Title: William F. Lorenz, Sr. Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1914-1953

Creator:

• Lorenz, William F., 1882-1958

Call Number: Mss 556

Quantity: 3.6 c.f. (9 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

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

Abstract:

Papers, mainly 1938-1952, of William F. Lorenz, a nationally-known neuropsychiatrist who was the first director of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute (1915-1952), a testing and research laboratory, and a professor at the University of Wisconsin (1915-1952). The collection chiefly consists of outgoing correspondence to Leo T. Crowley, Paul De Kruif, August Derleth, William T. Evjue, Walter Goodland, Ralph Immell, William Middleton, Hans Reese, Harry Sauthoff, A. G. Schmedeman, Frank Lloyd Wright, and other political, military, and medical associates and to his sons concerning their military service during World War II. One box of restricted correspondence concerns diagnosis and treatment of individual patients. The collection also contains correspondence and miscellaneous administrative material pertaining to activities with the Veterans Administration, the Wisconsin Board of Control, and the Wisconsin Board of Mental Hygiene; personal income tax forms and documents concerning his operation of Normandy Farm and other properties; and manuscripts and published versions of professional writing.

Note:

There is a restriction on access to part of this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00556

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William F. Lorenz, a nationally renowned neuropsychiatrist, was born in New York City on February 15, 1882, the son of Hermann and Elsie Kuenzlen Lorenz. He attended Trinity School and New York University. After his freshman year he served as a volunteer with a group of students from the university during the Spanish-American War. In 1903 he received his medical degree from New York University and then interned at St. Mary's Hospital, Long Island from 1903 to 1905. After leaving a position as assistant physician at the Manhattan State Hospital, New York in 1910, he moved to Wisconsin to become clinical director of the Wisconsin State Hospital at Mendota. Lorenz spent 1914 on leave with the U.S. Public Health Service researching pellagra in the southern United States but returned to Madison in 1915 to become both associate professor of neuropsychiatry at the university and the first director of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute. Lorenz set up the institute in a vacant carpentry shop on the grounds of the state hospital. Shortly thereafter, it moved to Farwell's Point. In 1920 Lorenz was promoted to a full professorship at the university. In 1925 the institute became part of the university, and established its free testing service for Wisconsin physicians. Lorenz continued as a professor and director of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Institute until his retirement in 1952.

Lorenz's other professional activities included an appointment as head of the State Board of Control, 1924-1925. During World War I he commanded the 127th Field Hospital unit of the 32nd division in France. The system he devised for evacuation of wounded soldiers gained him a Distinguished Service Medal. Lorenz was colonel and chief surgeon in the Wisconsin National Guard from 1927 to the late 1940s. After both World War I and World War II Lorenz became active in the rehabilitation of disabled servicemen in Wisconsin. In 1921 he was a leader in the establishment of the Wisconsin Memorial Hospital for the treatment of ex-servicemen. He also served as a psychiatric consultant to the National Rehabilitation Committee of the American Legion and to the Veterans Administration.

Lorenz's research contributions to medicine were considerable, and he was well known as a pioneer in preventive psychiatry and in the treatment of mental disease with drugs. With A. S. Loevenhart, he developed the use of tryparsamine in treating neurosyphilis, and he played a key role in the development of blood sampling to detect syphilis. He also studied the use of carbon dioxide gas in the treatment of psychosis. Using sodium amytal in the treatment of mental disorders, Lorenz made the important discovery that patients afflicted with catatonic schizophrenia experienced lucid intervals. Other research concerned the use of sodium pentathol as a diagnostic tool.

Lorenz married Ada Holt in 1915. They had four sons: William F., Jr. (1919-1964), Thomas H., Paul K., and Joseph D., as well as a stepson, Adrian Vanderveer. Two years after his wife's death in 1942, Lorenz married Marvel Griffin. William F. Lorenz died in Madison on February 19, 1958 of a heart condition.

