Title: Albinus and Frank B. Webster Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1871-1945

Creators:

• Webster, Albinus, 1832-1910
• Webster, Frank B. 1867-1949

Call Number: River Falls Mss CJ

Quantity: 1.6 c.f. (4 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; 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-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Albinus Webster and his son Frank who farmed in the Town of Kinnickinnic, St. Croix County, Wis.; consisting of brief daily diary entries, account books, genealogical charts, and other items. The diaries contain information on all aspects of farm life and management, community life, agricultural trade, and prices. Frank Webster was considered a progressive farmer, known for integrating new farming methods, and his diaries include detailed descriptions of agricultural practices.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf00cj

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Albinus Webster (1832-1910) was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, to an old New England family. He was an early settler in St. Croix County where, in 1862, he married Sarah E. Brusseau (b. 1830), a widow who had come west in 1849 from upstate New York and settled in St. Croix County in 1860. In 1875 Webster owned 120 acres in the Town of Kinnickinnic, approximately ten miles from River Falls and Hammond. In about 1888 he added 40 acres to the farm where he remained until his death.

Two of Albinus and Sarah Webster's four children survived infancy, Frank B. (1867-1949) and Perley F. (b. 1869). Frank B. attended River Falls Normal School and the University of Wisconsin and taught in rural and high schools in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. He married Bessie Clinch (b. 1870) in 1893 and they had five children. Frank and Bessie Webster returned to his parents' homestead in 1900 and remained in active farming until 1938. Frank Webster was known as a “progressive farmer advancing new methods.” In 1920 the Websters purchased the adjacent homestead farm of his grandfather, Bailey Webster and in 1931 moved to this farm. Perley Webster also was a farmer and in 1914 owned 240 acres about one mile from the Frank Webster farm.

The papers consist primarily of diaries kept by Albinus and Frank B. Webster. In addition there are two account books apparently kept by Frank Webster and one folder containing several genealogical charts, obituaries of the two men, and a certificate of admission to the Old Settlers' Association of St. Croix Valley, Wisconsin issued to Frank Webster. For several diaries both original and xerographic copies exist (1871, 1872, 1897, 1900, 1903, and 1906). There is no diary for 1898.

The Albinus Webster diaries consist of brief daily entries mentioning weather conditions, activities of his wife and children, names of visitors to the farm, and his own daily pursuits. Among the latter were attendance at Grange meetings, town meetings, and other occasional social activities; trips to town, to the feed or grist mill, and to call on neighbors; and occasional service as a school board member, e.g., building maintenance and taking the school censuses. Many of the daily entries and the scattered accounts found at the end of the volumes concern farm operations. They include mention of farm chores (plowing, sowing, threshing, wood cutting); exchanges and sales of livestock and agricultural produce (often showing amounts and prices); payments for supplies, labor, and other farm and household expenses; occasional loan agreements; contributions of labor and teams for town road work; and names and hours of labor of his farm hands.

Frank B. Webster kept multi-year diaries containing entries on a single page for that date for four or more years. Entries are more varied and descriptive than those in his father's diaries although they include many of the same kinds of information. The Frank Webster diaries also mention his work in the home, activities of his wife and children, family health problems, and his regular attendance at Farmers' Institutes and church gatherings. The diaries often have detailed descriptions of agricultural practices and business transactions.

Acquisition Information

Presented by George Hoffmeyer, River Falls, Wis., and by St. Croix County Historical Society, Hudson, Wis., 1974 and 1981. Accession Number: M74-600 and M81-645

Processing Information

Processed by John Fleckner, July 22, 1982.

	Series: Albinus Webster Papers
	Diaries
Box   1 Volume   1-27	1871-1897
Box   2 Folder   1-4	, 1899-1910 (Vols. 28-39)
Box   2 Folder   5-8	Xerographic copies, 1871-1872, 1897, 1900
Box   3 Folder   1-2	Xerographic copies, 1903, 1906
Box   3 Folder   3	Albinus Webster Tax Receipts, 1874-1905
	Series: Frank B. Webster Papers	⇧
	Diaries
Box   3 Folder   4	1903-1907, 1908-1912 (Vols. 40-41)
Box   3 Folder   5	, 1913-1917 (Vol. 42)
Box   3 Folder   6	, 1923-1927 (January-June) (Vol. 43)
Box   3 Folder   7	, 1923-1927 (July-December) (Vol. 44)
Box   4 Folder   1	, 1928-1933 (January-June) (Vol. 45)
Box   4 Folder   2	, 1928-1933 (July-December) (Vol. 46)
Box   4 Folder   3	, 1934-1945 (Vol. 47)
Box   4 Folder   4	Farmer's Account and Record Book, 1914-1917 (Vol. 48)
Box   4 Folder   5	Miscellaneous Paper, undated