Title: Levi H. Bancroft Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1863-1956

Creator:

• Bancroft, Levi H., 1860-1948

Call Number: Platteville Mss Y; Platteville Micro 14; Micro 661; File 1884 June 18 Oversize; PH 2471; PH 2472

Quantity: 0.8 c.f. (1 archives box, 1 flat box, and 1 oversize folder), 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), and 50 photographs (1 archives box)

Repository:

Housed at the Southwest Wisconsin Room and Area Research Center, Ullsvik Hall, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Platteville Southwest Wisconsin Room / Platteville Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Miscellaneous correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and certificates of appointment kept by Bancroft, a Richland Center, Wisconsin, Republican politician and lawyer, who served as attorney general of Wisconsin from 1911 to 1913. Included are letters from Bancroft to his family describing his life at the University of Wisconsin Law School, 1882-1884; a few family letters written during the early years of his practice in Richland Center; Civil War letters from Robert M. Delap; correspondence to his wife, Myrtle De Lap Bancroft, concerning her paintings of Senator Robert La Follette and other Wisconsin political figures; and genealogical notes on the Bancroft and De Lap families. Photographs primarily include portraits of Bancroft, his family, and associates, including fellow U.W. students, circa 1861-1948.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-pltv000y

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Levi H. Bancroft of Richland Center, Wisconsin, was a prominent politician, lawyer, and state attorney general of Wisconsin. Bear Valley, Wisconsin, was the place of his birth and early education, although Levi attended high school at Lone Rock, Wisconsin. After graduation from high school he taught school for two years in Lone Rock.

In 1884, Levi Bancroft received his LL.B. degree from the University of Wisconsin, and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He began his law practice in Richland Center, Wisconsin.

Myrtle De Lap, daughter of a prominent Richland Center physician, became the wife of Levi Bancroft in June, 1890. The Bancrofts had two children, Blaine, and Carolyn, who became Mrs. Roman A. Heilman. Blaine was Levi Bancroft's law partner until the son's death in 1936.

Levi H. Bancroft held the following judicial and political offices during his career:

• District attorney for Richland County, city attorney for Richland Center, and city supervisor, 1887-1888
• Delegate to the Republican National Convention, 1896 and 1900
• County judge for Richland County, 1897-1902
• Assistant state attorney general, 1903-1904
• State assemblyman, 1907-1910, serving as speaker in the 1909 session
• Judge advocate of the Wisconsin National Guard, 1907-1913
• State attorney general, 1911-1913
• Circuit judge of the fifth judicial district, 1920
• Assistant attorney general for the eastern district of Wisconsin, 1927-1932
• Mayor of Richland Center, 1934-1936
• County judge, 1937-1948

In his law practice Mr. Bancroft specialized in criminal law and received nation-wide publicity in his defense of Rose Zoldowsky, arraigned in the 1890s on a charge of murder.

Mr. Bancroft was highly respected for his speaking talents and was often selected to address public audiences, as he was at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915 and at the dedication of the Wisconsin memorial monument at Andersonville, Georgia.

Mrs. Levi Bancroft was an artist of high reputation in Wisconsin and was well-known for her portraits. Among her subjects were Robert La Follette, Governor Edward V. Scofield, Senator Isaac Stephenson, and Judges George Shaughnessy and Samuel Crawford.

The Levi H. Bancroft Papers consist of a small amount of miscellaneous family papers and correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings, available both in the original paper form and also on microfilm. In addition, there are seven certificates belonging to Levi H. Bancroft as well as 50 photographs which are not on the microfilm copy of the collection and are available only in Madison.

Acquisition Information

With the following exceptions, these papers were presented by Herbert R. Nelson, administrator of the Bancroft Estate, Richland Center, Wisconsin, March 11, 1959. However, the letters, 1879-1897, of Levi H. Bancroft were donated by Mrs. Gideon Benson, Richland Center, Wisconsin, November 8, 1955. The certificates of December 7, 1910 and April 15, 1920, were presented by Steve Fogo, Richland Center, Wisconsin, March 11, 1959.

Platteville Mss Y / Platteville Micro 14/Micro 661 Box-folder   1/1 Reel   1	Family correspondence, 1863-1956
	Five letters, 1863-1864, from Robert M. Delap, 30th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers, from Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin
	Letters, 1879-1897, of Levi H. Bancroft to his family, most of which were written during his attendance at the University of Wisconsin law school and during his early years of law practice in Richland Center
	Two letters, May 1918, of commendation to Mrs. Levi Bancroft for her painting of Governor Scofield
	Letter, January 26, 1921, from Governor John J. Blaine to Mrs. Bancroft concerning the ownership of her painting of Senator La Follette
	Letter, June 28, 1931, concerning the De Lap family's early history
	Letter, December 22, 1942, from Daniel H. Grady, Portage, Wisconsin, attorney, to Levi H. Bancroft concerning the vacancy caused by the death of the governor-elect, and the subsequent question of who was to fill the vacancy
	Seven 1948 letters from Richard B. Heilman, M.D. (grandson of Levi H. Bancroft) written to his family while he was working for the Office of Indian Affairs in Arizona
Box   1 Folder   2	Miscellaneous family papers
	Compositions by Levi H. Bancroft: a 4th of July oration delivered at Pleasant Hill, Wisconsin (?), 1885, and a “Comparison of Hannibal and Scipio,” November 24, 1889
	Poem by Levi H. Bancroft, “The Message of the Christmas Tree,” December 28, 1931. (three copies)
	Biographical and memorial papers concerning Levi H. Bancroft
	Genealogical materials concerning the Bancroft family
	Assorted envelopes, wedding announcements, and newspaper clippings relating to the Bancroft family
	Scrapbooks: Clippings
Box   1 Volume   1	1882-1896
Box   1 Volume   2	circa 1909-1935
Box   2 Volume   3	1909-1935
Box   2 Volume   4	1926-1948
File 1884 June 18 Oversize	Seven certificates belonging to Levi H. Bancroft
	1. Grants the bachelor of law degree, University of Wisconsin, June 18, 1884
	2. Certifies election as attorney general, December 7, 1910
	3. Commemorates Wisconsin Day at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, August 9, 1915
	4. Names Levi Bancroft Orator on Wisconsin Day at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, August 9, 1915 - signed by Emanuel Philipp
	5. Appoints Levi Bancroft judge of the fifth judicial circuit, April 15, 1920 - signed by Emanuel Philipp
	6. Appoints Levi Bancroft United States attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, June 8, 1928 - signed by Calvin Coolidge
	7. Appoints Levi Bancroft United States attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin, January 15, 1929
PH 2471, PH 2472	Photographs, circa 1861-1948 Scope and Content Note: Primarily portraits of Bancroft, his family, his associates, and fellow U.W. students.