Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Harrington (John Peabody) Collection
MS.219  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Scope and Contents
  • Biographical Note
  • Historical Note
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Arrangement
  • Preferred Citation
  • Related Materials
  • Acquisition
  • Processing History
  • Publications Note

  • Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
    Title: John Peabody Harrington Collection
    Creator: Johnston, Bernice
    Creator: Lummis, Charles Fletcher
    Creator: Harrington, John Peabody
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.219
    Physical Description: 1.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
    Date (inclusive): 1905-1962
    Abstract: John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961) was a linguist and ethnologist. His career spanned over forty years, dedicating his research to studying Native American languages and cultures across the western United States. Collection includes notes created by John Peabody Harrington during the early 20th Century that are primarily related to the Gabrielino and Luiseño Indians of Southern California. The collection also includes research notebooks on Gabrielino Indians created by Bernice Johnston for her book California's Gabrielino Indians, published by the Southwest Museum in 1962.
    Language of Material: English .

    Scope and Contents

    This collection contains information created by John Peabody Harrington during the early 20th Century regarding linguistics, ethnography, and geography, especially relating to the Gabrielino and Luiseño Indians of Southern California. This includes over 1,800 paper slips containing Gabrielino and Luiseño vocabulary, place names, tales, recollections, and geographical data gathered by Harrington from Native informants and the first San Gabriel Valley Mission baptism record. The collection also contains correspondence between Harrington and Charles Fletcher Lummis from 1909 to 1928; memorabilia; publications and newspaper clippings; and personal papers regarding Harrington's education and early work experience.
    The collection also includes research notebooks on Gabrielino Indians created by Bernice Johnston for her book California's Gabrielino Indians, published by the Southwest Museum in 1962. Johnston's research was based on Harrington's notes.

    Biographical Note

    John Peabody Harrington (1884-1961) was a linguist and ethnologist. His career spanned over forty years, dedicating his research to studying Native American languages and cultures pertaining to tribes across the western United States.
    He was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on 1884 April 29 to Elliott A. Harrington, a lawyer, and Mary L. Peabody, a teacher, and was raised in Santa Barbara, California since the age of two.
    Harrington graduated from Standford University in 1905 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical and modern languages. He attended the universities of Leipzig and Berlin for his graduate work focusing on anthropology and linguistics.
    Harrington began working for the Museum of New Mexico in 1909. In 1911, he also started working for the then known School of American Archaeology, currently known as the School of American Research, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here is where he started his study on the languages of the Picuris, Jemez, and Zuni.
    In 1915, Harrington was hired by the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) and worked for them until his retirement in 1954. While working for the BAE, he conducted extensive fieldwork and became an renowned linguist.
    John Peabody Harrington died in San Diego, California, on 1961 October 21.

    Historical Note

    The Handbook of North American Indians states that Gabrielino lands spanned across the Los Angeles basin and portions of the Santa Monica Mountains. This territory also extended along the Pacific coastline from Topanga Creek, in the north, to about Aliso Creek in the south, and most likely included the coastal islands of San Clemente, San Nicolas, and Santa Catalina.
    Luiseño lands were just south of the Gabrielino's and encompassed over 1500 square miles of coastal region from near Aliso Creek south to Agua Hediondo. Inland, their territory extended to Santiago Peak, Elsinor Fault Valley, Palomar Mountain, and near the valley of San Jose.
    In the 1800's, names were applied to many of native tribes according to the name of the Spanish mission that had been established in their territory; the Gabrielino after Mission San Gabriel Arcangel and the Luiseno after Mission San Luis Rey.
    Today, Gabrielino Indians are also known as Tongva or Gabrielino/Tongva. The Luiseño groups are also identified as particular bands of Luiseño Indians, six of which are federally recognized and include La Jolla, Rincon, Pauma, Pechanga, Pala, and Soboba Indian bands.
    Reference: Heizer, Robert F. Volume 8, California. Handbook of the North American Indians. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

    Conditions Governing Use

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

    Arrangement

    • Series 1: Correspondence, 1909-1928
    • Series 2: Memorabilia, 1916 and undated
    • Series 3: San Gabriel Valley Mission Place Name Slips, early 20th Century
    • Series 4: Vocabulary and Place Names, early 20th Century
    • Series 5: Original containers and enclosures, undated
    • Series 6: Publications, circa 1905-1944
    • Series 7: Personal Papers, 1900-1910
    Documents are arranged chronologically when possible and then arranged either by material type or alphabetically by title as indicated in the series arrangement notes. The paper slips are in the order found except where noted.

    Preferred Citation

    John Peabody Harrington Collection, 1905-1962, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.219; [folder number] [folder title][date].

    Related Materials

    The Archival Center for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Mission histories and records.
    Huntington Library, San Marina, California. Early California Population Project.
    National Anthropologic Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. J.P. Harrington Collection.

    Acquisition

    Harrington material donated as part of the Charles Fletcher Lummis collection, 1910 February 28. Bernice Johnston notes deposited to the Southwest Museum Institutional Archives, circa 1962.

    Processing History

    Preliminary finding aid drafted by Leanne Armstrong, 2009. Finding aid updated by Anna Liza Posas, 2013. Final processing of collection and publication of finding aid made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

    Publications Note

    Harrington, Mark Raymond. "A new Gabrielino vocabulary." Masterkey, volume 18, number, 1944 November. Article discusses Harrington's place names and vocabulary notes.
    Johnston, Bernice. California's Gabrielino Indians. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum, 1962.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Gabrielino language
    Indians of North America -- California
    Mission San Gabriel Arcangel (San Gabriel, Calif.)
    Luiseño Indians
    Luiseño language
    Gabrielino Indians
    Linguistics
    Notebooks
    Clippings
    Correspondence
    Religious records