In January, 1975, the Narragansett Indian tribe filed suit in federal district court to regain lands in southern RI which they claimed were illegally taken from them in 1880. In May, 1976, Paul R. Campbell and Glenn LaFantasie were hired by the RI Attorney General's office and the law firm of Tillinghast, Collins and Graham as historian for the defense, initiating research on the tribe which spanned over two years and several states. By the time their work for the court case was completed, the two historians had collected photocopies of over 9,000 documents dating as far back as 1524. Campbell and LaFantasie's work also provided the material for papers they co-wrote in 1978 about the Narragansetts, Narragansett Indians Land Controversies and Narragansett Country; for an undergraduate course which they co-taught at Providence College in 1977; and for a lecture series with the Rhode Island Historical Society in the spring of 1978. LaFantasie relied heavily on these materials to prepare annotations for The Correspondence of Roger Williams, 2 vols. (1988), which he edited for the Rhode Island Historical Society while serving as Editor of Publications from 1979 to 1985.
In other historical areas, Campbell co-wrote two books with Rhode Island author Patrick Conley: Providence: A Pictorial History (1982) and Firefighters and Fires in Providence (1985). Campbell served as Library Director at the Rhode Island Historical Society from 1979 to 1987.
There are no restrictions on access.
Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection must be obtained from the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Many of the photocopied documents in the Narragansett series were used as documentary exhibits in the land claim case. Sources for some of these documents can be found either on the documents themselves, or in the "plaintiff's and defendants' requests for admissions" and the "index of documentary exhibits" in the trial documents (subseries 2). Researchers can also see the research grant correspondence in subseries 3 for a listing of locations from which many of the research notes came. In some cases, however, sources may be unclear or unavailable. In addition, in cases where copied manuscripts were obtained from institutions other than the Rhode Island Historical Society, permission to publish can be granted only by the institution which owns the records. The collection generally should be viewed as a reference collection only.
Paul Campbell Research Notes, MSS 369, Rhode Island Historical Society
This collection contains many of Campbell and LaFantasie's research notes for the Narragansett court case. It also includes research on Providence: A Pictorial History, the Providence Fire Department, and the Cranston Ore Bed. The notes consist mainly of photocopies of primary and secondary sources, trial documents, handwritten notes, drafts, and correspondence regarding publishing.
Campbell and LaFantasie donated the Narragansett notes jointly in late 1978 or early 1979, after the completion of the court case but before Campbell's appointment as RIHS library director. These papers were initially housed in administrative storage at the Aldrich House, and were not formally accessioned or made available to the public until 1990. The Cranston Ore Bed material (which was also jointly assembled from research done by Campbell and LaFantasie) was similarly transferred to the library in 1991. For the remainder of the collection, the accession information is unclear, but probably is the same.
In the Narragansett series, much weeding for duplication among photocopied sources was done. However, due to the amount of photocopied material present, some duplicates may remain.
Much of the Providence and firefighter material has been kept in original folders, and all Cranston Ore Bed notes were kept in original folders and order.
Exhibit material for 1975 land claim trial. The material consists of photocopied primary and secondary sources, and for the most part is arranged chronologically. Box 3, folder 2 (1880-1883) includes the 1880 Act presented to the RI General Assembly appointing a commission to negotiate the purchase of all common tribal lands from the Narragansett Tribe, along with a list of the 324 Narragansetts approved as claimants in the land purchase by the Supreme Court.
1871-1879 - no documents during this time period.
Folder includes the 1880 Act presented to the RI General Assembly appointing a commission to negotiate the purchase of all common tribal lands from the Narragansett Tribe, along with a list of the 324 Narragansetts approved as claimants in the land purchase by the Supreme Court.
Some minutes for the council and executive board are interspersed.
List of documents used in case.
Items listed are photocopies of original printed material.