Published Government Documents
This article originally appeared in Exchange,
a newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society. (Volume 28, Number 4, Autumn 1986)
It is the fourth in a series of articles
titled Researching
Community History. The series highlights
the Society's resources available to local
historians. It was written by Tim
Ericson, assistant library director for
archives and special collections at the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Community historians often have a difficult time finding new information pertaining to the early years of the village, township or county they are interested in writing about. Frequently they must rely upon previously published histories for the majority of their information, but for another excellent historical resource, think about all the different ways that government influences our lives. At the local, county, and state level there are hundreds of agencies that deal with matters relating to business and manufacturing, public health, taxation, law enforcement, general welfare, agriculture, and a host of other responsibilities. In the process of performing these duties, government agencies collect an enormous amount of statistical and narrative data.
Government has been an information gatherer
to some extent throughout Wisconsin's history.
The information collected over the years and
now preserved at the Wisconsin Historical Society,
can tell community historians a great deal
about life in Wisconsin from the earliest days
of settlement.
Although original government records are preserved
in the Society's Archives,
a surprising number have been compiled, analyzed
and published over
the years. They appear in the form of histories,
proceedings, catalogs, and annual reports of
the government agencies that produced them.
This article will focus upon some of the published
government records that contain information
relating to individual communities. The publications
mentioned in this article occasionally are
available in public libraries and certain government
documents depositories around the state. But
the most complete collection is located in
the Society
library's government documents area.
Several of these government publications do
not need much description because they are
already well known and widely available. The
Wisconsin Blue Book, for example,
contains some excellent community history data,
especially relating to population, voting patterns,
newspapers, and biographical information on
locally elected state officials. Likewise, Printed
Proceedings of the County Board of Supervisors,
published annually in pamphlet form under the
provisions of Wisconsin Laws of
1901, and the Supervisor
of Assessments' Annual Statistical Report,
also published annually under the Wisconsin
Laws of 1905, include information
pertaining to road and bridge construction,
local crop production, and farm animals. However,
these resources only scratch the surface of
the information available for historical research
in government publications.
The published reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1883-1910) are an excellent community history resource. Each year the Bureau sent inspectors throughout Wisconsin to check on factories, bakeries, newspaper offices, hotels and other types of businesses where there was a concern for public safety. Each report contains the compiled results of these inspections. The result is a body of information on thousands of individual Wisconsin businesses, organized by community and containing such information as the number and construction of buildings, the type of power used, the size and composition of the work force, and the year of founding.
For certain years the Bureau of Labor Statistics
also conducted "man-on-the-street" interviews
with Wisconsinites in order to get their opinions
on questions relating to working conditions,
labor unions, child labor, immigration and
other topics pertaining to the workplace. These
interviews also have been published, with the
respondents identified by occupation and community.
A typical example from the 1887-88 report asked, "Does
immigration injure your trade? If so, in what
manner, and to what extent?" A blacksmith from
Hudson responded, "Yes;
because immigrants work for almost nothing
and seem to be able to live on wind — something
which I cannot do." A boxmaker from Milwaukee
agreed, and said, "To illustrate the effect of
immigration upon our trade, I will say that if
we should demand an increase in wages and in
order to secure it strike for a half a day, we
would find the shop full of immigrants the next
morning." Responses to these and other questions
may help to explain a great deal about attitudes,
working conditions and other aspects of life
in late 19th-century Wisconsin communities.
The bureau also compiled information about
blacksmiths, carriage and harness makers, millers,
coopers, carpenters, stone masons, and other
professions. Data included average wages (for
example, carpenters in 1900 made from $1.50-$3
daily), nationalities, working conditions,
periods of employment, common illnesses or
injuries, the ages at which they entered their
trades, and even what trade they would recommend
for a boy!
Finally the Bureau undertook several fascinating studies relating to housing conditions in particular Wisconsin communities. The following excerpt from a 1909 Eau Claire report indicates that the problems we commonly associate with large cities were also present in smaller communities.
