Materials arranged chronologically.
Collection is open to research.
The papers encompass the years 1906-1941. The bulk of the Collection falls in the years 1911-1914 and the correspondence reflects the courtship of John Riis and Ruth Potts. The collection also contains correspondence to and from family members and several clippings.
John Riis papers, Collection # M 272, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
There are no restrictions.
John Riis (1882-1946) was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jacob A. and Elizabeth D. Riis. He attended Pratt Institute High School and Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Mr. Riis "went West" and, for several years, worked on ranches in Nebraska and Utah with a one year break as a probation officer in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Riis spent a few years in the United States Forestry Service in Utah and Oregon, where he met Miss Ruth L. Potts. After their marriage, the Riis' continued to live in Oregon for some time before moving east, eventually settling in Richmond, Virginia, where Mr. Riis became the City Hall reporter for The Richmond News Leader. Mr. Riis was a reporter for twenty years and published several stories and a book, Ranger Trails, based on his experiences as a Ranger before his death on 28 September 1946.