-------------------------------------------------------------

**THIS VERSION PROVIDED FOR SEARCHING/INDEXING ONLY**
A more fully navigable version is available at
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003043

-------------------------------------------------------------

                           James Rudolph Garfield

            A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress


                         Prepared by Kate Stewart
                       Revised by Nan Thompson Ernst

                                    1997

                 Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

                              Washington, D.C.

       Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

                Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress
                         Manuscript Division, 2003

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Collection Summary

Title:    Papers of James Rudolph Garfield , 1879 - 1950 (bulk 1890 - 1932
)
ID No.:    MSS21964
Creator: Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865-1950
Extent:    70,000 items ; 244 containers ; 98 linear feet
Repository:    Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract:    Attorney and secretary of the interior. Diaries,
correspondence, family papers, legal documents, and business and political
records relating primarily to Garfield's business concerns and public
service.

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of
person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and
listed alphabetically therein.

Names:

Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865-1950
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937--Correspondence
Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922--Correspondence
Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933--Correspondence
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881--Family
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923--Correspondence
Howe, Frederic Clemson, 1867-1940--Correspondence
Hunt, Gaillard, 1862-1924--Correspondence
Jusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules), 1855-1932--Correspondence
Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946--Correspondence
Roosevelt, Edith Kermit Carow, 1861-1948--Correspondence
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--Correspondence
Rowe, L. S. (Leo Stanton), 1871-1946--Correspondence
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence
Wood, Leonard, 1860-1927--Correspondence
Academy of Political Science (U.S.)
National Conservation Association (U.S.)
Ohio. General Assembly. Senate
Progressive Party (1912)
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
Roosevelt Memorial Association
United States. Bureau of Corporations.
United States. Dept. of Commerce and Labor
United States. Dept. of the Interior
United States Civil Service Commission
Garfield, Helen Newell, 1866-1930. Papers of Helen Newell Garfield
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881. Papers of James A. Garfield
Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918. Papers of Lucretia Rudolph Garfield

Subjects:

Cleveland (Ohio)--Social life and customs
Mentor (Ohio)--Social life and customs
Ohio--Politics and government
United States--Politics and government

Occupations:

Cabinet officers
Conservationists
Lawyers

Administrative Information

Provenance:

The papers of James Rudolph Garfield, attorney, businessman, politician,
conservationist, and secretary of the interior, were received by the
Library of Congress in 1953 and were made a gift in 1958 by his heirs,
James Abram Garfield, Newell Garfield, Mrs. John N. Garfield, and Mrs.
Rudolph Hills Garfield. Subsequent additions have been made by members of
the family. A considerable amount of material, including the papers of Mrs.
James R. Garfield, was received in 1960. Material received after 1970 was
added to the papers in 1997.

Processing History:

The papers of James Rudolph Garfield were arranged and described in 1966.
Additional material received after 1970 was incorporated into the papers in
1997.

Copyright Status:

Copyright in the unpublished writings of James Rudolph Garfield in these
papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of
Congress has been dedicated to the public.

Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following
information: Container number, James Rudolph Garfield Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

 Date          Event

 1865 , Oct.
 17            Born, Hiram, Ohio

 1879 - 1880   Student at St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H.

 1881 , July
 2             In presidential party when his father was assassinated

 1885          Graduated, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.

 1886 - 1888   Studied law, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.

 1888          Established law firm of Garfield and Garfield with other
               brother, Harry A. Garfield, in Cleveland, Ohio

 1890          Married Helen Newell (died 1930)

 1896 - 1899   Member of Ohio state senate

 1902 - 1903   Commissioner, United States Civil Service Commission

 1902 - 1909   Member, President Theodore Roosevelt's "Tennis Cabinet"

 1903 - 1907   Commissioner of Corporations, United States Department of
               Commerce and Labor

 1904 - 1907   Investigated meat packing industry, petroleum industry,
               steel industry and railroads

 1907 - 1909   Secretary of the Interior

 1909          Returned to law practice and business ventures

 1914          Unsuccessful Progressive Party candidate for lieutenant
               governor of Ohio

 1932          Active in drafting platform for Republican national
               convention

 1950 , Mar.
 24            Died, Clevelend, Ohio

Scope and Content Note

The papers of James Rudolph Garfield (1865-1950) span the years 1879-1950
with the bulk of the material dating from 1890 to 1932. The collection
includes a series of diaries, 1880-1948, family papers, general and special
correspondence, subject and office files, legal and political papers,
business records, and the papers of Garfield's wife, Helen Newell Garfield.
It reflects Garfield's business concerns as well as his public service as a
member of the United States Civil Service Commission, 1902-1903,
commissioner of corporations in the Department of Commerce and Labor,
1903-1907, and secretary of the interior, 1907-1909. Other aspects of
Garfield's life documented in the collection include his involvement in the
civic and cultural development of Cleveland and Mentor, Ohio, and his
association with such organizations as the Roosevelt Memorial Association,
the Academy of Political Science, and the National Conservation
Association. Business interests in Mexico are recorded in numerous comments
in his diaries and in letters on the politics of that country. The papers
include correspondence and other material about his father, James A.
Garfield (1831-1881), twentieth president of the United States.

Garfield's interest in politics from the time of his election to the Ohio
senate in 1896, his only elective office, to his term as chairman of the
platform committee for the Republican national convention in 1932 is
documented throughout the collection. Although material on the Progressive
movement, in which Garfield played a significant part, includes
correspondence and speeches, his role is not well documented in his papers.
Other series with significant gaps include the Office Files, a numbered
series for which there are more than two hundred index cards but only about
fifty numbered files of corresponding material. The index cards form a
separate series in the collection.

Some of Garfield's frequent correspondents were Newton Diehl Baker, Walter
F. Brown, James Bryce, Calvin Coolidge, Warren G. Harding, Frederic Clemson
Howe, Gaillard Hunt, J. J. Jusserand, Gifford Pinchot, Edith Kermit Carow
Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, L. S. Rowe, Woodrow Wilson, and Leonard
Wood.

Helen Newell Garfield's papers document the life of a socially prominent
wife of a government official and active politician and businessman. They
reflect her interest in religious and civic organizations, especially the
Episcopal church, her work with the deaf, and war relief for French orphans
of World War I.

Papers in the Addition include letters from Garfield to his wife, 1904,
1914, and 1921; general correspondence, 1895-1896, 1938; and newspaper
clippings, 1932, 1946.

Separated Material

Family letters seen by James A. Garfield (1831-1881), father of James
Randolph Garfield and twentieth president of the United States, have been
transferred and indexed with his papers.

Related Material

Related papers can also be found in the papers of James Randolph Garfield's
mother, Lucretia R. Garfield, and brother, Harry A. Garfield, whose
collection includes letterbooks of their joint law firm, Garfield and
Garfield and successor firms, 1892-1911

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in thirteen series:

   * Diaries, 1880-1948
   * Family Papers, 1864-1931, n.d.
   * General Correspondence, 1879-1942
   * Special Correspondence, 1880-1936, n.d.
   * Office Files, 1902-1911, n.d.
   * Speeches, 1894-1944
   * Subject File, 1893-1949
   * Political File, 1892-1936, n.d.
   * Legal File, 1898-1928
   * Miscellany, 1881-1950
   * Helen Newell Garfield Papers, 1878-1930, n.d.
   * Index to Office Files, n.d.
   * Addition, 1895-1948


 November 7, 2003