LaFollette family

Biographical Notes

Robert M. La Follette, Sr.

• 1855, June 14: Born, Primrose, Dane County, Wis.
• 1879: B.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1880: Admitted to the Wisconsin bar
• 1880 - 1884 : District attorney, Dane County, Wis.
• 1881: Married Belle Case
• 1884: Elected to the United States House of Representatives; reelected 1886 and 1888
• 1891 - 1900 : Practiced law, Madison, Wis.
• 1900: Elected governor of Wisconsin; reelected 1902 and 1904
• 1905: Elected to the United States Senate; reelected 1911, 1916, and 1922
• 1909: Published first issue of La Follette's Weekly Magazine
• 1911: Founding member, National Progressive Republican League
• 1913: Published La Follette's Autobiography. Madison, Wis.: Robert M. La Follette Co.
• 1917: Voted in the United States Senate against America's entry into World War I
• 1922: Author of resolution which initiated an investigation into the naval oil leases at Teapot Dome, Wyo., and oil reserve fields in California
• 1924: Unsuccessful presidential candidate on the Progressive Party ticket
• 1925, June 18: Died, Washington, D.C.

Robert M. La Follette, Jr.

• 1895, Feb. 6: Born, Madison, Wis.
• 1913 - 1916 : Attended University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1919 - 1925 : Secretary to his father, Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
• 1920 - 1924 : Chairman, Republican State Central Committee of Wisconsin
• 1925: Elected to the United States Senate; reelected 1928, 1934, and 1940
• 1925 - 1929 : Editor, La Follette's Magazine
• 1929 - 1948 : President, Progressive Publishing Co.
• 1930: Married Rachel Wilson Young
• 1947: Chairman, President's Committee on Foreign Aid
• 1947 - 1953 : Economic research consultant, Washington, D.C.
• 1949 - 1953 : Member, board of directors, Sears, Roebuck and Co. Vice president, Sears Foundation
• 1953, Feb. 24: Died, Washington, D.C.

Belle Case La Follette

• 1859, Apr. 21: Born, Summit, Juneau County, Wis.
• 1875 - 1879 : Student, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1879: A.B., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1879 - 1881 : Taught school, Spring Green and Baraboo, Wis.
• 1881: Married Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
• 1883 - 1885 : LL.B., College of Law, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., first woman graduate
• 1893 - 1903 : President, Emily Bishop League
• 1909 - 1925 : Coedited “Home and Education” column in La Follette's Magazine
• 1911: Wrote “A Thought for Today” column for the North American Press Syndicate
• 1912: Conducted speaking campaigns for women's suffrage in California, Oregon, and Wisconsin
• 1913: Spoke at congressional hearings on women's suffrage
• 1920: Spoke on League of Nations before the United Women's Clubs
• 1924: Conducted speaking tour on behalf of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in presidential campaign
• 1925: Worked on biography of Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
• 1931, Aug. 18: Died, Washington, D.C

Fola La Follette

• 1882, Sept. 10: Born, Madison, Wis., daughter of Robert M. and Belle Case La Follette, Sr.
• 1896 - 1900 : Attended Wisconsin Academy, Madison, Wis.
• 1900: Began studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• Circa 1902 - circa 1915 : Professional actress
• 1903: Visited Europe
• 1910: Acted in “How the Vote Was Won”
• Circa 1910 - circa 1915 : Active in women's suffrage movement
• 1911: Married George Middleton
• 1920 - 1922 : Lived in Paris, France Contributing editor, La Follette's Magizine
• 1924: Replaced her mother, who had become ill, in presidential campaign of Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
• 1926 - 1930 : Teacher, City and Country School, New York, N.Y.
• 1927: Visited England and France Attended the Fourth International New Educational Conference, Switzerland
• 1928: Member, American Educational Delegation's visit to Russia
• 1931 - 1953 : Completed the biography of Robert M. La Follette, Sr., begun by Belle Case La Follette
• 1953: Published Robert M. La Follette. New York: Macmillan Co.
• 1954 - 1968 : Assisted in processing the La Follette Family Papers in Library of Congress
• 1970, Feb. 17: Died, Arlington, Va.

