Ralph Edgerton Papers

Collection

Identifier: WCMss-369

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ralph Edgerton Papers houses personal material related to Ralph Edgerton and Whitman College. This collection, which dates from 1929 to 1996, consists of documents and correspondences of the Whitman College Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers, documents regarding student labor, papers about the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, documents about the Eastern Washington State Historical Society, documents about Ralph Edgerton's death, and miscellaneous correspondences involving Ralph Edgerton. It also includes papers of the Society of Mayflower Descendents, two Spokesman-Review articles, Whitman College Financial Planning Committee documents, a copy of "The Penrose Vision" by Robert Allen Skotheim, pamphlets by Ralph Edgerton for The Pacific Northwesterner, a manuscript of Ralph Edgerton's The Lilac City Has a Purple Past, articles and letters about the death of Edgerton's son, Ralph Douglas Edgerton, Whitman College by-laws, photos of Ralph Edgerton's commencement speech, and three scrapbooks.

Dates

1929-1996

Creator

Edgerton, Ralph (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Ralph Edgerton was born in Sandpoint, Idaho on June 27, 1908. He attended Whitman College, graduating in 1931 and studying political science. At Whitman, he participated in choir, debate, theater, Glee Club, yearbook, intramural baseball and football, and was the Dramatic Club treasurer. After Whitman, he studied law at Gonzaga University where he would later teach law from 1946 to 1947. From 1936 to 1949, Edgerton practiced private law before being appointed to be a Superior Court Judge in 1949. In 1972, Edgerton was appointed to the State Court of Appeals. Edgerton also served as chairman of the Whitman Board of Overseers from 1959 to 1969. Edgerton was married three times: to Frances Still in 1939, to Ilse Graham in 1967, and to Jean Hardy in 1986. He had one daughter, Lynne Kinnunen, two step daughters, Lynda Wolf and Sandra Padrta, and two step sons, John Graham and John Hardy. Edgerton died on January 31, 1996 in Spokane, Washington.

Extent

1.48 Linear Feet (2 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Ralph Edgerton Papers contains personal material related to Whitman College and Ralph Edgerton, a 1931 Whitman graduate, lawyer, and judge. This collection, which dates from 1929 to 1996, houses correspondence, newspaper articles, documents related to Whitman College, scrapbooks, photographs and other materials.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Ralph Edgerton from April 9, 1971 to May 26, 1994. The accession number associated with this donation is retro-0270.