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Ella Bamford photograph album

Guide to the Ella Bamford photograph album
circa 1926-1932

Collection number: HMC-1402.
Creator: Bamford, Ella.
Title: Ella Bamford photograph album.
Dates: circa 1926-1932.
Volume of collection: 0.25 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in the collection are in English.

Collection summary:
Photograph album of a teacher at the Eklutna Industrial School.

Biographical note:
Ella Bamford (née Wootton) was born in 1901 in Maryland. In about 1926, she came to Alaska to teach at Eklutna Industrial School. In 1931, she married William Bamford. During the winter of 1932, the couple lived in Circle, Alaska, where she taught school. The couple later moved to an island in the Yukon River outside of Dawson, Canada, where they owned a store. Bamford died in 1983 in Vancouver, B.C.

Collection description:
The collection consists of a photograph album of Ella Bamford, documenting her life in Alaska and Yukon. The first part of the album contains photographs of her time working at the Eklutna Industrial School, a boarding school for Alaska Native students, which include photographs of students, buildings, and activities like fishing and hunting. The middle part of the album includes photographs of Alaska Natives in Golovin and Nulato. The photographs at the end of the album are from the Bamfords’ time on the near Dawson, Yukon, which include images of Indigenous peoples in the area, villages, steamships, and hunting. Throughout the album there are original and commercial photographs of scenery and animals, as well as some photographs of landscape paintings of Alaska.

The names of students appearing in photo captions include: Annie (2 photos), Barney, Barney Ephim, Bill (2 photos), Bill Jager, Billy, Charlie, Dick, Duffy, Earl, Elsie, Flora Nollner, Fred, George, Harry (2 photos), Jack, James, James Minano, Julia, Max (3 photos), Miles (? Unsure of name), Nicholas Peton, Nita, Otis, Paul (2 photos), Paul Dushkin, Polly, Sara, Sassa (2 photos), Sassa Modook, and Walter.

Arrangement: The album is in its original order, with a separate folder for loose photographs.

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Rights note: Archives & Special Collections owns copyright to materials created by Ella Bamford. Some materials in the collections may be subject to copyright not held by the Archives.

Preferred citation: Ella Bamford photograph album, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Works used in preparation of inventory: Biographical information was supplied by the donor, with additional information found at familysearch.org.

Related materials:
The Archives also holds the Eklutna Vocational School photograph album (HMC-1385-AHS), which contains photographs of the school’s construction and the period between 1940 and 1943.

For other collections related to education in Alaska, see our Education topic guide.

Acquisition note: Carol Schellenberg, niece of Ella Bamford, donated the collection to Archives and Special Collections and signed a deed of gift in 2022.

Processing information: This collection was described by Gwen Higgins in 2022. The student names were added to the description by Arlene Schmuland in 2023.

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