Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
James Withycombe papers, 1862-1943
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Withycombe, James, 1854-1929
- Title
- James Withycombe papers
- Dates
- 1862-1943 (inclusive)18621943
1883-1919 (bulk)18831919 - Quantity
- 4 cubic feet (9 document cases)
- Collection Number
- Mss 1129
- Summary
- Papers of an Oregon farmer, agronomist, and governor of the state during World War I. Includes political correspondence, farm and livestock records, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station records and accounts, and news clipping files.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
James Withycombe was born in Tavistock, Devonshire, England in 1854. Educated in England, he came to Oregon in 1871 and eventually became a U.S. citizen in 1900. He settled in Hillsboro, Washington County, studied agriculture, and became a recognized agricultural expert. He served as the director of the Oregon Agricultural College's experiment station (later part of Oregon State University) and was credited for introducing alfalfa to Oregon.
In 1914 Withycombe was elected governor of Oregon on the Republican ticket. Serving throughout World War I, he promoted military service and helped the state reach 92 percent of its manpower quota in enlistment. He also organized the state's first military police force, signed a prohibition bill, and established the State Highway Commission in 1917 in an effort to improve Oregon's roads. He was re-elected in 1918 but died the following year from a heart ailment.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Papers include: Correspondence (1918) with Republican committee members, news editors, and supporters of Withycombe's 1918 re-election campaign; farm, sheep and cattle records, as well as Oregon Agricultural College experiment station records (1876-1909); R. A. Carpenter's estate papers (1862-1898); and Withycombe's citizenship records (1900). Papers also include clipping files, 1915-1918, on a variety of subjects, with the bulk related to the 1918 reelection campaign. Correspondents include Edward E. Brodie, John W. Cochran, J. M. Shelley, Thomas H. Tongue, Jr., and Woodrow Wilson.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
James Withycombe papers, Mss 1129, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
Series A: Correspondence
Series B: General Materials
Series C: Bound Volumes
Series D: News Clippings
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series A: CorrespondenceReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1-2 | Correspondence in support of
Chester B. Moores's campaign for Secretary of State |
1916 |
Correspondence regarding
Withycombe's 1918 reelection campaign |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/3 | A |
1918 |
| 1/4 | Ba-Be |
1918 |
| 1/5 | Bi-Bri |
1918 |
| 1/6 | Brodie, E. E. |
1918 |
| 1/7 | Bro-By (except E. E.
Brodie) |
1918 |
| 1/8 | Ca-Cla |
1918 |
| 1/9 | Cochran, John
W. |
1918 |
| 1/10 | Cl-Cus |
1918 |
| 1/11 | Da-De |
1918 |
| 1/12 | Di-Dy |
1918 |
| 1/13 | E |
1918 |
| 1/14 | F |
1918 |
| 1/15 | G |
1918 |
| 2/1 | Ha |
1918-1919 |
| 2/2 | He-Hi |
1918 |
| 2/3 | Ho-Hy |
1918 |
| 2/4 | I |
1918 |
| 2/5 | J |
1918 |
| 2/6 | K |
1918 |
| 2/7 | L |
1918 |
| 2/8 | McA-McC |
1918 |
| 2/9 | McD-McS |
1918 |
| 2/10 | Ma-Mi |
1918 |
| 2/11 | Mo-My |
1918 |
| 2/12 | N |
1918 |
| 2/13 | O |
1918 |
| 2/14 | Pa-Pl |
1918 |
| 2/15 | Po-Py, Q |
1918 |
| 2/16 | Ra-Ri |
1918 |
| 2/17 | Ro-Ry |
1918 |
| 3/1 | Sa-Se |
1918 |
| 3/2 | Shelley, J.
M. |
1918 |
| 3/3 | Sh (except J. M.
Shelley) |
1917-1918 |
| 3/4 | Smith, S. S. |
1918 |
| 3/5 | Si-Sm (except S. S.
Smith) |
1918 |
| 3/6 | Sn-Sy |
1918 |
| 3/7 | Tongue,
Thomas |
1918 |
| 3/8 | T (except Thomas
Tongue) |
1918 |
| 3/9 | U-V |
1918 |
| 3/10 | Wa-We |
1918 |
| 3/11 | Wh-Wi (except
Withycombe) |
1918 |
| 3/12 | Wo-Wy |
1918 |
| 3/13 | Y-Z |
1918 |
| 3/14 | Letters to Withycombe
from his secretary |
1915-1918 |
Series B: General MaterialsReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 3/15 | Campaign records, notes, and
other materials |
1916-1918, undated |
| 3/16 | Family letters |
1900 |
| 3/17 | Other correspondence,
documents, general materials
Includes letter from President Woodrow Wilson, 1916 Aug. 22;
and ex-President William Howard Taft, 1916, Jan. 3.
|
1883-1943 |
| 3/18 | Agricultural awards,
certificates |
1891-1897 |
| 3/19 | Eulogies |
1919 |
Series C: Bound VolumesReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/1 | "R. A. Carpenter's
Book,"
Includes James Withycombe administrator's accounts, estate,
through circa 1898.
