Title: Howard L. Smith Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1826-1940

Creator:

• Smith, Howard Leslie, b. 1861

Call Number: Wis Mss VC

Quantity: 2.4 c.f. (6 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 of Howard L. Smith, a University of Wisconsin law professor. Included is family correspondence, 1826-1940, some from relatives in the East to Smith's family in Wisconsin, and others to Smith by his mother while he was studying in Europe; copies of addresses given before law groups and at various universities; articles concerning his views on the teaching of law; and six volumes of diaries, 1881-1929, he kept during his travels abroad.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000vc

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Howard L. Smith was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on March 29, 1861, the son of John Yates Smith and Sarah Ann (Warner) Smith. He received his A.B. degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1881, and his L.L.B. degree in 1885. He also studied at the University of Heidelberg in 1883, and at the University of Paris in 1884.

Mr. Smith was a practising attorney in Madison, 1885-1887, in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1887-1893, and in Chicago, Illinois, 1893—1900. He became a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin in 1900. In 1914, he became a Jackson Professor of Law, also at the University, a position he held until he became an emeritus professor in 1927. Mr. Smith wrote a law text, Cases on Bills and Notes, in 1910. In 1918 and 1919, he was in Ecuador and Columbia as a special assistant to the United States Department of State.

Professor Smith died on January 22, 1941.

The collection includes correspondence, March 29, 1826 to October 22, 1940. The very early letters are from relatives in the East to members of the Smith family who had moved to Wisconsin. They are followed by a group of letters from Howard Smith's father, John Y. Smith, to Haydn Smith, Howard's older brother. Correspondence in the early 1880's is largely from Howard Smith's mother to him while he was in Europe studying. After the turn of the century, there are a few letters dealing with Smith's position as professor of law at the University of Wisconsin and elsewhere, but most of the correspondence is of a personal or family nature, much of it dealing with financial matters. Many of the later letters are from his brother(?), Alfred, and various nieces and nephews.

There are also copies of many addresses given by Professor Smith, most of them given before gatherings of lawyers or at different universities. In addition, there are miscellaneous articles on varied subjects by Professor Smith and articles about him, mostly concerning his views on the teaching of law. There is also a copy of John Y. Smith's will. In addition, there are six diaries, primarily concerning trips Mr. Smith took.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Howard L. Smith Estate, Madison, Wisconsin, September 23, 1953.

	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	1826 March 29-1883 July 19
Box   1 Folder   2	1883 August 1-1884 July 30
Box   1 Folder   3	1884 August 3-1903 June 24
Box   1 Folder   4	1903 July 30-1906 July 30 and 1906 undated
Box   2 Folder   1	1907 January 11-1920 May 29
Box   2 Folder   2	1920 June 1-1927 June 30
Box   2 Folder   3	1927 July 20-1931 July 29
Box   2 Folder   4	1931 August 1-1933 March 29
Box   3 Folder   1	1933 April 6-1934, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	1935 January 2-1936 March 30
Box   3 Folder   3	1936 April 3-1937 January 23
Box   3 Folder   4	1937 February 2-1938 April 27
Box   4 Folder   1	1938 May 6-1940 June 30
Box   4 Folder   2	1939 July 1-1940 October 22; undated
	Addresses
Box   4 Folder   3	1881-1901 May 31
Box   4 Folder   4	1901 June 19-1913 November 18
Box   5 Folder   1	1914 June 15-1932 June 10
Box   5 Folder   2-3	Undated
Box   5 Folder   4	Articles by or about Howard L. Smith, 1883 August 20; 1931 March 25; undated
Box   5 Folder   4	Will of John Y. Smith, 1874 June 9
Box   6	Diaries, 1881-1929 Sept. 9