Title: Thomas H. Barland Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1956-2000

Creator:

• Barland, Thomas H., 1930-

Call Number: Mss 35; M61-242; M2011-074

Quantity: 4.8 c.f. (12 archives boxes); plus additions of 7.4 c.f and 2 tape recordings

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 Thomas Barland, an Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, judge and Republican state assemblyman, 1960-1966; including both constituent and general correspondence, legislative committee files, draft bills, state budgets, files concerning government reorganization under the Kellett Commission (1965-1967), and campaign materials. The legislative files reflect Barland's interest in reapportionment, government reorganization, taxation, and civil rights. The papers also document Barland's activities with the Republican Party of Wisconsin, the Eau Claire County Young Republicans, and as a Circuit Court judge (1967-2000), including case files, subject files, and administrative and budget files for the Eau Claire Circuit Court. Correspondents include Ody J. Fish, John F. Kennedy, Warren P. Knowles, Gaylord Nelson, Richard M. Nixon, Alvin E. O'Konski, and Bronson C. La Follette.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00035

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Thomas H. Barland was born in San Francisco, California, March 3, 1930, the son of George and Lois Barland. Educated in San Francisco public schools and in schools at Wahiawa, Dahus Hawaii, he graduated from Eau Claire High School in Wisconsin in June 1947, Barland spent the years 1936 to 1942 in Hawaii, where his father was a civilian employee of the Army. While there he witnessed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After the attack his family was evacuated from Schofield Barracks to the mainland and eventually to Eau Claire, his father's home town.

Barland entered the University of Wisconsin in September 1947, and received a B.A. in economics in June 1951. During the summer of 1949 he attended the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, as a member of the national YMCA presidents' school. While an undergraduate at the University he was selected to Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Eta Sigma, won two major “W's” in gymnastics, and received the Wisconsin Alumni Association's “Outstanding Senior” award, He enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Law School in September 1951, and attended until June 1953, when he joined the U.S. Army.

Stationed originally at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, he was transferred to Ft. Crowder, Missouri, where he was a 1st lieutenant in a military police company and assistant confinement officer of the post stockades. He later became a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was discharged from the service in 1955 after a 21 month tour of duty and re-entered the University of Wisconsin Law School, from which he received his law degree in June 1956.

As an undergraduate, Barland was a member of Argus and the Iron Cross. Among honors he received were the C.V. Hibbard and the Sterling Day awards. While in law school Barland was a member of the editorial board and contributed articles to the Wisconsin Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif, a distinguished honorary law fraternity.

Mr. Barland returned to Eau Claire in 1956, where he became an associate and later a partner in the law firm of Ramsdell, King, Carroll, and Barland. In addition to having an active law practice, he became involved in numerous civic and community activities, including the Eau Claire Red Cross (president, 1956-1960), the Eau Claire Family Service Association (vice- president, 1958-1960, director, 1957-1963), the Eau Claire Foreign Film Society (vice-president, 1956-1960, director, 1957-1963), the Eau Claire Civic Music Association (director), the Eau Claire Downtown Development Steering Committee (chairman), the Eau Claire County Taxpayers Association, the Chippewa Valley Boy Scouts (council director), the lst Presbyterian Church of Eau Claire (Sunday school superintendent), the YMCA, the Civil Air Patrol, the Wisconsin “W” Club, the Eau Claire Wisconsin Alumni Club, the Wisconsin State University-Eau Claire Campus Ministry Committee, and the Eau Claire County Young Republicans (chairman).

In recognition of his extensive civic activities, the Eau Claire Junior Chamber of Commerce presented Barland with its “Distinguished Service Award” in 1959 and the Wisconsin State Junior Chamber of Commerce named him as “One of the Five Outstanding Young Men of the State” in 1963.

Included among Barland's professional activities are membership in the Eau Claire County Bar Association (past treasurer) and the Wisconsin and American Bar Associations. He served as secretary, vice-chairman, and director of the Wisconsin State Bar's Tax Section, and as a member of the State Bar's Drafting Committee on Powers, Trusts, and Estates. He has also served on the Eau Claire County Board of Election Canvassers.

