George Shiras III papers
About
George Shiras III (1859-1942) was a lawyer, a member of the Pennsylvania legislature from 1889 to 1890, a member of Congress from 1903 to 1905, and a world-renowned naturalist and wildlife photographer. He first visited Marquette, Michigan in the summer of 1870 for a camping trip. In 1885, he married Frances P. White (daughter of Peter White) of Marquette. He is widely regarded as the father of wildlife photography and was an early advocate of "hunting" wildlife with a camera. He was a steady contributor to National Geographic Magazine, sharing photographs and tales of his many field trips to various locations throughout the United States and Canada. He was also a friend of Theodore Roosevelt and had a lengthy correspondence with him. Shiras resided permanently in Marquette, Michigan, following the sudden death of his wife Frances in September 1938. He is interred at Park Cemetery in Marquette, Michigan, where he shares a plot with his wife Frances and their son George Shiras IV.
All of the Shiras collection has been digitized except for a scrapbook documenting Shiras' efforts to pass a law to protect migratory waterfowl. It includes Shiras' memoirs, some of his political publications, drafts of a brief biography, and a draft of his obituary. There is also personal correspondence, including his correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Roosevelt, and a letterbook of correspondence and conference information on the conservation of wildlife, the Nature Faker Controversy, the Roosevelt-Newett Libel Suit, Theodore Roosevelt's desire that Shiras write a book on Upper Peninsula wildlife, planning information for Roosevelt Memorials, and two appendices containing magazine and newspaper articles, photographs, and other supporting materials.