Title: Horace S. Oakley Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1874-1938

Creator:

• Oakley, Horace Sweeney, 1861-1929

Call Number: Mss 417

Quantity: 1.6 c.f. (4 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 Horace S. Oakley, an eminent Chicago lawyer, authority on municipal bonds, classical scholar, and patron of the arts. The collection documents his private life but scarcely touches on his professional work in law. Included are the personal correspondence of both Horace S. Oakley and his half-sister Mary O. Hawley, a subject file on the activities and interests of Oakley's life, a collection of printed material by or about Oakley, and a scrapbook from his student years (1881-1883) at the University of Michigan. The papers collected by Mary O. Hawley, as she continued to maintain contact with her brother's friends and associates, also form a significant part of the collection. The materials document Oakley's lifelong philanthropic interests including his relief work in Macedonia following World War I, his dedication to the arts in Chicago through involvement with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Newberry Library, his interest in archaeology, and his retirement to Florence, Italy.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00417

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Horace Sweeney Oakley, Chicago lawyer, recognized authority on municipal bonds, classical scholar, and patron of the arts, was born in Prescott, Wisconsin, on June 2, 1861 to George McCready and Susan Jane (Sweeney) Oakley. When he was two, the family moved to Chicago where Horace attended public schools. Following graduation from Chicago High School in 1879, he studied law at National University Law School in Washington, D.C. until 1881. From 1881 to 1883, Oakley studied literature at the University of Michigan, where he was an active member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity.

After a “Grand Tour” of Europe, Oakley returned to Chicago to practice law, having been admitted to the Bar of Illinois on November 16, 1883. He obtained desk space in the office of John A.J. Kendig and remained there until 1888 when he established a partnership with Farlan Q. Ball. The firm of Ball and Oakley continued until 1892 when Charles Wood entered the firm and it was henceforth known as Ball, Wood, and Oakley. Ball was elected judge of the Superior Court of Illinois in 1895 but Wood and Oakley remained partners. Gradually, their attention turned entirely to the examination of conditions upon which state, county, and municipal bonds were issued, and to rendering opinions on their legality. They became the foremost authorities in the Midwest on municipal bonds, establishing, in effect, a legal monopoly. No Chicago bank or investment group would underwrite or handle municipal bonds unless approved by the firm. In 1927, both Wood and Oakley retired and dissolved the firm.

During the First World War, Oakley served as deputy commissioner of the American Red Cross in charge of relief and reconstruction in Macedonia. For this work, he received several orders of merit from the Greek and Italian governments including decoration as “Knight Chevalier, Order of the Redeemer of Greece” in 1919. Also, for Col. Edward House, President Woodrow Wilson's private diplomatic adviser, Oakley prepared a collection of data and interpretation on international law regarding the freedom of the seas to be used by the American peace delegation at Versailles.

Oakley's avocational interests reflect his Renaissance character. He was a classical scholar, particularly dedicated to archaeology, a patron of the arts, and an enthusiastic traveller of Italy, Greece, and Turkey. He spent his retirement winters in the hills above Florence in his beloved Villa La Badia.

Oakley was a trustee of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece, and financed the construction of a house at Old Corinth for the use of the faculty and students. He was also a member of the Visiting Committee of the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University. Oakley identified with many of Chicago's outstanding cultural and educational endeavors. He became a member of the board of trustees of the Newberry Library in 1918 and president of the board in 1928, a position he held until his death. In his will, he provided funds for the construction of a music library at Newberry in memory of his mother. He was vice-president of the board of trustees of the Art Institute of Chicago, to which he donated many valuable gifts, and the Chicago Orchestral Association, where his legal expertise proved valuable when settling musicians' labor disputes. Oakley was also director of the Chicago Civic Music Association, an executive member of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, and a one-time president of the Illinois Bar Association.

Horace S. Oakley was a prominent and respected member of Chicago society. He never married. He died at sea, en route to Italy, on December 15, 1929. In his will, he left a bequest to each of the organizations with which he was officially connected. At the time of his death, his closest relative was his half-sister, Mary Oakley Hawley of Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin.

The papers of Horace S. Oakley, 1874-1929, deal primarily with his private life and scarcely touch his professional work in law. Although Oakley's own papers end with his death in December, 1929, the collection continues to 1938. After his death, Oakley's half-sister, Mary Oakley Hawley, continued to correspond with friends, associates, and organizations that were close to her brother and her papers constitute important segments of two series in the collection. The collection has been arranged in four series: Personal Correspondence, Subject File, Printed Material, and a University of Michigan Scrapbook.

The PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE consists of the letters of Horace S. Oakley and Mary O. Hawley and is concerned with social events, mutual friends, travel news, financial advice, and family affairs. Mary Hawley's correspondence, continued after her brother's death, contains many reminiscences about his life written by friends and associates.

The SUBJECT FILE, which is largely correspondence, is arranged alphabetically and deals with specific time periods, activities, interests, and events in Oakley's life. Items in this file which are dated after December 15, 1929, were collected by Mary Hawley. None of the files completely documents Oakley's connection with any of the organizations mentioned. Most of the papers either cover lightly a wide range of years or focus on one particular period of Oakley's association with the organization. However, the papers and letters concerning Oakley's death on board a steamer and his sister's subsequent journey to bring the ashes back to Wisconsin are relatively extensive.

