The Father of Anthropology and His Sons: Lewis Henry Morgan, Lorimer Fison and Adolph Bandelier

Courtesy of Rare Books, Special Collection and Preservation, University of Rochester.

Authored by: Miranda Zammarelli.

Lewis Henry Morgan was never a professor in the traditional sense. However, this circumstance did not stop him from educating students in the field of anthropology. In 1869, a Wesleyan missionary in Fiji named Lorimer Fison (1832 – 1907) contacted Morgan, sending him a description of Fijian and Tongan kinships terms. Morgan used Fison’s findings in writing his landmark Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the Human Family.

Under the influence of Morgan, Fison took an interest in studying Australian Aboriginal groups. Fison’s research on Australian Aborigines is incorporated in Morgan’s Ancient Society. While conducting his research, Fison met Alfred William Howitt, who was also studying Australian Aboriginal groups. Fison put Howitt in contact with Morgan, and the two began to correspond.

Fison and Howitt decided to publish their findings together in a book using Morgan’s terminology and methodology. Many of the Fison-Morgan and Howitt-Morgan letters pertain to the development of their jointly published work, Kamilaroi and Kurnai: Group Marriage and Relationship, And Marriage by Elopement, Drawn Chiefly from the Usage of the Australian Aborigines. Also the Kurnai Tribe, Their Customs in Peace and War. Although Morgan never entered the same room as Fison and Howitt, he managed to communicate his ideas through their correspondence. The authors asked Morgan to write an introduction for the book, demonstrating the efficacy of his influence. Kamilaroi and Kurnai is a physical product of the influence that Morgan had on his students. The book represents how Morgan’s students carried on his legacy through their own ethnographic research.

Fison wrote part one of Kamilaroi and Kurnai, discussing marriage, descent and family relationships among the Kamilaroi, an Australian Aboriginal society. Howitt wrote part two, discussing war, marriage customs, and religious ceremonies among the Kurnai, another Australian Aboriginal society. Fison also wrote the section called “The Theory of the Kurnai System” while Howitt concluded the book. The pictures of Kamilaroi and Kurnai shown above come from Morgan’s personal copy of the book. Morgan wrote in the margins of some pages. Most annotations highlight certain paragraphs, comment on information being “right,” and make corrections to the already published book. Checkmarks are written in the margins of Fison’s portion of the book.