Summary Information
James Family Papers
1863-1976
Mss 439
0.8 c.f. (2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of members of several generations of the James family of Richland Center, Wisconsin, especially the daughters of Oscar Briggs and Eloise Fort James: Beulah James (Mrs. Daniels) Young, and Adeline James (Mrs. Fred G.) Cook. Incoming correspondence of Beulah and Daniels Young, 1927-1975, is mostly from Daniels' brother and sister-in-law, Charlie L. and Leota Young, stationed in Egypt in the late 1940s; and from Adeline James Cook as she was dying of cancer in the early 1960s. The largest group of papers are the semi-biographical short stories, both published and manuscript, of Eloise Fort James, dated from 1935 to 1942. Social announcements, notes on genealogy, and newspaper clippings, circa 1900-1976, document the births, deaths, and marriages of family members. A few clippings concern the history of the family hardware store in Richland Center. Family memorabilia are also included, as is a genealogy of the Luke Heard (Hurd) family.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00439 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Members of the James family pioneered in Richland Center, Wisconsin beginning with George H. James. George James had come from New Hampshire in the late 1840's and opened a hardware store, which remained in the family for four generations. George's son, David G. James, had one son, Oscar Briggs (0. B.) James, born to his first wife, Ada Briggs. After Ada's death, David James married her sister, Laura Briggs; they had three daughters: Ada Lois James, Beulah (Mrs. Robert) DeLap, and Vita (Mrs. E. E.) Brindley. For a biography of Ada Lois James see the finding aid on this website which describes her papers.
Scope and Content Note
This collection concerns the history and interests of various members of the James family, especially Beulah (Baby) James Young and Adeline (Jimmy) James Cook, daughters of O. B. and Eloise Fort James. The papers are divided into three series: Correspondence, Writings, and Family History and Memorabilia.
The sparse CORRESPONDENCE of David Goodrich (D. G.) and O. B. James includes letters of recommendation, a letter from University of Wisconsin professor John Brooks to O. B. concerning his daughter's work, and a Civil War letter written at Camp Washburn, Milwaukee, from William G. James. Roughly half of the correspondence of Beulah and her husband Daniels (Dan) Young, is from Dan's brother and sister-in-law, Charlie L. and Leota (Lady) Young, while they were stationed in Egypt in the late 1940's. The other half is from Beulah's sister Adeline, documenting her worsening cancer in the early 1960's.
The WRITINGS include clippings of many of the stories of Eloise Fort James. She was a prolific writer and her work often appeared in the Richland Center Republican Observer and the Four Leaf Clover, a weekly distributed by Clover Farm Stores. Besides plays and short stories, one of her early notebooks contains an account of her family's hardware store, “Forty Years in the Implement Business.” Her manuscript and published short stories seem to be semi-biographical; she drew on her experiences in Louisiana before her marriage to O. B. James, as well as on various family events. Mary James Stark's writings consist of a few local history articles published in The Wisconsin Magazine.
The FAMILY HISTORY AND MEMORABILIA section contains notes on birth dates and wedding dates for members of the James, Cook, Stark, Brindley, Young, and Knadle families, and a six-page genealogy of the Luke Heard (Hurd) family, 1639-1829. Louise Heard was the wife of George H. James. Articles in local newspapers reporting deaths and weddings of various family members form the major portion of the Xeroxed clippings; a few others report the history of the James Hardware Store and the woman's suffrage work of Ada L. James and her father, D. G. James. Also included are a few notes and sorority invitations retained from scrapbooks kept by Adeline and Beulah while they were University of Wisconsin students. A baby book for Mary Alice James, drawings by Teddy Stark (Mary's son), Beulah's Red Cross volunteer certificates, and various programs and catalogs are included in the James and Young folder. Dan Young's army papers consist of memos, orders, and official letters, including a rough draft of his request for release from active duty.
Related Material
See also Ada James Papers (Wis Mss OP).
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Fred Cook, Jr., Poynette, Wisconsin, December 29, 1976. Accession Number: M76-564
Processed by K. Weisman (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, October 6, 1978.
Contents List
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Series: Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
1
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James, David Goodrich (D. G.) and Oscar Briggs (0. B.)--Miscellaneous, 1863-1924
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Young, Daniels (Dan) and Beulah (Baby) James--Incoming
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Box
1
Folder
2-3
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1927-1975
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Box
1
Folder
4
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circa 1961-1965
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Series: Writings
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James, Eloise Fort
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Notebooks, circa 1895
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Box
1
Folder
6-7
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Short Story Manuscripts, circa 1940
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Box
1
Folder
8-9
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Clippings of Published Short Stories, circa 1935-1942
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Fragments, Unidentified Author, and Miscellaneous
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Stark, Mary James, circa 1923
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Series: Family History and Memorabilia
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Announcements and Invitations (social); Notes on Genealogy, 1900-1973
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Clippings (Newspaper), 1900(?)-1976
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Box
2
Folder
5
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James, Adeline (Jimmy)--Scrapbook Items, 1923
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Box
2
Folder
6
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James, Beulah (Baby)--Scrapbook Items, 1923
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Box
2
Folder
7
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James and Young Families, 1900-1961
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Young, Daniels (Dan)--Army Papers, 1942-1945
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