Title: Sarah Campbell Webb Collected Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1957-1976

Creator:

• Webb, Sarah Campbell, 1916-

Call Number: Mss 581

Quantity: 2.8 c.f. (7 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 collected by Sarah Campbell Webb, a Madison, Wis., social worker employed by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, which reflect her participation in associations concerned with family life and adult education. As the community services consultant for southeastern Wisconsin, she coordinated numerous social service groups. In this capacity she collected program announcements, newsletters, clippings, mailing lists, and minutes; and generated her own correspondence and voluminous notes. She also compiled a “resources file” dealing with family problems and community action including bibliographies, catalogs, articles, papers, speeches, and lists of resource persons. The collection documents a variety of community activity and describes contemporary concerns regarding sex education in the schools, divorce, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, and other social issues. Particularly well documented are the Dane County Council on Family Living, the Wisconsin Family Life Association, and the Adult Education Association of Wisconsin.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00581

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Sarah Campbell Webb (1916- ) served as the District Community Consultant for southeast Wisconsin of the Division of Family Services, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services (formerly the Department of Public Welfare) from 1957 to 1969. The daughter of Thomas Luther and Charlese Reid Alexander Campbell, she received a M.A. in Adult Education from the University of Chicago in 1957. In her role as consultant, Sarah Campbell worked with a number of organizations, most of which were concerned with family life. Her particular concern was family life education, for which she compiled a large resources file.

She helped to found and/or acted in an official position in the organizations represented in her papers. Two of these groups comprised primarily of professionals interested in family life: counselors, educators, social workers, physical and mental health workers, and the clergy. The Dane County Council on Family Living (DCCFL) grew out of luncheon discussions of such professionals under the aegis of the Dane County Mental Health Association and the citizens' committee on Family Life Education of the Madison Juvenile Delinquency Prevention study. The Council sponsored group programs and workshops; its purpose was to promote and coordinate family life education in Dane County. This purpose, but on a larger less grassroots scale, was shared by the Wisconsin Family Life Association (WFLA) now known as the Wisconsin Council on Family Relations, an affiliate of the National Council on Family Relations. Further, the WFLA monitored state legislation and worked to coordinate the activities of its agency members. Campbell was also a founder of the Adult Education Association of Wisconsin, an organization of adult educators, founded in 1966. Brief histories of all these organizations are included among their founding documents. Campbell's interests and her work as state contact, resource person and coordinator of groups within her district led to involvement with several other organizations, both state and national. She attended conferences and collected literature of other groups which often inspired similar activity in Wisconsin, such as a conference on “Communication to Build the Future Environment” which led to the formation of the Wisconsin Communication Coalition.

Sarah Campbell married William Webb in 1968 and retired in the early 1970s, but continued her interest and participation in groups concerned with family life education into her retirement. She moved to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, after 1976.

Biographical information on Campbell is also found in Personnel Records of the Department of Public Welfare and Department of Health and Social Services; and in autobiographical notes by Mrs. Webb in Box 1, Folder 1 of this collection.

The records reflect varying degrees of participation in Wisconsin associations--and to a lesser extent national groups and those of other states--which were concerned with social problems ranging from juvenile delinquency to mental health. Sarah Campbell's particular focus was the family and its social role. As community services consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services she collected brochures, mailing lists, newsletters, clippings, correspondence, and minutes and generated her own correspondence and voluminous notes; as a resource contact for these many groups she compiled a “resources file” of bibliographies and catalogs, articles, papers and addresses, and lists of resource persons in the field of family issues. Most of this latter part of the collection concerns family life education, including sex education and family planning; parenting; personal, marital, and family counseling; and documents some of the controversy surrounding sex education in the schools, including material from both “The Movement to Restore Decency” and SIECUS (Sex Information and Education Council of the United States).

The collection also includes material about community organization and social action. Because these documents represent Sarah Campbell's private files rather than the official records of organizations, the association materials are limited by the extent of her participation; for instance, minutes and newsletters are often incomplete. However, the largest file groups--the Wisconsin Family Life Association, the Dane County Council on Family Living, and the Adult Education Association of Wisconsin--are complete enough to give a good idea of the structure, activities, and procedures of these agencies. It must also be remembered that Mrs. Campbell's activities overlapped such that many of her papers could be placed in more than one file. This is especially true of her interest in resources for family life education, both written and human, a concern which can be seen throughout the collection.

The DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE (later DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES) (DPW/DHSS) series includes sporadic records of this Wisconsin state agency. Those records which refer to other organizations are generally found in those series; what remains are documents concerning staff training in community action and leadership, some internal correspondence concerning the structure and function of the Department such as material about its 1968 reorganization, and correspondence dealing with helping organizations plan activities and find resources (see also COLLECTED RESOURCES).

There is some evidence that Campbell was not involved in the DANE COUNTY-FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION/COUNCIL ON FAMILY LIVING organizations until about 1962 and that she received the earlier records from a predecessor. The Dane County Council's minutes are complete to 1964.

