Fr. Sylvester Eisenman collection

Most of the Father Sylvester Eisenman collection is related to the business of running the school and mission in Marty, SD. All the materials in the collection are photocopies of original documents, and the source of the photocopies is unknown. There are few personal items.

The Eisenman Collection is divided into seven series: Correspondence, Financial Documents, Legal Documents, Photographs, Printed Materials, Topical Files and Typescripts.

The Correspondence series is divided into four sub-series: Incoming, Outgoing, Miscellaneous and Solicitations. The first two sub-series contain letters to and from Eisenman. These letters cover mission business and thank you letters for donations. Incoming and Outgoing sub-series are organized alphabetically. Inclusive dates were used when a recipient or author had more than one letter. A single date indicates only one letter. The Miscellaneous Correspondence is from Eisenman’s peers, such as priests and other missionaries, but they were not addressed specifically to Eisenman. Many of the letters concern Indian missions and their operation. Some of the miscellaneous correspondence, which covers St. Paul Mission business, was written after Eisenman’s death. The Solicitation correspondence contains letters that were sent to donors requesting monetary contributions for the mission and school. Bookmarks and other ephemera that were enclosed with these letters were not removed and remain with the letters. The Miscellaneous and Solicitation correspondence are organized chronologically.

The Financial Documents series concerns land holdings of the mission. The series contains receipts, property tax information and personal income materials and are arranged alphabetically by type of document.

The Legal Documents series contains legal papers concerning the land and taxability of the mission. These documents are arranged chronologically.

The Photographs series contains actual photographs (not photocopies of images) of an event that may be a pow wow or some other type of celebration at the mission. There is also a picture of small children, possibly Eisenman’s nieces and nephew. Also included is a picture of “little Dan,” which was used on solicitation letters and for The Little Bronzed Angel publication.

The Printed Materials series contains newspaper clippings concerning activities at the mission and several articles on Mother Katherine Drexel, including several of her obituaries. The materials are undated and are arranged alphabetically by title of the article. The Typescript series contains a diary whose author is unidentified but is likely Eisenman. The diary contains records of day-to-day life at the mission that Eisenman directed. Also in this series are historical accounts on several topics about the Marty Indian School such as the nuns who served at Marty, the history of the school, and the Government Hospital for Indians. There are also several essays that cover Catholic and Native American topics.

The Topical files contain information on the construction of several buildings at the mission and the surrounding areas, real estate documents and school records from the Greenwood school and St. Paul’s. In the St. Katherine’s Chapel file are handwritten notes describing the painting Heaven and the Roads to Heaven.