The Florentine villa file includes the papers relating to its purchase and plans for reconstruction. The Forest Hills Cemetery file contains the correspondence of Horace and his sister dealing with the purchase of a family plot, acquisition of the deed of title, and the financial settlement.

In the file of the National Cyclopedia of American Biography are the letters exchanged by Mary Hawley and that firm as they planned a life sketch of Horace Oakley to be published. Mary Hawley's correspondence with Harriet Monroe, editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse and financial reports of the publication constitute the file under that title. Oakley's generosity had helped to establish the magazine in 1912.

PRINTED MATERIAL is arranged alphabetically by the title or descriptive key word. Contained here are the works written by Oakley in both a professional and civic capacity, works written exclusively about him, and printed material that he collected.

The UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCRAPBOOK is a collection of memorabilia, programs, and invitations from Horace Oakley's college years.

The Oakley-Hawley Family Papers, 1870-1951, relate to genealogical studies initiated about 1870 by William Hawley of Malden, Massachusetts and continued by Mary Oakley Hawley and Horace S. Oakley.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Gilbert Doane, Newport, Rhode Island, date unknown (transferred from Lucille Kellar's office to Archives Division, January 16, 1968); and by Mary Oakley Hawley, December 1941.

Processing Information

Processed by Kathleen McDonough (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, November 28, 1977.

	Series: Personal Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Oakley, Horace S., 1881-1929
Box   1 Folder   3	Oakley, Horace S. to Mary O. Hawley, 1912-1929)
Box   1 Folder   4-8	Hawley, Mary 0., 1908-1938
	Series: Subject File	⇧
Box   1 Folder   9	American School of Classical Studies, 1922-1932
Box   2 Folder   1	Army Relief Society, 1931
Box   2 Folder   2	Art Institute of Chicago, 1930-1931
Box   2 Folder   3	Business correspondence regarding Horace S. Oakley, 1930-1931
Box   2 Folder   4	Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1923-1931
Box   2 Folder   5	Death and funeral of Horace S. Oakley, 1929 December - 1930 April
Box   2 Folder   6	Disposition of Oakley estate, 1929-1930
Box   2 Folder   7	Education records, 1874-1881
Box   2 Folder   8	Florentine villa, 1920-1927
Box   2 Folder   9	Forest Hills Cemetery, 1922, 1930
Box   2 Folder   10	Household inventories, 1918, 1919, 1930
Box   2 Folder   11	Manuscripts on early Franciscan missionaries in southern California by Horace S. Oakley, undated
Box   2 Folder   12	Miscellany
Box   2 Folder   13	National Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1930-1933
Box   2 Folder   14	Newberry Library, 1930-1936
Box   2 Folder   15	Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, 1930-1936
Box   3 Folder   1	Red Cross, American and Japanese, 1901-1930
Box   3 Folder   2	Treasury Department employment forms, 1879-1881 (Oakley's appointments)
	Series: Printed Material	⇧
Box   3 Folder   3	Army Relief Society Yearbook, 1930
Box   3 Folder   3	Chicago Literary Club publications, 1895-1899
Box   3 Folder   4	Cliff Dwellers Yearbook, 1924-1925
Box   3 Folder   4	Civic Arts Council - Report of the Committee on Provisional Information
Box   3 Folder   5	Diamond of Psi Upsilon, 1930 (Official publication of the Psi Upsilon fraternity)
Box   3 Folder   5	Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Golden Jubilee Celebration program, 1925
Box   3 Folder   5	Freedom of the Seas: The Sinking of the 'William P. Frye', by Horace S. Oakley, 1918
Box   3 Folder   6	Italian Risorgimento, title pages, from books in Italian, 1875-1910
	Legal briefs from Oakley cases
Box   3 Folder   7	U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 1892, 1910, 1912
Box   3 Folder   7	Circuit Court of Sauk County, 1907
Box   3 Folder   8	U.S. Department of Interior, 1911
Box   3 Folder   8	Briefs, undated
Box   3 Folder   8	Supreme Court of South Dakota, 1921
Box   3 Folder   8	Log of the Orita, 1918 (Forward by Horace S. Oakley)
Box   4 Folder   1	Memorial to Horace S. Oakley by the Miami Conservancy District, 1930
Box   4 Folder   2	Memorial to Horace S. Oakley by the Newberry Library, 1930
Box   4 Folder   2	Municipal Bond Issues, address given by Horace S. Oakley to the Louisiana Bankers Association, 1911
Box   4 Folder   3	Newberry Library, Report of the Trustees, 1928, 1930
Box   4 Folder   3	Passports of Horace S. Oakley, 1921, 1925, 1927
Box   4 Folder   4	Princeton University - Bulletin of the Department of Art and Archaeology; The Annual Visit, October 1927
Box   4 Folder   4	Relief Work in Eastern Macedonia. Chapter II, “The Period of Full Activity” by Horace S. Oakley, 1919
Box   4 Folder   5	Series: Scrapbook of the University of Michigan, 1881-1883	⇧