Summary Information
Edwin Hurlbut Papers
1834-1903
- Hurlbut, Edwin, 1817-1905
SC 764
0.1 c.f. (3 folders)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Edwin Hurlbut, a Wisconsin editor and attorney involved in the Free Soil party and the beginnings of the Republican Party. Included are correspondence, legal documents, and printed material, including an 1856 platform of Wisconsin's American Party, Sons of Temperance material, a temperance song book, and the 1858 Grand Chapter Proceedings of the Royal Arch Masons. Also present is brief information on Hurlbut's Civil War service, state militia service, and as aide to the Commander in Chief.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-sc00764 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Wisconsin editor, attorney, and politician Edwin Hurlbut was born in New Milford, Connecticut on October 10, 1817. He was educated at home, studied law under David Wilmot, and was admitted to the bar in 1848.
Moving to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Hurlbut became a prominent attorney, notary public, and one of the incorporators of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. During the Civil War he served as second lieutenant of the Oconomowoc Cavalry, Wisconsin State Militia. Returning to Waukesha County, he resumed his legal career and in 1875 founded the Wisconsin Free Press. Throughout his career he belonged to and held offices in numerous legal and editorial organizations.
Hurlbut's involvement in politics began when he joined the Free Soil party in his early twenties. He also belonged to a Wisconsin anti-slavery group which met in Madison in 1854 to start what became the Republican Party. It was his resolution, “That all political differences should be held in abeyance until the purpose of the meeting has been accomplished,” that established the climate in which this group emerged as a new party. Hurlbut also helped draft the 1856 platform of the American Party of Wisconsin, a Free Soil party. Bolting from the Republican Party in 1872 to support Horace Greeley, Hurlbut returned in 1889 to the party he had helped found.
He died in Wisconsin in 1905.
Scope and Content Note
The Edwin Hurlbut Papers cover the years 1834-1903 and consist of correspondence, legal documents, and printed material. Of special interest in the correspondence is an October 1854 letter from Sam Ryan reuniting Whigs and conservative Democrats in a temperance political organization to oppose the Maine Law; an 1862 letter from John Lockwood, Milwaukee postmaster and a former Know Nothing, re Hurlbut's appointment as delegate to the nominating convention; various letters from the Hurlbut family and J. C. Brown in 1848-1849, meant to lure Hurlbut from Michigan by describing opportunities in eastern Wisconsin; and correspondence about Hurlbut's wartime service and letters from his men to him.
The legal materials contain certificates, some contracts, and a few court records concerning suits in which Hurlbut was involved.
The printed materials contain an 1856 platform of the American Party of Wisconsin, a Temperance song book, and a Masonic handbook.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. John Ryan, St. Paul, Minnesota, May 13, 1972. Accession Number: M72-181
Processed by Lindsay Nauen, June 16, 1972.
Contents List
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Folder
1
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Correspondence, 1834-1870
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Folder
2
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Legal Documents, 1843-1896
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Folder
3
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Printed Material, 1849-1903
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