Benjamin Morris Thomas Collection
Scope and Content
Collection consists of some 300 early images by various photographers of primarily southwestern Indian subjects, printed in a variety of formats and sizes (cabinet cards, stereos, boudoir cards, etc.) from the 1870s through 1912. Original collection by B.M. Thomas was added to by his son Bradley M. Thomas following Benjamin’s death. Photographs are itemized by negative number followed title or description. Mnay of these images have been posted on the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive online digitized collection at http://econtent.unm.edu/cdm4/indexpg.php.
Dates
- Creation: 1863 - 1928
- Creation: Majority of material found in Placeholder Unit Date Text
Creator
Language of Materials
English
Access Restrictions
Researchers may examine material in collection under supervised conditions in the Reading Room upon approval of application
Copy Restrictions
Permission to publish must be obtained from Photo Archives. Online Request Permission form available at: http://www.palaceofthegovernors.org/photo_request.html. User responsible for all copyright compliance.
Biographical Information
Benjamin Morris Thomas, a Santa Fe dentist and Republican Territorial Secretary, moved to New Mexico from Indiana in 1870 with William Crothers who was stationed at Fort Wingate as an Indian agent. Thomas suffered from a pulmonary illness as did Crothers. As a result he assisted his friend with his duties until taking a position in the Indian Service in 1871. Following his years as an Agency Farmer with the Navajo he held positions working with the Mimbres and Jicarilla Apache, Ute and the Pueblo Indians (1874-1893) of New Mexico. An advocate of the self-sufficient Pueblo Indians way of life, he fought U.S. government policy which tended to benefit the more nomadic tribes, to allocate more funding for the Pueblo communities. Along with his school teacher wife he was interested in education as a way of assimilating Pueblo children, including boarding schools to remove them from home influences. He served as New Mexico Territorial Secretary from 1888 to 1892. Also a trained dentist he returned to Santa Fe in 1888 to set up practice and died there in 1892.
Extent
1 linear foot
Collection Available Online
A selection of Benjamin Morris Thomas Collection images are available at New Mexico's Digital Collections
General
A selection of Benjamin Morris Thomas Collection images are available at New Mexico's Digital Collections
- Title
- Benjamin Morris Thomas Collection, 1863 - 1928
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- DK
- Date
- © 2010
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Revision Statements
- Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.
Repository Details
Part of the NMHM Palace of the Governors Photo Archives Repository