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M.L. Wilson Papers, 1913-1970

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Wilson, M. L. (Milburn Lincoln), 1885-1969
Title
M.L. Wilson Papers
Dates
1913-1970
Quantity
23 linear feet
Collection Number
Collection 2100, MtBC, us (collection)
Summary
The M.L. Wilson Papers consists of agriculturally-related materials comprises correspondence from 1913 to 1970, biographical materials about Wilson; materials created by others; items on India and Pakistan; Wilson's home office collection; a series on various subjects; pamphlets, which includes many rare items from as far back as 1674; extension publication generated during Wilson's tenure at the Ford Foundation; publications assembled by Wilson which he considered of some interest or importance for extension workers; and various materials gathered during Wilson's tenure at the U.S.D.A.
Repository
Montana State University Library, Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections
Montana State University-Bozeman Library
Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections
P.O. Box 173320
Bozeman, MT
59717-3320
Telephone: 4069944242
Fax: 4069942851
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Biographical Note

Milburn Lincoln Wilson was born in Atlantic, Iowa on 23 October 1885, the son of John Wesley and Mary E. (Magee) Wilson. He received a B.S.A. from Iowa State College, Ames, in 1907 and his M.S. in agricultural economics and rural sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1920. He began his career as a farmer in 1907. He served as Assistant State Agronomist at Montana State College, Bozeman, 1910-12; County Agent in Custer County, Montana, 1912-14; Montana State Extension Agent Leader, 1914-22; and an extension agricultural economist at Montana State College, 1922-24. Between 1924 and 1926 he took charge of the U.S.D.A. division of farm management and cost accounting. During his stint as professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Montana State College, 1926-33, he provided consultation on large-scale wheat farming in the U.S.S.R., 1929. From May 16 to September 1, 1933, Wilson served as the Chief Wheat Production Secretary in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and then moved on to the directorship of the Division of Subsistence Homesteads in the Department of the Interior until June 30, 1934. In 1934, Wilson was appointed the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and in 1937 the Undersecretary of Agriculture until 1 February 1940 when he became the Director of Extension Work at U.S.D.A. While Director, he also filled in as the Chief of Nutrition Programs and in the Production and Marketing Administration between 1943 and 1949. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Farm Economic Association (president, 1925), Epsilon Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Alpha Zeta. He was also a Unitarian and belonged to the Cosmos club. His writings include Farm Relief and the Domestic Allotment Plan (1933) and Democracy Has Roots (1939). Married on December 17, 1913 to Ida Morse from Cromwell, Minnesota, Wilson made his home in Washington, D.C. where he died in October 1969 and is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.

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Content Description

The M.L. Wilson papers have been arranged in 12 series based on the general topical concentration of each series. This collection of agriculturally-related materials comprises correspondence from 1913 to 1970 to, from and by Wilson and others; biographical materials about Wilson; materials created by others; items on India and Pakistan; Wilson's home office collection; a series on various subjects; pamphlets, which includes many rare items from as far back as 1674; extension publication generated during Wilson's tenure at the Ford Foundation; publications assembled by Wilson which he considered of some interest or importance for extension workers; and various materials gathered during Wilson's tenure at the U.S.D.A. Much of the material follows Wilson's original organization thus items do not always appear in alphabetical or chronological order. Photographs have been removed from their original folders, a separation notice was placed in the folder, the folder number in this finding aid was marked with an asterisk, and each photograph placed in Series 12 unless otherwise noted. Wilson's collecting activities for his Lincoln Collection are also included in this collection.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Series 1 Correspondence, 1913-1970

Series 2 Biographical and Other Materials

Series 3 Materials by Others

Series 4 India and Pakistan

Series 5 Home Office Collection, 1935-1971

Series 6 Subjects

Series 7 Pamphlets

Series 8 Extension Publications (Ford Foundation)

Series 9 Publications for Extension Workers

Series 10 USDA

Series 11 Collecting Activities -- Lincoln Collection

Series 12 Photographs

Acquisition Information

Personal papers created or collected by Miilburn Lincoln Wilson were donated to Special Collections by Mr. and Mrs. M. L. Wilson, and their daughter, Virginia Wilson Simons. His Ford Foundation Papers, Collection 1434, and miscellaneous correspondence, Collection 2100, have been incoporated wiht this collection. An inventory of Wilson's Lincoln Collection. An inventory of Wilson's Lincoln Collection appears in Box 57, Folder 51.

Processing Note

This collection was processed 2009 May 6

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Kim Allen Scott, 2009
July 20, 2017

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

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