Descriptive Summary
Quillin, Ellen Schulz, 1892-1970
Ellen Schulz Quillin Papers
1924-1968
Materials are in English.
Col 910
2.5 linear feet (7 boxes)
Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
Director of the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas, from its opening in 1926 to her retirement in 1960, Ellen Schulz Quillin (1892-1970) also authored several field guides to Texas wildflowers and other plants.
Literary manuscripts, research material, correspondence, and photographs form the Quillin papers, reflecting Mrs. Quillin's research and writing in botany and popular science.
Biographical Note
Ellen Dorothy Schulz was born 1892 June 16 in Saginaw, Michigan, growing up on a small farm in the area. After receiving a degree from the University of Michigan, she moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she taught science at Main Avenue High School. She soon became interested in establishing a museum in San Antonio and helped organize the acquisition of a large natural history collection, which was housed in Main Avenue High School. The collection was the nucleus of the Witte Memorial Museum, which opened in 1926 with Schulz as its director, a position she held until her retirement in 1960.
In addition to these activities, Schulz pursued her interest in botany, publishing her first field guide,
500 Wild Flowers of San Antonio and Vicinity, in 1922. A more ambitious work, Texas Wild Flowers, followed in 1928. Her other works include Texas Cacti (co-author, 1930); Cactus Culture (1932); and The Story of the Witte Memorial Museum, 1922-1960 (co-author, 1966) as well as children's books and numerous articles on plant life.
In 1927, Ellen D. Schulz married Roy W. Quillin of San Antonio, an oil company employee and nature enthusiast. Upon her retirement, the City of San Antonio proclaimed Ellen Schulz Quillin Day in honor of her service with the Witte Museum, appointing her director emeritus of the museum, a position she held until her death on 1970 May 6.
References
Bonta, Marcia Myers.
Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1991.
Ellen Schulz Quillin biographical file, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Ellen Schulz Quillin Papers, 1924-1968, Col 910, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Steinfeldt, Cecilia. "Ellen Dorothy Schulz Quillin."
Handbook of Texas Online. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fqu09.
Woolford, Bess Carroll and Ellen Schulz Quillin.
The Story of the Witte Memorial Museum, 1922-1960. San Antonio: San Antonio Museum Association, 1966.
Scope and Content Note
Literary manuscripts, research material, correspondence and photographs are part of the Ellen Schulz Quillin Papers, documenting her research and writing in the field of botany and popular science.
A large part of the papers are Quillin's notes and manuscripts for published and unpublished works, dating from the 1920s and 1930s. The manuscripts to two plant field guides,
500 Wild Flowers of San Antonio and Vicinity and Texas Wild Flowers are included, the latter with extensive notes and background material. A third published book, Cactus Culture, is represented by a galley proof.
Also included are several unpublished works, including a narrative for children entitled "Texas Tales and Trails," intended as an introduction to nature study. Various versions of the manuscript are part of the papers, along with comments from editors. Other unpublished works include short articles on plants, and partial copies or outlines of proposed works.
Research material, in the form of six three-ring binders of notes, clippings, and photographs, was apparently planned for use in a guide to the trees and shrubs of Texas. The notebooks include suggestions and comments from other readers, but the anticipated book was not published. Material from the notebooks has been removed from the binders, maintaining the original order. Information inscribed on the covers of the notebooks has been noted in the inventory. The taxonomic headings used by the author have also been retained, in some cases reflecting usage which has since changed. Folder titles supplied by the archivist are in brackets.
Source material for Quillin's research includes typescripts of unpublished works by other botanists and printed material.
A small amount of correspondence, particularly from friend and fellow plant enthusiast Edith Fry Hildebrand; photographs; and material on the HemisFair '68 exposition round out the collection.
Organization of Collection
This collection is organized into six series.
- Series 1: Literary productions
- Series 2: Research notebooks
- Series 3: Source material
- Series 4: Correspondence
- Series 5: Photographs
- Series 6: HemisFair material
Access Restrictions
No restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Usage Restrictions
Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Related Materials
Ellen Schulz Quillin Annotated Field Guides, 1922-1968, Col 6747, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Ellen Schulz Quillin Papers, 1924-1968, Col 910, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Acquisition Information
Some evidence indicates that Ellen Schulz Quillin donated her papers to the library sometime before her death in 1970. Other evidence suggests that the collection was possibly received by an unknown donor in 1973.
Processing Information
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1994 October.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 September.
Index Terms
Personal Names
Quillin, Ellen Schulz, 1892-1970.
Subjects
Botany--Texas--Popular works.
Trees--Texas.
Shrubs--Texas.
Wild flowers--Texas.
Women botanists--Texas.
Genres/Formats
Personal papers.