|
1862-1880 |
| 4/2 | Cotswald sheep book (James
Withycombe) |
1876-1898 |
| 4/3 | Cattle records |
1891-1902 |
| 4/4 | Account book (James
Withycombe) |
1899-1903 |
| 4/5 | Date book
(appointments) |
1917 |
| 4/6 | "Plot record no. 1, Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station,"
Also includes seed distribution and other accounts through
1909
|
1888-1889 |
| 5/1 | Cash book, Agricultural
Department, Oregon Experiment Station |
1890-1896; 1901-1907 |
| 5/2 | Oregon Agricultural
Experiment Station -- List of visitors, clippings, and ephemera |
circa 1898-1901 |
Series D: Clipping filesReturn to Top
Newspaper clippings in scrapbook form, 1915-1918, from most Oregon and some Washington cities, on following subjects:
- C. T. Haas
- B. K. Lawson
- Oregon Penitentiary. 1915
- Willis C. Hawley
- Patriotic League
- State Highway Commission
- Julius L. Meier
- E. C. Harlow
- Board of Health
- Directory of Unions [1917?]
- Gehlhar, Max
- Girls' Industrial School
- Littlefield, E. V.
- Gantenbein, C. U.
- Fish and Came Commission
- State Fair Board
- Emergency Board.
- Raton, Allen H
- Desert Land Board
- Oregon Defense Council
- Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant
- Consolidation Commission
- Cochran, George
- Clark, E. J.
- Bowlby, H. L.
- Beaver Rivar Power Company
- I. W. W.
- Industrial Accident Commission
- Hughes, Charles Evans
- State Land Board
- Oregon-California Land Gant case
- Liberty Loans
- Olson, Conrad P.
- Grant, F. S.
- Moores, C. B.
- Multnomah County, Or.
- Olcott, Ben W.
- Oregon National Guard
- Oregon Naval Militia
- Grange
- Duffy, T. E. J.
- Wallace, N. G.
- Stanfield, Robert N.
- Anderson, J. E.
- Straub, John
- Mcllary, Charles L.
- Simpson, L. J.
- Pierce, Walter H.
- Daylight Saving Time
- Moser, Gus
- Benson, Simon
- Prohibition
- Spence, C. E.
- Bailey, C H
- Harris, L. T.
- Loyalty Oaths
- West, Oswald
- Western States Water Conference
- Vocational Education Board
- Tax. Limitation Law
- Woman-Suffrage
- Albin, Clarence E.
- Labor Conciliation Board
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Subjects |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/1 | A-B |
1915-1918 |
| 6/2 | C |
1915-1918 |
| 6/3 | Consolidation Commission
(University regents) |
1915-1918 |
| 6/4 | D-E |
1915-1918 |
| 6/5 | F-G |
1915-1918 |
| 6/6 | "Governor Withycombe
personal" |
1915-1918 |
| 7/1 | H |
1915-1918 |
| 7/2 | I-J |
1915-1918 |
| 7/3 | L |
1915-1918 |
| 7/4 | "Labor" |
1917-1918 |
| 7/5 | M-N |
1915-1917 |
| 7/6 | O |
1915-1918 |
| 7/7 | "Oregon-California land
grant case" |
1915-1918 |
| 8/1 | Oregon National
Guard |
1915-1918 |
| 8/2 | P-Q-R |
1915-1918 |
| 8/3 | T-U-V |
1915-1918 |
| 8/4 | W, Y |
1915-1917 |
| 8/5 | "War" |
1917-1918 |
| 8/6 | "Water power" |
1915-1916 |
| 8/7 | General |
1915 |
| 8/8 | General |
1916 |
| 8/9 | General |
1917 |
| 9/1 | General |
1918 Jan.-Mar. |
| 9/2 | General |
1918, Apr. |
| 9/3 | General |
1918, May-Aug. |
| 9/4 | General |
1918, Sept.-Nov. |
| 9/5 | General clippings found
together in one folder
Includes anti-Withycombe campaign literature.
|
1915-1916 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Agricultural experiment stations--Oregon
- Agriculture--Oregon--Experimentation
- British Americans--Oregon
- Cattle--Oregon
- Elections--Oregon.
- Governors--Oregon--Correspondence
- Governors--Oregon--Election
- Oregon--Politics and government--1859-1950
- Sheep--Oregon
Personal Names
- Brodie, Edward E.--Correspondence
- Carpenter, R. A.
- Cochran, John W.--Correspondence
- Shelley, J. M.--Correspondence
- Tongue, Thomas H., Jr.--Correspondence
- Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence
- Withycombe, James, 1854-1919--Correspondence (creator)
Corporate Names
- Oregon State University. Agricultural Experiment Station.
- Republican Party (Or.)
Geographical Names
- Oregon--Politics and government
Form or Genre Terms
- Citizenship papers
- Estate records
- Letters
