Turner family papers, 1862-2000 (bulk 1863-1938)

Author / Creator

Turner, Frederick Jackson, 1861-1932

Available as

Physical

Summary

Selected papers of the noted historian Frederick Jackson Turner and his father Andrew Jackson Turner, editor of the Portage State Register, along with the library assembled by members of the Turner...

Selected papers of the noted historian Frederick Jackson Turner and his father Andrew Jackson Turner, editor of the Portage State Register, along with the library assembled by members of the Turner and Main families. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the published materials from the family's library. Also included are microfilm copies of Frederick Jackson Turner papers at other institutions.

The Andrew J. Turner papers include memoranda, correspondence, and notes on interviews used in connection with his articles on the history of Fort Winnebago, the organization of Portage and Columbia counties, and the genesis of the Republican Party. In his general correspondence there are several letters from Matthew H. Carpenter and Horace Rublee bespeaking Turner's aid in the senatorial campaign of 1868-1869; letters in 1880 explaining the use of the word "shanghai" in Wisconsin politics; and letters on local history. There is also a bound volume of letters, 1891-1892, on the Wisconsin gerrymander case, written by Charles E. Estabrook, John C. Spooner, and others.

Among the Frederick Jackson Turner papers is a collection of correspondence and records, 1908-1910, on the work of a committee on documentary federal historical publications, discussing needs in the fields of economic and social history. There are some notes and letters on the fur trade by Andrew J. Vieau and John T. de la Ronde used in Turner's early thesis on that subject; letters from Turner to Edward T. Hartman, 1925-1926; notebooks, 1882-1883, kept by Turner while a student at the University of Wisconsin; newspaper clippings and correspondence concerning football reform controversies in 1906-1907 kept by Turner, a member of the University of Wisconsin faculty committee on intercollegiate athletics; and letters from Turner to Professor Charles H. Haskins of Massachusetts, 1909-1926, including a 1909 letter in which Turner informs Haskins of his intent to leave the University of Wisconsin. Miscellaneous other items include lecture notes and other letters to and from Turner.

Additions from the Main Family include published works by and about Turner as well as some volumes from the family's general library. Many of the books contain marginal notes, inscriptions, and correspondence; loose items in the books have been removed to the manuscript papers. The "Frontier in American History" is represented by four foreign-language translations. Of special interest among the library titles belonging to John S. Main, Turner's son-in-law, are several presented by Aldo Leopold including a detailed unpublished 1929 report on Wisconsin game by Leopold for the Game Restoration Committee of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer's Institute.

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