[This description is adapted from the description of the Cyrus Woodman and Moses Strong collections in the Wisconsin Historical Society Bulletin of Information, No. 78.]
The Moses M. Strong manuscript collection extends almost seventy years, from 1825 to 1894. Strong was born and raised in Vermont, taking up at an early age the profession of law which he continued to follow until the time of his death. His interests, however, were never limited to this one field. He was at all times ready, in accordance with the traditions of American life of his day, to turn his hand to any occupation, whether trained to it or not, which offered a promise of reward for energy and industry. We thus find him active not only as a lawyer, but as a politician, surveyor, land agent, land speculator, lumberman, miner, railroad promoter, and historian. In each of these fields of activity his papers throw interesting light upon the conditions of the period in which he lived.
He was a careful and indefatigable correspondent. He made a practice of copying in longhand all of the important letters which he sent out, so that the collection is for all practical purposes complete. Much of his business, particularly his lumbering, mining, and law business, was necessarily conducted at long range by partners in his enterprises or paid agents, and the correspondence between them offers an unusually intimate description of the business methods and conditions of his day.
The collection groups itself naturally into two periods, with the Civil War as the dividing point between them. Approximately two-thirds of the collection falls within the first period, and this is by far the more valuable portion. After the Civil War Strong was obliged by force of circumstances practically to withdraw from public life, and seek a livelihood as a somewhat inconspicuous country lawyer. The causes for his retirement were financial as well as political. He was ruined in the panic of 1857 and as a result was unable to continue his former leadership in the industrial development of the state. The stand which he took in the Civil War as an anti-Lincoln Democrat, was likewise a cause for political retirement, not only for himself but for his entire party. His papers from 1870 to 1894 are therefore less intimate and less valuable to the student than those of the earlier period.
The bulk of the collection has been arranged under five general headings: general correspondence; lumber; mining; land; and railroad papers. In some instances letters were found dealing with more than one of these general subjects, and offering for this reason considerable difficulty to a proper classification. The practice has been adopted in such cases of placing the letters arbitrarily into one classification and furnishing cross references to them under the others.
Under general correspondence are grouped the purely personal as well as the political, legal, and miscellaneous letters. The personal letters, particularly those written by Mrs. Strong to her husband, offer a charming picture of social life, in both their old home in Vermont as well as in the new frontier home in southwestern Wisconsin. They are of interest also as indicating the contrast between the ethical standards in vogue in personal life at that time and those that prevailed in political and business life. During the years between 1864 and 1867, Mrs. Strong and her two children lived at New Haven, Connecticut, while young Moses Strong, Jr. attended Yale College. The letters and miscellaneous papers which they sent back regularly to the father in Wisconsin throw interesting sidelights upon college life in America during this period. Of a similar nature are letters and accounts from young Strong to his father during a two-year residence, from 1867 to 1869, at German universities. The personal accounts scattered throughout the collection furnish items of considerable value as to prices and cost of living in early Wisconsin.
The political letters scattered through the general correspondence are in many ways the most interesting and valuable portion of the collection. From 1838 to 1841 Strong was United States district attorney for Wisconsin Territory, a position which he lost in the latter year as a result of a change in the federal administration. His removal and subsequent efforts to be re-instated were the subject of a spirited contest in the Territory, incidentally casting much light upon the political quarrel, then in full progress, between the friends of Governor Dodge in the lead-mining district and the friends of Governor Doty of Green Bay.
Most important of the political letters, however, are those which deal with the efforts at the formation of a state government in the Territory. Strong was one of the most prominent members of the first constitutional convention of 1846, and he likewise took an active part in the deliberations of the second convention of 1847, which finally succeeded in framing an acceptable constitution. The letters which he wrote and received at this time offer an intimate and exceedingly valuable record of the official activities of the “Fathers of Wisconsin.”
In 1850 Strong was speaker of the Assembly, and in 1856 again a member of that body. Thereafter until 1870 he was a prominent lobbyist at the state capital for the early railroad enterprises of Wisconsin, being particularly active at the interesting land-grant session of 1856. He was after 1856 a number of times candidate for election to public office, but was uniformly unsuccessful. He had many friends, however, both in the Democratic and Republican parties who frequently solicited his potent aid in securing appointments or election to office. His letters indicate that he was much interested in the campaign of M.M. Cothren for the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin near the close of the Civil War. In his later days, he was on terms of warm friendship with Senator John C. Spooner, as is shown by a number of cordial letters exchanged between them.
The legal papers contained in the collection are likely to be of interest chiefly to the student of the legal history of the state. It has already been noted that from 1838 to 1841 Strong was United States district attorney for Wisconsin Territory. In this capacity he tried a number of interesting cases including violations of Indian trade laws, embezzlement of public funds, and violation of the government land laws, all of which are described in his correspondence. For the most part however, his legal papers are such as one might expect to find in the office of any lawyer engaged in a general practice. From 1873 to 1893 he was president of the State Bar Association, and from 1885 to 1894, member of the State Board of Law Examiners, but of these activities he has left little record in his correspondence.
