LOUIS F. LAMMERS:
An Inventory of the Louis F. Lammers and Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Lammers, Louis F., 1855-1928, creator. | |
| Title: | Louis F. Lammers and family papers. | |
| Dates: | 1878-1977. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, photographs, and related materials documenting the family of a lawyer from Heron Lake, Minnesota. | |
| Quantity: | 2.5 cubic feet (3 boxes and 1 oversize folder). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Louis F. Lammers was the third of fifteen children born to Frederick W. Lammers (1829-1896) and Helen Nilsson Lammers (1834-1901) who were married in 1851. Frederick and Helen Lammers farmed near Taylors Falls, Minnesota and later lived in Marine Mills, Minnesota. Louis, as a young man, moved to Heron Lake, Jackson County, Minnesota where he clerked in a relative's store while reading law on the side. Admitted to the Minnesota bar, he first practiced in Heron Lake and later in Minneapolis. At one time he was the Jackson County attorney and superintendent of schools.
In 1883 Louis married Harriet Spaulding of Saratoga County, New York, and the couple had three children. In the early 1900s, Harriet Lammers worked as the advance agent for Chicago elocutionist Cora Mel Patten. She traveled by train over large parts of the Midwest and West, corresponding frequently with her young family in Heron Lake.
The eldest child of Louis and Harriet was Howard Melvin Lammers (1888-1942), a graduate of Annapolis and a captain in the U.S. Navy who was killed during World War II. Their second child, Raymond Spaulding Lammers (1891-1977), served at Camp Dodge (Iowa) during World War I and later practiced law in Minneapolis. Raymond Lammers married Gertrude Nesbit in 1934. The youngest child of Louis and Harriet was Mildred Helen Lammers (1895-1966), a mathematician for Bell Laboratories in New York prior to her retirement in Minneapolis.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The papers document the activities and events in the lives of two generations of Lammers family members. They include information on Louis Lammers' legal career, his wife Harriet's work as an advance agent for elocutionist Cora Mel Patten, and correspondence with related Lammers, Spaulding, and Wood family members. Another large portion of the collection relates to their son Raymond Lammers and includes his correspondence with his family while he was stationed at Camp Dodge (Iowa) during World War I; other correspondence with his family and his future wife, Gertrude Nesbit; and school, military, and legal documents. A large number of studio photographs of family members and houses (ca. 1880-1920) are also included.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
| Louis and Harriet Lammers Papers | ||
| Raymond S. Lammers Papers | ||
| Photographs |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Louis F. Lammers and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 10,163; 15,695
Processing Information:
Processed by: Karen D. Spilman, January 2006
Catalog ID number: 990061545710104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
LOUIS AND HARRIET LAMMERS PAPERS:
Includes correspondence between Harriet and Louis discussing their children, household matters, news of family and friends, and her work and travel logistics while on the road as an advance agent for Cora Mel Patten. There is correspondence from Lammers and Spaulding family members and various professional correspondence. Also included are diaries, ledgers, and address books of Harriet and Louis Lammers.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 147.F.11.8F | 1 | Correspondence to Louis Lammers, 1885-1918. | |||||||||||
| Correspondence to Harriet (Hattie) Lammers, 1878-1926 (bulk 1898-1914). 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Includes a photograph of Harriet as a child, her business cards, and two brochures advertising Cora Mel Patten. | |||||||||||||
| Family, Friends, and Professional Correspondence: | |||||||||||||
| Includes correspondence between the Harriet and Louis Lammers family and related Lammers, Spaulding, and Wood family members, and correspondence from friends and professional associates. | |||||||||||||
| 1878-1952 (bulk 1880-1905). | |||||||||||||
| Includes a collection of telegrams (ca. 1898-1952). | |||||||||||||
| 1883-1936. 11 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 147.F.11.10F | 3 | Postcards, circa 1906-1914. 3 folders. | |||||||||||
| Postcards to Lammers and Spaulding family members. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 147.F.11.9B | 2 | Harriet and Louis Lammers Diaries, Ledgers, Address Books, circa 1879-1921. 5 folders. | |||||||||||
| Includes pocket diaries, account ledgers, address books, plat books for Jackson County, Minnesota, and a school notebook of Mildred Lammers. | |||||||||||||
| Lammers Family and Business Papers, 1883-1928, 1961. | |||||||||||||
| Includes materials regarding property ownership, family legal affairs, school and church activities, and other family business. | |||||||||||||
| Biographical Information on Lammers Family. | |||||||||||||
| Photocopies of brief biographies from various printed sources, photocopies of typed biographical information and Lammers family history, and a printed historiography and accompanying card of the Lammers family coat of arms. | |||||||||||||
RAYMOND S. LAMMERS PAPERS:
Includes his correspondence with family and friends, primarily reflecting family activities and well-being, school and legal documents, military papers, biographical information, and photographs.
