Title: William H. and Elizabeth Ann Upham Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1934-1946, 1973-1974, undated

Creators:

• Upham, William H., 1916-
• Upham, Elizabeth Ann

Call Number: Mss 985; PH Mss 985; PH Mss 985 (5)

Quantity: 2.4 c.f. (6 archives boxes), 3 photographs, and 2 posters

Repository:

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.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of William H. Upham and his wife Elizabeth (“Betty Ann”, nee Dentz). Upham attended the University of Wisconsin, served in World War II, and ran for governor on the American Party ticket in 1974. Betty Ann attended the University of Wisconsin where she met and married William Upham in 1937. The collection consists of scrapbooks compiled by Betty Ann documenting the Uphams' college years (1934-1941); a diary written by William Upham and letters written by the Uphams during World War II while Upham served as a lieutenant in the Army (1941-1946); and materials including correspondence, speeches, clippings, and campaign brochures and posters from Upham's 1974 gubernatorial bid.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00985

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William H. “Bill” Upham, Jr. was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin, in 1916 to former Wisconsin Governor William H. Upham and Grace Mason Upham. Upham graduated from Marshfield High School in 1934, and then enrolled at the University of Michigan and Milton College before settling at the University of Wisconsin in Madison to study history. Upham graduated in 1938, and subsequently enrolled in Law School at the University of Wisconsin which he attended for two years until the United States entered World War II. Upham married fellow UW student Elizabeth Ann Dentz in 1937.

While pursuing his undergraduate studies, Upham was active in the University's ROTC program where he rose to the rank of lieutenant Because of his ROTC participation, Upham entered service in World War II as a lieutenant. Serving from 1941 to 1946, Upham was stationed first in Iceland with the 5th Infantry Division. He then went to England and served as a General Officer's aide. Upham saw combat with the 90th Division in France and was wounded at St. Lo. He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

After the war, Upham rejoined his wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and started work as a salesman for the Schlitz Brewing Company. Upham remained at Schlitz for seven years, after which he switched to selling life insurance for Northwestern Mutual Life. In 1974, Upham decided to follow in his father's footsteps, and ran for governor on the American Party ticket. The election bid was unsuccessful. After his campaign, Upham continued selling life insurance in Milwaukee.

Elizabeth Ann (Dentz) Upham grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating from high school in 1935, she attended the University of Wisconsin to study French and other European languages. While a student, Elizabeth met Bill Upham and married him in 1937. Elizabeth graduated in 1940 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the recipient of many academic awards.

When Bill entered the service in 1941 Elizabeth moved back to Milwaukee. The Uphams' first child, William H. III, was born in 1942, followed by Monie Elizabeth in 1945, and Darby Kirkland in 1950. During William's 1974 gubernatorial campaign, Elizabeth served as his secretary, and handled the scheduling, billing and correspondence.

This collection covers a variety of subjects and is divided into three series: COLLEGE SCRAPBOOKS, WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS, and GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN. The SCRAPBOOKS document the college years of William and Elizabeth from 1934 to 1941. The WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS consist of a diary kept by William during 1943 and letters between William, Elizabeth, and friends and family during the war. The GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN materials consist of correspondence, campaign brochures, speeches, newspaper clippings and information on issues in which Upham was interested.

The COLLEGE SCRAPBOOKS have been photocopied and partially disassembled to preserve their content. Each scrapbook has been foldered individually and the scrapbooks are arranged in chronological order. The first scrapbook in the series, although undated, covers a wide period of time and contains artwork by William Upham when he was a child, clippings about Upham's father, his mother's remarriage after his father's death and William and Elizabeth's wedding. This scrapbook was first maintained by William's mother and then by Elizabeth. The remaining scrapbooks were all compiled by Elizabeth. These scrapbooks, with the exception of the 1934-1935 scrapbook (compiled before the Uphams met), reflect the interests of Elizabeth and William and contain greeting cards, correspondence, and souvenirs from vacations and events. The scrapbooks offer a picture of student life in the late 1930s at the University of Wisconsin and assist in defining the character and interests of the Uphams. Of particular interest in this series is the large number of wedding announcements and invitations showing the popularity of the couple, as well as many award announcements attesting to the scholastic achievements of the Uphams.

