Elaine Frank Davison Germans from Russia Collection
Scope and Contents
The Elaine Frank Davison Germans from Russia Collection, which consists of Elaine Frank Davison's research files and publications, is divided into six series: Sound Recordings, Publications by Elaine Davison, Genealogical Research, Correspondence, Obituaries, and Miscellaneous. It is a rich source of information for both genealogists and researchers interested in the immigration and ethnic history of Eastern Washington.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-2000
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1970-2000
Creator
- Davison, Elaine Frank (Person)
Language of Materials
Collection is in English, Russian, German.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Elaine Frank Davison was born in Walla Walla, Washington on August 23, 1929 to Johann Conrad and Maria Catherine Frank, Germans from Russia who immigrated to the United States in 1905. She was the youngest of eight children. Her interest in the stories of the Volga Germans was piqued by her father's stories of his homeland. Upon his death in 1959, she took up genealogical research. Ultimately, she became responsible for recovering and preserving the history of her family's home village of Kautz / Werschinka. Davison spent her childhood in Walla Walla. After graduating from high school, she worked for the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph company. In 1949, she married George Hite Davison, and the couple moved to Spokane, Washington. They had four children: James Hite, Loralee, Julie Ann, and Karla Elaine. Elaine returned to work in 1960 at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. The family returned to Walla Walla in 1963, where Elaine began working as a medical transcriptionist.
A self-taught researcher and writer, Davison self-published books about the village, entitled "Unsere Leute von Kautz" (Our People from Kautz). Her "Kautz Project" required numerous oral history interviews, as many of the relevant genealogical records remain in Germany and Russia. In 1990, Davison and her work were featured in "Making a Difference: A Centennial Celebration of Washington Women, Volume II," a curriculum handbook created by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Elaine Frank Davison died on March 17, 2001.
Extent
8 Linear Feet (8 record cartons)
Abstract
The Elaine Frank Davison Germans from Russia Collection contains interviews on cassette tapes, publications, research files, and family correspondence pertaining to Germans from Russia created by a genealogist from Walla Walla, Washington.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Julie Davison Loiacono in January 2003. The accession number is retro-0015.
Separated Materials
"Laurel's Story: A Montana Heritage" by Elsie P. Johnston (1979) and issues of "Der Kirchenbote / The Christian Messenger" from the 1950s-1970s were transferred to the Acquisitions Department of Penrose Library.
Subject
- Rempel, Arthur G. (Arthur Gustav) (Person)
- Frank family (Family)
- Rempel family (Family)
- Title
- Guide to the Elaine Frank Davison Germans from Russia Collection
- Author
- Colleen McFarland and Emi Hastings
- Date
- 2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Whitman College and Northwest Archives Repository