Summary Information
Lincoln Neprud Papers
1926-1970
- Neprud, Lincoln, 1898-1972
La Crosse Mss BF; PH 3744; PH 3-3076
4.2 cubic feet (11 archives boxes), 17 photographs, and 12 negatives
UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Lincoln Neprud, a Wisconsin Sixth District (1952-1969) and Vernon County Court (1937-1952) judge, consisting of judicial case files, legal papers, reports, correspondence, minutes, speeches, campaign files, and information regarding numerous civic activities. Case files include his decisions, correspondence, and legal briefs as both Vernon County and Sixth Circuit Court judge, as well as those of his predecessor, R. S. Cowie. Other judicial records include minutes, correspondence, and briefs of the Wisconsin Board of Circuit Judges, various reports of court activities, and miscellaneous judicial information and publications. Involvement with the Snowflake Ski Club of Anderson Hill at Westby, the Vernon County Baseball League, and the Upper Mississippi Anti-Drawdown Congress are also well documented. Of special note is a file pertaining to the controversial appearance of native son Gerald L.K. Smith as a guest speaker at the Viroqua centennial. The photographs document the interior of the Wisconsin Sixth District Circuit Court during a program for women homemakers sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Extension Program in 1963, and images of the interior and exterior of a home. There is a restriction on access to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lx00bf ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Sixth Circuit Court Judge Lincoln Neprud was born in Coon, Vernon County, Wisconsin on August 19, 1898. He attended Westby public schools and the University of Wisconsin, where he obtained his B.A. in 1921. Neprud then attended the University of Wisconsin Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1928. He began his legal career with the Milwaukee law firm of Otjen & Otjen. In 1933 Neprud returned to Viroqua to open his own law office. He was elected Vernon County judge in 1937 and reelected in 1943. Defeated in his first run for the Circuit Court, he was later appointed to the position after the death of R. S. Cowie in 1952. Neprud held the post through subsequent elections until his retirement in 1969, ultimately becoming one of Wisconsin's most highly regarded judges.
Also active in civic affairs, Neprud was an Odd Fellow, Elk, Knight of Pythias, and a 32nd Degree Mason, as well as a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Sons of Norway. In 1946 Neprud was honored with a citation from the King of Norway for his service to Norwegian people during World War II. Neprud was also president of the Snowflake Ski Club of Westby and chairman of the Vernon County Baseball League.
Lincoln Neprud married Laurie Anderson of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1929. Judge Neprud died from injuries received from a head-on automobile collision in 1972. He was survived by his wife and his daughter, Mary Neprud Sutton.
Scope and Content Note
The papers document Neprud's career as county and circuit court judge and a number of his civic activities. There are no personal or family papers and no materials touching on his pre-judicial law career. Because the files on his civic activities focus on amateur athletics, a topic only sparsely documented in the Society's archives, these files are also of particular interest. Unfortunately the files contain only a little information pertaining to his work on behalf of Norway during World War II.
Case files and other judicial records, political papers, and material on civic affairs dominate the collection. Types of documentation present include legal papers, court documents, reports, speeches, financial records, minutes, and correspondence.
Neprud's CASE FILES are the legal papers generated from his post as county and circuit court judge. Also included are cases from his circuit which were appealed to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Pre-sentence investigations, including police reports and medical/psychiatric examinations, are included in this grouping, although they are separately filed. The case files combine the records of both courts and are arranged alphabetically by plaintiff.
MISCELLANEOUS JUDICIAL RECORDS consist mainly of minutes, correspondence, and reports of the Wisconsin Board of Circuit Judges of which Neprud was chairman in 1965. Because no records of this organization are available in the Archives, these records are of special value. Topics under discussion included the uniform annual retirement date and circuit judge salary levels. Also filed here are various reports of the Sixth Circuit Court and newsletters and reports from other statewide legal organizations. Also here is a file of decisions of R. S. Cowie and other circuit court judges. Although the Archives had earlier received a personal collection from Cowie, none of his decisions were included in that collection.
POLITICAL PAPERS files are dominated by Neprud's campaign records. Nomination papers, correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial statements, and a poster all document his quest for public office. GENERAL FILES include correspondence, speeches, and speech notes.
Neprud's CIVIC AFFAIRS reflect his activity in a variety of community organizations. One such organization that is heavily documented is the Snowflake Ski Club. Neprud was president of the club in 1956 when the U.S. National Ski Jumping Championship was held in Westby at Anderson Hill, home of the ski club. Neprud was active in bringing international competitors and attention to Westby, making it one of the premier ski jumping sites in the United States. The collection includes correspondence concerned with planning and fundraising for these events and printed programs for various competitions.
