Summary Information
Stephen Bolles Papers
1920-1941
- Bolles, Stephen, 1866-1941
Wis Mss VQ; Micro 1038
1.8 c.f. (5 archives boxes) and 2 reels of microfilm [35mm]
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a former Republican congressman (1939-1941) and editor of the Janesville (Wis.) Gazette. The bulk of the collection relates to Bolles' term in the House of Representatives, and includes correspondence, articles and addresses, congressional voting records, and microfilmed clippings and scrapbooks. For the most part, the correspondence is either of a congratulatory nature or deals with his opposition to the Burke-Wadsworth Conscription Bill in 1940.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000vq ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Former Wisconsin congressman and newspaper editor Stephen Bolles was born in Springboro, Crawford County, Pennsylvania on June 25, 1866. He attended rural schools in Waushara County in Wisconsin and received his higher education at the state normal School in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Bolles served in an editorial capacity with newspapers in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and was superintendent of graphic arts for the St. Louis Exposition (1903-1905), director of publicity for the Jamestown Exposition (1907), and worked for several years in writing and private business in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1918 he moved to Oconto, Wisconsin, where he edited the Oconto County Enterprise. From 1920 until 1938 he was editor of the Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette. In 1933 and 1934 he was president of the Wisconsin Associated Press Association.
A Republican, Bolles was a member of the State Central Committee for ten years. In 1938 he was elected to Congress from the first district, serving from January 1939, until his death on July 8, 1941.
Scope and Content Note
CORRESPONDENCE in the Stephen Bolles Papers covers the years 1920 through 1941. There are two large blocks of letters within this period. The first occurred in 1938, after Bolles was elected to Congress, and these letters are primarily congratulatory. The second occurred in 1940 while Congress was considering the Burke-Wadsworth Conscription Bill. Because of Bolles' reputation as an isolationist, many people wrote to ask his aid in defeating the bill. Other letters are of many types, ranging from letters to the editor to a group collected by Bolles as evidence in his fight against the TVA. Among the letters from prominent correspondents filed here were items from Walter S. Goodland, Albert G. Schmedeman, William Allen White, and Alexander Wiley. Letters from other important people are also included in the scrapbooks. These prominent correspondents include:
| Volume 1 |
William E. Borah, May 25, 1925 |
| Volume 2 |
Herbert C. Hoover, October 25, 1925 and December 12, 1927 |
| |
Glenn Frank, July 29, 1927 |
| |
Walter J. Kohler, Sr., September 10, 1928 |
| |
John J. Pershing, September 28, 1928 |
| |
Robert M. La Follette, Jr., 1929 |
| Volume 3 |
William E. Borah, November 30, 1926 |
| Volume 4 |
Calvin Coolidge, July 7, 1928 |
| |
Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 29, 1931 |
| |
William Allen White, March 12, 1935 |
| |
David Lawrence, April 13, 1936 |
Also included in the papers are ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES. The vast majority of items in this category are speeches. Bolles was a flowery after-dinner speaker, much in demand, who spoke often and on a wide variety of subjects. There are also copies of some of his congressional speeches, most of which
concern the possibility of U. S. entry into World War II. The scrapbooks contain frequent press notices about these and other speeches and addresses.
Because of their deteriorated condition, the SCRAPBOOKS have been microfilmed. Although the time coverage of the volumes overlaps, the material within each volume appears in chronological order. Because of the fragmentary nature of the correspondence in the collection, the scrapbooks are of considerable interest, as they provide the most comprehensive documentation on Bolles' career as a congressman and as a journalist. Also available on film are a number of clippings arranged in chronological order by year which were found loose in the collection. These may duplicate clippings in the scrapbooks. After filming, the original clippings and scrapbooks were destroyed.
Miscellaneous material in the collection includes records of Bolles congressional voting.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mrs. Stephen Bolles, Janesville, Wisconsin, November 10, 1955 and Donald Bolles, Philadelphia, Pa., July 20 and October 23, 1962. Accession Number: M62-146, M62-216
Processed by Janice O'Connell, 1963. Scrapbooks prepared for filming by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1985.
Contents List
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Wisconsin Mss VQ
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Series: Correspondence
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Box
1
|
1920, May 1-1935, April
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Box
2
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1935, May-1938
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Box
3
Folder
1-3
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1939-1941, July; 1962, July-1941, July 7
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Series: Articles and Addresses
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|
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Box
3
Folder
4
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1923, February-1935
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Box
4
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1936, Octrober 15-1941, July 8
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Box
5
Folder
1
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Undated articles and addresses
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Box
5
Folder
2
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Notes and fragments, n.d.
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|
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Box
5
Folder
3
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Series: Congressional Voting Record
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Micro 1038
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Series: Scrapbooks and Clippings
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Scrapbooks
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Reel
1
Frame
1
|
Volume 1, 1921, February 8-1931, July 9
|
|
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Reel
1
Frame
134
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Volume 2, 1924, November-1937, July 27
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Reel
1
Frame
407
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Volume 3, 1925, December-1934, December 14
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Reel
1
Frame
564
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Volume 4, 1926, March 13-1939, April 7
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Reel
1
Frame
806
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Volume 5, ante 1929, June 8-1933, December 30 “Gloomy Al Says”
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Reel
2
Frame
1
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Volume 6, 1939, December 9-1940, October 1
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Reel
2
Frame
258
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Volume 7, 1939, January 13-1941, July 9 Index to Congressional Records remarks; complete remarks not included
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Reel
2
Frame
310
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Volume 8, 1940, September 18-November 5
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Reel
2
Frame
333
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Volume 9, 1940, October 1-1941, July 2.
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Reel
2
Frame
412
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Loose clippings, 1926-1941
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