Russell, Eber LeRoy (sold)
Eber LeRoy Russell (March 11, 1881 - October 28, 1968) was an engineer, amateur archeologist, and historian of Native American cultures based in Upstate New York. Eber was born in Collins, New York. He dedicated himself to digging for traces of early American Indian life in the Cattaraugus Valley. In 1925 he was adopted into the Seneca Nation and was latter recognized for his "distinguished service as a true advocate of Indian legend, tradition, and history.' His best-known work was a significant revision and adaptation of Lewis Henry Morgan and Ely Parker's 1851 map of New York, published in their book League of the Ho-deʹ-no-sau-nee or Iroquois. Russell included information based on years of research to greatly expand the toponym in Iroquoian languages and add other details not on the original Morgan/Parker map. Eber's papers are preserved in the Patterson Library of Westfield, New York.
Unique encyclopedic record of Native American toponomy.
An extraordinary 1962 diazotype map by Eber Russell displaying the Native American (Iroquoian) toponymy for settlements, waterways, and other features in upstate New York and portions of Pennsylvania. One of just 4 surviving examples, this map is the product of more than 50 years of research, and an invaluable resource for understanding the pre-colonial Native American presence in New York. The present work was compiled by Eber Russell, who substantially reworked a 19th century map by Lewis Henry Morgan and Adirondack specialist Ely Samuel Parker, two of the most prominent experts on Native American cultures in their time. Compared to its predecessor, Russell's map is a significantly different work on all levels: substantially larger, more focused, more toponymy, and heavily annotated. (more details)