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Francis E. Warren papers, 1867-1974

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Warren, Francis E. (Francis Emroy), 1844-1929
Title
Francis E. Warren papers
Dates
1867-1974 (inclusive)
Quantity
125.85 cubic ft. (301 boxes) + artifacts
Collection Number
00013
Summary
Collection includes letterpress books containing political, personal and business correspondence; financial records from most of his businesses; personal, political and business correspondence;, political and personal scrapbooks; clippings; and miscellaneous other material.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Francis E. Warren, a Massachusetts native, emigrated to Wyoming in 1868. He began work in the mercantile business, soon becoming a partner and then owner of several businesses and ranching properties. While increasing his business holdings, Warren became involved in politics and government. He was a governor of the Wyoming Territory and the first governor of the state of Wyoming. He stepped down as governor after being elected one of Wyoming's first United States senators. Warren was a leader in Wyoming politics and business and in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1929.

Francis Emroy Warren was born in Hinsdale, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1844. He attended public schools and Hinsdale Academy. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in Company C, Forty-ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and served as a private and non-commissioned officer. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor "for gallantry on the battlefield at the siege of Port Hudson".

In 1868 Warren emigrated to Wyoming, which was then a part of the Dakota Territory, where he worked in a furniture store for another Massachusetts native, A. R. Converse. By 1871 he became a partner, with the firm's name changing to Converse and Warren. In 1877 he bought Converse out and changed the company's name to F. E. Warren and Company, later Warren Mercantile Company.

In 1883 Warren formed the Warren Live Stock Company which grew to be one of the most important ranching operations in the state, encompassing some 150,000 deeded acres. Warren owned several parcels of real estate in Wyoming and a number of other companies including the Cheyenne and Northern Railroad and the Brush-Swan Electric Company, which provided the first electric power to Cheyenne.

In addition to his business interests, Warren was active in politics. He was a member of the Cheyenne City Council from 1873 to 1874 and was instrumental in securing the first lighting system for Cheyenne. In 1873 he was elected to the Council of the Territorial Assembly, where he served from 1873 to 1874 and from 1884 to 1885. He was council president during his first term.

Warren served as territorial treasurer in 1876, 1879, 1882, and 1884, and as chairman of the Republican Territorial Central Committee. He was elected mayor of Cheyenne in 1885 and was appointed territorial governor of Wyoming by President Chester A. Arthur to fill the unexpired term of William Hale. He took the oath of office February 28, 1885.

During his tenure Warren called for federal troops to protect Chinese workers during the riots in Rock Springs, Wyoming, on September 2, 1885. He also instituted a quarantine on cattle from all states and territories in which a pleuro-pneumonia was thought to have existed. He served as governor until November 11, 1886, when he was removed from office by President Grover Cleveland.

Warren was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1888. He was appointed territorial governor for a second time by President Benjamin Harrison, taking the oath of office April 9, 1889, and serving until October 11, 1890, when he was elected the first governor of the State of Wyoming. He took office on October 11, 1890, and resigned November 24, 1890, after having been elected by the State Legislature as one of the first two U.S. Senators from Wyoming. He served until 1893 and was reelected in 1895 and served until his death in 1929.

From his first term in the Senate, Warren was one of its leaders. Between 1891 and 1893 and 1895 and 1899 he served as chair of the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Public Lands. He worked closely with Wyoming's other senator, Joseph M. Carey, in supporting the Carey Act for the reclamation of public land. Following the passage of this act, Wyoming was the first state to begin the reclamation of arid land. In 1896 Warren offered an amendment to the rivers and harbors bill which provided funding for a survey of rivers in Wyoming and Colorado to determine reservoir sites. Along with Carey, Warren was known as a founding father of irrigation in the West.

Warren served as chair of the Military Affairs Committee from 1905 to 1911. During that period he worked with Secretary of War Elihu Root to reorganize the army, raise military pay, and establish a General Staff. As the ranking minority member prior to World War I, he supported the national defense and the selective service acts.

From 1921 until 1929, Senator Warren was chairman of the Appropriations Committee, one of the most important Senate committees. Here he supported reduced government expenditures and stiffer tariffs, especially those which protected the farm and livestock industries.

At his death on November 24, 1929, in Washington, D.C., Warren had served as Senator for thirty-seven years, the longest service record in the United States Senate to that time.

Francis E. Warren married Helen M. Smith on January 26, 1871, and before her death in 1902 they had two children, Helen Frances (Frankie) and Frederick Emroy. Senator Warren was remarried on June 28, 1911, to Clara LeBaron Morgan.

Helen married General John J. Pershing. Fred E. Warren became vice-president of Warren Live Stock Company in 1913 and replaced his father as president upon his death in 1929. He retained this position until his own death in 1949. Fred Warren was followed by his son Francis Emroy.

To maintain control of his many business interests while away from home, Warren relied heavily on two men. W.W. Gleason was general manager of Warren Live Stock and ran the operation while Warren was in Washington, D.C. Hiram Sapp was Warren's executive secretary and served as liaison between Warren and his companies and acted as a troubleshooter while Warren attended the Senate.

