HISTORICAL RESEARCH MAKES PAST COME ALIVE

Guest Post by Matthew G. Sadowski

Locating and analyzing primary sources can be a daunting task at first; what is my focus, what and who are potential repositories of the information I hope to glean, what will I learn along the way? In the case of identifying primary and secondary sources for my subject, William (Willie/Billy) Mitchell and his grammar school years, I found answers to these questions, and more. All questions led me to a richer understanding of the personality, the times, and the environment of my subject.

I started by reviewing the class bibliography. From there, I identified the book My Brother Bill, The Life of General “Billy” Mitchell (Ruth Mitchell, 1953). This book is available in the UW-Milwaukee Archives Department reading room.

Next, I utilized the UW-Milwaukee library’s online catalogue to search for potential resources where I identified two leads. One was a description of microfilmed correspondence from Billy Mitchell to his mother and father, and assorted other documents spanning the years 1888-1927. The microfilm is available from UW-Madison via inter-library loan.  The second was the George Hardie Papers; a collection of letters, articles and photos dated from 1880 to 2001; these are located at the UW-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Knowing that Billy Mitchell attended Racine College, I turned my focus to potential sources in or near Racine, WI. I first contacted the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Archives, as it holds a collection of historical materials related to Racine and Kenosha, WI, and is a repository for the Wisconsin Historical Society. I also visited the Racine Heritage Museum Archives and the Racine Public Library’s Racine Room. Staff at all three institutions were very helpful and advised me to speak directly with the archivist of the DeKoven Foundation, successor to Racine College (the final reincarnation of Racine College closed in 1933). 

While all the sources I identified were useful, the most abundant and telling to me was the microfilm from UW-Madison (handwritten letters from Willie/young Billy to his mother and father, and other documents), my visit, discussions and correspondence with DeKoven Center Archivist John Magerus, and a self-guided walking tour of the college grounds. 

Being a life-long resident of Racine, the entire experience was exciting. Reading through Willie’s letter he would mention names and places of 1890’s Racine. I looked forward to, and spent hours, reading his letters and the other correspondence, studying photographs, searching the internet for related information; time would simply fly by. Places and names from that past that I only saw pictures of or read about became alive to me. As I walked the DeKoven grounds, or the streets, harbor, beaches, downtown, light house, train stations, horse racing track… all things Willie commented on in his letters… I was looking at the very same sights.  Some drastically different from their 1890’s version, most the same. TOO COOL!

I began my research to answer the question “Why send Willie Mitchell to Racine College?” He was the son to the richest family in 1800s Wisconsin. While the answer to that question became apparent early on (Racine College was a very prestigious school), the question led me on a wonderful journey through time revealing the interest, sights, sounds and day-to-day activities of a student at an 1890s boarding school. Ever watch Somewhere in Time (Film, Szwarc, 1980) with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour? That kind of cool… almost.