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Winter 2005 - 2006 Issue

Volume 89, Number 2

Featured Story
Painting od A.D. Smith, WHS Museum 1942.810

In Search of A.D. Smith: A History Detective's Quest

Author Ruth Dunley, "history detective," tells the story of her search for the elusive A.D. Smith, who has "haunted her" since curiosity about his story gripped her imagination. How did he participate in some of the most important historical events of his time with little notice? In his role Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Smith made American legal history in 1854. His decision in the case of escaped slave, Joshua Glover, was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. As a result, Wisconsin is the only state to ever declare the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 unconstitutional. Despite his accomplishments, however, much of Smith's life has remained a mystery and his historic role in Wisconsin remains largely unknown.


Table of Contents

Where Music Is Not the Devil Enters: Children's Music Instruction in Late Nineteenth-Century Milwaukee (PDF, 463 KB)
by Ann M. Ostendorf
Since such a large percentage of mid-nineteenth century Milwaukeeans were of German heritage, their view toward the role of music in life influenced the climate of the city of Milwaukee as a whole.

In Search of A. D. Smith: A History Detective's Quest (PDF, 458 KB)
by Ruth Dunley

Author Ruth Dunley, "history detective," tells the story of her search for the elusive A.D. Smith, who has "haunted her" since curiosity about his story gripped her imagination. Despite Smith’s accomplishments, his historic role in Wisconsin remains largely unknown.

A Quaker Gentleman's Adventures Abroad: Samuel Marshall’s Trip to Europe and the Middle East 1855 – 1856 (PDF, 810 KB)
by Nancy Marshall Bauer

M & I Bank co-founder, Samuel Marshall, sailed to Europe and the Middle East in 1855. Readers will be transported through time in this lively account of his travels bafsed on his diaries, journal and letters.

The Story of Our Centennial Stamp (PDF, 571 KB)
by John Nondorf

Would-be designers from across the state of Wisconsin entered the Centennial Stamp Design Contest in 1947.

Holding History in Your Hands (PDF, 131KB)
Junior-level competitors create a project and present it at the regional National History Day competition. A visit to the Area Research Center in Green Bay allows the boys to touch and read actual documents from the Wisconsin Historical Society collections, sparking their interest and inspiring their unusual entry

Book Excerpt (PDF, 191KB)
Women’s Wisconsin: From Native Matriarchies to the New Millennium
Edited by Genevieve G. McBride

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