Other sports and community organizations are documented by minutes and correspondence. Neprud acted as president of the Vernon County Baseball League from 1939 to 1955, festmaster of Oktoberfest in 1966, and chairman of the Viroqua Centennial. Files on the Vernon County Baseball League, which have been extensively weeded to remove routine reporting of scores, contains correspondence pertaining to scheduling and complaints against officials.
By far the most controversial of Neprud's civic involvements occurred in 1946 when he was serving as parade chairman of the Viroqua centennial. A parade committee chose arch-conservative Gerald L.K. Smith, a one-time resident of Viroqua, to speak after the parade. Smith had received national attention and criticism for his extreme views, and as chairman Neprud came under considerable attack for the invitation. Much public outcry ensued until Neprud and other committee members withdrew the invitation. Two other committee members held out, however, so Smith did appear at the event.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Pre-sentence investigations in Box 5 are closed, except with the permission of the chief judge, 7th Judicial District, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Researchers should contact the Court Administrator, 7th District Court, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Presented by John and Mary Neprud Sutton, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1972-1973. Accession Number: M72-313, M72-381, M73-165
Processed by Bruce Siebers (archives intern), Debra Randorf, and Carolyn Mattern, 1987.
Contents List
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La Crosse Mss BF
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Series: Case Files, 1936-1970
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Box
1
Folder
1-5
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A-E
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Box
2
Folder
1-7
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F-L
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Box
3
Folder
1-7
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M-Schu
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Box
4
Folder
1-4
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Schw-Wil
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Wisconsin
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Box
4
Folder
5
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vs. A-J
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Box
5
Folder
1-2
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vs. K-Y
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Box
5
Folder
3-4
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Presentence criminal investigations, 1952-1967
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Series: Miscellaneous Judicial Records
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Box
6
Folder
1
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Circuit Court, Administrator's statistical reports, 1967-1969
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Box
6
Folder
2
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Circuit Court, Clerk's reports, 1953, 1957-1959
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Circuit Judges, Board of
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Box
6
Folder
3-6
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1951-1966
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Box
7
Folder
1
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1967-1968
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Box
7
Folder
2
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Miscellaneous material, 1954-1964
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Box
7
Folder
3
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Judges, Milwaukee Board, report on jury selection, 1965
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Box
8
Folder
8
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Institute of Continuing Legal Education for Wisconsin, 1964
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Box
8
Folder
7
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“The Law and You” WBA publication, 1955-1958
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Rulings and decisions by other judges
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Box
9
Folder
4-5
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Cowie, R. S., 1926-1949
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Box
9
Folder
6
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Other judges, 1930-1968
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Box
8
Folder
1-2
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Wisconsin trial guide, undated
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Series: Political Papers
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Box
8
Folder
1-3
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Campaign files, 1936-1959
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PH 3-3076
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Campaign poster
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La Crosse Mss BF
Box
9
Folder
3
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Political miscellany, 1935-1951
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Series: General Files
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Box
7
Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1936-1969
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Box
8
Folder
6
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Sanitary treatment plant contract, 1957
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Box
8
Folder
5
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Speeches and speech notes, 1950, undated
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Box
8
Folder
4
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Veterans Service Commission, appointments to Commission, 1945-1950
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Series: Civil Affairs Files
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Box
10
Folder
4
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Adolf Gunderson Medical Foundation, 1958-1959
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Box
10
Folder
5
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Centennial Horse Show, 1946
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Box
10
Folder
1
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Central U.S. Ski Association, 1955-1960
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Box
10
Folder
6
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Flag Day, 1941-1942
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Ladies Day in Court, 1963-1966
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PH 3744
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Photographs
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La Crosse Mss BF
Box
10
Folder
8
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National Rivers and Harbors Congress, 1945-1947
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Box
10
Folder
9
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Norwegian relief, 1946
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Box
10
Folder
10
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Oktoberfest, 1963, 1966-1967
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Box
9
Folder
4-7
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Snowflake Ski Club, 1950-1967
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Box
10
Folder
11
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Upper Mississippi River Anti-Drawdown Congress, 1946-1949
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Box
10
Folder
12
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Vernon County Airport, 1944-1945
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Box
10
Folder
2-3
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Vernon County Baseball League, 1939-1955
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Box
11
Folder
1
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Viroqua Centennial, 1946
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Box
11
Folder
2
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Zor Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S., 1942-1947
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Box
11
Folder
3
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Miscellany, 1941-1966
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