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La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925. Robert M. La Follette Sr. papers, 1879-1910, 1922-1924.

Title: Robert M. La Follette Sr. papers, 1879-1910, 1922-1924.

Papers of Wisconsin statesman and politician Robert M. La Follette, Sr., consisting of correspondence, governor's letterbooks, speeches and writings, records of the Wisconsin Republican Party, financial records, and miscellaneous records. La Follette served as a Wisconsin congressman, governor, and U.S. senator and was a crucial figure in the Progressive Movement of the early twentieth century. The collection documents his early career in the political reform movement in Wisconsin. In 1901 the reformers won control of the state Republican Party and La Follette began the first of his three terms as governor. Under his leadership, the state enacted the chief planks of his reform program--the primary election law and the railroad regulation act. These important pieces of legislation then served as the models for similar reforms by other states and by the federal government. The largest section of the La Follette Papers consists of personal, political, and legal correspondence. Included in addition to La Follette's own letters are letters to his law office, letters to his campaign offices, and mail between other members of the reform coalition. Little personal correspondence among members of the La Follette family is present. The letters prior to 1900 largely relate to La Follette's law practice; after that date constituent correspondence predominates including opinions and questions on pending legislation, speaking invitations, and job applications. Constituent correspondence after his election to the Senate in 1906 chiefly concerns those issues upon which La Follette had established a national reputation including interstate commerce, railroad reform, Indian affairs, and other topics. In addition routine correspondence from his 1908 Presidential campaign and his 1910 Senatorial campaign is included. Included is information on the founding of the Milwaukee Free Press as a statewide progressive newspaper and its financial difficulties. Numerous letters from both Wisconsin and national figures reflect La Follette's activities and growing influence in political affairs. The governor's letterbooks contain outgoing correspondence, 1901-1905. Many of the letters are routine although a few personal letters are included. The speeches and writings section contains speeches and drafts, messages to the legislature, statements and proclamations, remarks, books and articles, and some campaign documents. Also present is a large amount of research material on railroad rates used in speech preparation. The Wisconsin Republican Party records consist of correspondence, voter lists, registers of electors, legal material for the tumultuous 1904 convention from which the "stalwart" segments of the party withdrew to nominate their own candidate, and miscellaneous material. The voter lists were used for campaign mailings and to aid in organizing local Republican committees; these are among the few records of personal party affiliation during this significant period. The lists provide notes on occupation, national origin, and degree of party influence. The registers of electors concern a small number of Wisconsin cities. The 1904 convention material consists of research material, affidavits and exhibits, and drafts, all concerning the La Follette slate's brief for the Wisconsin Supreme Court deciding which was the legitimate ticket of the Republican Party. The collection's only materials dating after 1910 are the correspondence from 1922 and 1924 included in this section. This is generally routine material from La Follette's Senate campaign office in 1922 and from the Wisconsin organization of his 1924 Presidential campaign. Included in 1924 are forms listing names, occupations, and amounts of contributions. Financial records date primarily before 1900 and consist of checks, check stubs, deposit books, bills and receipts, the personal financial records of law partner Samuel A. Harper, and the records of the law firm La Follette, Harper, Roe, and Zimmerman. Miscellaneous records include shorthand notebooks, a register of letters of application and endorsement, and two volumes from La Follette's law practice. The processed portion of this collection is summarized above, dates 1879-1910, 1922-1924, and is described in the box list and published guide. An additional accession, 1896-1906, is described below.

ArchivalResource: 57.6 c.f. (214 archives boxes, 18 black boxes, and 1 flat box) and163 reels of microfilm (35 mm); plusadditions of 0.1 c.f.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122443401 View

Usher, Ellis B. (Ellis Baker), 1852-1931. Ellis B. Usher papers, 1850-1917.

Title: Ellis B. Usher papers, 1850-1917.

Papers of Ellis Baker Usher, a La Crosse, Wisconsin, newspaperman, historian, and Democratic Party leader, consisting of political correspondence, and records of his newspaper business and of several local organizations with which he was involved. Most of the incoming correspondence is for the years 1887-1888, and deals primarily with details of the management of the Harrison Presidential campaign, and includes letters from Edward C. Wall, William F. Vilas, and Frank P. Coburn. Usher's correspondents in 1896 and shortly after included an increasing number of Stalwart Republican leaders in Wisconsin, among whom were Joseph Babcock, Ira Bradford, John Esch, and Elisha Keyes. Other correspondents include Wendell Anderson, Edward Bragg, Will Brawley, Joshua Dodge, Charles Felker, Charles Jonas, John Knight, John L. Mitchell, George Peck, and Clarence Snyder. The Journalism papers, 1872-1899, concern the La Crosse Liberal Democrat and its successor, the La Crosse Morning Chronicle. The early records were created by Usher, but the volumes of letters sent and financial records dating from the 1890s were created by Manager T.A. Goodrich. Papers dealing with La Crosse history include correspondence from John Esch, James H. Davidson, and others concerning the Upper Mississippi River Improvement Association and from Charles E. Brown about the Wisconsin Archaeological Society; there are also clipping scrapbooks concerning both organizations. Records which were collected rather than created by Usher include a register of federal ad valorem taxes paid by La Crosse businesses during the Civil War which give individual occupations, the value of items produced, and the assessment.

ArchivalResource: 9.8 c.f. (15 archives boxes, 20 flat boxes, 1 card box)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145788541 View

Adams, Henry Cullen, 1850-1906. Henry Cullen Adams papers, 1870-1906.

