The Wednesday Word: News from the Indiana State Library

State Library Treasures Series: Volume II – Manuscript Collections
By Dawn Lipp (dlipp@statelib.lib.in.us)

Three weeks ago in the Wednesday Word we told you about a treasure of the State Library: the map collection. This week we bring you another treasure: the Library’s 4,300 plus manuscript collections which contain over 3 million manuscripts. Collections date from the earliest years of the state through contemporary times. All 3 million manuscripts have an Indiana connection, whether to a soldier, missionary, church, organization, public official or business. Among the collection’s strengths are Civil War-era letters and diaries, family papers, and the papers of many political figures from the Hoosier state.

The Raymond E. Willis Papers are a great example of a comprehensive collection from a significant Indiana political figure. Born in Waterloo (De Kalb County), Indiana on August 11, 1875, Willis graduated from Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Indiana) in 1896. His primary occupation involved the printing business, even serving as president of the Steuben Printing Company (Steuben Co., Indiana). Most notably, Willis served in the U.S. Senate from January 1941 through January 1947.

The collection contains four boxes mainly of Willis’s original correspondence, including those from his campaigns for U.S. Senator in 1938, 1940, and 1946 and his years as a Senator. It includes mostly political correspondences dealing with campaign materials and political strategy. The collection also includes Willis’s U.S. Senate voting records from 1941-1944.

One particular treasure within the Willis collection was a scrapbook compiled about his 1940 opponent, incumbent Senator Sherman Minton. Minton was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals soon after losing his bid for reelection in 1940. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman promoted Minton to Justice of the United States Supreme Court, where he served until his retirement in October of 1956.

This collection and more is waiting for you. Online finding guides can help you find what you are looking for. Finding guides, which are updated monthly, are available at http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/isl/indiana/manuscripts/fa_index/faid_index/all_collections.html#alpha.

For more information about the Library, please visit us in downtown Indianapolis or online at www.statelib.lib.in.us.