Donald A. Cadzow (1894 - 1960)
Donald A. Cadzow was born in Auburn, New York to parents Hugh and Nellie Cadzow. In 1911, he went to live with his uncle Daniel Cadzow at Rampart House on the Yukon side of the Alaska-Yukon border.1) Cadzow spent the seasons between the spring of 1912 and the fall of 1916 on the Yukon, Porcupine, Crow, and Peel rivers in Alaska and Canada.2)
Donald stayed with his uncle for five years and then returned to the United States. In 1916, he started working for George Gustav Heye on expeditions and archaeological excavations.3) In 1917 and 1919, he took two trips for the Museum of the American Indians to the Canadian Arctic and Alaska, gathering data about the First Nations.4) He enlisted as seaman in the U.S.N.R.F. on 20 January 1918 and was released from service on 22 December of the same year. He returned to work for Heye at the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation in January 1919, and worked there until 1928.5)
Donald Cadzow was state archaeologist for the Pennsylvania Historical Commission from about 1929 to 1939; and executive secretary from 1939 to 1945. He was also treasurer of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation from 1940 to 1942. In 1945, he was named executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and held the position until 1956.6)
The Donald A. Cadzow photograph collection, 1882-1919 contains eight photographs and 322 negatives. The collection is housed at the National Museum of the American Indian.7)