"The keeping of horses, cattle and chickens
within the crowded wards is a serious problem.
[In one location] on First Avenue [there
were] three lots [where] in addition to four
families of 27 persons, there were six cows,
four horses and over 100 chickens. [E]ach
rear yard contains in addition to its barn,
chicken coops and earth closets a well from
which the families secure drinking water.
There are no sewer connections or provisions
for disposal of garbage.
There has been considerable sickness in
the past summer and fall especially in the
ninth and 10th wards. Smallpox, scarlet
fever, and spinal meningitis were spreading
at the time of inspection, and the quarantined
families were too ignorant or wilful to strictly
observe such quarantine."
The concern for health and sanitation was echoed by government officials from rural areas also. County Health Officer E. L. Boothby from Hammond, St. Croix County, reported in 1886 that, "not one cent has been expended for sanitary work. Privy vaults, which are in a filthy condition, are the special unsanitary things here. There has been [much] disease here, much of which is among children from two to six years old." His remarks along with those of physicians from throughout Wisconsin are preserved in another interesting series: the published annual report of the State Board of Health (beginning in 1876).
Information pertaining to law enforcement, county institutions such as jails, and poor-houses (or county farms) can be difficult to locate--unless one looks in the annual reports of the Wisconsin State Board of Charities and Reform (1871-1890). These include detailed summaries of county institutions. One inspector reported about the La Crosse City Lock Up in 1871: "... a more dismal, uncomfortable and unhealthy place than this hall can hardly be conceived. Completely underground, no ventilation, but dim light, damp, mouldy, with a foul smell from the privy, with water standing on the floor." The reports also tell about the number, nativity, and reasons that people were confined. Some included interesting details about the day to day routine of confinement. The state official who inspected the Dodge County poor-house in 1871 even detailed the standard meals served:
"Breakfast - Meat, vegetables and coffee
Dinner - Meat, vegetables and sometimes soup
Supper - Bread or pudding, and molasses and tea"
During the previous century when most Wisconsinites were involved in agriculture, it is important to know something about farming practices of the time. The Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society (1851-1896) are an excellent source of information for this. The following 1852 account illustrates some differences in dairy farming and the attitude toward it:
"While I never considered Wisconsin to be
preeminently a dairying state, there are many
portions well adapted to the business. [However]
at the present time too many of our farmers
keeping from two to six cows do not even make
butter enough for the family use. They suffer
their cows to range over the country during
the summer, and ... waste one-third of their
time hunting after cows that have strayed
into the woods or onto the prairies."
Additional information about county and local agricultural organizations and county fairs will be of equal interest to community historians. The following 1852 account, for example, indicates that the formation of the Jefferson and Dodge County Agricultural Society was accomplished without the usual fanfare:
"At the [organizational] meeting the attendance
was meagre. Some four or five farmers appeared
from Dodge County and about the same number
of mechanics, merchants and manufacturers from
Watertown. Those who had been active in getting
up the meeting were almost discouraged by the
indifference which, it was but too apparent,
was felt by those most deeply interested. Nevertheless,
it was determined to form an association to
be known and designated as the Jefferson and
Dodge County Agricultural Association."
Several similar agriculturally related organizations,
including the Wisconsin Dairymens Association
(1874-1916), the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association
(1897-1952), The Southern Wisconsin Cheesemakers
Association (1905-1928), the Northern Wisconsin
Agricultural and Mechanics Association (1870-1887)
and the Wisconsin Cranberry Growers Association
(1889-1936) all have similar published reports
with information — especially during
the early years — that will be of interest
to community historians.
The wealth of published government and organizational
records and proceedings in the Society Library
can add new perspectives to the research and
writing of local history. The next article
in this series will continue to survey these
resources by examining Civil War and other
military records and published information
on doctors, dentists, and other professionals. |
