Title: Albert O. Barton Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1858-1948

Creator:

• Barton, Albert O. (Albert Olaus), 1869-1947

Call Number: Wis Mss OY; PH 163

Quantity: 5.0 cubic feet (25 archives boxes) and 22 photographs

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 Albert O. Barton, a journalist, historian, and participant in the Progressive Party movement in Wisconsin. The papers consist of correspondence, primarily for the years 1916-1947; manuscripts of articles for the Wisconsin Farmer of which Barton was assistant editor; notes on state and local history; and drafts of original stories, poems, and plays. Many letters and notes contain biographical material on Robert M. La Follette Sr., and on the La Follette family. Barton also collected data on other persons of Wisconsin interest, notably John F. Appleby, Ole Bull, Hans C. Heg, Marcus Thrane, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Also present is information on the history of early Madison and Dane County, on soldiers of the Revolution and the War of 1812, on Norwegian settlement in the state, and on old cemetery inscriptions. Included are a few small groups of manuscripts of other persons collected by Barton. Photographs consist of images of Norway collected by Barton, including some made by Axel Lindahl.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000oy

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

During his life, Albert O. Barton, historian, journalist, and political figure, was widely known for his varied interests and activities. A native of Primrose in Dane County, Wisconsin, he grew up on a farm near that of the La Follette family. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1896, he remained for a year of graduate study in history and English, and then traveled to the British Isles.

Upon his return to the United States, he became a newspaper reporter, first in Madison, later in Denver and Cripple Creek, Colorado. Between 1910 and 1912, he served as senate clerk for Robert M. La Follette Sr., and for many years was an enthusiastic participant in the Progressive Party movement in Wisconsin. During World War I, he was director of the State War History Commission. From 1920 to 1929, he was associate editor of the Wisconsin Farmer, a widely circulated farm weekly in the Midwest, and for a period was also chief deputy in the state oil inspection department. After twelve years of service on the Dane County board of supervisors, he was elected register of deeds in 1935, a position he held until his death.

In addition to writing numerous periodical and newspaper articles, usually on some aspect of history in Wisconsin, he published in 1922 La Follette's Winning of Wisconsin, 1894-1904, and collaborated in the preparation of several other Wisconsin volumes.

The Albert O. Barton Papers reflect the many colorful facets of his career. Comprising a large portion of the collection are his files of correspondence, beginning in 1905, but mainly from the years 1916 to 1947. Included are not only incoming letters but also carbon copies of drafts of those which he himself wrote. The topics varied--discussion of many aspects of local and state history, Norwegian settlement in the United States after 1825, contemporary literature, and politics. Many of his correspondents were persons of little or no political fame, some desiring him to publish their poems or stories, some asking for political or financial favors, others furnishing him with recollections or information on early settlements in Wisconsin, particularly those in Dane County. Others were persons of literary or political note--M. M. Quaife, Joseph Schafer, Theodore Blegen, H. R. Holland, Zona Gale, Carl Russell Fish, August Derleth, Philip La Follette, and John J. Blaine. Political topics were frequently discussed in the letters exchanged between the editors of the Wisconsin Farmer and between the members of the staff of the oil inspection department.

A large portion of the collection includes Barton's drafts of articles and his notes, which have been left largely in his own arrangement and organization of topics. Among the most interesting and valuable material is that which he gathered on the life of Robert M. La Follette Sr., and on the La Follette family history. Some of this he had collected for use by Mrs. La Follette in her proposed biography of her husband, and some Barton had hoped to use in another volume of his own. These papers include records of interviews, copies of scarce documents, and correspondence with members of the family. There are, however, few manuscripts by the elder La Follette himself--only an occasional letter and penciled notes for two speeches in Congress about 1910.

Similar in type and organization but smaller in quantity are the notes which Barton collected on other figures--Ella Wheeler Wilcox, John F. Appleby, Ole Bull, Hans C. Heg, and Marcus Thrane. Other groups of notes include interesting and little known information on early Madison and Dane County, a subject on which Barton became a particularly noted authority. There are also data on soldiers of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in Wisconsin, copies of old cemetery inscriptions, and material on Scandinavian settlement in the state. These unbound papers are supplemented by a number of notebooks containing additional records and interviews.

Included also in the papers are a few small groups of contemporary manuscripts: scattered papers of B.W. Suckow, early Madison printer and bookbinder; and correspondence from Ole C. Johnson of Stoughton, who during the Civil War became Lieutenant Colonel of the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and spent time in the Libby Prison.