The papers only partially document Lorenz's long and influential career in psychiatry. The collection received by the Historical Society in 1958 consists of files created and maintained by Lorenz's secretary at the institute, other files about his career apparently having been destroyed by fire. The collection best documents his life during the 1930s and 1940s. As a result, the papers are not particularly useful for examining Wisconsin's early involvement in the diagnosis and treatment of the mentally ill, although Lorenz was unquestionably a leader in that movement. The collection also emphasizes his personal and family life. Although medical and related professional interests are only incompletely represented, the collection is, nevertheless, of considerable interest. Not only does the correspondence provide insights into a medical field only seldom documented in personal collections, but the letters to writer Paul De Kruif and to Middleton, Blackwenn, Reese, and other physicians contain some references to the work of the institute. And although Lorenz's career focused on research and administration, the collection contains some documentation on the limited amount of clinical work he did. The writings section, which contains reprints of his medical articles, also contains an interesting transcript of the diary he made while imprisoned in Mexico in 1925 during a fishing trip. Service with the 32nd Division during World War I is undocumented except for a group of unprocessed photographs which, although unidentified, are presumed to refer to this unit.

The collection is arranged as biographical and family material, correspondence, writings, financial records, and patient files.

The BIOGRAPHICAL AND FAMILY MATERIAL consists of autobiographical and biographical data, xeroxed newspaper clippings, membership certificates, data concerning his military service, family miscellany, and pedigree registration papers for his dogs.

CORRESPONDENCE in the papers clearly represents files created and maintained by Lorenz's secretary at the institute, Mrs. Elsie Kearney. It best covers the 1930s and 1940s and ceases in 1952 when Lorenz retired from the university. The files are comprised almost entirely of carbons of outgoing letters, with only scattered examples of incoming letters. It is not known if the incoming letters were filed by Kearney or if they were removed at some other time prior to their donation to the Historical Society. The correspondence is arranged much as it was by Kearney: a general file arranged chronologically by year and an alphabetically-arranged name file. The general correspondence concerns a variety of topics ranging from routine financial correspondence to his interest in boating and boat models and his contacts with professional associates. Of special note are several letters exchanged with Frank Lloyd Wright (1945) pertaining to an architect Lorenz treated, and an exchange with August Derleth. The alphabetical correspondence combines files on individuals, organizations, and businesses. Family correspondence, especially letters to his four sons and his stepson written during World War II, comprise the majority of this section, but other prominent correspondents include Leo T. Crowley, Paul De Kruif, William T. Evjue, Walter Goodland, Ralph Immell, William Middleton, Harry Sauthoff, and A. G. Schmedeman. The absence of incoming correspondence is pronounced in the family correspondence so that there is little direct information about his sons' service in the war. Some of this may he inferred, however, from the elder Lorenz' letters which were lengthy and frequent and which he devoted to recounting family news. Unfortunately his letters are a less useful source for examining general conditions on the home front, for he rarely commented on such topics. There is some information in the personal correspondence about activities at the Psychiatric Institute; these comments are more frequent in his letters to his nephew William Blackwenn and to William Middleton and Paul De Kruif. Also in this section are files on his association with the Wisconsin Board of Control, the Board of Mental Hygiene, the Veterans Administration, and other organizations which include small quantities of financial records, minutes, speeches, notes, and other types of administrative papers in addition to correspondence.

WRITINGS (1922-1950) consists of reprints of published articles on medical topics, manuscripts, speeches, notes, some identified material for whom the author is not known, and a transcript of the 1925 diary Lorenz made while imprisoned in Mexico after the fishing boat on which he was travelling went aground. (Lorenz had undertaken the trip to recover from a nervous breakdown; he returned from the incident entirely cured.)

FINANCIAL RECORDS include state and federal income tax forms and working papers, correspondence and other records concerning property management, and miscellaneous documents such as wills, leases, contracts, and deeds. The property management section includes miscellaneous documents pertaining to Normandy Farm on the west side of Madison which Lorenz leased to the university and a property in Douglas County where he was interested in reforestation.

The section entitled PATIENT FILES is not strictly speaking treatment records, but rather correspondence and notes concerning cases in which he was a consultant or a few friends and associates with whose treatment he was involved.

Access Restrictions

The Patient Files in Box 9 are closed. Researchers may have access to these files, however, if they sign the Archives' Use of Restricted Material Form certifying that they will not release any personally identifiable information.

Acquisition Information

Presented by William F. Lorenz, Jr., Madison, Wisconsin, 1959. Accession Number: M59-154

Processing Information

Processed by Chris Fowler (Intern), 1980, and by Sandra Wenner and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1989.

