Summary Information
Thomas A. Greene Papers 1863-1894
- Greene, Thomas A., 1827-1894
Milwaukee Mss E
1.6 cubic feet (4 archives boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Papers of Thomas Greene, a Milwaukee druggist, relating to his hobby, the collection of fossils and minerals. Greene acquired specimens through exploration of Wisconsin quarries, through exchanges with collectors and paleontologists in other states, and through purchases from individuals and from scientific supply companies. After his death the collection of specimens was given to Milwaukee-Downer College and later moved to the possession of Lawrence University. Greene's correspondence concerns the location, identification, and acquisition of his fossils and minerals. Among his notable correspondents were Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, Philo R. Hoy, James Hall, Charles Wachsmuth, and Robert P. Whitfield. One folder of letters, 1884-1891, concerns the collections of the Milwaukee Public Museum, of which Greene was a trustee. Four volumes include catalogues of his collection, an account book recording purchases of fossils, and a notebook listing the sources from which he obtained mineral specimens. English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil0000e
Biography/History
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, November 2, 1827, the son of Welcome Arnold and Sarah Gardner Greene, Thomas A. Greene was educated at the Friends' Boarding School of Providence, and the Fruit Hill Collegiate Institution in Smithfield, Rhode Island. At the age of sixteen, as a compromise with his father who wanted him to become a doctor, Thomas apprenticed to a retail drug firm in Providence and remained there for four years.
His employers were said to have been good chemists, and one was an enthusiastic botanist. When young Thomas received his certificate and set out for the middle west he was well qualified as a druggist and already interested in fossils and minerals. Stopping in New York to discuss the possibility of establishing a drug business with Henry H. Button, he proceeded to Chicago, Racine and Southport, and finally settled on Milwaukee as a good place in which to start his business. He bought the store of Henry Fess, Jr., and in the fall of 1848 Button joined him and the partnership of Greene and Button was established for the purpose of “... Carrying on the wholesale and retail drug business in Milwaukee, Wis. ...”
From its original assets of 5,000 dollars, the business prospered and in 1873, when younger members were admitted to the firm, the name was changed to Greene and Button Co. In its early years, the druggists did not employ salesmen. Once or twice a year one partner or the other made trips by rail or team to towns in southeastern Wisconsin, Mr. Greene usually going in the summer, and “Doc” Button in winter. Generally, Mr. Greene gave his attention to buying and selling, and Mr. Button had charge of finances. After the deaths of Dr. Button, 1890, and Mr. Greene, 1894, the corporation became known as Jerman, Pflueger and Kuehmsted Co., and in 1906 the corporate name was changed to Milwaukee Drug Company.
Having been influenced by his first employers in Providence in developing an interest in botany, Thomas A. Greene made many stops on his way west in 1848 to observe the flora of the region. As a druggist in Milwaukee, he became a collector not only of plants but also of minerals and fossils; and the hobby grew in scope as his success in business became more assured. His collection of minerals was outstanding for its completeness, and his fossils, according to his son-in-law, were considered to be “the most valuable ... [collection] west of Philadelphia.” In 1911, his children, Mrs. Horace A. J. Upham and Colonel Howard Greene, presented their father's collection of 75,000 to 100,000 specimens to Milwaukee-Downer College; and two years later the Thomas A. Greene Memorial Museum was dedicated on the campus.
Mr. Greene avidly collected specimens from early quarries, himself, and was in communication with geologists, supply houses, and other collectors all over the country, through whom he made purchases and exchanges. Through his reading and contacts with other collectors, he became acquainted with the leading paleontological authorities of the day, and exchanged letters with many of them, seeking information and advice. He was also in constant communication with supply houses from whom he obtained specimens.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains the correspondence Mr. Greene carried on in connection with his acquisition of fossils and minerals, and includes letters exchanged with collectors such as W. C. Egan concerning the fossils of Cook County, Illinois; and with paleontologists such as Charles Wachsmuth, Robert P. Whitfield, and James Hall. Mr. Hall, in fact, made several trips to Milwaukee to help Mr. Greene identify specimens.
After the mineral and fossil collections, and this related manuscript material, were presented to Milwaukee-Downer College, Mr. Greene's manuscripts were organized to some extent by the college. The letters were grouped by correspondent, and correspondence for each was arranged in chronological order. This arrangement has been retained and completed, and the folders are filed in alphabetical order. A major portion of the A. G. Warner correspondence is also accompanied by typewritten copies.
In addition to correspondence, and some miscellaneous receipts and lists, there are four volumes that Mr. Greene evidently kept. These catalogue many of the fossils and minerals, and record the sources and costs. Finally, there are two photocopied documents including an application for the Thomas A. Greene Memorial Museum to the National Register of Historic Places with a biography of Greene and a description of the building of his collection.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 10, 1964. Accession Number: M64-182
Processed by Margaret R. Hafstad, July 14, 1964.
