Correspondence, 1896-1899

The Samuel A. Dysart Papers house correspondence, typescript and holograph essays, and a printed report dating from 1896 to 1982. The bulk of the collection consists of family correspondence dating from 1896 to 1903.

The first item in the collection is a short story in Samuel Dysart's hand entitled Bread and Meat. It decries the boredom of country life and the relentless greed and domination of a demanding husband and father. The Dysart family correspondence consists primarily of letters from Samuel to his son Louis regarding family affairs and the state of Samuel's health. Many of the letters contain Samuel's thoughts on symptoms believed to be related to tuberculosis. Of particular interest are letters from Samuel to Louis dated 1897 April 20 and 1903 August 4 describing sterilization and surgical procedures performed on two occasions in the Dysart home and a letter from Fred Dysart to Birney and Eva dated 1899 February 20 regarding Christian interpretations of the evils of urban life and greed. A letter from Samuel dated 1900 October 18 includes floor plans for the Dysart home and a proposed addition. Correspondence written during November 1902 contains Samuel's comments on local politics, including references to a secret meeting with Carl Hayden at the Commercial Hotel in Phoenix.

The Decision and Decree is a published summary of Hurley vs. Abbott, the Arizona territorial court case known as the Kent Decision, that established the law of prior appropriation in water rights for Arizona. The Phoenix Dysarts is a typescript family history written by Merwin L. Murphy. The Diary of a Trip to the Grand Canyon... is a typescript of an original diary written by Zella Dysart and transcribed by Merwin L. Murphy.