Summary Information
Daniel Webster Hoan Mayoral Records 1905-1987
- Hoan, Daniel W. (Daniel Webster),
1881-1961.
- Milwaukee (Wis.). Office of the Mayor.
City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 8
- 4.5 cubic ft. (11 boxes)
- 1 oversize folder
Milwaukee Public Library (Map)
Records of Dan Hoan, a socialist mayor of Milwaukee who
served from 1916-1940. The collection is mostly comprised of his later years as
mayor. Some personal papers are included as well. Contains correspondence,
photographs, clippings, and other ephemera.
To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-cmac0008 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Daniel Webster Hoan, Socialist Mayor of Milwaukee from 1916–1940, was born on 12
March 1881 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was the son of Daniel Webster Hoan and
Margaret Augusta Hood. After his parents divorced in 1888, Hoan lived with his
father. Several years after the death of his father in 1895, Hoan quit school and
supported himself by working as a cook and farm laborer. He resumed his schooling in
1901 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor’s degree in
1905. Hoan studied law at Kent College of Law in Chicago for several years after
receiving his bachelor’s degree. He passed the bar exam in 1907 and moved to
Milwaukee the following year. A notable accomplishment during his early years as an
attorney in Wisconsin, he worked drafting a bill that would become the first state
workmen’s compensation law in the nation.
He was elected City Attorney for Milwaukee in 1910 and was reelected in 1914. Hoan
married Agnes Bernice Magner (1883-1941) in 1909. They had two children, Agnes
Bernice and Daniel Webster III. Hoan was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1916 and
continued to serve as mayor until 1940 when he was defeated by a political novice,
Carl F. Zeidler, a Milwaukee assistant city attorney. Hoan’s tenure as mayor was
notable for its longevity and its quality of governance. His commitment to a clean
and efficient government, his fiscally sound economic policies and progressive
social policies earned him a national reputation. In 1944, Hoan joined the
Democratic Party and began a series of unsuccessful political campaigns for office.
He ran for governor in 1944 and 1946, the U.S. House of Representatives in 1948,
U.S. Senate in 1950, and state senate in 1952. Hoan was active in promoting
Milwaukee’s harbor development and in improving the St. Lawrence Seaway. He married
Gladys Arthur Townsend (1901-1952) of Muncie, Indiana, in 1944. Hoan died 11 June
1961.
City of Milwaukee Mayors
1846-1847 |
Solomon Juneau
|
1847-1848 |
H. N. Wells
|
1848-1849 |
Byron Kilbourn
|
1849-1850 |
Don A. J. Upham
|
1851-1852 |
George H. Walker
|
1852-1853 |
Hans Crocker
|
1853-1854 |
George H. Walker
|
1854-1855 |
Byron Kilbourn
|
1855-1857 |
James B. Cross
|
1858-1859 |
William A. Prentiss
|
1859-1860 |
Herman L. Page
|
1860-1861 |
William Pitt Lynde
|
1861-1862 |
James S. Brown
|
1862-1863 |
Horace Chase
|
1863-1864 |
Edward O’Neill
|
1864-1865 |
Abner Kirby
|
1865-1867 |
John J. Tallmadge
|
1867-1870 |
Edward O’Neill
|
1870-1871 |
Joseph Phillips
|
1871-1872 |
Harrison Ludington
|
1872-1873 |
David G. Hooker
|
1873-1876 |
Harrison Ludington
|
1876 |
Henry M. Benjamin (Acting)
|
1876-1878 |
A. A. R. Butler
|
1878-1880 |
John Black
|
1880-1882 |
Thomas H. Brown
|
1882-1884 |
John M. Stowell
|
1884-1888 |
Emil Wallber
|
1888-1890 |
Thomas H. Brown
|
1890 |
George W. Peck
|
1890-1893 |
P. J. Somers
|
1893 |
Henry Hase (Acting)
|
1893-1896 |
John C. Koch
|
1896-1898 |
William G. Rauschenberger
|
1898-1906 |
David S. Rose
|
1906-1908 |
Sherburn M. Becker
|
1908-1910 |
David S. Rose
|
1910-1912 |
Emil Seidel
|
1912-1916 |
Gerhard A. Bading
|
1916-1940 |
Daniel W. Hoan
|
1940-1942 |
Carl Zeidler
|
1942-1948 |
John L. Bohn
|
1948-1960 |
Frank Zeidler
|
1960-1988 |
Henry W. Maier
|
1988-2004 |
John Norquist
|
2004 |
Marvin Pratt (Acting)
|
2004-2021 |
Tom Barrett
|
2021- |
Cavalier Johnson
|
Scope and Content Note
Scope and content notes of each series are provided in the contents list.
Arrangement of the Materials
The collection is arranged into the following series: - Family and
Personal Life, 1905-1955
- Public Life,
1909-1987
The material is in alphabetical order by subject, then chronological within each
folder.
