Peter Stanup, Puyallup student
First letter inquiring about enrolling in high school at Tualatin Academy
Peter Stanup was a Puyallup man who attended the Forest Grove Indian School from about 1880-1881. He was married to a fellow student, Anna Kahim. Peter and his family probably left Forest Grove for the Puyallup Agency sometime in 1881. By April 1882, he was writing these letters from Tacoma to Professor Joseph W. Marsh of Pacific University stating his wish to enter Tualatin Academy as a regular high school student that fall. Tualatin Academy was a college preparatory high school attached to Pacific University. Peter had met several of its professors in the course of studying at the Forest Grove Indian School, and wished to return as a regular high school student. The Academy agreed to admit him, but he was not able to come. Eye problems -- possibly caused by trachoma, a bacterial disease that affected many Natives at the Puyallup Agency -- kept him from attending. Peter nonetheless was able to study enough theology to be licensed by the Presbyterian Church to preach the gospel by the summer of 1883.
The documents in this section include letters that Peter Stanup wrote to Professor Joseph Marsh of Pacific University about his wishes to attend high school and find work and a place to live in Forest Grove; notes from a Pacific University Board of Trustees meeting about a potential scholarship; and a letter of recommendation written on his behalf.
Letter of Recommendation
Work prospects and books
Trustees' notes on Stanup
On where to live and Wilkinson
Eye problems
Puyallup Presbytery says he cannot attend