John Goadby Gregory papers, 1846-1946

Author / Creator

Gregory, John Goadby, 1856-1947

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Summary

Papers of Gregory, a Milwaukee journalist, editor, Republican politician, and local historian. The majority of the papers consist of incoming correspondence, mainly to Gregory, with a few drafts of...

Papers of Gregory, a Milwaukee journalist, editor, Republican politician, and local historian. The majority of the papers consist of incoming correspondence, mainly to Gregory, with a few drafts of replies. Letters in the 1850s to Gregory's father, a Milwaukee pioneer and promoter, discuss prospects of the fur trade, Wisconsin land speculations, and proposals to encourage planned immigration to the area from England and Scotland. Letters addressed to William E. Cramer, founder and publisher of the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin, during the latter half of the nineteenth century and letters in 1898 to journalist Alexander Thomson discuss political topics. The collection also includes some correspondence of Mrs. Cramer with Mrs. Lydia Ely, Gaetano Trentanove, and other artists and sculptors. Also in the collection is a photograph of members of the Milwaukee County Historical Society in August 1940.

Gregory's own correspondence reflects the many facets of his long career. Throughout the collection are letters from prominent Milwaukeeans requesting publicity, thanking him for newspaper notices, or mentioning social matters. Among these correspondents are Sherman M. Booth, Paul D. Carpenter, George H. Paul, and George W. Peck. Many letters, sometimes accompanied by programs and reports, concern Gregory's activities in social, professional, and cultural organizations. As a founder of the Parkman Club to further research and writing of the history of the Old Northwest, Gregory corresponded with bibliophile John Thomas Lee. From 1893 to 1923 Gregory received letters on literary work and publications from Milwaukee novelist General Charles King. Among other authors, historians, and publishers represented by one or more letters are Frank Flower, Zona Gale, Harlan Hall, John G. Pyle, Peter Van Vechten, and Amos P. Wilder.

Although he never held office, Gregory was active in local and state politics and served from 1894 to 1904 as a member of the Milwaukee County Republican Committee. In the early 1900s there are several letters from local Stalwart leaders William D. Connor, L.T. Crabtree, and Reinhardt Rahr, discussing anti-La Follette measures. Among the prominent state and national political figures writing to Gregory, Cramer, or Thompson were congressmen Joseph W. Babcock, S.S. Barney, Victor L. Berger, John J. Esch, John Jenkins, Theobald Otjen, and William H. Stafford; United States senators Matthew Hale Carpenter, Timothy O. Howe, John Sherman, and John C. Spooner; Wisconsin governors William Dempster Hoard, Francis E. McGovern, George W. Peck, William R. Taylor, and Cadwallader C. Washburn; and New York governor Horatio Seymour.

After his retirement Gregory devoted more time to his interest in local history. After 1925 his correspondence is concerned mainly with the writing and preparation of materials, the methods employed by a county historian in securing biographical materials, and relationships with publishers. The collection includes some manuscripts of Gregory's writings: an autobiographical sketch, a biographical sketch of Amherst Willoughby Kellogg, and notes and other papers used in the preparation of a biography of Emanuel L. Philipp. Also found in the collection are the memoirs of Esau Johnson, a pioneer in the Wisconsin lead mining region.

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