In 1960 Barland was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican from the 1st District of Eau Claire County. While in the Legislature he was a member of the Assembly Judiciary, State Affairs, and Taxation Committee, and the Joint Finance Committee. He was also a member of the Temporary Committee on Administrative Branch Reorganization (Kellett Committee); secretary of the Legislative Council Judiciary Committee; vice-chairman of the Legislative Council Taxation Committee; and a member of the Board on Government Operations. He was elected majority caucus chairman in 1963. In 1966, after completing his third term, Barland chose not to run for re-election to the Assembly because of the pressing demands of his private law practice. He returned to Eau Claire, where in 1967 he was appointed County Judge of Eau Claire County by Governor Warren P. Knowles.

In addition to his strenuous legal and political career and his extensive participation in local civic activities, Barland has been both a patron of and a participant in presentations of the Wisconsin Ballet Company. He has also been a member and president of the Board of Curators of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and has served on the Board of Curators' Membership, Legislative, and Executive Committees.

Judge Barland married the former Ann Carlson in 1964 and has one stepson.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 3 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (Mss 35): Original Collection, 1956-1966
• Part 2 (M61-242): Additions, undated
• Part 3 (M2011-074): Additions, 1966-2000

Acquisition Information

Original Collection presented by Thomas H. Barland, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, June 27, 1967. Additions presented by Thomas H. Barland and Gordon Barland, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Accession Number: M61-242, M67-181, M2011-074

Processing Information

Original Collection processed by D. Gisselman, February 12, 1969.

