Hodge (Gene M. and Frederick W.) Collection, 1887-1989, inclusive; 1907-1956 bulk

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Summary

Title:
Gene M. and Frederick W. Hodge Collection
Dates:
1887-1989, inclusive; 1907-1956 bulk
Creators:
Hodge, Gene Meany, Hodge, Frederick Webb, and Hodge, Zarah Preble
Abstract:
This collection consists of personal papers and photographs belonging to Gene Meany Hodge and Frederick Webb Hodge. Gene Meany Hodge (1898-1989) was an artist who specialized in Southwestern themes and worked with the Indian Arts Fund (Santa Fe) for 24 years. She was Frederick Hodge's third wife. Frederick Webb Hodge (1864-1956) was a preeminent ethnologist, archaeologist, and expert in Native American studies. He worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, and served as Director of the Southwest Museum for 23 years.
Extent:
4 Linear Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Gene M. and Frederick W. Hodge Collection, 1887-1989, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.58; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of Gene M. and Frederick W. Hodge's personal papers, photographs, correspondence, research files, news clippings, publications, and ephemera. Some photographs are related to the Hodges' travel and archaeological expeditions. Many photographs are credited to Zahrah Preble (F. W. Hodge's second wife). The collection also includes diverse published works by or about Frederick W. Hodge or related to anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, or and Southwestern Native American culture and scholarship. These materials were collected by Gene Hodge (F.W. Hodge's third wife).

Biographical / historical:

Frederick Webb Hodge (1864-1956), son of Edwin and Emily Hodge, was born in Plymouth, England on 1864 October 28. His family moved to Washington D.C. when he was seven years old. Hodge attended what is now known as George Washington University and studied to be a stenographer. After briefly working in a law office, he became secretary of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1884-1886. He was secretary to the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition from 1886 through 1889, where he was introduced to the field of archaeology and the cultures of the Southwest. After the expedition, Hodge returned to Washington to work with the Bureau of American Ethnology. In 1895, Hodge visited every pueblo in New Mexico and Arizona to gather data for what would become the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexicofor the Smithsonian Institution. It was during this field work that he earned the Zuni nickname Téluli for "He who digs in his own cellar." In 1901, he became an executive officer of the Smithsonian Institution, a post he held until 1905 when he transferred back to the Bureau. Upon completion of theHandbook in 1910, Hodge was made Ethnologist-in-Charge of the Bureau, where he remained for eight years.

In 1918, Hodge joined the staff of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in New York where he served as an Assistant Director and Editor. During this time, he supervised archeological work, especially at the ruins of Hawikuh, one of the "Seven Cities of Cibola" not far from Zuni, New Mexico. Hodge was one of the founding members of the American Anthropological Association and was the editor of The American Anthropologist for about 15 years. He was a prolific writer for scientific and historical publications. A bibliography of his writings includes over 350 items. He edited Edward S. Curtis' twenty volumeNorth American Indian. Hodge received honorary doctorates from Pomona College, University of New Mexico, and the University of Southern California.

Hodge became Director of the Southwest Museum in 1932. He is credited for building the renowned Southwest Museum collections and burnishing its reputation through numerous publication series such as the Hodge Anniversary Series, Southwest Museum Papers, Southwest Museum Leaflets, andThe Masterkey. The publications covered covered topics in archaeology, anthropology, and contemporary Native American art. In addition, Hodge brought in influential and important anthropologists to be Research Associates, Advisors, and members of the Board of Trustees. Almost 200,000 items were added to the Southwest Museum collections during his 23 years as Director. Hodge pursued ethnographic collections drawing upon connections he made before coming to the Southwest Museum. He added materials from the Southwest, the Plains, the Northwest Coast, Plateau, and Artic regions to the Museum's collections. Hodge also built large photograph, manuscript, and book collections for the Southwest Museum Library, now known as the Braun Research Library at the Autry, making it one of the preeminent libraries for the study of Native Americans in the west. Hodge encouraged contemporary American Indian artists and acquired their works.

