Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Oral history interview with Richard Bryson
Date(s)
- 1990-03-14 - 1990-04-11 (Creation)
Extent
0.1 cubic feet; 2 audiocassettes (2 hr., 52 min., 51 sec.) + transcript (99 pages)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Arthur Richard Bryson was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1916. He attended Stanford University, then transferred to the University of Oregon, earning his bachelor's degree in 1938. He attended Stanford Law School for a year, then returned to the University of Oregon, earning his law degree in 1941. He met Helen Margaret Roberts while at the University of Oregon, and they married in 1941; they later had two children. He practiced law in Eugene as a partner with Smith, Harris, & Bryson. At the beginning of the U.S. involvement in World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and worked in counterintelligence in Europe. After he was discharged in 1945, he joined the Eugene law firm of his father, Edwin R. Bryson. He died in 1999.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This oral history interview with Richard Bryson was conducted by Les M. Swanson, Jr. at Bryson's office in Eugene, Oregon, from March 14 to April 11, 1990. The interview was conducted in two sessions.
In the first interview session, conducted on March 14, 1990, Bryson discusses his family background and early life in Eugene, including the law career of his father, Edwin R. Bryson, and grandfather, John R. Bryson; his education; and his interest in golf. He speaks at length about studying law at Stanford University and the University of Oregon, including his professors and social life. He briefly talks about his service in counterintelligence in Europe during World War II. He discusses working as a lawyer in Eugene, and talks about judges he argued before, including G.F. Skipworth and James Alger Fee. He discusses some of the cases he worked on.
In the second interview session, conducted on April 11, 1990, Bryson continues to discuss his work as a lawyer in Eugene, and to talk about judges he argued before. He speaks about lawyers he worked with, particularly Windsor Calkins. He also revisits the topic of his early life in Eugene and his father's law career. He closes the interview by talking about cases he worked on.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Copyright held by the Lane County Bar Association. In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Richard Bryson, by Les M. Swanson, Jr., SR 1258, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
General note
Typescript index (8 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.
Sources used
Archivist's note
Sarah Stroman
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Swanson, Les M., Jr., 1940- (Contributor)
- Bryson, Edwin R. (Edwin Rodell), 1876-1964 (Subject)