The records in this collection date from 1808 to 1966, with the bulk of the materials documenting the period from about 1870 to 1960. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence exchanged between family members over this period, but the collection also contains financial records, legal documents and certificates, school papers, professional writings, and photographs. The collection most prominently documents the daily lives and activities of three generations of upper-middle class Wisconsin families. The extensive correspondence between family members over time documents family structure, social activities, courtships and marital relationships, financial concerns, education, travel and recreation, and the cycle of family events such as births, illnesses, celebrations, and deaths over many decades. The materials relating to Daniel Hall also document the political and legislative affairs of Watertown from the 1870s through the 1890s. In order to facilitate researcher use, the materials in this collection have been arranged by family member. The eleven series within the collection are as follows: TITUS HALL, ELIZABETH FLAGLER, DANIEL AND LUCY HALL, ARTHUR HALL, JOSEPHINE A. VIEBAHN, KATHERINE HALL ZIMMERMAN, LUCY A. HALL, JAMES G. ZIMMERMAN, JAMES HALL ZIMMERMAN, GENERAL FAMILY MATERIALS, and VISUAL MATERIALS. These series are arranged in loosely chronological order according to the approximate birth dates of the family members.
The following describes only the series with the greatest bulk and strongest subject documentation; please see the container list for details on series not found here.
The papers of DANIEL AND LUCY HALL serve to document the activities of a prominent upper-middle class Watertown family during the late 1800s. In the earliest series of long-distance letters exchanged between Daniel and Lucy in 1851-1852, Daniel describes his travels in “the west” before he and Lucy married and settled in Watertown. However, the period from about 1853 to 1870 is only documented by the family's financial records. Family events such as Arthur's birth and Daniel's rise to prominence as a lawyer and governmental figure are thus left largely undocumented. The majority of the collection documents Daniel and Lucy's lives from about 1870 through the late 1890s. Much of the incoming correspondence is from relatives; Lucy maintained regular correspondence with several of her eight siblings and many nieces and nephews in New York and elsewhere. Also contained in these papers is a series of Daniel's professional writings, including drafts of speeches given to the citizens of Watertown and to the State Assembly.
The papers of JOSEPHINE A. VIEBAHN are dominated by her letters to Katharine, which span Katharine's years in college from the early 1900s through Josephine's death in 1939. Particularly in the earlier years, the two often corresponded several times a week. Also included in Josephine's papers are letters to Daniel and Lucy while she was traveling, letters to her daughter Lucy when Lucy was in college, and a few letters to James G. Zimmerman. In her letters, Josephine discusses her daily activities such as attendance at lecture series, visiting with friends, trips to Milwaukee, and gardening and other domestic concerns, as well as her thoughts on current events. Her incoming correspondence consists of letters from other relatives, such as her many siblings and nieces, and letters from other friends and acquaintances.
The papers of KATHARINE HALL ZIMMERMAN constitute the most extensive series in the collection. A particular highlight of these papers is the series of letters that Katharine wrote to her parents during her years as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, from 1900 to 1904. This series consists of almost weekly letters in which Katharine describes in great detail both her day-to-day educational and social activities. Letters to her mother make up a large portion of these papers and date from her days as a college student through Josephine's death in 1939. In combination with Josephine's letters to Katharine during these years, the correspondence very effectively documents their relationship over time as well as their respective daily activities. Additionally, Katharine's letters dating from about 1905 to the early 1920s document her experiences as a single, professional woman living in Madison. Katharine's courtship with and years of marriage to James G. Zimmerman, and the struggles they experienced, are also well-documented in these papers.
The papers of JAMES G. ZIMMERMAN include primarily a large series of correspondence to Katharine during their courtship in 1922-1923. These letters document his experience working as an electrical engineer in Milwaukee as well as his work on inventions. Letters written to Katharine following their marriage, as well as many letters written to Josephine during this time, provide evidence of James' trouble with finances and struggles with his inventions. A few incoming letters reflect matters relating to his business life, but the majority of this documentation is contained in the separate collection, James G. Zimmerman Papers, 1875-1941 (Mss 1054).
