Title: William H. Markham Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1933-1948

Creator:

• Markham, William H., 1888-1958

Call Number: Oshkosh Mss BT

Quantity: 0.4 c.f. (1 archives box)

Repository:

Housed at the Archives & Area Research Center, Polk Library, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; owned by the 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.

UW-Oshkosh Polk Library / Oshkosh Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Markham, Horicon, Wis., a lawyer and state senator (1928-1934); including information on the Wisconsin Farm-Labor Party, the American Farmers Foundation, milk strike cases, and other farm issues; material on campaigns by Markham and by William H. Dietrich; and other papers.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-osh00bt

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William H. Markham was born in Independence, Wisconsin, on December 13, 1888. After attending Lawrence College and the University of Minnesota, he graduated from the latter in 1911. He was admitted to the Minnesota bar and practiced law in that state until 1913, when he moved to Horicon, Wisconsin. There Markham served as city attorney and alderman before being elected mayor and state senator from the 13th district in 1926. In 1928, he ran for United States Senator against Robert M. La Follette, Jr., as an independent Republican and lost. By 1934 Markham's political views had changed and he made an unsuccessful effort to keep his state senate seat as a progressive. Throughout the thirties he was interested in the rights of farmers and was instrumental in forming the American Farmers Foundation, a group established in 1939 to bring about fair prices for farm products. Markham remained active in Horicon politics, and ran for Dodge County judge in 1938. Markham is also known for his efforts in the preservation of the Horicon Marsh.

The collection contains correspondence, legal papers, speeches, and other materials concerning Markham's political interests, although few of these papers pertain directly to the activities of the offices that he held, nor to his interest in the Horicon Marsh. The papers of W.H. Markham and Co., an investment company that he attempted to form in 1934, include organizational papers and some correspondence. Much of the collection concerns various farmers' rights organizations including the correspondence and platform papers of the Wisconsin Farm-Labor Party, 1934-1935, the legal papers of Milk Strike cases handled by Markham, 1933-1934, and the organizational papers, correspondence, and news releases of the American Farmers Foundation and its finance committee, 1939. Also included are correspondence, speeches, legal papers, and campaign literature from Markham's bid for Dodge County judge in 1939, as well as financial and campaign materials of the William H. Dietrich for Attorney General campaign, which Markham managed in 1946-1947. Correspondence concerning William Markham's brother, John Markham, and his aspirations for a political appointment in 1946, is also included.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Spencer Markham, Princeton, Wisconsin, 1959, 1960. Accession Number: M59-178, M60-203

Processing Information

Processed by Bruce H. Bruemmer and Menzi Behrnd, December 20, 1978.

Box   1 Folder   1	W.H. Markham and Company, 1934
Box   1 Folder   2	Wisconsin Farm-Labor Party, 1934-1935
Box   1 Folder   3	Milk Strike Cases, 1933-1934
	American Farmers Foundation
Box   1 Folder   4	Correspondence, news releases, miscellaneous, 1939
Box   1 Folder   5	Organizational papers, 1939
Box   1 Folder   6	Campaign for Dodge County Judge, 1938
Box   1 Folder   7	William H. Dietrich for Attorney General campaign, 1946-1947
Box   1 Folder   8	John H. Markham papers, 1946
Box   1 Folder   9	Miscellany, 1936-1948