The WORLD WAR II DIARY AND LETTERS make up the bulk of the collection. The diary contains a record of William Upham's daily activities in the service in 1943. During this time, Upham was stationed in Iceland and in England as an officer's aide. The letters are grouped by writer and recipient and arranged chronologically. The first letters in the series are those written by Elizabeth to William from 1941 to 1945. Elizabeth numbered all of her letters, starting at #1 in 1941. Some missing numbers indicate that some letters have been lost. In addition, William often wrote replies to Elizabeth on the backs of her letters and sent them back. These letters are kept with those written by Elizabeth. Following Elizabeth's letters are the letters written by William from 1941 to 1946. Rounding out this series are letters to William from other family members and friends and letters Bill wrote to other family members and friends during the war. These letters offer a rare view into both sides of the war effort during World War II. The struggles of war can be seen not only in William's war letters, but also in Elizabeth's letters from the home front which reflect the hardships of rationing, the nervousness for loved ones and the hardship of raising children alone. This two-sided perspective of war is unusual and well portrayed in these letters.

The GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN materials offer an interesting contrast to the rest of the collection. William Upham ran for Governor of Wisconsin in 1974 on the American Party ticket. The bulk of the material from his campaign is correspondence which is arranged by subject matter and chronologically thereunder. The correspondence is related to campaign funding and election ethics and includes correspondence from fellow American Party members and letters of support from the general public. This series also includes ballot petitions, campaign finance reports, campaign brochures for Upham and other American Party candidates, campaign posters, media coverage, newspaper clippings about Upham and the American Party and information on mental health laws especially pertaining to the case of Hazel Lentz. This series illustrates how a small political campaign was conducted in the 1970s. The American Party has gone relatively unnoticed in Wisconsin, and this series offers a rare view into the party's views and how they found a place in Wisconsin and influenced its political system. A photograph of Upham as a child is included with campaign related photographs.

Acquisition Information

Presented by William H. Upham, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2001. Accession Number: M2002-013

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Rommel, 2002.

Mss 985	Series: College Scrapbooks, 1916-1941
Box   1 Folder   1	1916-1954
Box   1 Folder   2	1934-1935
Box   1 Folder   3	1937-1938
Box   1 Folder   4	1939-1940
Box   1 Folder   5	1940
Box   1 Folder   6	1940-1941
	Series: World War II Diary and Letters, 1940-1946	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Diary, 1943
	Letters from Elizabeth Ann Upham to William H. Upham
Box   2 Folder   2	1941, September
Box   2 Folder   3	1942, April-July
Box   2 Folder   4	1942, August-December
Box   2 Folder   5	1943, January-June
Box   2 Folder   6	1943, July-December
Box   3 Folder   1	1944, January-June
Box   3 Folder   2	1944, July-December
Box   3 Folder   3	1945
	Letters from William H. Upham to Elizabeth Ann Upham
Box   3 Folder   4	1941
Box   3 Folder   5	1942, January-June
Box   3 Folder   6	1942, July-December
Box   4 Folder   1	1943, January-June
Box   4 Folder   2	1943, July-December
Box   4 Folder   3	1944, January-June
Box   4 Folder   4	1944, July-December A letter from William describing being wounded in action by German shrapnel and a Western Union telegram informing Betty Ann of her husband's injuries are available online; click here.
Box   4 Folder   5	1945, January-June
Box   4 Folder   6	1945, July-1946
Box   5 Folder   1	Letters from friends and family to William H. Upham, 1941-1945
Box   5 Folder   2	Letters from William H. Upham to friends and family, 1941-1945
	Series: Gubernatorial Campaign	⇧
	Correspondence
Box   5 Folder   3	General, 1973-1974
Box   5 Folder   4	General, 1974, undated
Box   5 Folder   5	Campaign fund, 1974
Box   5 Folder   6	Campaign contributors, 1974
Box   5 Folder   7	Letters of support, 1974
Box   5 Folder   8	State Ethics Board, 1974
Box   5 Folder   9	Ballot petitions, 1974
Box   6 Folder   1	Campaign finances and reports, 1974
Box   6 Folder   2	Campaign calendar, 1974
PH Mss 985 (5)	Campaign posters, 1974
Mss 985 Box   6 Folder   3	Candidate questionnaires, 1974
Box   6 Folder   4	American Party campaign brochures, 1974
Box   6 Folder   5	Speeches, circa 1974
Box   6 Folder   6	Radio and television coverage, 1974
Box   6 Folder   7	Television debate notes, 1974
Box   6 Folder   8	Letters to the editor, 1974
Box   6 Folder   9	Newspaper clippings - Upham campaign and American Party, 1974
Box   6 Folder   10	Mental health laws - Hazel Lentz case, 1974
PH Mss 985	Photographs
	William H. Upham as a child, undated
	Upham campaign billboards, circa 1974
	George Wallace, undated Physical Description: Autographed