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Content Description

The papers include gubernatorial papers (1885-1892); senatorial papers (1890-1945); the records of: Warren Livestock Company (1884-1957); Guiterman and Warren (1878-1880); Miner and Warren (1878-1883); Post and Warren (1880-1884); Brush-Swan Electric Light Co., Cheyenne City Gas Co., and Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power (1882-1905); Cheyenne Black Hills and Montana Railway Co. (1883-1889); Cheyenne Carriage Co. (1883-1900); Cheyenne Street Railroad Co. (1887-1907); Wyoming Phonograph Co. (1889-1891); Cheyenne Investment Co. (1889-1911); Warren Irrigation Co. (1909-1915); Cheyenne Hotels Co. (1910-1913); Cheyenne Securities Co. (1910-1961); A.R. Converse (1867-1874); Converse and Warren (1874-1878); F.E. Warren Company (1878-1883); F.E. Warren Mercantile Co. (1883-1961); and others. Also included are papers of F.E. Warren's son, Fred E. Warren; correspondence with Francis E. Warren's daughter Helen and son-in-law General John J. Pershing; and one series of papers of W.W. Gleason, manager of the Warren Livestock Company.

Also included are papers of F.E. Warren's son, Fred E. Warren; correspondence with Francis E. Warren's daughter Helen and son-in-law General John J. Pershing; and one series of papers of W.W. Gleason, manager of the Warren Livestock Company.

The Francis E. Warren Papers, 1868-1974, include political, business and personal material. There are letterpress copybooks, financial books, scrapbooks, correspondence and photographs documenting F. E. Warren's political, business and personal life.

Political material includes scrapbooks of F. E. Warren's political life, general correspondence as well as government letterpress copybooks, military affairs and congressional reports. Information on the Johnson County War is included as well as telegrams in code.

The history of Warren Live Stock Company, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is documented in journals, ledgers, and day and cash books, leases and legal and financial material. Includes federal government papers investigating enclosure of public lands and the 1906 fencing case against Warren. W. W. Gleason's personal papers are also included. Much of the correspondence with the company is in telegrams.

F. E. Warren's other business interests are documented in record books and correspondence concerning his many companies. The largest of these, in addition to Warren Live Stock Company, are F. E. Warren Mercantile, Cheyenne Securities Company and Cheyenne Hotel Company, which owned the Plains Hotel and Opera House.

Personal materials include F. E. Warren's correspondence with his son, Fred, first wife, Helen, and other personal and general correspondence. There are estate, legal and financial documents, as well as newspaper clippings and scrapbooks of invitations. Box 19, folder 4, contains papers related to F. E. Warren's decorated service during the Civil War.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Francis E. Warren Papers, Accession Number 00013, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Alternative Forms Available

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~71~71.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Francis E. Warren at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The bulk of the F.E. Warren Collection was given to the American Heritage Center in two groups, the first in 1940 and the second in 1944. Small additions have been made since that time, and preliminary processing was done.

In 1992 the collection was reprocessed by a team of student interns. Material has been organized in groups and series according to original indications wherever possible. Two cubic feet of bills and receipts and one cubic foot of printed material have been separated. The material has been microfilmed for preservation.

In October 1995, a second addendum of materials were donated to the American Heritage Center by Mrs. Paul Smith and Evelyna Smith Herman. This material has been arranged alphabetically. This material has not been microfilmed.

More material for this collection was received from Janet Reed Dodson in July 2020.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Mark Clifford, William Hopkins, Julie Long, Carol Matz, Kimberly Welles, and updated by Alexandra Cardin in June 2022.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Cattle trade-Wyoming.
  • Fences--Law and legislation--Wyoming.
  • Sheep ranches--Wyoming.
  • Teapot Dome Scandal, 1921-1924.

Personal Names

  • Gleason, W. W.
  • Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948.
  • Warren, Frederick E.

Corporate Names

  • A.R. Converse Co.
  • Brush-Swan Electric Light Company.
  • Cheyenne Carriage Company.
  • Cheyenne City Gas Company.
  • Cheyenne Investment Company.
  • Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power.
  • Cheyenne Securities Company.
  • Cheyenne Street Railroad Company.
  • Cheyenne, Black Hills and Montana Railway Company.
  • Converse and Warren.
  • F.E. Warren Company.
  • F.E. Warren Mercantile Company.
  • Guiterman and Warren.
  • Miner and Warren.
  • Post and Warren.
  • Warren Irrigation Company.
  • Warren Livestock Company.
  • Wyoming Photograph Company.
  • Wyoming. Governor (1885-1890: Warren)

Geographical Names

  • Businessmen – United States
  • Politicians – United States
  • Wyoming--Genealogy.
  • Wyoming--History--1890-1918.
  • Wyoming--History--1919-1945.
  • Wyoming--History--1946-
  • Wyoming--History--to 1889.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Letterpress copy books
  • Photographs

Processed by Mark Clifford, William Hopkins, Julie Long, Carol Matz, and Kimberly Welles.
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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