correspondence , General Correspondence , Military Correspondence , Special Correspondence , Miscellany , and Oversize .
The collection focuses on Mearns’s career as a naturalist and army officer. Correspondence dealing with his activities as a collector of data on animal and plant life and as an army surgeon is scattered throughout the collection, but the Special Correspondence series mainly pertains to Mearns’s scientific concerns whereas the Military Correspondence series deals with his army duties. The Miscellany includes reports, printed matter, and clippings relating to both scientific and military matters.
Mearns’s private and family papers form the basis of the Family Correspondence series, and a large portion of the General Correspondence consists of letters from personal friends and colleagues. Both series also contain references to Mearns’s scientific activities. A section of the Special Correspondence relating to the Smithsonian African expedition of 1909 includes several letters from Theodore Roosevelt.