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The University of Iowa Libraries

Guide to the Henry Wallace Papers

Collection Overview
Date Span:1860-1924
Creator:Wallace, Henry (1836-1916)
Extent:6.25 linear feet.
Collection Number:MSC0180
Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary:First editor of Wallaces' Farmer. Arranged in broad subject categories and then in chronological order. Available on microfilm for use in repository, for interlibrary loan, and for purchase.

Henry Wallace was born in 1836 on a farm in Pennsylvania. A Presbyterian minister, Wallace's first church was in Monroe County, Iowa, in 1862. The following year he married Nancy Cantwell, and they moved to Rock Island, Illinois, where he had congregations on both sides of the Mississippi River. His next two pastorates were in Morning Sun and Winterset, Iowa. Having contracted tuberculosis, Wallace (or Uncle Henry, as he was commonly known) retired from the ministry and began farming full-time in Winterset. He began to write about farm subjects, including livestock breeding, soil conservation, and crop rotation. As his health improved, he began making speeches about farm issues. He was invited to become a columnist and farm-editor for the Winterset Madisonian and later for the Chronicle. In 1883, he began writing for the Iowa Homestead, a Des Moines paper. He quit in 1895, after having some of his editorials censored. In 1896, he founded Wallace's Farm and Dairy with his two sons, Henry C. and John. The publication changed its name to Wallaces? Farmer in 1899. Working with his sons and grandson, Uncle Henry remained editor until his death in 1916.

Despite the success of Wallaces' Farmer, Henry Wallace is probably best known as the father of Henry Cantwell Wallace (Secretary of Agriculture under President Warren G. Harding) and as the grandfather of Vice-President Henry A. Wallace (who also served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Franklin D. Roosevelt).

The papers of Henry Wallace consist of 2.5 linear feet of manuscripts dating from 1860 to 1924. They are arranged alphabetically subject file. Included are speeches, sermons, diaries, photographs, published and unpublished writings, genealogies, obituaries, and newspaper clippings. There are correspondence files which include letters from: James Wilson, Daniel A. Wallace, Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt, Walter H.Page, Charles W. Fairbanks, Albert B. Cummins, John P. Wallace, Nannie C. Wallace, and Henry C. Wallace.

Access: These papers are open for research by students and scholars. A microfilm edition of these records is available for loan or purchase.

Use: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials.

Acquisition:

Preferred Citation: Henry Wallace Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository:University of Iowa Special Collections
Address:Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5921
Curator:Greg Prickman
Email:lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/

Browse by Series:
The detailed description has not been entered into the repository.
To view the content list, please follow this link.

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Corporate Names:
United States. Dept. of Agriculture

Dates:
19th century
20th century

Topics:
Agriculture
Farms

Occupations:
Journalists

Geographic Names:
Iowa
Iowa

Genre/Form of Materials:
Correspondence
Diaries
Family papers

Title:
Wallaces' farmer

Browse:
English & American Literature
Writers Archive at Iowa
Newspaper & Magazine Editors & Publishers