	Series: Biographical and Family Miscellany
Box   1 Folder   1	Personal data and career information, 1919-1952
Box   1 Folder   2	Newsclippings, 1920-1952
Box   1 Folder   3	Memberships, 1920-1952
Box   1 Folder   4	Military service, 1924-1940
Box   1 Folder   5	Family miscellany, 1937-1943
Box   1 Folder   6	Dogs, 1914-1940
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	General correspondence
Box   1 Folder   7-13	1916-1946
Box   2 Folder   1-5	1947-1952
	Special correspondence
Box   2 Folder   6	Adams, A. E., 1940-1949
Box   2 Folder   7	American Legion, 1935-1946
Box   2 Folder   8	American Social Hygiene Association, 1948-1949
Box   2 Folder   9	Army-Navy Club, 1929-1946
Box   2 Folder   10	Athletic Board, 1936-1946
Box   2 Folder   11	Blackwenn, Alfred, 1936-1940
Box   2 Folder   12	Blackwenn, Julie, 1936-1943
Box   2 Folder   13	Blackwenn, William, 1941-1950
Box   2 Folder   14	Boating, 1926-1940
Box   2 Folder   15	Breunig, Henry, 1950-1952
Box   2 Folder   16	Carpenter, George, 1928-1930
Box   2 Folder   17	Central Wisconsin Trust Co., 1925-1939
Box   2 Folder   18-19	Board of Control, 1924-1937
Box   3 Folder   1	Crowley, Leo T., 1933-1944
Box   3 Folder   2	De Kruif, Paul, 1937-1952
Box   3 Folder   3	Dining Club, 1928-1951
Box   3 Folder   4	Downs, Mrs. Burdell, 1950
Box   3 Folder   5	Evjue, William T., 1940-1949
Box   3 Folder   6	Engineers (U.S. Army), 1946-1947
Box   3 Folder   7	Farmers' Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 1934-1952
Box   3 Folder   8	Fernette, Jack, 1938-1940
Box   3 Folder   9	First National Bank, 1932-1945
Box   3 Folder   10	Fox Insurance Agency, 1932-1942
Box   3 Folder   11	Goodland, Walter, 1944-1946
Box   3 Folder   12	Grandview Co., 1929-1944
Box   3 Folder   13	Governor's Planning Council on VD Control, 1937-1938
Box   3 Folder   14	Gray Marine Motor Company, 1930-1936
Box   3 Folder   15	Hanson, Fred W., 1939-1948
Box   3 Folder   16	Henry, Jerry, 1947-1948
Box   3 Folder   17	Herro, Norman, 1950-1952
Box   3 Folder   18	Holt, Thomas, 1937-1945
Box   3 Folder   19	Home Owners' Loan Corporation, 1933-1945
Box   3 Folder   20	Huppert, Elmer I., 1938-1942
Box   3 Folder   21	Israel, Louis, 1944-1947
Box   3 Folder   22	Immell, Ralph M., 1939-1948
Box   3 Folder   23	Immell, Robert B., 1943-1944
Box   3 Folder   24	Joys Brothers Company, 1932-1952
Box   3 Folder   25	Kuenzlen, Karl, 1947-1951
Box   3 Folder   26	Lorenz, Ada, 1928-1940
Box   3 Folder   27	Lorenz, H. H. (brother), 1927-1940
Box   3 Folder   28	Lorenz, H. S. (nephew), 1927
Box   3 Folder   29	Lorenz, Herman and Elsie (parents), 1933-1936
	Lorenz, Joseph D.
Box   3 Folder   30	1937-1943
Box   4 Folder   1	1944-1951
Box   4 Folder   2	Lorenz, Pauline, 1925-1945
Box   4 Folder   3-5	Lorenz, Paul K., 1936-1950
Box   4 Folder   6	Lorenz, Thomas, 1932-1951
	Lorenz, William F., Jr.
Box   4 Folder   7-11	1933-1946
Box   5 Folder   1	1947-1950
Box   5 Folder   2	Lorenz, Yvonne, 1942-1947
Box   5 Folder   3	Madison Bank and Trust Co., 1945-1952
Box   5 Folder   4	Madison Police Department, 1938-1945
Box   5 Folder   5	Masons, 1925-1937
Box   5 Folder   6	Mattox, 1941-1950
	Mental Hygiene, Board of
Box   5 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1937-1942
Box   5 Folder   8	Budget papers, 1938-1939
Box   5 Folder   9	General material, 1938-1939
