Title: Stephen Sargent Visher Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1907-1971

Creator:

• Visher, Stephen Sargent, 1887-1967

Call Number: AGSL Manuscript Collection 31

Quantity: 3.2 cubic ft. (4 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, American Geographical Society Library

Archival Locations:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, American Geographical Society Library (Map)

Abstract:

The papers of Stephen Sargent Visher, a geographer and climatologist who taught at the University of Indiana. The collection primarily contains correspondence, but includes manuscripts and teaching materials as well.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-agsl-agslmss0031

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Stephen Sargent Visher was born in Chicago in 1887. His family moved to a rural farm in South Dakota in 1898. Visher returned to Chicago in 1902 to attend high school. After he graduated, he taught elementary school back in South Dakota from 1905-1906. Visher once again returned to Chicago where he earned his BS in botany at the University of Chicago in 1909, and later an MS in geology in 1910. He was then appointed Assistant State Geologist of South Dakota and also taught at the University of South Dakota from 1910-1913. During this time, he earned a second MS, this one in zoology, in 1912 at USD. After returning to the University of Chicago, Visher earned his PhD in geography in 1914. He then taught at the State Normal College in Moorhead, Minnesota and did field work in places like the Caribbean, North Carolina, and Utah. In 1919, he began his teaching career at the University of Indiana, where he remained until his retirement in 1958.

After moving to Indiana, Visher also worked in various government capacities, including time with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, the Indiana Geological Survey, and the U.S. Department of State, as Acting Geographer. Visher also served in various leadership roles. In 1931, he became Vice President of the Association of American Geographers and also later served as President of the Indiana Academy of Science in 1950. He received honors such as the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council for Geographic Education in 1948 and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Association of American Geographers in 1958. A prolific author, Visher wrote books such as Climate of Indiana (1944) and Scientists Starred 1903-1943 in American Men of Science (1947), and numerous articles on a variety of geographical and climatological subjects, the state of Indiana, the backgrounds of well-known geographers and scientists, and on controversial topics as well, such as eugenics and euthanasia. Visher died in 1967.

The collection contains primarily correspondence, which reflects Visher's work in academia, his publications and manuscripts, and his personal correspondence. The chronological correspondence includes correspondence from geographers such as Robert S. Platt, Griffith Taylor, J. Russell Smith, and George H.T. Kimble, just to name a few. There is also a folder of wartime correspondence that includes materials from the Office of Strategic Services.

The files are organized alphabetically by personal name or by subject, then chronologically.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

• American Geographical Society of New York Records. AGSNY Archival Collection 1.

• Association of American Geographers Records. AGSL Manuscript Collection 23.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Fritz Nelson donated the collection to the American Geographical Society Library in 2008.

Processing Information

Norman Stewart processed the collection which was originally placed in with the Association of American Geographers Records (AGSL Mss 23). Since then, the AGSL processed this as a separate manuscript collection.

Box   1 Folder   1	American Eugenics Society, 1927-1956
Box   1 Folder   2	American Geographical Society, incl. Geographical Review, 1924-1964
Box   1 Folder   3	Applied Psychology and Religious Education, 1924-1928
Box   1 Folder   4	Baker, Oliver E., 1921-1954
Box   1 Folder   5	Biography, by J.K. Rose, 1971
Box   1 Folder   6	Bowman, Isaiah, 1915-1950
Box   4 Folder   1	Branom, Mendel E., 1927-1961
Box   1 Folder   7	Brigham, Albert Perry, 1919-1932
Box   1 Folder   8	Brisco, H.T., 1940-1957
Box   1 Folder   9	Bryan, William Lowe, 1920-1948
Box   1 Folder   10	Chaney, Ralph W., 1916-1964
	Chronological Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   11-30	1912-1939
Box   2 Folder   1-24	1940-1956
Box   3 Folder   1-8	1957-1970
Box   3 Folder   9	Colby, Charles C., 1915-1960
Box   3 Folder   10	Dodge, Richard E., 1921-1949
Box   3 Folder   11	Goode, J. Paul, 1915-1930
Box   3 Folder   12	Grosvenor, Gilbert, 1922-1963
Box   3 Folder   13	Harper, R.M., 1938-1940
Box   3 Folder   14	Harris, Chauncy D., 1939-1969
Box   3 Folder   15	Hartshorne, Richard, 1934-1949
Box   3 Folder   16-18	Huntington, Ellsworth, 1917-1949
Box   3 Folder   19	James, Preston E., 1936-1948
Box   3 Folder   20	Jefferson, Mark, 1928-1949
Box   3 Folder   21	Kinsey, Alfred C., 1948-1950
Box   3 Folder   22	Lee, Henry E., 1913-1939
Box   3 Folder   23	Murphy, Robert C., 1938-1964
	Personal and Family Correspondence
Box   3 Folder   24	brothers and sisters, 1907-1965
Box   3 Folder   25	children, 1925-1946
Box   3 Folder   26	parents, 1918-1930
Box   4 Folder   2	various cousins and other extended family, 1911-1960
Box   3 Folder   27	wife (Martha), 1915-1932
Box   3 Folder   28	Property Transactions, 1911-1949
	Publications Note: Additional materials on publications can also be found in the chronological correspondence.
Box   3 Folder   29	"Biographical Sketches of Early AAG Members", 1963
Box   3 Folder   30	Climatic Atlas of the United States, 1951-1966
Box   4 Folder   3	euthanasia article, 1937-1938
Box   3 Folder   31	Indiana Men of Science, 1948-1951
Box   4 Folder   4	miscellaneous, 1922-1929
Box   4 Folder   5	"Regionalization of Indiana", 1948-1949
Box   3 Folder   32	Scientists Starred 1903-1943 in American Men of Science, 1947-1948
Box   3 Folder   33	"Where You Were Born Affects Your Rise", 1951
Box   3 Folder   34	Renner, George T., 1931-1957
Box   3 Folder   35-36	Sale of Personal Library, 1958-1964
Box   3 Folder   37	Sauer, Carl O., 1927-1964
Box   3 Folder   38	Thornthwaite, Charles Warren, 1935-1937
Box   3 Folder   39	Van Cleef, Eugene, 1915-1964
Box   3 Folder   40	Von Engeln, O.D., 1925-1957
Box   4 Folder   6	Wartime Geographers, papers and correspondence, 1940-1945
Box   3 Folder   41-43	Wells, H.B., 1935-1962
Box   3 Folder   44	Wright, John K., 1932-1961