Among the miscellaneous papers in the collection may be mentioned those relating to religious activities, in which he was greatly interested in his later years; those relating to the publication of his History of Wisconsin Territory; and those relating to the activities of his son, Moses Strong, who up to the time of his tragic death in 1877 was assistant state geologist of Wisconsin.
Next in bulk though by no means next in value to the general correspondence is the material classified under land papers. [Note added in 2009: The materials now filed under Land Papers start in 1850; perhaps the earlier items described in the paragraphs which follow are in the General Correspondence.] These date back to 1825 with a few scattered documents from as early as 1774. Practically all of Strong's land papers up to 1836 concern themselves with his speculations in his native state, Vermont. It is to be remembered that a large portion of Vermont was at this early day still in its native wildness and as such was the subject of as much speculation as any of the Western regions. During the years 1825 to 1836 Strong eked out his law practice by engaging in land surveying and in 1833 commenced his long public career by accepting an appointment as deputy surveyor-general of Vermont. Many of his early land papers are records of his activities as public surveyor.
In 1836 Strong was thrown into contact with an Eastern syndicate of land speculators preparing to operate extensively in the newly opened lands of Wisconsin. Already dissatisfied with the limited opportunities which Vermont held out to him, he readily accepted an appointment as agent of this syndicate, and in 1836 removed with his wife to Mineral Point, then the metropolis of Wisconsin Territory. Here he opened a law and land-agency office, and thenceforth operated extensively on his own account and on that of various Eastern capitalists, notably Senator Hubbard of New Hampshire, in the lands of western Wisconsin. His land papers consist for the most part of letters and documents relating to these transactions.
A few months after his arrival the first territorial legislature of Wisconsin convened at Belmont, and set itself to the task of selecting a site for the capital. Judge James D. Doty of Green Bay and Governor Stevens T. Mason of Michigan owned the narrow peninsula in the Four Lakes region now the site of the city of Madison, and they and their friends after months of wrangling finally induced the legislature to select this site. Unfortunately Strong's papers contain only slight information concerning this interesting phase of Wisconsin history, but they throw considerable new light upon the quarrel which later developed between Doty and his partners over their Madison holdings, and the long-drawn legal disputes concerning Madison land titles which grew out of it.
Strong brought his knowledge of surveying to good use in the new Territory. Early in 1837 he accepted the task of laying out the city of Madison, which he completed with much credit to himself, and during the same year received the appointment of government surveyor of lands in a number of western counties in Wisconsin. In connection with this office he received many interesting letters of instruction from his superiors explaining the policy of the government in so far as it pertained to land surveying.
Strong was an extensive holder of lands. His earliest ventures were at Arena on the Wisconsin River and at Calamine in Lafayette County. At the same time he held lands in the vicinity of Stevens Point, as well as a number of lumber-mill sites in that neighborhood. After the panic of 1873 he became interested in lands in Wood County, Wisconsin, and had holdings also in different parts of Minnesota. His papers concerning these various enterprises consist of business letters, contracts, indentures, accounts, tax receipts, legal documents, and other material of a miscellaneous character. They contain much useful information concerning land prices, interest rates, taxes, and public land policy. A considerable mass of material consists of maps, plats, descriptions of land, and surveyor's notebooks, all of which relate to lands in western Wisconsin.
The papers relating to railroad and other transportation enterprises are chiefly valuable for the period between 1850 and 1870, during which time Wisconsin's railway system had its origin. Strong was one of the prime movers in the highly important work of promoting these early enterprises. In his letters and speeches he enthusiastically proclaimed the great advantages that would arise from a railroad connecting the Mississippi River with Lake Michigan. No doubt in this agitation he was moved primarily by considerations of public interertation enterprises are chiefly valuable for the period between 1850 and 1870, during which time Wisconsin's railway system had its origin. Strong was one of the prime movers in the highly important work of promoting these early enterprises. In his letters and speeches he enthusiastically proclaimed the great advantages that would arise from a railroad connecting the Mississippi River with Lake Michigan. No doubt in this agitation he was moved primarily by considerations of public interest, but his land and lead-mine speculations furnished him additional private incentives. In 1852 and for some years thereafter he was president of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company, which, according to Strong's papers, had its origin in the dissensions of the board of directors of the old Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company. In the interests of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad he spent much time in Washington pressing upon Congress the claim of the State of Wisconsin to a railroad land grant.
When in 1856 Congress heeded the demands of the new commonwealth, Strong at once turned to the task of securing the rich grant to his company. His papers unfortunately give little information concerning his activities at this time, but a legislative investigation instituted in 1858 brought out the fact that he had distributed to legislators and other prominent State officials as the agent of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Company (in their efforts to secure the grant) bonds amounting to almost half a million dollars. A number of letters from his friends, notably from Byron Kilbourn, show the unsuccessful efforts made by the promoters to ward off the legislative investigation of 1858 into these transactions. There is also much interesting material relating to Strong's refusal to testify before the committee of investigation, and the contempt proceedings arising therefrom. Between Strong and his brother George, who together were interested in a subcontract for the building of a railroad bridge across the Wisconsin River, there is considerable correspondence which throws new light upon the problems of railroad construction in this western country.