The most comprehensive material on any one group is in the WISCONSIN FAMILY LIFE ASSOCIATION series. Not only are Campbell's records present but also included are some of the correspondence files of other officers, originally called “president's files.” Campbell held a number of positions, including president, newsletter editor, and program committee member, and much of her file consists of notes. The newsletters are incomplete and much of the material sent for inclusion has been separated to OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS. Also see COLLECTED RESOURCES for family life education material, particularly newspaper articles about sex education.

Campbell's masters degree was in adult education and she was one of the founders of the ADULT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN. The series includes examples of a recurring element in this collection: materials of prototypes of real or proposed Wisconsin associations. Here, for instance, are descriptions of organizations in Canada and Michigan which among others may have influenced the structure of the AEA-W. The summer conferences were held through the University of Wisconsin School of Education; Campbell helped to plan the 1966 conference.

The OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS series, arranged chronologically within the classifications “Wisconsin” and “Other States and National,” includes papers of many groups, conferences, and activities. Many of these Mrs. Campbell participated in through the Department of Health and Social Services, such as the annual conferences of Governor's Committee on Children and Youth and the Wisconsin Association for Mental Health Leadership Training Institute in which she presented a workshop on “Resources in Family Life Education.” Lists of resources are present in the latter file as well as in the National Council on Family Relations newsletters (“Available from the NCFR”); also see COLLECTED RESOURCES. The WFLA was an association member of the NCFR and some everyday NCFR correspondence can be found in the WFLA “Administrative Correspondence and Notes” files. The most nearly complete file of this series is the “Richland County Family Life Council” folder which includes rough minutes of two years of meetings. Some of the resources mentioned in the DPW/DHSS series are organizational papers in the “Other States and National Organizations” files, such as those of the Minnesota Council on Family Relations.

The sex education controversy in which the WFLA took an interest is documented somewhat in the COLLECTED RESOURCES “Papers, Speeches, and Pamphlets,” and “Articles, Clippings, and Reprints” family life files. Here too are many of the resources referred to in the DPW/DHSS files. Clippings also contain statistical information (divorce rates, etc.) and reports on political activity. Statute excerpts, such as the Wisconsin “Family Code,” are also included. Lists of human resources can be found in the WFLA series. Resource lists used by WFLA, DCCFL, and DPW/DHSS are among the “Lists and Catalogs” materials put out by non-profit agencies as well as commercial publishers, as are lists collected by Aaron Tilton, a family lawyer and a president of WFLA.

A small group of materials which could not be linked with any particular organization are in the MISCELLANY group. Included here are ideas and notes, for instance, plans for a family life center and a description of one proposed in Minnesota. “Ideas” are found throughout the collection; see particularly Campbell's folder within the WISCONSIN FAMILY LIFE ASSOCIATION series.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Sarah Campbell Webb, Madison, Wisconsin, 1980. Accession Number: M80-373

