Swift, Lucius B.
Lucius B. Swift
L155
1851-1931
4 mss. boxes
Manuscript & Rare Books Division
Indiana State Library
Processed by: Laura Williams, October, 2011
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Biographical Note:
Lucius B. Swift was a soldier in a New York regiment during the Civil War. Swift graduated from the University of Michigan (1870) and became a principal and superintendent of schools in LaPorte, LaPorte Co. (1872-1879) Indiana. Swift eventually moved to Indianapolis where he worked as a lawyer (1879-1929), and became a leader in civil service reform movement. Swift was also editor and publisher of Civil Service Chronicle (1889-1896), as well as member of board and officer of the National Civil Service Reform League (1880s to 1929). In addition, Swift also served as a trustee for Citizens Gas Company, Indianapolis (1905-1929), and member of 1st Sanitary Commission, Indianapolis (1917-1923). Swift authored two books, Germans in America (1915) and How We Got Our Liberties (1928).
Scope and Content Note:
This collection consists primarily of Swift’s correspondence from the period 1885-1908 relating to his work with federal civil service reform, including correspondence relating to the work of the National Civil Service Reform League; Swift’s publication of the Civil Service Chronicle; federal appointments in Indiana and elsewhere, and the work of the U.S. Civil Service Commission; and the role of reformers in state and national elections. Also included is correspondence regarding Swift’s involvement with progressive Republicans, particularly Theodore Roosevelt and Albert J. Beveridge; correspondence regarding his work in the campaign to prepare the United States for war with Germany (1914-1918), and reactions to his pamphlets Germans in America (1915) and America’s Debt to England (1917); correspondence regarding tariff reform (1908-1912); papers regarding Citizens Gas Company and the Indianapolis Sanitary Commission (1920s); papers regarding his lecturing and writing on historical reform topics (1910s-1920s); his letters to his wife (1885-1916), primarily written from the east while he was attending reform and political meetings, including meetings with Theodore Roosevelt; his diaries written during a meeting of the National Civil Service Reform League (1889), during a meeting to discuss the creation of a reform political party (1892); on a trip to Massachusetts (1897); his journal (1875-1888), including notes on LaPorte, starting a law practice in Indianapolis, politics, and reminiscences of his Civil War experiences; and drafts of his letters and essays on reform and politics.
Correspondents include Albert J. Beveridge, Eliza A. Blaker, Charles J. Bonaparte, James H. Breasted, William Lowe Bryan, Edward Cary, French Ensor Chadwick, Edward P. Clark, George William Curtis, Richard Henry Dana, Dorman B. Eaton, Charles W. Fairbanks, William Farnum, William Fortune, John Watson Foster, William Dudley Foulke, James P. Goodrich, John K. Gowdy, Albert Bushnell Hart, William Dean Howells, Louis Howland, Charles Evans Hughes, Jules Jusserand, George Kennan, Henry S. Lea, Francis E. Leupp, Henry Cabot Lodge, Arthur O. Lovejoy, George W. McAneny, Franklin MacVeagh, W.H.H. Miller, Oliver T. Morton, Henry Raymond Mussey, Meredith Nicholson, Walter H. Page, William Potts, Edith Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, John C. Rose, Carl Schurz, Francis Lynde Stetson, Moorfield Storey, Mark Sullivan, Charles P. Taft, William Howard Taft, Frank William Taussig, Oswald Garrison Villard, James W. Wadsworth, William English Walling, Everett Wheeler, Charles R. Williams, Horace White, Wong Kai Kah, James A. Woodburn.
Photocopying Policy:
Manuscript materials CANNOT be photocopied or digitized in their entirety. Photocopies and/or digital images cannot exceed 25% of a collection or a folder within a collection. In some cases, photocopying may not be permitted due to the condition of the item. Check with a Manuscript Librarian for other options.
Box and Folder Listing:
Box 1. Correspondence 1851 – 1897
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Folder |
|
|
1. |
1851 – 1885 |
|
2. |
1886 – 1888 |
|
3. |
January – June 1889 |
|
4. |
July – December 1889 |
|
5. |
1890 |
|
6. |
1891 |
|
7. |
January – June 1892 |
|
8. |
July – December 1892 |
|
9. |
January – June 1893 |
|
10. |
July – December 1893 |
|
11. |
January – April 1894 |
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12. |
May – August 1894 |
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13. |
September – October 1894 |
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14. |
November – December 1894 |
|
15. |
January – June 1895 |
|
16. |
July – December 1895 |
|
17. |
January – April 1896 |
|
18. |
May – August 1896 |
|
19. |
September – December 1896 |
|
20. |
January – June 1897 |
|
21. |
July – December 1897 |
Box 2. Correspondence 1898 – 1915
|
Folder |
|
|
1. |
January – June 1898 |
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2. |
July – December 1898 |
|
3. |
January – June 1899 |
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4. |
July – December 1899 |
|
5. |
January – June 1900 |
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6. |
July – December 1900 |
|
7. |
January – June 1901 |
|
8. |
July – December 1901 |
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9. |
1902 – 1903 |
|
10. |
1904 |
|
11. |
January – June 1905 |
|
12. |
July – December 1905 |
|
13. |
1906 |
|
14. |
1907 |
|
15. |
January – June 1908 |
|
16. |
July – December 1908 |
|
17. |
1909 |
|
18. |
January – June 1910 |
|
19. |
July – December 1910 |
|
20. |
1911 |
|
21. |
1912 – 1913 |
|
22. |
1914 |
|
23. |
January – April 1915 |
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24. |
May – August 1915 |
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25. |
September – December 1915 |
Box 3. Correspondence 1916 – 1931 and Diaries 1875 – 1897
|
Folder |
|
|
1. |
Correspondence 1916 |
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2. |
Correspondence January – June 1917 |
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3. |
Correspondence July – December 1917 |
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4. |
Correspondence January – June 1918 |
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5. |
Correspondence July – December 1918 |
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6. |
Correspondence 1919 |
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7. |
Correspondence 1920 |
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8. |
Correspondence 1921 |
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9. |
Correspondence January – June 1922 |
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10. |
Correspondence July-December 1922 |
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11. |
Correspondence 1923 |
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12. |
Correspondence 1924 – 1926 |
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13. |
Correspondence 1927 – 1931 |
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14. |
Correspondence nd. |
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15. |
Diary 1875 – 1888 |
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16. |
Diaries 1889, 1892, 1897 |
|
17. |
Photographs |
Box 4. Foulke mss.
|
1. |
1885 – 1888 |
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2. |
1889 – 1893 |
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3. |
1894 – 1903 |
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4. |
1904 – 1907 |
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5. |
1908 – 1910 |
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6. |
1911 – 1915 |
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7. |
January – March 1916 |
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8. |
April – June 1916 |
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9. |
July – September 1916 |
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10. |
October 1916 |
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11. |
November – December 1916 |
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12. |
1917 – 1919 |
Collection Information
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Size of Collection: |
4 mss boxes, 78 folders |
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Collection Dates: |
1851 – 1931 |
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Provenance: |
Mrs. Lucius Burrie (Ella Lyon) Swift, 1931 – 1932 |
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Access : |
The collection is open for research use |
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Restrictions: |
None |
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Reproduction Rights: |
Permission to reproduce, exhibit, or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Manuscript Section, Indiana State Library. |
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Language: |
Materials are in English |
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Alternate Formats: |
None |
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Related Holdings: |
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Notes: |
Item by item inventory available upon request |
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