Box   5 Folder   10	Middleton, William, 1943-1944
Box   5 Folder   11	Musser, T. J., 1939-1947
Box   5 Folder   12	Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, 1922-1937
Box   5 Folder   13	Neckerman Agency, 1940-1948
Box   5 Folder   14	Nicodemus, R. C., 1921-1938
Box   5 Folder   15	Normandale, Inc., 1928-1934
Box   5 Folder   16	Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., 1931-1952
Box   5 Folder   17	Osborne, L. A., 1952
Box   5 Folder   18	Potter, Howard J., 1936-1948
Box   5 Folder   19	Reese, Hans H., 1931-1952
Box   5 Folder   20	Retirement System, 1938-1952
Box   5 Folder   21	Sauthoff, Harry, 1925-1944
Box   5 Folder   22	Schmedeman, A. G., 1933-1940
Box   5 Folder   23	Schmidt, Ernst C., 1933-1936
Box   5 Folder   24	Sears, Roebuck & Co., 1935-1952
Box   6 Folder   1	Shaub, Ben, 1938-1941
Box   6 Folder   2	Shields & Co., 1937
Box   6 Folder   3	Smith, Emma, 1935
Box   6 Folder   4	Spohn, Ross, Stevens & Lamb, 1931-1951
Box   6 Folder   5	Spotswood, W. C., 1940-1941
Box   6 Folder   6	Stephens, Sletteland & Sutherland, 1927
Box   6 Folder   7	Theodore Herfurth, Inc., 1938-1942
Box   6 Folder   8	Toebaas, Oscar T., 1950
Box   6 Folder   9	University Club, 1932-1952
Box   6 Folder   10	Vanderveer, Adrian H., 1937-1947
	Veterans Administration
Box   6 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1919-1951
Box   6 Folder   12	Personnel material, 1922, 1942-1950
Box   6 Folder   13	Medical Council, 1943-1952
Box   6 Folder   14	Wanovich, Peter, 1937-1950
Box   6 Folder   15	Williams, Mrs. Frances, 1947-1948
Box   6 Folder   16	Wolff, Kubly & Hirsig Co., 1924-1934
Box   6 Folder   17	X Club, 1934-1939
Box   6 Folder   18	YMCA, 1933-1934
	Series: Writings	⇧
Box   6 Folder   19	Diary typescript, 1925
	Manuscripts
Box   6 Folder   20	“The Divisional Triage,” undated
Box   6 Folder   21	“The Ghost in Byron's Life,” undated
Box   6 Folder   22	“Is Hitler Mad?” , undated
Box   6 Folder   23	“The War on Nerves” (incomplete), undated
Box   7 Folder   1	Manuscripts by Paul De Kruif, 1939-1949
Box   7 Folder   2-3	Notebooks, undated
Box   7 Folder   4	Monographs and published writings, 1922-1950
Box   7 Folder   5	Monographs by W. J. Blackwenn and Thomas H. Lorenz, 1930-1950
Box   7 Folder   6	Speeches and other writings, undated
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   7 Folder   7-8	Income tax forms, 1922-1951
Box   7 Folder   9-10	Working papers, 1927-1943
	Property management
Box   8 Folder   1	Astoria Boulevard, New York, 1939-1948
Box   8 Folder   2	Douglas County, 1946-1952
Box   8 Folder   3	Forest Crop project, 1947-1952
Box   8 Folder   4-5	Normandy Farms, 1947-1952
Box   8 Folder   6	Pine Point, Wisconsin, 1947, 1950
Box   8 Folder   7	Timothy Brown estate, 1921-1923
Box   8 Folder   8	Contracts, 1939, 1945
Box   8 Folder   9	Deeds, 1921-1951
Box   8 Folder   10	Leases, 1947-1951
Box   8 Folder   11	Loan, 1934
Box   8 Folder   12	Mortgage papers, 1921-1948
Box   8 Folder   13	Patent correspondence, 1936-1937
Box   8 Folder   14	Titles, 1948-1949
Box   8 Folder   15	Wills, 1924-1946
	Series: Patient Files	⇧
Box   9 Folder   1-2	B-H, 1937-1952
Box   9 Folder   2	Hagemeister, Karl, 1927-1951
Box   9 Folder   3-5	J-M, 1935-1941
Box   9 Folder   6	Salter, Katherine, 1948-1951
Box   9 Folder   7	S-W, 1930-1945