There are also materials relating to Raymond Lammers in the Louis and Harriet Lammers Papers described above.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 147.F.11.9B | 2 | Correspondence from Camp Dodge, Iowa, 1917-1919. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| Topics include daily activities of soldiers at the camp, Lammers' health, and other everyday happenings. Of note are a couple of letters from Lammers to his mother regarding the quarantine of soldiers during the 1918 flu epidemic (October 1918). Also included are photographs of Lammers in military dress and two photographs of Camp Dodge. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with parents, 1901-1903, 1909, 1914, 1925. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with sister Mildred, 1908, 1923-1953, 1964. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with wife Gertrude, 1933-1934. | |||||||||||||
| The majority of letters are written by Raymond Lammers to his future wife Gertrude Nesbit during their engagement. Includes a letter from Mildred welcoming Gertrude to the Lammers family (December 16, 1933). | |||||||||||||
| Other family correspondence, 1906-1948. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents include his maternal grandmother Mary Ellen Spaulding, his older brother Howard Lammers, his uncles G.A. and Elmer Spaulding, and Clark and Mary Lammers Wood, his father's sister and brother-in-law. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous correspondence, 1900-1971. | |||||||||||||
| Includes correspondence with friends and business associates. There is a small collection of letters written to Mrs. Lammers, Raymond's mother, from Laura Raker regarding his time at a boarding school in Northfield, Minnesota (1900-1902). | |||||||||||||
| School and Legal documents, 1891-1977. | |||||||||||||
| Includes Raymond Lammers birth (1891) and death (1977) certificates, last will (1969), diplomas from the University of Minnesota (1920, 1922), military discharge papers (1919), and certificate of marriage (1934). | |||||||||||||
| Military Papers, 1917-1919. | |||||||||||||
| Includes registration certificate, physical examination notice, notice of certification, registration card, war risk life insurance certificate, a leave application, a pass card, and his military discharge. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous documents and photographs, 1892-1977. | |||||||||||||
| Includes biographical information, receipts, ledgers, and photographs of Raymond Lammers (1892-1918, 1964). | |||||||||||||
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Primarily individual and family portraits from the Lammers, Spaulding, and related families. Includes photographs of the Lammers family house in Heron Lake.
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 147.F.11.10F | 3 | Photographs, circa 1880-1920. 6 folders. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +312 | --- | Lammers Family Photograph, (circa 1880s). 1 oversize folder containing 2 items. | |||||||||||
| A family portrait of Frederick and Helena (Helen) Lammers and their children. Accompanied by a photocopy of the portrait identifying the family members. | |||||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Dual-career families -- Minnesota -- Heron Lake.
- Family -- Minnesota -- Heron Lake.
- Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Iowa -- Camp Dodge.
- Working mothers -- Minnesota.
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives.
- Persons:
- Lammers, Gertrude.
- Lammers, Harriet.
- Lammers, Howard Melvin.
- Lammers, Mildred.
- Lammers, Raymond S. (Raymond Spaulding), 1891-1977.
- Lammers family.
- Patten, Cora Mel, b. 1869.
- Spalding family.
- Spaulding family.
- Wood family.
- Organizations:
- United States. Army -- Military life.
- Places:
- Heron Lake (Minn.).
- Camp Dodge (Iowa).
- Document Types:
- Photographs.
- Daguerreotypes.
- Tintypes.
- Occupations:
- Lawyers -- Minnesota -- Heron Lake.
- Lawyers -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Commercial agents.
- Soldiers.
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