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.
