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Ham Family Photograph Collection (PH-00387)

Abstract

The Ham Family Photograph Collection contains five photographic albums primarily featuring images of the Ham family's travels throughout the western United States and Artemus W. Ham Jr. and Betty Ham Dokter during their childhood between approximately 1900-1949. Also included is one photograph used as a Christmas greeting for the Ham family from 1981. The photographs feature locations including Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah; Grand Canyon, Arizona; and Yosemite National Park, California. The collection also contains photographs of the Ham family at Mormon sites throughout Utah. Lastly, there are postcards and photographs of locations throughout the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1910 to 1949
1981

Extent

1.33 Cubic Feet (1 oversized box)
2.06 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The Ham Family Photograph Collection contains five photographic albums primarily featuring images of the Ham family's travels throughout the western United States and Artemus W. Ham Jr. and Betty Ham Dokter during their childhood between approximately 1900-1949. Also included is one photograph used as a Christmas greeting for the Ham family from 1981. The photographs feature locations including Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah; Grand Canyon, Arizona; and Yosemite National Park, California. The collection also contains photographs of the Ham family at Mormon sites throughout Utah. Lastly, there are postcards and photographs of locations throughout the United States, Germany, and Japan.

Access Note

Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked.

Arrangement

Materials remain as they were received.

Biographical / Historical Note

Artemus W. Ham, Sr. (1892-1970) and Alta Mereness Ham (1896-1974) married in 1915 in Los Angeles, California. The couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1916. Artemus W. Ham worked as an attorney and specialized in mining law when they first moved to Southern Nevada. They had three children in Las Vegas; Artemus W. Ham, Jr. in 1920, Betty Katherine Ham in 1922, and Robert Ham in 1927. The Ham family lived at 1000 Sixth Street in Las Vegas.

From 1924 to 1928, Ham served as the Las Vegas City Attorney. In the 1930s and 1940s, he became well-known as a divorce attorney for Hollywood celebrities seeking Nevada divorces. He and his wife, Alta, were very active in the Las Vegas community. Artemus W. Ham, Sr. was one of the founding members of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. They were also strong supporters of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Artemus W. Ham Sr. passed away on May 25, 1970 and Alta Ham passed away on April 23, 1974.

Artemus W. Ham, Jr. (1920-1991) joined his father's law practice and later went into real estate. He continued the family tradition of philanthropy. Betty Katherine Ham (1922-1990) married Derald Dokter on February 23, 1942. She lived her entire life in Las Vegas. She passed away on May 11, 1990. Robert C. Ham (1927-1987) lived in Las Vegas, and passed away in 1987.

Source:

Ainlay, Thomas, Jr. and Gabaldon, Judy Dixon. Las Vegas: The Fabulous First Century. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

Related Collections

The following resources may provide additional information related to the materials in this collection:

Art Ham oral history interview, 1972 April 24. OH-00773. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Betty Dokter oral history interview, 1977 February 27. OH-00471. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Betty Ham Dokter Photograph Collection, 1850-1976. PH-00012. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Artemus W. Ham Family Papers, 1857-1970. MS-00056. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Preferred Citation

Ham Family Photograph Collection, approximately 1900-1949, 1981. PH-00387. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were donated by the Ham family; accession number 2012-36.

Processing Note

In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Jimmy Chang rehoused the material, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.

Resource Type

Collection

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NvLN::PH00387

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English