Joseph Wilson Fifer correspondence, 1889-1893.

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Joseph Wilson Fifer correspondence, 1889-1893.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35776502

Corespondence topics directly concerning the Governor relate to elections (e.g. certification of Presidential and Senate elections; underepresentation of blacks and in Eastern Illinois); the inauguration; the Executive Mansion; political matters (e.g. political interference with the university at Normal); appointments (inc. partial list of appointees); gifts (e.g. fish, teal, maple syrup); railroad pass list; meetings attended by the Governor; constitutent requests (e.g. permission to carry a concealed weapon or to sell liquor); complaints (e.g. poor meat at the Veterans' Home) and crank pleas. Public works correspondence includes discussions involving federal monies disbursed to the state; insurance of state property; culvert building and the installation of electricity in state buildings. Matters relating to animal control are discussed. Crime (e.g. Union Co. bandit gangs; gambling dens; and "sinful city" of Jonesboro) and punishment (e.g. ball and chain gangs) issues are contained in the correspondence which includes an incomplete monthly list of the number of inmates in state prison. Correspondence also includes reaction to events (e.g. Battle of Wounded Knee; Garfield assassination), participation in public forums (e.g. Chautauqua meetings; Nicaraguan Canal Convention) and discussion of topics like tariffs, job scarity, railroad rates, industrial pollution and Sunday closings. Social issues concern immigration, discrimination and church - state relations.

10 cubic ft.

Illinois State Archive

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SNAC Resource ID: 7375053

Illinois State Archive

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Illinois. Office of the Governor

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kt1033 (corporateBody)

The Board of Fund Commissioners was created by l. 1837, p. 121. Board contracted for and negotiated all loans authorized by General Assembly for internal improvements and signed and executed all bonds or stock certificates issued for such loans. Monies received from proceeds of loans were deposited at State Bank of Illinois and Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown. These deposits were used to pay drafts issued on Fund Commissioners by Board of Commissioners of Public Works for expenditur...

Illinois State Normal University

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62z6q02 (corporateBody)

Illinois. Governor (1889-1893 : Fifer)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jx3jj1 (corporateBody)

Joseph W. Fifer (1840-1938), Republican Governor of Illinois (1889-1893), was born on October 28, 1840 at Staunton, Va. His family moved to McLean Co., Ill. (1857) where Fifer worked in the brick business. During the Civil War, Fifer enlisted as a private in the 33rd Illinois Infantry and was seriously wounded at Jackson, Miss. but rejoined his regiment (1863-1865). After the war, Fifer enrolled at Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Ill. where he supported himself by doing manual labor. Fifer gra...

Illinois. Attorney General's Office

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dz5jtg (corporateBody)

The 1818 Constitution provided for the appointment of an Attorney General by the General Assembly and legislation subsequently was passed in 1819 defining the officer's duties (L. 1819, p. 204). He was to prosecute all suits on behalf of the state including those involving the state's revenue and all impeachments brought before the Senate or Supreme Court. He also was required to give written opinions to the Governor, Auditor of Public Accounts, or State Treasurer, when requested, o...

Fifer, Joseph Wilson, 1840-1938

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h149sc (person)

Civil War soldier, lawyer, state legislator, nineteenth governor of Illinois (1889-1893), and member of Interstate Commerce Commission (1899-1906). From the description of Papers, 1889-1891, n.d. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 124509798 Nineteenth governor of Illinois, 1889-1893, who had served in the 33rd Illinois Infantry during the Civil War, as Bloomington's city attorney, state's attorney and Illinois state senator. Was appointed to the Inte...