Hodge married three times. Hodge met his first wife Margaret Whitehead Magill (1863-1935) while on the Hemenway Archaeological Expedition. Magill was born in Washington D.C. on 1863 July 23. She was the sister-in-law of Frank Hamilton Cushing and served as an artist for the expedition. Magill is best known for her pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor sketches of Native Americans and Native American artifacts from archaeological expeditions. Hodge and Magill married in 1891 and had three children: Paul Frederick Hodge, Winifred Thornton Hodge, and Evelyn (Emlyn) Hodge. They separated in 1919.

Hodge married Zahrah Preble in 1927. Zahrah Preble Hodge (1880-1934) was named Ethel L. Preble when she was born on 1880 August 17 in San Francisco, California. Zahrah was a mezzo-soprano singer, writer, public speaker, and educator with an interest in Native American culture and music. She served on the support committee for the Casa de Adobe in Los Angeles. She was known for her musical interpretations of Zuni music and her involvement with the Campfire Girls. She wrote magazine and newspaper articles, contributed articles about Native American subjects to Compton's Cyclopedia, and published a series called "Tomar of Siba." She died in 1934 at age 53.

Hodge remarried again in 1936. His third wife, Gene Meany Hodge (1898-1989) was born Genevieve Patricia Meany in New London, Wisconsin on 1898 January 12. She studied at the Milwaukee Art Institute, the New York School of Interior Design, and the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts. She was an author and artist who collected, illustrated, and published stories related to Pueblo folktales, legends, and Kachinas. Her titles include: Kachina Tales from the Indian Pueblos, Four winds: Poems from Indian rituals, andThe Kachinas Are Coming Pueblo Indian Kachina Dolls with Related Folk Tales. She became chairwoman of the Indian Arts Fund in 1961 and worked towards developing and preserving the Indian Arts Fund Collection for 24 years. The Indian Arts Fund Collection became part of the Indian Arts Research Center in 1972.

Frederick Hodge retired from the Southwest Museum in 1956, becoming Director Emeritus. Shortly thereafter he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico with Gene Hodge and worked on several special projects including a significant study on the Apache peoples. He died in Santa Fe on 1956 September 29.

References

Anderson, Arthur J. O. "Frederick Webb Hodge, 1864-1956." The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 38, no. 2, 1958, pp. 263–67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2510152. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.

"Editor's Dedication of This Number of 'Arizona and the West' of the Memory of Frederick Webb Hodge, 1864-1956." Arizona and the West, vol. 1, no. 3, 1959, pp. 202–05. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40166959. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.

Kovinick, Phil, and Yoshiki-Kovinick, Marian, editors. An encyclopedia of women artists of the American West. University of Texas Press, 1999.

Judd, Neil M., Harrington, M.R., Lothrop, S.K. "Frederick Webb Hodge — 1864–1956." American Antiquity, 1957; 22(4): 401-404. doi:10.1017/S0002731600011483

"Obituaries, Genevieve Hodge." The New Mexican, 20 April 1989.

"Zahrah Hodge, Museum Head's Wide, Mourned." The Pasadena Post, 28 Apr 1934.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Cecilia Dunne, 2018.
Processing information:

Processing and finding aid by Molly Smith, 2024.

Arrangement:

The Gene M. and Frederick W. Hodge Collection is divided into three series:

1. Personal Papers, Correspondence and Ephemera, 1925-1985

2. Published works, 1887-1989

3. Photographs, 1918-1985

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Molly Smith
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-11 16:52:45 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Access to this collection may be restricted due to culturally sensitive content. Requests for researcher access to materials identified as culturally sensitive will be restricted until tribal permission has been granted. Please see the Autry's Management of Native Collections policy for further information.

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.

Terms of access:

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 Library and Archives at the Autry. 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.

Preferred citation:

Gene M. and Frederick W. Hodge Collection, 1887-1989, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MSA.58; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Location of this collection:
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA 90027, US
Contact:
(747) 201-8448
rroom@theautry.org
Website