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Northern Arizona University, Cline Library

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Northern Arizona University

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Northern Arizona University

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Day Family Records

Contributing InstitutionNorthern Arizona University, Cline LibraryCollection Summary

The Day Family were Anglo traders, on the Navajo Reservation in eastern Arizona. The collection includes the personal and business papers of Sam Day, Sr. (1845-1925) surveyor, Indian trader, legislator and United States Indian Commissioner; Anna Day, Sam Sr.'s wife (1872-1932); and of their children, Charles L. Day (1879-1918), Samuel Day, Jr. (1889-1944), United States deputy Marshall. The collection contains archaeological reports, Navajo land boundary maps and notes, business records, as well as several documents pertaining to Navajo culture, including a copy of the treaty between the U.S. Government and the Navajo nation. The Day Family Records are particularly rich in chronicling early Anglo and Navajo relations.

Sam Day, Sr. (1845-1925) arrived in Arizona in 1883 to survey extensions to eastern and southern boundaries of the Navajo reservation for the federal government. At the time his wife, Anna, and their three boys Sam, Jr. (1882-1963), Charles Day (1879-1918) and William remained in Colorado. The family joined Sam, Sr. in northeast Arizona, where they staked out a homestead at Cienaga (Sinagee). He was elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1906 and served two terms in the Arizona House. From 1920 until his death in 1925 he held the post of United States Indian Commissioner. Sam, Sr., moved from Sinagee in 1901. His Sinagee ranch became part of the St. Michaels Mission. He joined son Charlie at Bill Meadows trading post, but eventually moved to the mouth of Canyon de Chelly and with his sons, Sam, Jr. and William, established what was to become the famous Thunderbird Trading Post.

Sam's sons also entered into the Indian trade. Charlie operated the Meadows Trading Post, until his untimely death in an automobile accident in 1918. Charles was known for his keen interest in documenting Navajo culture. He took photographs as well as created field recordings. He served as Edward S. Curtis' interpreter during the photographer's trip to the reservation. In 1903 Charlie was appointed custodian of Canyon De Chelly and Canyon del Muerto.

Sam Day Jr., the second son of Samuel Sr., was the trading post proprietor and served as United States deputy marshal. Sam Day Jr. married Kate Roanhorse, daughter of chief Manuelito, in 1912. He, like his brother Charles, became submersed in Navajo culture. He participated in a University of Arizona archaeological dig in 1926 and helped facilitate other archaeological research expeditions.

The Cline Library's Day Family Records complement and supplement the Museum of Northern Arizona's Day Family Collection, also included in the Arizona Memory Project.

LanguageEnglishPermissions and ReuseTo order reproductions or inquire about permissions, contact special.collections[at]nau.edu. Please cite the image number.Browse TopicBusiness and IndustryLand, Environment, and Natural ResourcesNative Americans

Document

A true story of the coming of the railroad over fifty years ago [and] the Chief's shirt, ca. 1900-1923.

An act in relation to marriage between white men and Indian women, ca. 1920-1925

Authorization granted to S. E. Day to visit the Moqui Reservation, 1901

Catalogs from the J.L. Hubbell Trading Post and the Burke Navajo Indian Vocational School, 1904

Churches of the Southwest, ca. 1910-1940

Contract and Bond, no. 106, Office of U.S. Surveyor General [U.S. bond]

Correspondence from Sam E. Day, Jr. at St. Michaels, AZ, to the Honorable H.O. Bursum in Albuquerque, N. M. September 30, 1924

Correspondence regarding payment to Samuel E. Day, Jr. for automobile hire, 1915

Field notes of Navajo Basin, 1900-1920

Field notes of the south boundary of the Navajo Indian Reservation, 1903

Indian accounts, 1914-1915

Letter Joseph Kibbey, the Governor of Arizona, congratulating Sam Day, Sr. on his election to the House, 1908

Letter from Thomas Ryan to Henry Mason Baum with report from A.C. Tonner regarding the appointment of Samuel Day as a custodian of the Navajo Agency, 1903

Letter outlining the southern boundary of the Navajo Indian Reservation, May 19, 1919

Letter to Professor Byron Cummings from Samuel E. Day, Jr., August 21, 1936

List of delegates and alternates to the Navajo Tribal Council

Navajo Clan Names

Permit for S.E. Day and his company to pass over the reservation, 1901

Programs for the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonials, ca. 1923-1931

Regulations governing live stock on Indian Reservations, ca. 1920s

Signed and notarized document for J.L. Hubbell, September 11, 1923

Typescript of Treaty between the United States of America and Navajo tribe of Indians, 1868

Document- Handwritten|Scan

Account book, 1916-1920

Charles H. Day's note pad, 1872

Indian Mission Among the Navajos, ca. 1900-1920

John Workman: number of sheep and goats, list of herders and helpers, 1934

Letter from Samuel E. Day to C.E. Vandroen asking when his corn will be in Manuelito

Letter from Samuel E. Day, Jr. to his parents, April 8, 1917

Letter of reinstatment as Sub-Chief for "Bash Te Le", Sept. 16, 1879

Letter to Samuel E. Day, Jr. from Bert Wesley, April 25, 1934

Letter to Samuel E. Day, Jr. from H. Gorman, April 28, 1941

Navajo sports, Navajo games, ca. 1910-1923

Notebook (with personal notes and monetary transactions; and an account of a stay with the Navajos), written between 1898-1903

Notebook with record of items purchased, names and addresses,and survey measurements, 1917

Roll pad with map coordinates, ca. 1902 - 1917

Sam Day Sr. surveyors notebook, 1911

Sam Day, Sr.'s letter to Mr. Perry regarding Mrs. Day's sympathies with the "Navajo War" 1906

Newspaper

Canyon de Chelly, 1916

AgencyNorthern Arizona UniversityPlaceNorthern Arizona University

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Day Family Records