Strong was employed by the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company, after his term as president, as chief attorney and also as land commissioner. His papers, however, contain but few letters of interest relative to his employment in these offices. He was also deeply interested in the Mineral Point Railroad Company, of which he was for some years president. His papers relating to this railroad present an excellent account of the discouraging problem which confronted Western railroad promoters in their task of interesting Eastern capitalists in their enterprises. We find ever present, not only in his railroad papers but in many of his other business papers, complaints of the difficulty of securing capital, a difficulty which confronted practically every promoter in the Western country.
In the interests of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad, Strong endeavored to obviate this difficulty by securing a loan from the State school fund, and with this end in view he advocated the repeal of the clause in the State constitution prohibiting such use of the public moneys. In the interests of the Mineral Point Railroad he attempted to meet the same problem by securing running connections and financial aid from the wealthy Illinois Central. Also he secured from Iowa County a liberal subscription of county bonds, which the county later attempted to repudiate. In the litigation arising out of this repudiation he was prominently involved. We have a hint of high finance in railroad matters at this early day in his letters concerning the Schuyler frauds by which Strong and his railroad associates were victimized.
After the close of the Civil War Strong became identified with the Monroe & Dubuque Railroad Company, for which he unsuccessfully attempted for some years to raise funds. His interest in this road led him to lend his support to the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company in its legislative attempt to force a consolidation with the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railway Company. There is in this connection much valuable correspondence with such prominent railroad builders as Russell Sage, Selah Chamberlain, Alexander Mitchell, and Nathan Cowdrey. Strong was also interested in other embryo railroads in Wisconsin as well as in Minnesota. His railroad papers touching upon all these enterprises are, with the exception of his political papers, perhaps the most valuable in the collection. They contain besides railroad matters some interesting information relating to building of plank roads, canals, and other transportation improvements. After 1870 little of interest attaches to his railroad correspondence, it being chiefly devoted to requests to various railroads in the country for free passes.
Strong's mining papers up to 1870 relate almost exclusively to lead mining in southwestern Wisconsin. Here as in the railroad papers we have much correspondence relating to the problem of securing adequate capital for the proper working of the mineral lands of the State. The papers reflect the changes that were going on in the mining methods of the region. The surface mineral being exhausted, the efforts of the individual miner no longer sufficed to secure paying quantities of lead ore. It was necessary to organize stock companies with sufficient capital to drain the abandoned diggings and raise the mineral formerly ignored in the lower limestone strata. We learn much concerning the actual working methods in vogue in the mining district, the leasing of mineral lands, the terms of rent or “tribute” upon which miners engaged to mine the holdings of others, the wages, tools, and working conditions of the men, the prices of lead, methods of smelting, and marketing the mineral. In short we have in these papers a comprehensive description of the lead-mining industry during the interesting transition period from 1850 to 1870. There are also scattering letters concerning the iron mines in the Iron Ridge country and the copper deposits in Douglas County, but nothing of a detailed character.
After 1870 Strong became interested in gold mining in California and to a certain extent in silver mining, but his letters concerning these activities reveal little of that exact and intimate information which render his lead-mining correspondence of so much interest to the student.
In Strong's lumbering papers as in his land, railroad, and mining papers, the difficulties of obtaining capital for the proper exploitation of the state's natural resources are again emphasized. He was repeatedly obliged by lack of capital to suspend his operations in the pine forests. His mills were situated upon the Wisconsin River, in some ways the most interesting lumber stream in the state. We have an indication, however, in the losses and discouragement which he met in his lumbering activities, of the disadvantages of operating on this stream as compared with other great pinery streams in the state like the Chippewa and the Wolf. Because of the great length of the river, its dangerous rapids, and difficult waterfalls, it was an expensive undertaking to carry lumber down the stream or bring back necessary supplies, and not only Strong but many other lumbermen on the same river were unable to compete successfully with their rivals on the more favored Chippewa River. We learn from these papers the methods employed in logging the pine, carrying it to the mills, sawing it into lumber, and transporting the finished product in great rafts to the markets on the Mississippi River. The development of sawmill methods, the growing tendency toward organization and integration in the industry, the problems of financing the various lumber operations, the life and wages of the lumberjacks, and their difficulties in securing their pay--these and numerous kindred subjects are dealt with in great detail in the correspondence between Strong and his lumbering partners. During the later sixties and early seventies he sold out his interests in the lumber mills and his papers concerning them come to a close.
The final portion of the collection consists of thirty-seven small volumes of diaries and memorandum books, and larger unboxed volumes containing additional land papers, account books, information on Strong's book, records of the Calamine Flouring Company, and other items.
