Title: John L. Gillin Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1926-1949

Creator:

• Gillin, John Lewis, 1871-1958

Call Number: Wis Mss VF

Quantity: 8.2 c.f. (21 archives boxes)

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 John L. Gillin, a University of Wisconsin professor, author, and consultant in the field of sociology, known particularly for his studies of penal systems and criminology. The collection includes several hundred letters concerned with these subjects, 1927-1949; notes made during his observations of foreign prison systems, 1927-1940; unpublished manuscripts for his autobiography; and three unpublished works on social maladjustment. The bulk of the collection, however, is composed of the case files of criminals compiled by Gillin and his assistants at the Wisconsin State Prison at Waupun from 1930 to 1935, which were the basic research sources used in his publication The Wisconsin Prisoner (1936).

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000vf

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John L. Gillin was born in Hudson, Iowa, on October 12, 1871, the son of Samuel B. and Anna L. Gillin. He received his A.B. degree from Grinnell College in 1895, and his B.D. from Union Theological Seminary in 1904, his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1906, and his LL.D. from Grinnell College in 1930.

From 1905 to 1907, Mr. Gillin was professor of the social sciences and President of Ashland College, Ashland, Ohio. He served as associate professor and professor of economics and sociology at the University of Iowa, 1907-1912. From 1912 to 1942, Professor Gillin was associate professor, professor, and chairman in the department of sociology and anthropology at the University of Wisconsin. After nine years of active retirement, Professor Gillin rejoined the University of Wisconsin faculty in 1951 to teach seminars under a special program, and also took an active interest in programs for the aged. In addition to these academic posts, Professor Gillin served as Director of Civilian Relief in the Central Division of the American Red Cross, 1918-1919; as Chairman of the Research Committee of the American Sociological Society, 1918-1923; as National Director of Education for the American Red Cross, 1921-1922; as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Crime of the Social Science Research Council, 1925-1928; as President of the American Sociological Society, 1926-1927; and as a member of the State of Wisconsin Pardon Board, 1936-1938. Professor Gillin was also a member of many welfare and charitable organizations in Wisconsin.

Among Mr. Gillin's publications are: Outlines of Sociology, 1915; Poverty and Dependency, 1921; Criminology and Penology, 1925; Taming the Criminal, 1931; Social Pathology, 1933; and The Wisconsin Prisoner, 1936. He also contributed many articles to journals of sociology and criminology, and engaged in researches and surveys. Professor Gillin studied penal systems in other parts of the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.

Mr. Gillin married Etta Shaffner in 1897. She died in 1944, leaving her husband and one son, John P. Gillin, now Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1946, Professor Gillin married Mary W. McCutcheon. He died in 1958 at the age of 87.

The correspondence in the Gillin Papers dates October 1927-June 1949 and primarily deals with matters of criminology or penology. Of special note is a group of letters written by Mr. Gillin in 1928 to his wife while he was on a trip around the world studying prison systems in other countries. Single letters worthy of mention are from John J. Blaine, Clarence Darrow, and J. Edgar Hoover.

In addition to the letters the collection contains articles written by Gillin from his observations of foreign prison systems, a report of sources of information for the study of effects of prohibition, and unpublished manuscripts of Gillin's autobiography and three sociology texts.

By far the greatest part of the collection is, however, the original files of case histories of criminals compiled by Gillin and his assistants at the State Prison at Waupun, Wisconsin, 1930-1935. These files have been left almost as they were used by Gillin in the preparation of his book, The Wisconsin Prisoner. Offenses are arranged alphabetically, ranging from assault and robbery to statutory rape, and offenders are arranged alphabetically by name within each offense. Each offender's file contains long reports on his family, environment before confinement, comparison with a brother if possible, contacts for further information, detailed descriptions of the particular offense, and sometimes, a long autobiography by the prisoner. The autobiographies, when they do appear, are generally very detailed.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives also has a large collection of John L. Gillin papers. For a description of the UW-Archives collection see the Wisconsin Historical Society's “collections file” under Gillin, John.

Acquisition Information

Presented by John L. Gillin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1957, and John P. Gillin, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1959 and 1961.

	Series: Correspondence
Box   1	1927 October - 1941 June
Box   2	1941 July - 1949 June
	Series: Writings	⇧
Box   2	Notes and articles on foreign prison systems, 1927-1940
Box   2	Report of the Committee on Sources of Information Concerning the Operation of the Eighteenth Amendment, August 12, 1926
Box   2	Manuscript of Gillin's autobiography
Box   3-4	Manuscript of The Sociology of Maladjustment: Personal and Social
Box   4	Manuscript of Insecurity in Modern Society
Box   5	Manuscript of Theories of Personal and Social Maladjustment
	Series: Waupun Study	⇧
Box   5	Calculations of differences in treating prisoners and lists of prisoners studied
	Case histories
	Assault and robbery
Box   5	Achtor-Basford
Box   6-7	Baurain-Stocki
Box   8	Stout-Zierfuss
	Bank robbers
Box   8	Appell-Heath
Box   9	Henning-Yunk
Box   10	Breaking and entering: Allen-Tomlin
	Burglary
Box   10	Becker-Burke
Box   11	Burke-Wojt
	Embezzlers
Box   11	Allaby-Henze
Box   12	Irvine-Wille
	Forgery
Box   12	Ammerman-Herman
Box   13	Horton-Taldron
	Incest
Box   13	Andres-Jezerski
Box   14	King-Zmudienski
Box   15	Larceny: Alberts-Zunter
	Murder
Box   15	Anderson-Beauregard
Box   16-18	Biederman-Tompkins
Box   19	Wallis-Zurey
Box   19	Rape (forced): Antosh-Vandrise
	Sodomy
Box   19	Ahmed-Kelland
Box   20	Langlois-Wreczo
	Statutory rape
Box   20	Baker-Dull
Box   21	Gensler-Zarzyck
Box   21	Miscellaneous cases