Processing Information

Processed by Sarah Bates and Joanne Hohler, February 1982.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Biographical Material contributed by Mrs. Webb, 1982
	Series: Department of Public Welfare (Later Department of Health and Social Services)	⇧
	Internal correspondence and printed materials
Box   1 Folder   2	Memos, correspondence, brochures, notes, 1968, reorganization material, , 1958, 1964, 1968-1969, undated
Box   1 Folder   3	“Planning responsibilities” conference notes, 1968
Box   1 Folder   4	“Consultant” description and proposal for Family Life Education consultant, 1967, 1968
Box   1 Folder   5-6	Community Organization, Leadership and Planning--workshop handouts and notes, memos, articles, and bibliographies, 1957-1968, undated
	“Resources” file
Box   1 Folder   7	Working papers--“Resources Guide,” “Guide to Communities for Studying the Need for Family Life Education,” drafts, resource lists, papers, and notes, circa 1966
Box   1 Folder   8	“Resources” correspondence, lists, and notes, 1966, 1967-1968, undated
	Series: Dane County - Family Life Education/Council on Family Living	⇧
	County family life programs
Box   1 Folder   9	Madison Delinquency Prevention Study, Family Life Education Committee--minutes, memos, and report, “The Role of Family Life Education in Preventing Juvenile Delinquency,” 1959-1960
Box   1 Folder   9	Family Life Education Workshop--rosters and notes, 1962
Box   1 Folder   9	Dane County Guidance Center, Family Life Education Program--correspondence, brochures, reports, and rosters, 1963-1964
	Council on Family Living
Box   2 Folder   1-2	Planning and organizational papers, minutes, notes, correspondence, brochures, reports, and rosters, 1963-1964
Box   2 Folder   3	Board minutes and announcements, 1963-1964
Box   2 Folder   4	Program and meeting announcements, rough minutes, and handouts including “The Family Living Program of the Dane County Family and Juvenile Court,” 1962-1965, 1968-1971, undated
Box   2 Folder   5-7	Notes, rosters, correspondence, and miscellany, 1962, 1963-1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, undated
Box   2 Folder   8	Evelyn Duvall Day, planning papers and notes, 1964
Box   2 Folder   9	Family Life Education Week, “Elizabeth Force,” planning papers and notes, 1965
Box   2 Folder   10	Annual conference, planning papers, and notes, 1970
	Series: Wisconsin Family Life Association	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Founding documents:correspondence, rosters, minutes, notes, articles of incorporation, and by-laws, 1964-1965
Box   3 Folder   1	Fact sheets, rough history, and resolution, 1964-1965
	Administrative material
	Board of directors
Box   3 Folder   2	Rosters, 1966-1974, undated
Box   3 Folder   2-3	Memos, minutes, and committee reports, 1965-1973, undated
	Correspondence and notes
Box   3 Folder   4	Rita Youmans, 1966-1967, 1971, undated
Box   3 Folder   5	Stanley Robert Rieber, including transcript of Aaron Tilton speech on the legal aspects of sex education in the schools, 1966, 1969-1971, undated
Box   3 Folder   6	Sarah Campbell Webb, 1967-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   7-8	Aaron Tilton, 1971-1973, undated
Box   3 Folder   9	Miscellaneous, 1966-1972, undated
	Newsletters
Box   3 Folder   10	Editor's correspondence and notes, 1967, 1968, 1970, undated
Box   3 Folder   11	Printed copies, 1967-1973
	General membership
Box   3 Folder   12	Announcements, minutes, events, and press releases, 1966-1972, 1975
Box   4 Folder   1	Rosters, mailing and resource lists
Box   4 Folder   2	Governor's Conference on Children and Youth, post-conference luncheon planning papers, 1967
	Series: Adult Education Association of Wisconsin	⇧
	Founding documents
Box   4 Folder   3	“Ad-hoc committee” minutes and correspondence, notes, constitution, and organizational papers, 1965-1966
Box   4 Folder   4	Descriptions, other agencies, 1965
Box   4 Folder   5	Minutes, notes, correspondence, rosters, events, financial reports, 1967-1968, and brochures, , 1966 April-1969, undated
Box   4 Folder   6-7	Summer conferences, Notes and handouts, 1965, 1966
	Series: Other Organizations and Events	⇧
	Wisconsin
Box   4 Folder   8-9	Governor's Committee on Children and Youth Conferences--reports, addresses, notes, papers, and correspondence, 1960, 1965-1970, undated
Box   4 Folder   10	“Wisconsin Community Group” meeting--notes and handout, “Perspectives on Urban Community Development and Community Organization,” 1961 November
Box   4 Folder   11	Parenthood in a Free Nation-Leadership training courses--correspondence, notes, and handouts, 1961, 1963, 1964, undated
Box   4 Folder   12	First Methodist Church-Family Life Education Committee and Parenthood in a Free Nation course, 1963-1964 February
Box   5 Folder   1	Milwaukee Urban League-Community Conference on the Family--brochures, handouts, and recorder's notes, 1964
Box   5 Folder   2	Richland County Family Life Council--history, rough minutes, correspondence, course materials, and notes, 1985-1967, September, undated
	Communication to Build the Future Environment
Box   5 Folder   3	National conference--notes, brochures, and follow-up correspondence, 1968
Box   5 Folder   4	Wisconsin Caucus/Wisconsin Communications Coalition--correspondence, notes, and roster, 1968 November-1969 April, undated
Box   5 Folder   5	Wisconsin Association for Mental Health Leadership Training Institute, “Family Life Education Programs” workshop--leader's notes, handouts, 1969
Box   5 Folder   6	Course, lecture, and conference announcements, 1963-1974, undated
Box   5 Folder   7-8	Newsletters, brochures, minutes, and notes, 1965-1975
	Other States and National Organizations
Box   5 Folder   9-10	National Council on Family Relations--Newsletters, announcements, and correspondence, 1965, 1967-1972, undated
	Parenthood in a Free Nation--see under “Wisconsin”
	Communication to Build the Future Environment (national conference)--see under “Wisconsin”
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Newsletters, brochures, papers, and miscellany, 1965-1976
	Series: Collected Resources	⇧
Box   6 Folder   3	Family life education study guides and materials
	Papers, speeches, and pamphlets
Box   6 Folder   4-6	Family life: health, education, etc.
Box   7 Folder   1	Public welfare and social planning
Box   7 Folder   2	Wisconsin data and statutes, 1963-1969, undated
	Articles--clippings and reprints
Box   7 Folder   2-3	Family Life: health, education, etc., 1963-1973, undated
Box   7 Folder   4	Miscellaneous, 1964, 1969, 1972, undated
Box   7 Folder   5-8	Lists and catalogs
	Series: Miscellany	⇧
Box   7 Folder   9	Ideas, speech notes, “Ideas for a Family Life Education Center” including “Plans for a Proposed Family Life Resources Center in Minnesota,” correspondence, 1967, 1968, undated