Title: Madeline Dane Ross Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1914-1971

Creator:

• Ross, Madeline Dane, 1902-1972

Call Number: U.S. Mss 127AF; PH 4821; Audio 1579A

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes), 154 photographs and 62 transparencies in 1 archives box, and 1 disc recording

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 Madeline Dane Ross, a journalist, editor, and public relations representative. The collection covers her public relations, editorial, and free-lance work, as well as her personal life and involvement with the Overseas Press Club. Records of her public relations work consist of correspondence, fund-raising appeals, and publicity for the Hudson Guild Settlement House, the Jewish Family Welfare Society, the Guidance Center of the Brooklyn Juvenile Protection Association, and the Human Betterment Association. Files on her editorial work include issues of UNRRA Team News, a periodical for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and related correspondence. Pertaining to her free-lance writing are copies of a few magazine articles and correspondence. The photographs mainly document her time with the Overseas Press Club, as well as research and illustration for her writings.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0127af

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Madeline Dane Ross, journalist and public relations representative, was born January 14, 1902 in Brooklyn, New York. After spending her formative years in Brooklyn and graduating from Cornell University in 1924, Miss Ross attended the New York School of Social Work. With her formal education completed in 1927, she married Claude Markel; they were divorced 11 years later.

Madeline Ross started working in 1928 as a service editor for Delineator Magazine and became managing editor of the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy in 1933. From 1937 to 1944, she was the executive secretary responsible for publicity and fund raising for the Hudson Guild of New York, one of the foremost settlement houses in the United States. During this period, she also worked as financial director for the gubernatorial campaigns of Herbert H. Lehman, taking leaves of absence from the Hudson Guild in both 1936 and 1938.

In 1945, Ross began working with the Jewish Family Welfare Society, but left for Germany during the same year to join the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). While in Germany, she founded and edited Team News, a periodical for UNRRA personnel, and received a citation from the organization for her work. When she returned to the U.S. in 1946, Ross did publicity work for the Guidance Center of the Brooklyn Juvenile Protection Association, and also began freelancing as a journalist.

For many years, Ross was an active member of the Overseas Press Club. She was the executive chairman of the club's Memorial Press Center campaign in 1953, led the club's first membership tour to South America in 1954, continued to coordinate its charter flights for subsequent tours, and served as vice president of the club in 1963. During the 1960s, she also traveled extensively in Europe, where she wrote a variety of freelance travel articles. Madeline Dane Ross died in New York City on April 19, 1972.

The papers of Madeline Dane Ross, which document both her professional career and personal life, have been divided into seven files: Personal Correspondence, Personal Records, Records of Public Relations Work, Editorial Journalism Records, Freelance Journalism Records, Overseas Press Club Records, and Visual Materials. Within each file, the arrangement is generally chronological. The collection also includes one disc recording of a 1958 radio interview with Ross on the George Hamilton Combs show.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE covers the years 1926-1971, but the bulk was written after 1944. Most of the letters are from personal friends. Major correspondents are Madeline Ross' sister, Inez Ross, and Frank S. Adams, a close friend.

The PERSONAL RECORDS file, 1914-1972, includes several issues of The Monitor, a school magazine featuring Ross' childhood writings; a scrapbook of personal memorabilia, mostly from her years at Cornell; credentials, which include passports and press cards; résumés and recommendations; clippings of articles by and about Madeline Ross; posthumous tributes; and miscellaneous items such as guest lists for parties, drawings, and various souvenirs.

RECORDS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS WORK consist of correspondence, fund-raising appeals, and publicity materials from various organizations with which Ross was associated, including the Hudson Guild, 1937-1944; the Jewish Family Welfare Society, 1945; the Guidance Center, 1948; the Brussels World's Fair, 1957-1958; and the Human Betterment Association of America, 1961. Filed under EDITORIAL JOURNALISM, 1933-1947, are a scrapbook of Ross' work at Delineator Magazine, two issues of the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, and issues of UNRRA Team News, as well as correspondence pertaining to that periodical.

The FREELANCE JOURNALISM file is composed of incoming and outgoing correspondence, 1943-1971, the bulk of which was written after 1965; freelance articles, including a series on European flea markets written for TWA; research materials and travel notes; and a file entitled “What Makes Toots Tick” which contains a story of that title and the correspondence which provided the material for the story. The OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB RECORDS file consists of correspondence pertaining to the club from 1955 to 1970; reports and itineraries from club tours; newspaper clippings concerning a 1966 tour to South America; a photocopy of a scrapbook of club activities; clippings from the Overseas Press Bulletin (1955-1971); and records of events, membership and guests.

The VISUAL MATERIALS include photographs and transparencies, the bulk of which are from Ross' freelance work and her time with the Overseas Press Club. Images from her freelance career include images of European flea markets - research and potential illustrations for her TWA articles. The Overseas Press Club photographs are mainly from annual tours taken by the club to various European countries. Additional photographs include images of Ross alone and with others and a small number of publicity photographs related to the various jobs she held. The Scrapbook photographs consist of images removed from a scrapbook of the Overseas Press Club when the scrapbook was photocopied and discarded due to deterioration. There is very little imagery related to Ross' personal life.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Inez D. Ross, New York, New York, July 26, 1972. Accession Number: MCHC72-081

Processing Information

Processed by Jane Pearlmutter (archives intern) and Joanne Hohler, September 27, 1974; by G. Strodthoff and Joanne Hohler, May 2, 1977; and by David Benjamin, July 2011.