Mss 35	Part 1 (Mss 35): Original Collection, 1956-1966 Physical Description: 4.8 c.f. (12 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note The collection reflects Mr. Barland's career as a state legislator from 1960 to 1966. At his request the original organization and integrity of the papers has been retained. The papers are arranged in two sections: correspondence and subject files. The subject files also contain related correspondence. The correspondence is divided into general and constituent correspondence according to Barland's original organization of his letters. The general correspondence covers a wide variety of topics and provides an insight into the actions and work of the legislature. Much of the general correspondence is with fellow legislators, state governmental officials, and various school administrators. The constituent correspondence includes requests, inquiries, and suggestions from residents of Barland's home district and reflects to a certain extent the needs and desires of that area. Correspondents of note include state Republican chairman Ody Fish, Governor Warren P. Knowles, Bronson La Follette, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, and Congressman Alvin O'Konski. The subject files are essentially Barland's legislative working files. They include correspondence filed under the appropriate subject, drafts of bills, press releases, clippings, and research and reference materials. Many of the subject files reflect Barland's committee work on governmental reorganization and taxation. They also include campaign materials, speeches, publicity, financial records, clippings, and material relating to the Young Republican organization in Eau Claire County and the state Republican party. Letters of note include those of December 3, 1959, from John F. Kennedy in the Young Republican file, and November? 1960 from Richard M. Nixon in the campaign file for 1960.
	Series: Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   1	1960 November-1961 December
Box   1 Folder   2	1962 January-December
Box   1 Folder   3	1963 January-August
Box   1 Folder   4	1963 September-December
Box   1 Folder   5	1964 January-April
Box   2 Folder   1	1964 May-December
Box   2 Folder   2	1965 January-August
Box   2 Folder   3	1965 September-December
Box   2 Folder   4	1966 January-April
Box   2 Folder   5	1966 May-December
	Constituent correspondence
Box   3 Folder   1	1961 January-1962 January
Box   3 Folder   2	1963 February-April
Box   3 Folder   3	1963 April-May
Box   3 Folder   4	1963 May-August
Box   3 Folder   5	1964 November-1965 March
Box   4 Folder   1	1965 March-April
Box   4 Folder   2-3	1965 May
Box   4 Folder   4	1965 June
Box   4 Folder   5	1965 October-November
Box   4 Folder   6	1965 July
Box   4 Folder   7	1966 May
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
Box   5 Folder   1	Barland - Biographical, press releases, 1961-1966
	Campaigns
Box   5 Folder   2	Assembly, 1960
Box   5 Folder   3	Assembly, 1962
Box   5 Folder   4	Assembly, 1962
Box   5 Folder   5	Assembly, 1964
Box   5 Folder   6	1966
Box   5 Folder   7	Kuehn for Governor, 1962
	Legislature
	Aid to Parochial Schools
Box   6 Folder   1	1961 May-November
Box   6 Folder   2	1961 December-1963 June
Box   6 Folder   3	Aeronautics Commission, 1963, 1966
Box   6 Folder   4	Alcohol Problems, 1961 February-December
Box   6 Folder   5	Banks, 1961 October-November
Box   6 Folder   6	Bill and Joint Resolution Drafts, 1961-1965
Box   6 Folder   7	Bills drafted, awaiting introduction, 1965
	Bills
Box   6 Folder   8	1961-1965
Box   6 Folder   9	1965
Box   7 Folder   1	Boating Legislation, Property Tax, 1961
	Budget
Box   7 Folder   2	255A, Sub. 1A, and Subcommittee Reports, 1963
Box   7 Folder   3	Higher education, 1962-1965 Biennium
Box   7 Folder   4	National Guard, 1963-1965 Biennium
Box   7 Folder   5	Segregated funds, 1962-1963
Box   7 Folder   6-8	Taxation Department, 1963-1965 Biennium
Box   7 Folder   9	Budget requests: state agencies, 1963
Box   7 Folder   10	Civil Rights, 1961-1965
Box   8 Folder   1	Conservation, 1961-1963
Box   8 Folder   2	Constitution revision, state and federal, 1963
Box   8 Folder   3	County consolidation, 1962-1965
Box   8 Folder   4	Education, 1961-1965
Box   8 Folder   5	Fair Housing, 1965-1966
	Government reorganization, 1965-1966
Box   8 Folder   6	Agency response
Box   8 Folder   7	Correspondence, charts
Box   8 Folder   8	Recommendations
Box   8 Folder   9	News releases
Box   8 Folder   10	Legislation, reports
Box   9 Folder   1	Central licensing
Box   9 Folder   2	Courts
Box   9 Folder   3-4	Organization and function
Box   9 Folder   5	Subcommittees
Box   9 Folder   6	Temporary Commission - objectives, minutes
Box   9 Folder   7-8	General, 1965-1966
Box   9 Folder   9	Highway legislation, 1961-1963
Box   10 Folder   1	Insurance and banking, 1961-1963
Box   10 Folder   2	Liberty Amendment, Joint Resolution 78, A, 1961-1963
Box   10 Folder   3	Medical legislation, 1961-1962
Box   10 Folder   4	Model Youth Legislature, YMCA, 1964-1966
Box   10 Folder   5	Municipal Labor Law, 1961
