Title: Wharton Family Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1869-1972

Creator:

• Wharton Family

Call Number: River Falls Mss BT

Quantity: 1.8 c.f. (5 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the University Archives and Area Research Center, Chalmer Davee Library, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, ; 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-River Falls, Chalmer Davee Library / River Falls Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers concerning the family of Nathan Barnes Wharton, Ashland, Wisconsin; including concert programs, pupil records, church materials, and memorabilia of Cara Wharton, a musician and music teacher in Ashland and River Falls, Wis. and Minneapolis, Minn.; correspondence, official Naval publications, and memorabilia of N. Earl Wharton concerning his experiences while participating in the peace negotiations ending World War I; and clippings, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other records concerning various family members. The collection also includes autobiographical sketches of Nathan Barnes Wharton and T. Finley Wharton; and a manuscript of a book on the Dionne quintuplets by John F. Coggswell, husband of F. Inez Wharton and a feature writer for the Boston Sunday Post.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf00bt

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Nathan Barnes Wharton was born on May 18, 1844 in Noble County, Ohio. He enlisted in the Union Army at the age of 16 and eventually attained the rank of colonel. On April 27, 1865 he married Amelia Ann Johns (1847-1913). Wharton was a practicing attorney in Ohio and Indiana and later specialized in land law. The Whartons moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota in 1885 and to Ashland, Wisconsin in 1890, where Wharton served as a special agent to the United States Land Office. He died on November 28, 1916.

Nathan and Amelia Wharton had ten children, many of whom had distinguished careers. The papers of the two youngest children, Cara Wharton and N. Earl Wharton constitute the major portion of the collection. Cara (1883-1972) was a musician and music teacher in Ashland, Minneapolis, and River Falls. She was a member of the music faculty at River Falls State College from 1925 until 1953 where she taught piano and organ. After her retirement, Miss Wharton remained active in music organizations and the Methodist Church of River Falls. N. Earl Wharton was born in St. Cloud in 1886 and graduated from Ashland High School in 1905. He was educated at the University of Minnesota, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in engineering. In 1917 Wharton, commissioned as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, was sent to London to supervise the U.S. Navy wireless station. After the armistice ending World War I, he was a member of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, and he served as a personal aide to President Woodrow Wilson until 1919. Wharton later lived in San Marino, California, where he worked as an investment banker and was an active member and officer of the Kiwanis Club. He died sometime between 1955 and 1957.

The remaining children were: James A. (1886-1941), who practiced law in Duluth, Minnesota for 30 years before taking the post of U. S. district attorney in St. Paul. In 1929 he became special assistant to the U. S. attorney general. Alice (b. 1868) taught in the Ashland Public School where she was in charge of the department of music and art. T. Finley (b. 1870) was Ashland city clerk, 1896-1902. He worked for the St. Louis office of Haskin and Sells, an accounting firm, until 1911 when he took the position of comptroller of Deere and Company. He later served as treasurer and assistant to the president of that firm. E. Laure (MacComber) (b. 1872) and Clara (Huotte) (1874-1941), both left Ashland after marriage and resided in Minneapolis. William Irwin (1877-1939) was in business in Ashland until 1910 when he moved east to take a position with Haskin and Sells. He became an associate of a Long Island auto agency before his death. F. Inez (Coggswell) (b. 1879) resided in Massachusetts with her husband, John F. Coggswell (1885-1942), feature writer for the Boston Sunday Post and author of several books about the Dionne quintuplets. Marion (b. 1882) was an accountant in Minneapolis.

