John Elbert Elliott papers, 1901-1980

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Summary

Creators:
Elliott, John Elbert, 1887-1980
Abstract:
Includes letters, photographs, clippings, printed matter, and memorabilia of an American oil geologist, engineer, and entrepreneur.
Extent:
53 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes (26.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John Elbert Elliott papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection was originally housed in a series of binders that served as personal and professional scrapbooks of John E. "Brick" Elliott, a petroleum industry businessman, geologist, and consultant who created and popularized the core barrel technique for drilling and invented the double-barreled rotary core. The eclectic mix of materials, including letters, photographs, clippings, and ephemera, provides a snapshot of the United States in the 20th century, particularly focusing on the oil industry, the Republican Party, and political and civil rights issues in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Scrapbooks, which make up the majority of the collection, follow the timeline of Elliott's life, documenting his career, travels, and interests. They merge professional and personal material, containing photographs, correspondence, and printed matter from Elliott's life and work, which took him around the United States and abroad. Many scrapbooks document Elliott's travels or contain materials documenting Elliott's work in the oil industry, including his role in the Elliott Core Drilling Company. The scrapbooks also include materials on people Elliott knew at various times in his life, such as Stanford classmates and oil industry businessmen.

Elliott was a Stanford University alumnus. The collection contains photographs and memorabilia from his years at Stanford (1907-1912), as well as documentation of his activities as an alumnus, materials on football at Stanford, and clippings on student protests in the 1960s.

An active member of the Republican Party, Elliott served as the Republican presidential elector for the 10th district in Texas. The collection contains correspondence and material from his political involvement, as well as printed material covering a wide variety of political and economic issues. Additionally, Elliott attended yearly meetings and reunions of various groups, including the Bohemian Club and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, which are documented in his scrapbooks.

The Correspondence, subject file, and printed matter contain material not included in Elliott's scrapbooks, including printed matter on Stanford and the oil industry.

The Motion picture film contains a color film of highlights from a Rose Bowl game, while the Oversize material includes drawings of Stanford.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1887
Born, Bozeman, Montana
1897
Moved to the Monterey and Salinas area of California
1906
Graduated from Monterey High School
1907
Member, Western Pacific Railway survey party in the Feather River Canyon
1911-1912
Chief statistician, Associated Oil Company, Taft, California
1912
A.B. in geology & mining, Stanford University
1912-1913
Assistant chief geologist, Caribbean Petroleum Company (subsidiary of the Barber Asphalt Company), Venezuela
1913
First American geologist to become a regular employee of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Group in the United States
1913-1915
Geologist, Shell Oil Company of California, San Francisco
1915-1920
Chief Geologist, Shell Oil Company of California, San Francisco
1918-
Member, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME)
1919-
Member, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
1921
Associate professor of petroleum technology, Stanford University
1921
Moved to Los Angeles, California
1921-1939
President and general manager, Elliott Core Drilling Company
1922-1939
With Merritt, organized and operated the Elliott Oil Companies (also known as the Elliott Petroleum Co.), located in Santa Fe Springs
With Floyd C. Merritt, formed the firm Elliott and Merritt, working as a consulting engineer and geologist, Los Angeles
1923
Author, "Core Drilling with Rotary Tools in California," Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
1928-1929
Vice president, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
1929
Pioneered the use of geological map-making through airplane travel
1940-1942
Independent petroleum engineer and operator
1942-1944
Major, Chemical Warfare Service, United States Army
1944
Moved to Austin, Texas
1944-1960
Independent petroleum geologist
1960-
Estate manager, semi-retired
1962
Recipient, Anthony F. Lucas Gold Metal of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers
1966-
Member, American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG)
1968
Selected as the Republican presidential elector for the 10th district in Texas
1970
Elected honorary member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
1972
Named honorary chairman of the Texas delegation to the Electoral College
1980
Died
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1981.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Petroleum industry and trade
Engineers

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John Elbert Elliott papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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