Contents List
Milwaukee Mss E
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Biography, 1964
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Business papers, 1878-1886, undated
|
|
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Correspondence
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
Abbott, J. T., 1886-1887
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
Allbright, William, 1883-1887
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
Barton, S. W., 1882-1892
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Bements, C. S., 1880-1885
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
Bergen, W. S., 1875-1878
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
Brewster, Charles G., 1884
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Bundy, W. F., 1885
|
|
Box
1
Folder
10
|
Calvin, S., 1885
|
|
Box
1
Folder
11
|
Chamberlain, T. C., 1880-1885
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12
|
Chatfield, D. S., 1887
|
|
Box
1
Folder
13
|
Conrad, A. H., 1884-1886
|
|
Box
1
Folder
14
|
Crane, W. E., 1884
|
|
Box
1
Folder
15
|
Day, F. H., 1880-1892
|
|
Box
1
Folder
16
|
Dee, James, 1879-1881
|
|
Box
1
Folder
17
|
Duty, J. T., 1880-1889
|
|
Box
1
Folder
18
|
Egan, W. C., 1880-1891
|
|
Box
1
Folder
19
|
English, George L., 1888-1890
|
|
Box
1
Folder
20
|
Evans, J. H., 1862-1882
|
|
Box
1
Folder
21
|
Foote, A. E., 1878-1887, undated
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Box
1
Folder
22
|
Green, George K., 1885-1886
|
|
Box
1
Folder
23
|
Hall, James S., 1879-1892
|
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Box
1
Folder
24
|
Harris, S. C., 1885
|
|
Box
1
Folder
25
|
Hermann, W. A., 1879
|
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Box
1
Folder
26
|
Hill, W. D., 1882
|
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Box
1
Folder
27
|
Hindshaw, Henry H., 1880
|
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Box
1
Folder
28
|
Horlick, J. A., 1879-1891
|
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Box
2
Folder
1
|
Howell, Ward, 1882-1883
|
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Box
2
Folder
2
|
Hoy, P. R., 1879-1888
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Knowlton, W. J., 1879-1885
|
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Box
2
Folder
4
|
Kunz, George F., 1879-1885
|
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Box
4
Folder
9
|
Limbach, S. M., 1881-1882
|
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Box
2
Folder
5
|
Loper, Samuel Ward, 1884-1889
|
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Box
2
Folder
6
|
Manning, R. P., 1882
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Marsh, W. A., 1886
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
Miller, S. A., 1878-1885
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
Milwaukee Public Museum, 1884-1887
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
Moss, Milton, 1880-1884
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
Newberry, J. S., 1880-1888
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12
|
Norton, William H., 1881-1885
|
|
Box
2
Folder
13
|
Orton, Edward, 1885
|
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Box
2
Folder
14
|
Parrish, W. J., 1882-1885
|
|
Box
2
Folder
15
|
Pennypacker, 1883-1890
|
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Box
2
Folder
16
|
Perey, Harold, 1886
|
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Box
2
Folder
17
|
Perkins, F. S., 1879-1885
|
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Box
2
Folder
18
|
Plankinton, W. M., 1891
|
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Box
2
Folder
19
|
Powers, H. C., 1885-1887
|
|
Box
2
Folder
20
|
Preston, H. G., 1881-1882
|
|
Box
2
Folder
21
|
Rankin, W. L., 1880-1882
|
|
Box
2
Folder
22
|
Rinqueberg, N. S., 1884
|
|
Box
2
Folder
23
|
Safford, J. M., 1884-1885
|
|
Box
2
Folder
24
|
Schofield, W. D., 1886
|
|
Box
2
Folder
25
|
Senior, I., 1880-1883
|
|
Box
2
Folder
26
|
Seymour, E., 1864-1881
|
|
Box
2
Folder
27
|
Southwick and Jenks, 1880-1887
|
|
Box
2
Folder
28
|
Stadtmuller, Louis, 1871-1887
|
|
Box
2
Folder
29
|
Teller, Edgar, 1882-1891
|
|
Box
2
Folder
30
|
Thomas, W. G., 1879-1882
|
|
Box
2
Folder
31
|
Van Horne, W. C., 1881
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Wachsmuth, G. S., 1886-1892
|
|
|
Warner, A. G.
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
1881-1887
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
1881-1893
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
1888
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
1889-1893
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2
|
Washburn, D. E., 1878-1879
|
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Box
4
Folder
3
|
Washburn, R. R., 1888
|
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Box
4
Folder
4
|
Went, C. E., 1886
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
Wettstein, G. A., 1879-1886
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Whitfield, W. P., 1880-1887
|
|
Box
4
Folder
7
|
Wolfram, Christ, 1882-1885
|
|
Box
4
Folder
8
|
Worthen, A. H., 1884
|
|
Box
4
Volume
3
|
Account book, Persons who Bought Minerals and Fossils, 1863-1893
|
|
Box
4
Folder
11
|
Books and subscriptions, 1879-1887
|
|
Box
4
Volume
1
|
“Catalogue of Fossils in Cases in Mineral Room, 2nd Story,” 1893
|
|
Box
4
Volume
2
|
“Contents of Drawers in the Case in Mineral Room, First Story,” undated
|
|
Box
4
Volume
4
|
Catalogue of Minerals, undated : Probably compiled by Thomas A. Greene (1791-1867), New Bedford, Massachusetts, the uncle of the principal of this collection.
|
|
Box
4
Folder
10
|
Miscellaneous, 1879-1891
|
|
Box
4
Folder
12
|
Miscellaneous, undated
|
|
Box
4
Folder
13
|
Thomas A. Greene Memorial Museum
|
|
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