The Wharton Family papers are organized into three categories: family papers, papers of Cara Wharton, and papers of N. Earl Wharton. FAMILY PAPERS pertaining to Nathan Barnes Wharton include an autobiographical sketch dictated to his son, Earl Wharton, shortly before Nathan's death; and a notebook containing the outline and manuscript copy of a speech written by the elder Wharton outlining the positions of the Republican, Democratic and Greenback parties on fiscal policy. Also filed in the Family Papers series are letters written by several of Nathan's and Amelia's children to other family members; a scrapbook of clippings focused on marriages, deaths and noteworthy events in the family; one packet of family photographs; an unidentified and undated book of Bible verses and sermons; an autobiographical sketch of T. Finley Wharton, September 9, 1926; five small paintings by Inez Wharton Coggswell; a typescript manuscript of a book about the Dionne quintuplets by John Coggswell; and a handwritten essay written by Marion Wharton for Christmas, 1893, and her grammar book from 1896.

Most of the PAPERS PERTAINING TO CARA WHARTON focus on her career as a musician and music teacher. The pupil records, 1917-1922, contain lists of private students in Ashland and Minneapolis as well as occasional lists of recital programs and social engagements. The concert programs, 1910-1968, include materials from concerts which Miss Wharton attended in New York, Boston, and Minneapolis and a few programs from concerts in which she or her students performed. Memorabilia, 1931-1968, includes several formal invitations, cards and photographs from pupils, and related items. The newspaper clippings, 1897-1969, pertain mainly to family members, acquaintances, teachers, and students. Cara Wharton's personal correspondence is composed almost exclusively of greeting cards and Christmas letters. Her account books consist of a savings account passbook, 1947-1962, and two cash books, 1951-1957, which list income and expenditures. Church records include a sample of pledge cards, church bulletins, newsletters, and church related correspondence from the Methodist Church of River Falls, 1955-1972.

Many of the N. EARL WHARTON PAPERS pertain to his service in the U.S. Navy during World War I. Correspondence, 1917-1922, consists of letters to his family which describe in detail his personal experiences and the progress of peace negotiations. The scrapbook, 1917-1922, contains official naval publications regarding communications; official correspondence; certificates; photographs; clippings; and souvenirs from London, Paris, Italy, and Germany. Similarly, the memorabilia file consists of miscellaneous clippings, photographs, and souvenirs from World War I; and, also, a few items pertaining to Earl's work as an engineer prior to and immediately following World War I. The scrapbook, 1946-1948, contains materials regarding Wharton's activities in the Kiwanis Club.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Cara Wharton, River Falls, Wis., 1971 and 1991. Accession Number: M71-343, M72-283

Processing Information

Processed by Margaret Hedstrom and John Fleckner, September 2, 1976.

	Series: Family Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Nathan B. Wharton, Autobiographical Sketch and Notebook, 1869-1880
Box   1 Folder   2	Letters, 1899-1941
Box   1 Folder   3	Scrapbook, 1897-1951
Box   1 Folder   4	Photographs
Box   1 Folder   5	Bible Verses and Sermons, unidentified, undated
Box   1 Folder   6	T. Finley Wharton, Autobiographical Sketch, September 9, 1926
Box   1 Folder   7	Inez (Wharton) Coggswell, Paintings
Box   1 Folder   8	John F. Coggswell, Manuscript, circa 1935
Box   1 Folder   9	Marion Wharton, Essay, 1893 and Grammer book, , 1896
Box   5 Folder   1	Family Genealogical Data, 1922
	Series: Cara Wharton Papers	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Pupil Records, 1917-1922
Box   2 Folder   2	Concert Programs, 1910-1968
Box   2 Folder   3	Memorabilia, 1931-1968
Box   2 Folder   4	Clippings, 1897-1969
Box   2 Folder   5	Personal Correspondence, 1952-1968
Box   2 Folder   6	Account Books, 1947-1962
Box   2 Folder   7	Church Records, 1955-(1963-1967)-1972
	Series: N. Earl Wharton Papers	⇧
Box   4 Folder   1	High School diploma and Commencement program, 1905
Box   3 Folder   1	Correspondence, 1917-1922
Box   3 Folder   2	Naval Orders, 1917-1919
	Scrapbooks
Box   5 Folder   2	1912-1948
Box   4 Folder   2	1917-1922
Box   3 Folder   4	1946-1948
Box   3 Folder   3	Memorabilia, circa 1913-1923