Typewritten drafts of Barton's contributions to the pages of the Wisconsin Farmer and of many of his other compositions for publication or delivery as radio addresses, copies of original stories, poems, and a play are all found in his papers. Scrapbooks in which he filed chiefly copies of his newspaper column “Old Days” were also preserved.

Photographic images of Norway collected by Barton include views of scenery, harbors, fishing and whaling, and small villages. Also included are images of Laplanders. Sixteen images are from a series of photographs titled “Norge” made by Axel Lindahl. The photographs were made circa 1890.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Barton Estate, 1948; Louis Bridgman, Madison, Wisconsin, 1956; and Walter Bubbert, 1950.

Wis Mss OY	Correspondence
Box   1	1890, 1905-1922
Box   2	1923-1926 March
Box   3	1926 April-1930
Box   4	1931-1947
	Material concerning Robert M. La Follette Sr.
Box   5	La Follette genealogy
Box   5	Primrose and the La Follette family
Box   5	Early life of R.M. La Follette
Box   6	Early data and interviews concerning La Follette
Box   6	As a University of Wisconsin student, 1876-1879?
Box   6	As an orator
Box   6	Senator, 1906-1925
Box   7	Lawyer, 1880-1905
Box   7	Campaigns, 1894, 1896, 1900
Box   7	The years , 1900-1905
Box   7	Voter's notebook, 1902
Box   7	Governor of Wisconsin, 1901-1906
Box   8	The years , 1906-1923
Box   8	Progressives: 1912, 1921, 1926
Box   9	1924 campaign
Box   9	Platforms
Box   9	Barton articles on La Follette
Box   10	Mrs. Belle Case La Follette
Box   10	Material concerning the La Follette family including newspaper clippings, printed material, etc.
Box   11	R.M. La Follette Sr. miscellany
Box   11	La Follette family miscellany including correspondence, interviews, notes, etc.
Box   12	Letters of condolence after death of R.M. La Follette Sr., letters of congratulation concerning R.M. La Follette Jr.'s victory in Senate election
	Collected data on other people and topics
Box   12	Wilcox, Mrs. Ella Wheeler
Box   12	Appleby, John F.
Box   12	Black Hawk
Box   12	Civil War material
Box   12	Suckow, B.W., papers, 1868-1873, and notes by Barton
Box   13	Johnson, Ole C. correspondence Note: Includes letters written in Libby Prison during the Civil War by Johnson, some written in "invisible ink" (possibly onion juice). Related Material: Another letter from Ole C. Johnson while in Libby Prison is cataloged as SC 414.
Box   13	Sterling, John W.
Box   13	Anderson, Rasmus B., correspondence
Box   13	Brown, Charles E., data and an autobiographical sketch
Box   13	Notes, etc. on Madison, Wisconsin
Box   14	Notes, articles, and miscellany on Madison, Wisconsin
Box   14	Dane County, notes on Blue Mounds and Mount Horeb; list of Dane County markers and tablets; notes, articles, miscellany
	Scandinavian material
Box   15	Thrane, Marcus, notes, interviews on
Box   15	Heg, Hans C., material concerning
Box   15	Bull, Ole, material about
Box   15	Muskego, notes on
Box   15	Scandinavians (especially Norwegians) in Wisconsin, notes, articles about, etc.
PH 163	Norway photographs
Wis Mss OY Box   16	Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, data on Wisconsin soldiers
	Wisconsin
Box   16	Notes on churches and cemeteries in Wisconsin
Box   16	Miscellaneous material concerning Wisconsin
Box   17	Barton family material
Box   17	Recollections of and notes on Congress, circa 1910-1911
Box   17	Radio addresses, articles, plays, poetry, etc. by Barton
Box   18	Cards, invitations, receipts, etc.
Box   18	Wisconsin Friends of our Native Landscape papers
Box   18	Tenth Ward Association papers, 1910-1921
Box   18	Miscellaneous material
Box   19	Notes and draft for a History of Dane County by Barton Note: Left as found in the papers.
Box   20-22	Copies of articles, mainly for Wisconsin Farmer columns Note: Subjects are political, educational, historical.
Box   23-24	Notebooks kept by Barton Physical Description: 11 volumes
Box   23	Notebook containing names of persons to whom Simeon Mills' Theory on Combustion was sent Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   24	Poems about horses collected by Barton
Box   24	Index to poems Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   25	Lincoln statue dedication, chiefly 1929 July-September Scope and Content Note: Papers relating to the unveiling and dedication of the Lincoln statue, presented to the city of Freeport, Illinois, by W. T. Rawleigh.