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Berten Wendell Allred papers

 Collection
Identifier: UUS_COLL MSS 118

Scope and Contents

The collection has been divided into there main series--personal material, professional and consultant work and western history subject files and reprints.

Allred's personal files are comprised of correspondence, biographical material, and his own essays and articles. The correspondence has been processed alphabetically by correspondent. Worthy of note are the correspondence files relating to western artist and author, Ross Santee. Allred and Santee were friends and upon Santee's death, Allred began to work on a biography of the late author. While involved in this project, Allred wrote to, and received letters from, Santee's friends and relatives concerning the author. This material is found in Santee correspondence files. Included in this material are two letters from Santee to Allred that are illustrated with water colors.

In addition to the correspondence and biographical files are a series of articles and essays written by Allred. These articles reflect his interests in cattle breeds, rangeland, cattle trails, Mormons, outlaws and general western history topics. Several of his essays relate his experiences while a young man "punchin cows" in southern Utah.

The collection contains a small amount of Allred's professional work. After he retired in the late 1960s he continued to do range work. Pertinent to this area are his notes and the federal reports on a study done on the Bear River Basin Drainage system. Also in the section are reports from work that Allred did in Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Mali.

Finally, the collection houses subject files and a series of reprints relating to western history topics. These articles have been arranged alphabetically by author.

Dates

  • 1880-1974

Language of Materials

Material in English

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Berten Wendell Allred papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.

Biographical Note

Berten Wendell Allred was a soil conservationist, a rancher and a historian and his papers reflect these interests. As a young man he worked and lived as a cowboy in Southern Utah. He later became a soil scientist and began to work for the federal government. Eventually he ended up in Washington, D. C. It was here, in the nation's capital, that he became more academically oriented towards western history. He became active in the Westerners and together with Jeff Dykes and Fred Renner formed the Buckaroos. The purpose of this group was to review western Americana books for Westerners' publications.

Extent

9 boxes (4 linear feet)

Abstract

Correspondence, personal writings, reports, and reprints covering Allred's professional life and interests. The bulk of the material covers the topics of cattle, cattle trails, western livestock raising and western historical topics. The collection contains several items relating to Utah history, especially to San Juan County

Arrangement

Organized into three series -- I. Personal, II. Professional, III. Western history subject files and reprints.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acquisition information is unknown.

Separated Materials

Photographs have been removed from the collection and can be found in the Historical A-Board Photograph Collection

Processing Information

Processed in May of 2006

Title
Guide to the Berten Wendell Allred papers 1880-1974
Author
Finding aid/Register created by Special Collections and Archives
Date
©2011
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid encoded in English.

Revision Statements

  • 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.

Repository Details

Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)