Title: White and White Law Firm Records
Inclusive Dates: 1920-1947

Creator:

• White and White Law Firm (River Falls, Wis.)

Call Number: River Falls Mss CB

Quantity: 9.8 c.f. (25 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:

Records of the law partnership of Ferris M. White (1862-1940) and his son Kenneth S. (1897-1976), consisting entirely of the firm's legal papers and correspondence with clients, attorneys, witnesses, and others. Most records date from the years 1929 or 1930 to 1939. They are arranged by case numbers, assigned by the law firm, which follow a roughly chronological order. All types of court and non-court work are represented, with probate and civil court matters being the most numerous.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-rf00cb

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The law firm of White and White was composed for many years of the father and son team of Ferris M. and Kenneth S. White. After his father's death, Kenneth White practiced law with John W. Davison, under the name of White and Davison.

Ferris M. White (1862-1940) was born in Prescott, Wisconsin, the son of a local attorney Joseph Spencer White. He was educated in Prescott schools and read law in a local law office. From 1880 to 1886 he operated a farm in Traverse County, Minnesota. In August 1886, he was admitted to the bar at Breckinridge, Minnesota, and practiced in that state for several years. In October 1890, he moved to River Falls, Wisconsin, where he established a law practice. Two years later he married Mary Elizabeth Foster (1867-1934), the daughter of Joel Foster, the first settler in the community. The Whites had three children, Kenneth S., Shirley, and Ruth. In 1921, Ferris M. White was appointed by the state Supreme Court as a member of the Board of Law Examiners and he became the board's chairman in 1927. In addition, he was the city attorney for River Falls for a time, and served as a trustee of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. From 1933 to 1935 he was the Pierce and St. Croix county attorney for the Home Owners' Loan Corporation. Throughout his career he also held other elective and honorific positions.

Although Ferris M. White was a Democrat in politics, his son, Kenneth S., joined the state Republican Party and held several elective and appointive offices. Kenneth (1897-1976) attended the Teachers' College at River Falls and enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School. He served with the Army in France in 1917. After his discharge he continued his law study at the University of Wisconsin. He graduated in 1921 and became a partner in his father's law firm.

Kenneth was district attorney of Pierce County for two terms and for three terms served as a member of the county board. At one time he was president of the St. Croix-Pierce County Bar Association. In 1936, he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention. In that year he was elected as a state senator for Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, and St. Croix counties. While in the state senate he served on the judiciary committee and was active in legislation for improved educational facilities and opportunities in Wisconsin.

Kenneth White also was active in the state's National Guard. In 1940, when it became apparent that the Guard would be called into active service, White did not run for reelection. In October of that year, Lt. Col. White commanded a convoy of Guard members to their encampment in Louisiana. The legal firm was closed during the war after both White and his new partner, Davison, were called into active service. White was released from service in 1944 as a major and battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, 120th Field Artillery of the Guard. Two years later he announced his candidacy for the lieutenant governorship prior to the Republican Party convention at Oshkosh, but the effort was an unsuccessful one.

Kenneth S. White, and his wife, Helen Kyle, had two sons, John Spencer and Charles.

The collection consists entirely of the firm's legal papers and copies of correspondence with clients, attorneys, witnesses, and other interested parties (such as medical experts, and foreign diplomats representing individuals overseas). Most of the records date from the years 1929 or 1930 to 1939. The arrangement has retained White and White's system of filing by case numbers; these were assigned by the firm, and follow a roughly chronological order (with many exceptions, however). The entire chronological arrangement is only approximate, for each year the papers record litigation which began and ended in the given year, or spanned the particular year. For example, cases dated 1935-1937, 1930-1935, and 1934-1936, might be arranged consecutively.

The White and White law firm was involved in all types of legal work, in particular with probate and civil court cases. The firm undertook bill and debt collection; litigation for cities and towns; bankruptcies, especially of banks; guardianships; and foreclosures. Also, some non-court work, such as legal advice and preparation of incorporation papers, was done. Many of the same clients' names appear in more than one file, usually during the probating of estates over many years. Unfortunately the files are listed below only by case number; they are not yet indexed by name.

Other legal, political, and personal papers of Kenneth S. and Ferris M. White may be found in the Kenneth S. White Papers (River Falls Mss J).

Acquisition Information

Presented by Charles E. White, River Falls, Wisconsin, 1974. Accession Number: M74-275

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd, May 1, 1979.

Box   1 Folder   1-19	Cases 695-737
Box   2 Folder   1-22	Cases 740-777
Box   3 Folder   1-17	Cases 778-905
Box   4 Folder   1-20	Cases 907-939
Box   5 Folder   1-21	Cases 943-971
Box   6 Folder   1-23	Cases 973-1007
Box   7 Folder   1-21	Cases 1009-1046
Box   8 Folder   1-30	Cases 1047-1081
Box   9 Folder   1-23	Cases 1082-1105
Box   10 Folder   1-20	Cases 1106-1126
Box   11 Folder   1-37	Cases 1127-1163
Box   12 Folder   1-25	Cases 1170-1196
Box   13 Folder   1-31	Cases 1197-1230
Box   14 Folder   1-14	Cases 1231-1262
Box   15 Folder   1-25	Cases 1262-1285
Box   16 Folder   1-30	Cases 1296-1317
Box   17 Folder   1-29	Cases 1319-1353
Box   18 Folder   1-23	Cases 1354-1377
Box   19 Folder   1-20	Cases 1378-1398
Box   20 Folder   1-22	Cases 1400-1421
Box   21 Folder   1-21	Cases 1422-1445
Box   22 Folder   1-25	Cases 1446-1470
Box   23 Folder   1-22	Cases 1471-1495
Box   24 Folder   1-25	Cases 1496-1523
Box   25 Folder   1-16	Cases 1524-1542