Ritter Family Papers
Scope and Content of Collection
Subjects and Indexing Terms
CORRESPONDENCE
Poems undated
Receipts 1876-1886
City taxes 1863-1908
Bank receipts 1901-1909
Legal papers 1824-1891
Ritter Family portraits ca. 1860-1890s
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
© 1997, 2014
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Ritter Family Papers
Creator:
Ritter family
Identifier/Call Number: SMC 0015
Physical Description:
0.65 Linear feet
(1.5 archives boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1841-1916
Abstract: 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.
William E. Ritter Papers, SMC 4. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
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.
The collection is arranged in three series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) LEGAL PAPERS, 3) PHOTOGRAPHS.
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.
Ritter Family Papers, SMC 15. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.
Publication rights are held by the Regents of the University of California.
Acquired 1986.
Selected photographs from this collection have been digitized and can be viewed through links in the container list.
Wisconson -- History -- Sources -- Archives
Ritter, Ella Louisa -- Correspondence
Ritter, Mary Emaline -- Correspondence
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Ritter, William Emerson -- Correspondence
Ritter family -- Archives
Ritter, Seneca Dwight -- Correspondence
Ritter, Mary Eason -- Correspondence
Ritter, Nelson -- Correspondence
Ritter, Horatio -- Correspondence
Series 1) CORRESPONDENCE: Letters and postcards exchanged between members of the Ritter family, the majority written by William
E. Ritter and his uncle Nelson Ritter between 1860 and 1905. The correspondence documents births, deaths, and the health of
family members; social and economic aspects of life on the farms; and William E. Ritter’s educational and career experiences.
Early letters contain impressions of the Civil War and Union recruiting and drafting policies in Wisconsin. The final folder
in the series contains handwritten poems. Arranged chronologically.
Box 1, Folder 1-36
Box 1, Folder 37
Box 1, Folder 38-39
Box 1, Folder 40-42
Box 1, Folder 43
Box 2, Folder 1-5
Box 2, Folder 6
Leonora Eason Ritter: ca. 1890
Ezra and Mary Ritter: ca. 1860
Horatio Ritter: ca. 1860