U.S. Mss 127AF	Series: Personal Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   1	1926 November-1945 December
Box   1 Folder   2	1946 January-1960 December
Box   1 Folder   3	1961 March-1971 April
	Inez Ross and family (outgoing),
Box   1 Folder   4	1945 July-1946 May
Box   1 Folder   5	1958 November-1959 January
	Frank S. Adams (incoming),
Box   1 Folder   6	1953 February-1961 July
	Series: Personal Records	⇧
Box   1 Folder   7	The Monitor, 1914 January-1916 June
Box   1 Folder   8	Scrapbook, 1921-1936
Box   1 Folder   9	Credentials, circa 1940s-1960s, undated
Box   1 Folder   10	Résumés and recommendations, 1933 September-1958
Box   1 Folder   11	Clippings, 1933 January-1972 March
Box   1 Folder   12	Itineraries, 1958-1967
Box   2 Folder   1	Records of travel expenses, 1958 August-1969 December
Box   2 Folder   2	Guest lists, 1952-1970 November
Box   2 Folder   3	Drawings, undated
Box   2 Folder   4	Miscellaneous memorabilia, circa 1920s-1960s, undated
Box   2 Folder   5	Posthumous tributes, 1972 March
	Series: Records of Public Relations Work	⇧
Box   2 Folder   6	The Hudson Guild, 1937 June-1944 March
Box   2 Folder   7	Jewish Family Welfare Society, 1945, undated
Box   2 Folder   8	The Guidance Center, 1948-1951 December
Box   2 Folder   9	Brussels World's Fair, 1957-1958, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	Human Betterment Association of America, 1959-1961, undated
	Series: Editorial Journalism Records	⇧
Box   2 Folder   11	Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, 1933
Box   2 Folder   12	UNRRA Team News, 1945 October-1946 March
Box   2 Folder   13	UNRRA Team News correspondence, 1945 August-1948 January, undated
Box   5 Folder   1	Delineator scrapbook, 1927-1928
	Series: Freelance Journalism Records	⇧
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   14	1943 April-1952 September
Box   2 Folder   15	1955 February-1965 November
Box   2 Folder   16	1966 March-1969 December
Box   2 Folder   17	1970 January-1971 December
Box   3 Folder   1	Freelance articles, 1943 June-1969, undated
Box   3 Folder   2	TWA “Flea Market” articles, 1968 May
	Research materials
Box   3 Folder   3	Flea markets, circa 1940s-1960s, undated
Box   3 Folder   4	Miscellaneous, circa 1950s-1960s, undated
	Travel notes
Box   3 Folder   5	Flea markets, circa 1950s-1960s, undated
Box   3 Folder   6	Miscellaneous, circa 1950s-1960s, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	“What Makes Toots Tick” - miscellaneous materials, undated
	Series: Overseas Press Club (OPC) Records	⇧
	Correspondence pertaining to OPC
Box   3 Folder   8	1955 April-1963 October
Box   3 Folder   9	1964 February-1966 December
Box   3 Folder   10	1967 January-1970 December
Box   3 Folder   11	Itineraries, 1956 July-1967
Box   4 Folder   1	Tour Reports, 1956 October-1969 September
Box   4 Folder   2	Clippings, South American Tour, 1966 July 24-September 16
Box   4 Folder   3	OPC Events, 1952-1971
Box   4 Folder   4	Membership lists, 1962-1967
Box   4 Folder   5	Guest book, 1957 January-1958 February
	Overseas Press Bulletin
Box   4 Folder   6	1955 May-1959 December
Box   4 Folder   7	1960 January-1962 December
Box   4 Folder   8	1963 January-1965 December
Box   4 Folder   9	1966 April-1967 December
Box   4 Folder   10	1968 January-1971 October
Box   5 Folder   2	Overseas Press Club scrapbook photocopy, 1956-1970 Note: Original photographs at PH 4821 (Box 1, Folder 20).
PH 4821	Series: Visual Materials	⇧
	Madeline Dane Ross
Box   1 Folder   10	Alone
Box   1 Folder   11	With others
Box   1 Folder   9	Personal Correspondence: Frank S. Adams
	Personal Records
Box   1 Folder   19	Cornell University group
	Itineraries, 1958-1967
Box   1 Folder   12	International Conference of Social Work, Asia trip
	Records of Public Relations Work
Box   1 Folder   13	The Guidance Center, 1948
Box   1 Folder   14	Brussels World's Fair, 1957-1958
	Editorial Journalism Records
Box   1 Folder   15	UNRRA Team News
Box   1 Folder   16	Delineator Home Institute
	Freelance Journalism Records
	TWA “Flea Market” articles
Box   1 Folder   1	Belgium
Box   1 Folder   2	England
Box   1 Folder   3	France
Box   1 Folder   4	Greece
Box   1 Folder   5	Italy
Box   1 Folder   6	Netherlands
Box   1 Folder   7	Spain
Box   1 Folder   8	Turkey
	Overseas Press Club Records
Box   1 Folder   17	College Editors Conference, 1960-1961
Box   1 Folder   18	Tours/Event
Box   1 Folder   20	Scrapbook photographs Note: Scrapbook photocopy in U.S. Mss 127AF (Box 5, Folder 2).
Audio 1579A	Series: Audio Recording	⇧
	Disc Recording, 1958 September 12 Physical Description: 10-inch disc, 33 rpm  Scope and Content Note: Interview with Madeline Dane Ross on the George Hamilton Combs show, WBAI-FM, New York City, about her article “Southerners in Brazil” which appeared in The Reporter magazine. Soundcraft Recordings (formerly Disc 123A).