DAVIS, KELLOGG & SEVERANCE:

The records consist of the case files, 1878-1941 (88 feet) and letterpress books, 1898-1925 (97 volumes) of the St. Paul law firm of Davis, Kellogg and Severance. The firm was established in 1887 by Cushman K. Davis, Frank B. Kellogg, and Cordenio A. Severance, and during the next thirty years it became one of the most prominent and successful corporate law firms in the upper Midwest. The original name was retained even after Davis's death in 1900, with Robert E. Olds, Guy Chase, George W. Morgan, Warren S. Carter, and Cleon Headley also figuring prominently in the firm's activities. Subsequent mergers and name changes resulted in the present (1983) successor firm, Briggs and Morgan.

The case files, which are very incomplete, especially for the early years, reflect the firm's specialty as counsel for numerous corporate clients in Minnesota and elsewhere. Cases involving manufacturing, agribusiness, transportation (especially railroad), mining, and public utility companies appear with particular frequency. Financial and personal affairs of individuals comprise a large percentage of the cases.

The letterpress books contain outgoing letters, memoranda, and telegrams that bear upon all aspects of the firm's case work and related activities, although there appears to be little or no direct correlation with individual case files. They also include a good many letters concerning the partners' personal and family activities and their political interests, particularly Kellogg's.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Davis, Kellogg & Severance Law Firm Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 6743; 7317

Processing Information:

Processed by: James E. Fogerty, 1972; Maureeen Leverty, 1983

Catalog ID number: 990017153790104294

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The Davis, Kellogg and Severance letterpress books contain the outgoing letters of that law firm from 1902 to 1925, with two stray volumes from 1878. The letters largely relate to the firm's business, although they include numerous personal letters and telegrams. The main body of correspondence bears the signatures of the partners and associates of the law firm during this period. There are also many letters signed by secretaries and assistants, and others signed simply with the name of the firm. No corresponding set of incoming letters is known to have survived; nor have the letterpress books prior to 1902.

Principal signatories are Frank B. Kellogg, Cordenio A. Severance, Robert E. Olds, George W. Morgan, Guy Chase, Warren S. Carter, and Cleon Headley. During the period 1902-1917 the law firm was known as Davis, Kellogg and Severance, although Cushman K. Davis died in 1900. Upon Kellogg's election to the United States Senate in 1917, the firm became Davis, Severance and Olds until 1919. After Robert E. Olds left to become counsel, and later director, of American Red Cross operations in Europe, the name was changed to Davis, Severance and Morgan. Briefly, in 1923, after Kellogg's return from the Senate, and before his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain in 1924, the firm was Davis, Kellogg, Severance and Morgan. Cordenio Severance died in 1925, and the firm became Davis, Severance and Morgan until Kellogg's return again in 1929.

The letterpress books reflect the business of a law firm of national prominence involved in a wide variety of case work. Much of this was in the corporate sphere, with such client companies as Armour, Swift, Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, and United States Steel. The reputation of the firm's partners as corporate lawyers, however, did not keep Kellogg from assuming the principal role as government prosecutor in successful and highly publicized cases against the paper, Standard Oil, and Harriman railroad trusts; nor did Kellogg's trust-breaking activities keep Severance from his successful defense of the United States Steel Corporation against the steel trust action.

Included with the corporate work are letters regarding numerous other cases, including several concerning the disposition of large estates, such as those of the Peavey, Culver, Owsley, and McCahill families.

Intermingled with all of the above is a good deal of personal correspondence regarding such affairs as hotel reservations, auto repairs, horse-buying, and stock subscriptions. There are also many letters from Kellogg to his sister, Mrs. Jean K. Austin, and from Severance to his sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Howard.

The many letters between the partners are particularly interesting for their frank discussion of cases, personalities, and politics. Kellogg's political activities are partly revealed in this correspondence, as well as in his letters to prominent political figures--notably William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. His precise opinions on issues, however, are not always well defined within the limits of this correspondence. Volumes 93-95 consist almost entirely of Kellogg's own correspondence, and are somewhat more revealing of his activities.

The letterpress books consist of copies of outgoing letters, indexed by recipient (vols. 1-80), telegrams (vols. 81-89), and miscellaneous letters and memoranda (vols. 90-96). For ease of organization and citation, the volumes are assigned sequential numbers. Volumes 1-80 were originally numbered by the DKS office as volumes 49-118, 120-130; these numbers appear on the volume spines and are noted in parentheses on the volume list that follows. The location of office volumes 1-48 is unknown.

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The list on the following pages has been compiled and consolidated from the individual recipient indexes that accompany volumes 1-80 of the letterpress books. Following each recipient's name are citations to each volume (MHS volume numbers) in which letters written to that individual are found. The individual indexes to those volumes cite the page numbers on which the letters appear.

Some recipients of letters written by the firm may not appear in this list: those for whom only occasional scattered letters were found were generally not noted. Researchers seeking letters to an individual or company not included in the recipient list, or who wish to verify that all letters to a particular recipient have been located, should consult the individual volume indexes for names and/or volume numbers not recorded.