Box   10 Folder   6	Municipalities, 1961
Box   10 Folder   7	Professional Corps, 1961
Box   10 Folder   8	REA and private utilities, 1961
Box   10 Folder   9	Railroad “400” Discontinuance, 1961-1963
Box   10 Folder   10	Real estate and brokers, 1961
	Reapportionment
Box   10 Folder   11	1961-1962
Box   11 Folder   1	1961-1962 (continued)
Box   11 Folder   2	1963-1964
Box   11 Folder   3	Release and dismissed time, 1961
Box   11 Folder   4	Salary plans for state officers, 1963
Box   11 Folder   5	State building and indebtedness, 1961-1966
Box   11 Folder   6	State finances and appropriations, Bill 615 S, 1963
Box   11 Folder   7	Sunday closing, 1963
	Tax
Box   11 Folder   8	1961-1966
Box   11 Folder   9	Governor's income tax proposal, Bill 548A, 1963
Box   12 Folder   1-2	Income tax simplification, 1960-1965
Box   12 Folder   3	Sales, 1963
Box   12 Folder   4	Vocational rehabilitation and shelters for the handicapped, 1961-1963
Box   12 Folder   5	Water problems and legislation, 1961
Box   12 Folder   6	Welfare, 1965
Box   12 Folder   7	Wisconsin Civil Service, 1961
Box   12 Folder   8	Wisconsin Retail Merchants Association, 1965
Box   12 Folder   9	Miscellaneous
Box   12 Folder   10	Republican Party, 1960-1962
Box   12 Folder   11	Young Republicans, Eau Claire County, 1956-1960
M61-242	Part 2 (M61-242): Additions, undated Physical Description: 2 tape recordings  Scope and Content Note: Information on Republican tax strategy.	⇧
M2011-074	Part 3 (M2011-074): Additions, 1966-2000 Physical Description: 7.4 c.f. (7 record center cartons and 1 archives box)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1966-2000, consisting of personal, professional and court correspondence, court calendars (1966-1973), case files, Wisconsin Law Alumni Association files (1969-1972), and files relating to the Wisconsin Historical Society and Barland's term as a curator in the mid-1970s. Also included are administrative and budget files for the Eau Claire court system, as well as subject files dealing with such issues as juvenile justice, special verdicts, statistics, and dispute resolution.	⇧
	Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   1-13	1967-1972
Box   2 Folder   3-9	1974-1982
Box   2 Folder   11	1983
Box   3 Folder   2-19	1985-1993
Box   4 Folder   3-15	1994-2000
Box   2 Folder   1-2	Court correspondence, 1973
Box   2 Folder   10	Eau Claire County correspondence, 1977-1989
	Miscellaneous professional correspondence
Box   3 Folder   1	1984
Box   4 Folder   1-2	1993
Box   4 Folder   16-19	Calendars
	Case Files
Box   5 Folder   1	Gamble, et al. v. Eau Claire County
Box   5 Folder   2	John Doe
Box   5 Folder   3	John Doe, 1979 May-1981
Box   5 Folder   4	Matthew Skamfer v. Eau Claire County and Judge Barland
Box   5 Folder   5-7	State v. John Clark, et al.
Box   5 Folder   8	State v. John R. Clark, et al., Case #8-270, Dane County Circuit Court
Box   5 Folder   9	State v. John R. Clark, et al., Case #8-270, Motion to Reconsider
	Wisconsin Historical Society
Box   5 Folder   10	Court and Courthouse history
Box   5 Folder   11-15	General, 1971-1974
Box   5 Folder   16-18	Wisconsin Law Alumni Association, 1969-1972
	Administrative/Financial
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Court Administration
Box   6 Folder   3	Eau Claire County Court Budgets-Expenditures
Box   6 Folder   4	Monthly Traffic and Criminal Court Income
	Subject Files
Box   6 Folder   5	Bond Schedules
Box   6 Folder   6	Carlton/Anderson matter
Box   6 Folder   7	Circuit Judges
Box   6 Folder   8	Coalition for Youth (Juvenile Justice)
Box   6 Folder   9	Condemnation Commissioners appointments, Eau Claire
Box   6 Folder   10	Court correspondence, 1973
Box   6 Folder   11	Court rotation
Box   6 Folder   12-13	Court statistics
Box   6 Folder   14	Courthouse space needs
Box   6 Folder   15-16	Detention and Treatment Facility-Juveniles
Box   6 Folder   17-19	Eau Claire County annual court report, 1981-1982, 1991
Box   6 Folder   20	Eau Claire County Bar
Box   6 Folder   21	Family Court Commissioner
Box   6 Folder   22	Family Court-Divorce statistics
Box   6 Folder   23	Judicial Communication Committee
	Jury Special Verdicts
Box   6 Folder   24-25	Civil
Box   7 Folder   1-3	Civil (continued)
Box   7 Folder   4	Criminal
Box   7 Folder   5	Law Library
Box   7 Folder   6-8	Miscellaneous, 1980s-1999
Box   7 Folder   9	Oaths
Box   7 Folder   10	Old Court Record Inventories
Box   7 Folder   11	Orders of Circuit [Court], Judge Barland Chairman
Box   7 Folder   12	Public Defender
Box   7 Folder   13-14	Refuge House
Box   7 Folder   15	Remodeling
Box   7 Folder   16	Schulz matter, 1996
Box   7 Folder   17	Shelter Care
Box   7 Folder   18	Sister Claire Marie Wick, O.S.F.-Triniteam
Box   7 Folder   19	State Board of Court Judges
Box   7 Folder   20-22	TRY (Dispute Resolution)
Box   8 Folder   1	TRY (Dispute Resolution) (continued)
Box   8 Folder   2	Underground Newspapers
Box   8 Folder   3	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Citizen Advisory Council
Box   8 Folder   4	Villages
Box   8 Folder   5	Wisconsin Council on Criminal Justice