Title: Henry Cullen Adams papers, 1870-1906.

Papers of Henry Cullen Adams, who represented Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District, 1903-1906, primarily consisting of correspondence and speeches. The papers focus on Adams' three congressional election campaigns and include only scant material about his pre-Congressional career and his legislative accomplishments. There is some information on his work for the enactment of the federal Grout Bill taxing oleomargarine, Arizona-New Mexico Joint Statehood Bill, Philippine Tariff measure, fight against food adulteration, Adams bill to aid agricultural experiment stations, and his opposition to the dictatorial methods of Speaker Joseph G. Cannon. Adams support for agriculture appears most prominently in correspondence with William D. Hoard and officers of the National Dairy Union, and in speeches. The campaign correspondence is exceptionally frank and informative and includes exchanges with many local supporters, district campaign head Grant Thomas, Henry Casson, Elisha W. Keyes, and Joseph W. Babcock of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. The papers include a typescript copy of Mrs. Adams account of the 1905 congressional tour of inspection to Alaska. Ben C. Adams, Henry's brother, is represented by one speech and numerous political letters.

ArchivalResource: 1.2 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145786064 View

Hazelton, George C. (George Cochrane), 1832-1922. George C. Hazelton papers, 1861-1910, 1922.

Title: George C. Hazelton papers, 1861-1910, 1922.

Papers of George Cochrane, a state senator, congressman (1877-1883), and attorney in Boscobel, Wis., and Washington, D.C. With the exception of a very few items the correspondence consists of letters from Hazelton to his wife and his son John, his law partner and associate from 1898 to 1910. The letters deal mainly with family affairs and business matters of the law partnership, but they also contain references to Republican Party politics, appointments, state legislation, and court procedures, local and national. During the Harrison administration Hazelton was attorney for the District of Columbia; letters recommending his appointment to that office include communications from Philetus Sawyer, John C. Spooner, and Joseph W. Babcock. A docket book, 1884-1910, a scrapbook of clippings, and manuscripts of a few speeches are also included in the collection.

ArchivalResource: 0.8 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145784984 View

Babcock, J. W. (Joseph Weeks), 1850-1909. Joseph Weeks Babcock papers, 1864-1922.

Title: Joseph Weeks Babcock papers, 1864-1922.

Family papers of Joseph Babcock, a lumberman and politician of Necedah, Wisconsin, primarily consisting of correspondence to and from Babcock; Mary F., his wife; Charles Ebenezer, their son, also a prominent businessman of Necedah; and Eva F., Charles' wife. Despite the national political prominence of the elder Babcock, a congressman from the Third District for fourteen years, the majority of the correspondence is personal in content. There are also reminiscences of the elder Babcock written by Barney, a volume containing data on Third District Republican conventions, and several ledgers and cash books pertaining to a real estate venture of Charles Babcock and Harry Barney. Photographs include portraits of family, friends, and associates of Babcock, circa 1880-1890.

ArchivalResource: 1.5 c.f. (3 archives boxes and 1 flat box) and28 photographs (1 folder)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/173702167 View

Needham, James Carson, 1864-1942. James Carson Needham papers, 1893-1936.

Title: James Carson Needham papers, 1893-1936.

Correspondence, papers, speeches, and photographs relating to Needham's congressional career, his connections with the Newman Oil Company in the 1920's, and the Covered Wagon Babies Club (of which Needham was a founder). The congressional correspondence reflects Needham's interest in conservation, forestry and irrigation, Indian affairs, patronage, and his service on the Public Lands Committee and the Committee for Insular Possessions.

ArchivalResource: 6 linear feet.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122387540 View

Kasota (Minn. : Township). Justice of the Peace. Docket books, 1872-1918.

Title: Docket books, 1872-1918.

Dockets of justices Charles Ostrander and J. W. Babcock (1872-1880); A. B. French (1872-1886); S. D. Payne, L. F. Smith, and E. E. Salls (1882-1890); John Bird and J. A. Anderegg (1891-1895); and W. C. Moses (1917-1918).

ArchivalResource: 0.4 cu. ft. (5 v. in partial box).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122565359 View

Davidson, James O., 1854-1922. James O. Davidson papers, 1885-1919.

Title: James O. Davidson papers, 1885-1919.

Papers of James O. Davidson, a Wisconsin state treasurer, 1899-1903, lieutenant governor, 1903-1906, governor, 1906-1911, and president of the state board of control, 1915-1919. The bulk of the collection comprises correspondence, speeches, and letter books, and deals with state political affairs for the years 1906-1910, including relations between Davidson and Robert M. La Follette in 1905-1906 and the campaign of 1906, the John Deitz "battle" at Cameron Dam in 1906 and reverberations in years following, patronage, campaign funds raised by game wardens in 1908, routine matters of state administration, complaints, pardon and parole matters, and civil service policies. Material for years preceding 1906 relates to Davidson's campaign for state treasurer, patronage, and routine matters connected with administration of the state treasury. Among the correspondents for this period are Joseph W. Babcock, Albert R. Hall, Samuel Harper, William D. Hoard, and Atley Peterson. Letters after 1910 relate to efforts of Davidson to obtain a federal appointment, pardon and parole matters, and an investigation of the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. Correspondence on a number of Davidson's small-scale business operations is scattered throughout the collection.

ArchivalResource: 8.8 c.f. (36 archives boxes and 5 flat boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/145786499 View