Preferred Citation
Hoan, Daniel Webster, Mayoral Records, 1909-1987, Collection 8. City of Milwaukee
Archival Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Related Material in the Milwaukee Public Library
Archival Collections
Publications and Other Items
City Government: The Record of the Milwaukee Experiment
The Failure of Regulation
Socialism and the City : How to Remove Chaos and Put Order and Beauty
into American Cities
Digital Collections
Administrative/Restriction Information
There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all
in accordance with state law. The public may view City of Milwaukee Archival
Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person
appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please
contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel,
privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection
(Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).
The collection was donated by Hoan’s daughter, Mrs. Walter J. Steininger in 1964.
Additional materials were donated in 1996. Materials were initially accessioned
as Local History Manuscripts, but transferred to City Archives in 2018.
Reprocessed and guide written by Suzanne Pritzlaff Jagodzinski, 1996. Updated by
Arlene Espinoza, Archives Volunteer, 2015. In 2018, Bob Jaeger moved the
collection from Local History Manuscripts Collections to City of Milwaukee
Archival Collections, numbered it CMAC 8, and added additional materials.
Contents List
|
Series: 1. Family and Personal Life,
1905-1955 : This series contains personal and genealogical materials about Hoan and his
family such as a baptism record, divorce decree, photographs,
autobiographical and biographical information, marriage confirmations,
family trees and histories, personal reminiscences, obituaries, and
correspondence documenting Hoan’s ancestors and lineage.
|
|
Box
10
Folder
3
|
Degrees, 1905-1907
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Family - parents and siblings,
undated
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Family - wife and children, 1909-1948,
undated
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
Hoan, Daniel Webster, Family History, maternal side,
1917-1951
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
Hoan, Daniel Webster, Family History, paternal side,
circa 1923-1926
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
Hoan (née Townsend), Gladys Arthur, memorial and clippings,
1943-1955
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Miscellaneous Bills and Receipts,
1909-1949
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
Personal Correspondence,
1943-1953
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
Personal History, family sketch and autobiographical notes,
undated
|
|
|
Series: 2. Public Life, 1909-1987 : This series consists of materials on Hoan's public and political life. The
bulk of the material consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence during
Hoan’s later years as mayor, as well as reports, speeches, and other mayoral
business. There are also post-mayoral related items, such as campaign
materials, gifts, programs, clippings, and awards and honors. There is a
scrapbook at the end of the collection as well. Contents of the scrapbook
consist of newspaper clippings, brochures and pamphlets.
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
Attorney, Workmen’s Compensation Bill, brief,
1909 : See also Box 1, Folder 8
|
|
|
Mayor
|
|
Box
1
Folder
10
|
Book, City Government by
Daniel Hoan (1936), promotional card, publisher’s invoice and
royalty check, book review by Fiorello La Guardia, and complimentary
letter by Franklin D. Roosevelt,
1936-1952
|
|
Box
1
Folder
11
|
Budget, 1938-1940
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12
|
Campaign Literature, brochures, campaign mailing,
1918-1939
|
|
Box
10
Folder
1
|
Certificates of Election, including as City Attorney and
Board of Harbor Commissioners,
1910-1952
|
|
Box
1
Folder
13
|
City Hall, watercolor painting, photo negatives, and history
of City Hall bell, 1923, 1940
|
|
Box
1
Folder
14
|
Cooperative Initiatives, brochures for Consumer Cooperative
Association, prospectus of Garden Homes Company and description of
its plan, 1920-1922
|
|
|
Correspondence
|
|
Box
1
Folder
15-16
|
A, 1930-1940
|
|
Box
1
Folder
17
|
Acknowledgments,
1938-1939
|
|
Box
1
Folder
18-19
|
Advisory Council,
1935-1940
|
|
Box
1
Folder
20
|
Aid, donation and fundraising projects,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
Air Pollution, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2
|
American Negro Exposition,
1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3-4
|
Appointments, political,
1934-1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
5
|
Art Institute, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Auditorium, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Aviation, 1936-1939
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
B, 1934-1939
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9
|
Baby Bonds, 1933-1934
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
C, 1936-1939
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
Cherry St. Bridge,
1926-1939
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12-13
|
City Attorney, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Citizens’ Housing Committee,
1939-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
Christmas Tree,
1938-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
City Engineer, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
City Service Commission,
1937-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
City Club, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
Civic Celebrations,
1937-1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
Commissioner of Public Works,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
8
|
Comptroller, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
9
|
Conventions, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
10
|
D, 1936-1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
11
|
F, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
12
|
Filtration, 1933-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
13
|
Finances, 1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
14
|
Fire Department,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
15
|
Fire and Police Commission,
1936-1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
16
|
Governors (Philip LaFollette and Julius Heil),
1937-1939
|
|
Box
3
Folder
17
|
G, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
3
Folder
18
|
H, 1934-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1
|
Harbor Commission,
1935-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
2
|
Health Department,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
3-4
|
Housing, 1937-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
5
|
House of Correction, also includes annual report for a
Manhole Frame Surfacing Machine,
1935
|
|
Box
4
Folder
6
|
Information (requests by public),
1937-1939
|
|
Box
4
Folder
7
|
J, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
4
Folder
8
|
K, also includes plans for a Manhole Frame Surfacing
Machine, 1936-1938
|
|
Box
4
Folder
9
|
Kline Law and Potential "Made Work" Projects,
1931
|
|
Box
4
Folder
10-11
|
L, 1935-1940
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
M, 1916-1940
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2-3
|
Milwaukee Association of Commerce,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Motion Pictures,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5-7
|
Municipal Heating,
1922-1938
|
|
Box
5
Folder
8
|
N-O, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
P, 1933-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Parking Meters, 1938
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
Permits, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
Police, 1932-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5-7
|
President’s Ball (annual ball initiated by Franklin D.