Manuscripts.
Research notes.
Correspondence.
Photographs.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Literary productions
1
500 Wild Flowers of San Antonio and Vicinity
1
1
Typescript.
1
2
Proof.
1
Texas Wild Flowers: A Popular Account of the Common Wild Flowers of Texas
1
3
"Texas Wild Flowers: A Popular Account of the Common Wild Flowers Growing in the State." Foreword. Typescript and manuscript, 1928.
1
4
Manuscript, typescript, notes, and attachments.
1
5
Revised version. Manuscript, typescript, and attachments. Attached note, 1968.
1
Cactus Culture
1
6
List of illustrations. Typescript.
1
7
Galley proof, 1932.
2
"Texas Tales and Trails"
2
8
Proposal.
2
9
Outline and notes. Typescript and manuscript.
2
10
Typescript, circa 1925. Attached explanatory note, 1967.
2
11
Typescript.
2
12
"Out of Doors in the Southwest" or "Child's Book of Nature in the Southwest" ["Texas Tales and Trails"]. Typescript.
2
13
"Texas Tales and Trails" ["Out of Doors in the Southwest" or "Child's Book of Nature in the Southwest"]. Typescript. Photocopy of above, with added notes.
2
14
"Out of Doors in the Southwest" ["Texas Tales and Trails"]. Editorial comments by G. W. Kelly.
2
15
Editorial comments, 1925.
2
"Common and Curious Plants of Texas"
2
16
Proposal and outline.
2
"Flowers of San Antonio and Vicinity"
2
17
Typescript.
2
"100 Common Texas Flowers"
2
18
Color chart. Typescript and notes.
2
"Plants for your Desert Garden"
2
19
Typescript and manuscript.
2
Unpublished articles
2
20
Typescript, undated. Attached explanatory note, 1968.
2
Miscellaneous articles.
2
21
Manuscript and typescript.
2
22
Promotional material.
Series 2: Research notebooks
3
"Book II, Trees and Shrubs of Texas by Ellen D. Schulz" (cover title)
3
23
Pinaceae
3
24
Phoenicaceae, Ephedraceae
3
25
Dracenaceae
3
26
Amaryllidaceae
3
27
Liliaceae
3
28
[Bromeliaceae]
3
"II, Juglandaceae, Salicaceae, Betulaceae, Lagaceae" (cover title)
3
29
[Unlabeled loose material]
3
30
Juglandaceae, Myricaceae, Leitneriaceae
3
31
Salicaceae, Populus-Salix
3
32
Betulaceae
3
33
Fagaceae
3
34-35
[Oaks]
3
"V, Cassiaceae, Fabaceae, Zygophyllaceae, Rutaceae, Koeberliniaceae, Simarubaceae" (cover title)
3
36
Cassiaceae
3
37
Fabaceae
3
38
Zygophyllaceae
3
39
Rutaceae, Koeberliniaceae, Simarubaceae
4
"VI, Spondiaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Aceraceae, Aesculaceae, Sapindaceae, Frangulaceae" (cover title)
4
40
Spondiaceae
4
41
Aquifoliaceae, Celastraceae
4
42
Aceraceae
4
43
Aesculaceae, Sapindaceae
4
44
Frangulaceae
4
45-46
"VI T 1932" (cover title)
4
"VII" (cover title)
4
47
[Unlabelled loose material]
4
48-50
[Photographs and captions]
6-7
Notebook covers.
Series 3: Source material
4
51
Bogusch, E. R. "Texas Oaks: A Preliminary Report." Typescript. Attached letter, 1936.
4
52
Bogusch, Edwin R. "Working List of Texan Oaks." Typescript. Attached letter, 1935.
4
53
Clover, Alzada. "Vegetational Survey of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas." Typescript, undated.
4
54
Cory, V. L. "The Distribution of Samuela in Texas." Typescript, undated.
4
55
Lewis, Isaac M. "The Trees of Texas." Bulletin of the University of Texas, 22 (April 15, 1915). 2 copies [incomplete].
4
56
Mueller, C. H. "Vegetation of Chisos Mountains, Texas." Typescript, 1938.
4
57
Mueller, C. H. "Vegetation of Chisos Mountains, Texas." Typescript, undated.
4
58
Miscellaneous
Series 4: Correspondence
5
59
Edith Fry Hildebrand, 1924-1925.
5
60
Edith Fry Hildebrand, excerpts from letters.
5
61
Miscellaneous, 1925 and undated.
Series 5: Photographs
5
62
Ellen Schulz Quillin.
5
62
Quillin residence [negatives].
Series 6: HemisFair material
5
63
Woman's Pavilion, press kit.
5
64
Woman's Pavilion, photographs.