| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | Garfield, James Rudolph |
| Title: | James Rudolph Garfield Papers |
| Dates: | 1879-1909 |
| Extent: | 0.60 linear feet (3 containers) |
| Abstract: | James Rudolph Garfield was the son of United States President James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. He graduated from Williams College and Columbia Law School, and practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, with his brother, Harry Augustus Garfield. James married Helen Newell in 1890. They had four sons; John N., James A., Rudolph, and Newell. He served in the Ohio Senate 1896-1900, and was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to the U.S. Civil Service Commission in 1902, and to the Department of Commerce and Labor, as the first commissioner of Corporations, 1903-1907. He then served as Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior from 1907-1909. He backed Roosevelt's New Progressive Party in 1912, and was defeated as the reform candidate for Ohio governor in 1914. He resumed his Cleveland law practice, became prominent in local Republican politics, and was a member of several civic organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing, and the Cleveland Foundation. The collection consists of three scrapbooks of photographs, mementos, invitations, programs, reprints, family history, correspondence, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, and cards from his college years, early married life, and life in Washington. The scrapbooks also cover the career of Garfield's father-in-law, John Newell, president of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and contain reprints, memorials, and photographs of Poore, Hills, Garfield, Rudolph, and Ballou family members, and of Lawnfield, the Garfield family home in Mentor, Ohio. The scrapbooks provide a picture of Garfield's college life and early career, and of Washington social life during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as cartoon and newspaper commentary of Garfield's activities. |
| MS Number | MS 4573 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
James Rudolph Garfield, (1865-1950) was the son of President James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. He graduated from Williams College and Columbia law school, and practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, with his brother, Harry Augustus Garfield, who later became president of Williams College. James married Helen Newell in 1890. Their four sons were John N., James A., Rudolph, and Newell. James Rudolph Garfield served in the Ohio senate 1896-1900, and was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt to the United States Civil Service Commission in 1902, and to the Department of Commerce and Labor, where as the first Commissioner of Corporations, 1903-1907, he attacked trusts, including Standard Oil. He was Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior from 1907 to 1909, implementing the administration's policies on conservation and American Indian affairs. He backed Roosevelt's New Progressive party in 1912, and was defeated as the reform candidate for Ohio governor in 1914. He resumed his Cleveland law practice, became prominent in local Republican politics, and was a member of several civic organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cleveland Association for Hard of Hearing, and the Cleveland Foundation.
click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for James Rudolph Garfield
The James Rudolph Garfield Papers, 1879-1909, consist of three scrapbooks of photographs, mementos, invitations, programs, reprints, family history, correspondence, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, and cards from his college years, early married life, and life in Washington, D. C.
This collection is of interest to scholars of Garfield and Newell family history, and James Rudolph Garfield's early career. The scrapbooks cover the career of his father-in-law, John Newell, president of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and contain reprints, memorials, and photographs of Poore, Hills, Garfield, Rudolph and Ballou family members, and of Lawnfield, the Garfield family home in Mentor, Ohio, where James and Helen resided. The scrapbooks provide a picture of Garfield's college life, and of Washington social life during Theodore Roosevelt's administration, as well as cartoon and newspaper commentary on Garfield's activities.
None.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4573 James Rudolph Garfield Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Lake County Historical Society, 1988.
Processed by Ann B. Ameling in 1991
James Rudolph Garfield Papers 1879-1909 |
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| Box | |||||||||||
| 1 | Scrapbook, including memorabilia, programs, newspaper clippings, invitations, and photographs of college social life (loose items have been removed to a separate folder in this container) 1879-1890 | ||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 2 | Scrapbook, including invitations, correspondence, greetings, photographs, and programs for social functions in Washington, D. C., including social notes signed by Theodore Roosevelt and members of the "tennis cabinet" 1903-1909 | ||||||||||
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| 3 | Scrapbook, including photographs of Garfield and Newell family members and of Lawnfield, memoirs and reprints for Rudolph, Ballou, Poore and Hills families, newspaper clippings on career and death of John Newell, invitations, political cartoons, programs, and newspaper clippings 1890-1909 | ||||||||||