The collection consists of correspondence, legal documents, and early photographs from the Ritter families of Syracuse, New York and Hampden, Wisconsin, the immediate relatives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography founder William E. Ritter.
Ritter Family Papers, 1841-1916 (SMC 15)
Extent: 0.65 Linear feet (1.5 archives boxes)
Digital Content
Selected photographs from this collection have been digitized and can be viewed through links in the container list.
Ezra Ritter (1793-1876) and his wife Mary Church Ritter (1793-1877) resided in Syracuse, New York. They had five sons, Seneca Dwight, Horatio, George Nelson, Nelson and William Ezra. Seneca Dwight (1820-1886) and Horatio (1822-1896) moved west to Hampden, Wisconsin and established adjoining farms prior to 1850. Horatio and Leonora Eason Ritter (1827-1896) had five children: Mary Emaline, Ella Louisa, William E., Frank Leslie and Flora Orilla. Seneca Dwight and Damaris Winslow Ritter had three children: Dwight, Jane and Elizabeth.
William E. Ritter (1856-1944), biologist and co-founder of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was born on the farm in Hampden, Wisconsin. His uncle Nelson of Syracuse encouraged William's education and scientific career, and maintained close ties between the New York and Wisconsin branches of the Ritter family. William left his parent's farm to attend the State Normal School at Oshkosh. He obtained degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, and began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley in 1891. The Ritter family papers were gathered from the Ritter ancestral home in Syracuse, New York and donated to the SIO Archives in 1986.
The collection consists of correspondence, legal documents, and early photographs from the Ritter families of Syracuse, New York and Hampden, Wisconsin, the immediate relatives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography founder William E. Ritter.
Arranged in three series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) LEGAL PAPERS, and 3) PHOTOGRAPHS.