Title: George Gale Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1840-1892

Creator:

• Gale, George, 1816-1868

Call Number: Wis Mss GJ

Quantity: 0.7 cubic feet (3 archives boxes and 1 oversize volume)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Judge Gale of La Crosse and Galesville, Wisconsin. There is a short diary of his journey from New York to Milwaukee and Walworth County in 1841; descriptions of Wisconsin, with emphasis on its geology, written in 1841 and 1844; papers concerning the Monteville and Black River Railroad Company, 1856-1858, and the Mississippi, Black River, and Lake Superior Railroad Company in 1857; Galesville University material, especially during Gale's presidency, 1858-1865; correspondence pertaining to the Upper Mississippi Valley Historical Society of which Gale was the founder and first president in 1863; letters from prominent early residents of La Crosse, Vernon, Jackson, Buffalo, and other counties in west central Wisconsin; letters to his family while an agent for the United States Sanitary Commission in the South, 1863-1864; material concerning the publication and distribution of his publications, Gale Family Records (Galesville, 1866) and The Upper Mississippi (Chicago, 1867); a history of the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indians; a history of Walworth County; other articles and addresses; and some correspondence of his son, William Gale, a lawyer at Winona, Minnesota.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000gj

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The original collection of papers of George Gale are described only in the summary of the entire collection above. Additional papers presented later to the Archives have been interfiled with the original collection but are more completely described in the sentences which follow. These additional papers deal almost entirely with his career after Gale's removal to the town of Galesville which he founded in Trempealeau County about 1855. There is some correspondence on his extensive real estate operations and on his connections with the lumber industry, also on his services as circuit judge from 1857 to 1863. The bulk of his correspondence, however, is for the years 1863 to 1868 during Judge Gale's prolonged absences from home in search of health. Letters to and from his family deal with the management of the many enterprises with which he was concerned, as well as family affairs. For a short time during this period he was agent in the South for the Sanitary Commission.

There are a few letters on local politics, chiefly from adherents of the Democratic Party, and correspondence with persons of prominence in La Crosse, Black River Falls, and other neighboring cities.

Students of cultural history will be interested in the material on Galesville University--minutes of meetings, financial arrangements, applications for positions, and general management of the institution. In June 1863, Judge Gale became the first president of the Upper Mississippi Historical Society, an organization with small but widely scattered membership and boasting a museum and library.

Shortly before his death in 1868 Judge Gale published two volumes--a history of the upper Mississippi valley, dealing principally with the Indian tribes of the region, and a history of the Gale family. Included in the papers are several addresses and articles written by Judge Gale, also some correspondence of his son, William Gale, who became an attorney in Winona, Minnesota.

Acquisition Information

A portion of the collection was presented by A.H. Sanford, October 1925; the remainder was purchased.

Wis Mss GJ Box   1	Memorandum books, 1851-1862 Physical Description: 7 volumes
	Account books
Box   1	1840-1848
Oversize Volume   1	1852-1856
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Articles and addresses The creation narrative of the Ho-Chunk Indians from Box 1, Folder 2 of this collection is available online. An account by a Ho-Chunk warrior of Black Hawk's surrender, also from Box 1, Folder 2 of this collection, is available online.
Box   1 Folder   3	Historical sketch of O-Chunk-o-raw
	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   1	1841 July 16-1855 December 28
Box   2 Folder   2	1856 January 7-1859 December 21
Box   2 Folder   3	1860 January 25-1861 December 18
Box   2 Folder   4	1862
Box   2 Folder   5	1863
Box   3 Folder   1	1864-1865
Box   3 Folder   2	1866-1868 May
Box   3 Folder   3	1868 June-1874
Box   3 Folder   4	1875-1892
Box   3 Folder   5	undated