Title: Edgar G. Doudna Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1843, 1900-1948

Creator:

• Doudna, Edgar George, 1877-1948

Call Number: Wis Mss VL

Quantity: 2.8 c.f (7 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 Wisconsin educator and speaker Edgar G. Doudna. Correspondence, 1843, 1900-1948, relates primarily to speaking engagements and the work of the Board of Regents of Normal Schools. Letters Doudna wrote from Germany in 1936, describing German schools and social and economic conditions, are of special interest. In addition the collection contains articles and speeches, 1918-1948; notes and manuscripts on Wisconsin history; class notes and lectures; school material; and clippings.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000vl

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Edgar G. Doudna, one of Wisconsin's best known educators and most popular speakers, was born in Viola, Richland County, September 21, 1877. He never attended high school, but taught in a rural school in the county, worked his way through Platteville Normal School, taught at Watertown and Dodgeville, and was principal at Richland Center in 1916 when he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin. A musician himself, he was sometimes credited with starting the first high school band in the United States, at Sextonville, Wisconsin, in 1903.

In 1916 Doudna became head of the English department at Eau Claire State Teachers College, and between 1918 and 1923 was superintendent at Wisconsin Rapids. In the latter year he became secretary of the Wisconsin Teachers' Association, and in 1925 started editing the Wisconsin Journal of Education. His appointment in 1928 as secretary of the Board of Regents of Normal Schools of Wisconsin and Director of Teacher Training established him as an influential educator in the schools of Wisconsin.

Mr. Doudna was well known in the Middle West for his lectures, after-dinner speeches, and commencement addresses. As an example of one year's speaking engagements, he appeared at 15 educational meetings in 5 states, gave 16 commencement speeches in 2 states, spoke to 7 women's clubs and 10 Rotary clubs, and gave 39 talks before various other groups. In the 1930's he presented two series of lectures over WHA radio for the Wisconsin College of the Air: “American Life and Books” and “Wisconsin Territorial Days.” In 1920 he published Our Wisconsin, a history for Wisconsin public schools; and in 1948, he completed a history of Wisconsin for the 1948 Blue Book entitled, “The Thirtieth Star.”

In 1936, Oberlander Trust, a foundation for the development of cultural relations between the United States and the German speaking countries, sent Doudna and others to Germany to study methods for teaching German. Several months before his death, April 16, 1948, Doudna resigned from the state Board of Regents of Normal Schools in protest against the plan to turn the teachers' colleges into liberal arts colleges.

Mr. Doudna was married and had one son, William, who became a reporter and drama critic for the Wisconsin State Journal.

The Doudna Papers are organized in four categories: Correspondence, Articles and speeches, Notes and manuscripts on Wisconsin history, and Class notes and lectures, clippings, and material used for schools.

Correspondence, 1900-1948 (arranged by months), consists of not more than 600 letters relating chiefly to arrangements for speaking engagements, responses of persons who heard Doudna speak, and the work of the Board of Regents of Normal Schools. A single letter, May 26, 1843, from Henry Dodge to John P. Sheldon comments on the “recent elections” and Dodge's own problems in connection with territorial politics; but this has no relation to the other correspondence in the collection. One small group of letters is worthy of special note. From August to October, 1936, when Doudna was visiting German schools, he wrote to his wife Carrie concerning the schools of Germany and commented on social and economic conditions there at that time.

About one-half of the collection consists of manuscripts of articles, speeches, and lectures (arranged by years). These reflect the fact that Doudna was a well-informed and popular speaker, and addressed many audiences on the subjects of education, Wisconsin history, and literature.

Because he wrote and spoke on Wisconsin history, the Doudna papers contain research notes and annotated manuscripts concerning incidents in the state's history and preparations for his book.

The original collection of Doudna papers contained many notes he took when attending college and university classes, as well as outlines he used in teaching. Representative examples of such notes and outlines will be found in Box 7. When he was superintendent at Wisconsin Rapids he evidently sent out duplicated courses of study and suggestions to the teachers in the system. Several of these outlines are filed in Box 7. The box also includes clippings concerning Doudna, and a very few items relating to German schools in 1936.

Acquisition Information

Presented by William Doudna, Madison, Wisconsin, October 3, 1957.

Box   1	Correspondence, 1843, 1900-1948
	Writings and Speeches
	Articles and Speeches
Box   2 Folder   1-5	1918-1937
Box   3 Folder   1-3	1938-1948
Box   3 Folder   4-6	Undated
Box   4 Folder   1-3	Undated, continued
Box   4 Folder   4	Programs at which Doudna Spoke
Box   4 Folder   5	WEA Minutes, 1939
Box   4 Folder   6	Doudna's Bachelor Thesis
	Notes and Manuscripts on Wisconsin History
Box   5 Folder   1	Wisconsin History, Manuscript
Box   5 Folder   2	Wisconsin History, Miscellaneous Notes
Box   5 Folder   3	Wisconsin Cities and Counties
Box   5 Folder   4	Wisconsin Writers, Notes and Manuscripts
Box   5 Folder   5	Wisconsin People--Lorenzo D. Harvey
Box   5 Folder   6	Wisconsin People--James Gate Percival; Michael Frank
Box   6 Folder   1	Draft of Book, Our Wisconsin
Box   6 Folder   2	Manuscript and Notes for “Wisconsin” Section in World Book
Box   6 Folder   3	Notes and Proofs for the Article, “The Making of Our Wisconsin Schools,” Wisconsin Journal of Education, January 1948
Box   6 Folder   4	Janney, Israel (Genealogy)
Box   6 Folder   5	Biographical
Box   6 Folder   6	Miscellaneous Documents and Certificates
	Class Notes and Lectures, Clippings, Material Used for Schools
Box   7 Folder   1	Class Notes and Exams by Doudna
Box   7 Folder   2	Richland Center Public Schools
Box   7 Folder   3	Outlines for Courses and Lectures
Box   7 Folder   4	University Course--Examples of Doudna's Work as a Student
Box   7 Folder   5	German Schools, Tour of, 1936
Box   7 Folder   6	Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools
Box   7 Folder   7-8	Clippings re Doudna
Box   7 Folder   9	Poems by Doudna