Title: D. D. Kennedy Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1937-1941

Creator:

• Kennedy, D. D., 1879-1941

Call Number: River Falls Micro 144; Micro 551

Quantity: 1 reel of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a Progressive assemblyman (1937-1941) from Amery, Wisconsin, consisting of correspondence to and from Polk County constituents, lobbyists, and political leaders; newsletters; and legislative information. Among the prominent correspondents are A.L. Berquist, Bennie Bye, Bernard Gehrmann, and Merlin Hull. Many of Kennedy's letters, which generally include comments on pending legislation and general political issues, also refer to his interest in farm cooperatives.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0551

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Progressive legislator and cooperative leader D.D. Kennedy (Dougald Duncan “Manley” Kennedy) was born in the town of Farmington, Wisconsin on November 28, 1879. His father, also known as D.D. Kennedy, had immigrated to Wisconsin from Scotland. After receiving his education in the Amery schools, the younger Kennedy migrated to North Dakota in 1904 where he homesteaded. In 1908 he moved to Alberta, Canada. There Kennedy assisted in the organization of the farmers' cooperative movement. In 1914 he returned to Polk County and settled on a farm in the town of Garfield where he resided for the remainder of his life. In addition to farming he also operated a saw mill and a grist mill on his property.

In Polk County Kennedy also resumed his work in the cooperative movement. Not only was he active in the organization of local cooperatives, but he also was involved in the effort to organize the Farmers Equity Union in Wisconsin. Kennedy served on the board of the Wisconsin Farmers Equity Union and for several years was chairman of the county organization. He also served on the board of the Farmers Union Central Exchange of St. Paul, the Farmers Union Livestock Commission of South St. Paul, and the Polk County Farmers Union Co-op Oil Company. In addition, Kennedy was active in elective politics, serving as town chairman for Garfield and as a member of the Polk County Board of Supervisors. In 1936 he was elected to the state Assembly on the Progressive Party ticket. Kennedy was serving his third term in the Legislature at the time of his death on April 15, 1941.

The Kennedy Papers consist primarily of correspondence on his three terms in the Legislature. Although Mrs. Kennedy told a Society representative in 1971 there were additional papers pertaining to her husband's career as well as to her own considerable involvement in the cooperative movement, these have not come into archival custody. The papers consist of correspondence from Polk County constituents, political leaders, and lobbyists, newsletters, and legislative information. The correspondence is arranged by legislative session and then alphabetically by correspondent. Among the prominent letterwriters are A. L. Berquist, Bennie Bye, Bernard Gehrmann, and Merlin Hull. Although correspondence pertaining to his work in the cooperative movement is assumed to have been destroyed, his correspondence does contain references to his interest in the movement. The discussion of legislative matters in the papers is also quite good because Kennedy frankly discussed the situation concerning pending bills and other current issues.

Also of interest in the collection are carbons of his 1941 newsletters, one of the earliest examples of the use of this device by Wisconsin legislators. In addition the collection includes a small file of material concerning specific bills (1937-1939) filed chronologically and then alphabetically by bill number and a small file of statistical charts and other information concerning legislative matters.

The photographic portrait of Kennedy received with the collection has been filed in the Visual Materials Archive Name File.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. D. D. Kennedy, Amery, Wisconsin, July 29, 1971. Accession Number: M71-208

Processing Information

Prepared for microfilming by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1986.

Reel   1	Correspondence, 1937-1941
Reel   1	Newsletters, 1941
	Legislative information
Reel   1	Information re specific bills, 1937-1939
Reel   1	Statistical information and charts, n.d.