Description
This collection is comprised primarily of reproductive copies of correspondence, memorandums, field notes, catalogues, and
annotations of Dr. John Wiz Napier Hudson, Ethnology Researcher. The original documents for much of this collection are found
in the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California. Related research performed by students in the Sonoma State University Department
of Anthropology complement this collection.
Background
John W. Hudson was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. After attending medical school, he practiced medicine for a few
years and developed an interest in archaeology. In 1889, Dr. Hudson moved to California where he studied native people of
Mendocino County, giving up his medical practice. After marrying Grace Carpenter Hudson, a painter, Hudson spent the remainder
of his life working as an ethnographer and collector, conducting extensive research among the Potter Valley Pomo Indians for
the Columbian Field Museum of Chicago from 1890 to the 1920’s. Hudson explored other tribes, such as the Yokeya, Yokaia,
Mono, Kawia, Mariposa, Hupa, Nicinan Maidu, Wintun, and Waco. Items collected by Hudson, including baskets and other artifacts,
reside in the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum in Chicago, and the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, California.