Philip Fox La Follette

• 1897, May 8: Born, Madison, Wis., son of Robert M. and Belle Case La Follette, Sr.
• 1918: Second lieutenant, Infantry, United States Army
• 1919: A.B., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1922: LL.B., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1923: Married Isabel Bacon
• 1925 - 1927 : District attorney, Dane County, Wis.
• 1926 - 1930 : Lecturer, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wis.
• 1931 - 1933 : Governor of Wisconsin
• 1937 - 1939 : Governor of Wisconsin
• 1942 - 1945 : Captain, promoted to colonel, United States Army, serving in the southeast Pacific
• 1947: Director, Hazeltine Corp., Little Neck, N.Y.
• 1962: Curator, Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison Wis.
• 1965, Aug. 18: Died, Madison, Wis.

Gilbert E. Roe

• 1865, Feb. 7: Born, Oregon, Dane County, Wis.
• 1890: LL.B., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1890 - 1899 : Law partner of Robert M. La Follette, Sr.
• 1899: Married Gwyneth King Moved to New York, N.Y., and became active in promoting state reform legislation
• 1905 - 1910 : Attorney, Roe & McCombs law firm
• 1907: Published Selected Opinions of Luther S. Dixon and Edward G. Ryan, Late Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. Chicago: Callaghan
• 1912: Published Our Judicial Oligarchy. New York: B. W. Huebsch
• 1918: Counsel to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., in the United States Senate's unsuccessful attempt to expel La Follette
• 1922 - 1923 : Counsel, United States Senate committee investigating the oil industry
• 1924: Eastern regional director, La Follette-Wheeler Campaign Committee
• 1929, Dec. 22: Died, New York, N.Y.

Alfred Thomas Rogers

• 1873, May 18: Born, St. Joseph, Mo.
• 1895: LL.B., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
• 1895 - 1948 : Practiced law, Madison, Wis.
• 1908: Delegate, Republican national convention
• 1908 - 1924 : Member, Republican national committee
• 1910: Married Edna R. Chynoweth
• 1935: Married Emily Bordeaux Elmer
• 1948, Mar. 27: Died, Madison, Wis.

Mary Josephine La Follette

• 1899, Aug. 16: Born, Madison, Wis., daughter of Robert M. and Belle Case La Follette, Sr.
• 1919 - 1921 : Attended New York School of Fine and Applied Art, New York, N.Y.
• 1921: Married Ralph Gunn Sucher (divorced 1938)
• 1926 - 1928 : Attended Critcher School of Art, Washington, D.C.
• 1934 - 1935 : Attended New York School of Fine and Applied Art and Florence Cane School of Art, New York, N.Y.
• 1935 - 1936 : Consultant in art development, Special Skills Division, Resettlement Administration, Washington, D.C.
• 1936 - 1937 : Consultant in research, Resettlement Division, Farm Security Administration, Agriculture Department, Washington, D.C.
• 1937 - 1944 : Consultant in research and art, Resettlement and Management Division, Farm Security Administration, Agriculture Department, Washington, D.C.
• 1944 - 1947 : Extension adviser in home industries, Subject Matter Division, Extension Service, Agriculture Department, Washington, D.C.
• 1948: Editorial and indexing specialist, Indexing Section, Office of Information, Agriculture Department, Washington, D.C.
• 1948 - 1949 : Information and editorial specialist, Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth, Washington, D.C.
• 1949 - 1951 : Social Science Research Analyst, Division of Research, Children's Bureau, Social Security Administration, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D.C.
• 1950 - 1951 : Invitations consultant, Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth, Washington, D.C.
• 1951 - 1966 : Editorial clerk and publications editor, Aeronautical Standards Group, Air Research and Development Command, Department of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• 1966: Retired from federal service
• 1988, Feb. 24: Died, Washington, D.C.

Grace C. Lynch

• Circa 1892: Born, Washington, D.C.
• Circa 1919 - 1925 : Secretary to Robert M. La Follette, Sr., United States Senate, Washington, D.C.
• 1925 - 1946 : Secretary to Robert M. La Follette, Jr., United States Senate, Washington, D.C.
• Circa 1946: Retired from federal service
• 1970, May 13: Died, Washington, D.C.

From the guide to the LaFollette Family Papers, 1781-1988, (bulk 1900-1953), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)