Roosevelt to raise money for infantile paralysis),
1936-1940
|
|
Box
6
Folder
8
|
Purchasing, 1934-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1
|
R, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
2
|
Receptions for Charles Lindberg, Stanley Hauser, and
Douglas Corrigan, 1927-1938
|
|
Box
7
Folder
3-4
|
Requisitions, 1937-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
5
|
S, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
6
|
Safety Commission,
1936-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
7
|
Strikes, 1937-1940
|
|
Box
7
Folder
8
|
T-V, 1936-1940
|
|
Box
8
Folder
1
|
W, 1932-1940
|
|
Box
8
Folder
2
|
Water Works, also contains brochure describing the Water
Works, 1937-1939
|
|
Box
8
Folder
3-5
|
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.),
1936-1940
|
|
Box
8
Folder
6
|
Educational Information, publications on various topics,
1918-1936
|
|
Box
9
Folder
1
|
Election Ephemera, undated
|
|
Box
8
Folder
7
|
Honorary Degree from the University of Wisconsin, letter of
honor and newspaper photograph,
1939
|
|
Box
8
Folder
8
|
Honoree, souvenir programs and testimonial letter,
1935
|
|
Box
8
Folder
9
|
Inaugural Addresses,
1920-1928
|
|
Box
8
Folder
10
|
Initiatives by Others, report about proposed soldiers’ and
sailors’ memorial and resolution of declaration of trust by First
Civic Foundation of Milwaukee, circa
1919-1923
|
|
Box
10
Folder
3
|
Memberships and Honors,
1927-1939
|
|
Oversize Folder
1
|
Memberships and Honors, oversize,
1931-1935
|
|
Box
9
Folder
2
|
Milwaukee Airport Report,
1925
|
|
Box
8
Folder
11
|
Miscellaneous, includes Time
magazine profile and various reports,
1919-1940
|
|
Box
8
Folder
12
|
Passenger ship Milwaukee of Hamburg-American Line,
1929
|
|
Box
8
Folder
13
|
Payroll, ledger for office,
1931
|
|
Box
10
Folder
5
|
Portraits and Caricatures, 1922,
undated
|
|
Box
8
Folder
14
|
Proclamation, "Music Week",
1924
|
|
Box
8
Folder
15
|
Report on the Proposed Service-At-Cost Contract Between
Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. and City of Milwaukee,
1924
|
|
Box
9
Folder
3
|
Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), miscellaneous
projects, 1938
|
|
Box
9
Folder
4-5
|
Newspaper Clippings, 1923-1987
|
|
|
Post-Mayor
|
|
Box
8
Folder
16
|
Amlie, Thomas, Candidate for State Supreme Court (Hoan was
secretary of Amlie’s personal campaign committee),
1949-1950
|
|
Box
8
Folder
17
|
Anniversaries of Milwaukee,
1946-1949
|
|
Box
8
Folder
18
|
Business and Political Correspondence,
1946-1960
|
|
Box
10
Folder
2
|
Campaign for Congress, poster,
1948
|
|
Box
8
Folder
19
|
Campaign for Governor, press release (second page is
missing), 1946
|
|
Box
8
Folder
20
|
Campaign for Senate, 1950
|
|
Box
9
Folder
6
|
Commemorative Dinner, 1966
|
|
Box
8
Folder
21
|
Cooperative and Collectivization Advocacy, circa
1942-1944
|
|
Box
9
Folder
7
|
Daniel Webster Hoan Bridge,
1971-1987
|
|
Box
9
Folder
8
|
Death, official memorials, letters of condolence, and
clippings, 1961
|
|
Box
8
Folder
22
|
Democratic Organizing Committee, Convention Dinner, speech,
1952
|
|
Box
8
Folder
23
|
Eightieth Birthday Celebration,
1961
|
|
Box
11
|
Fraternal Order of Eagles, Civic Service Award, plaque,
1954
|
|
Box
11
|
Fraternal Order of Eagles, Eagle of the Year Award, plaque,
1958
|
|
Box
11
|
Knife, gift from visit to Buenos Aires,
1953
|
|
Box
10
Folder
4
|
Memberships and Honors,
1943-1961
|
|
Oversize Folder
1
|
Memberships and Honors, oversize,
1953-1959
|
|
Box
8
Folder
24
|
St. Lawrence Seaway Improvements, newsletter, circa
1947
|
|
Box
8
Folder
25
|
Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention, includes tribute to
Hoan, 1956
|
|
Box
11
|
Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention, plaque,
1956
|
|
Box
9
|
Scrapbook, 1938-1952, undated 1 volume
|
|
|