#uwm archives
Time Travel Tuesday: Late 1855, Selections from the Samuel Marshall Passport
Above are selections of pages from the passport of Samuel Marshall, a Milwaukee banker from the mid-1800s, chronicling some of his travels through late 1855. This passport can be found in the Samuel Marshall Papers (Milw Mss AQ) at the UWM Archives.
The first page, from November 15, 1855, grants Marshall entry to Turkey in the Ottoman Empire. The seal of the second cites the King of Prussia, dated November 16, 1855. The third is good for entry to Constantinople, from November 19, 1855. Finally, while I can’t read the fourth page, it is presumably from the same trip.
Visit the UWM Archives to see more of this passport, or stay tuned here for more selections over the summer. Check out our “Samuel Marshall” tag to see more!
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Time Travel Tueaday: Samuel Marshall Passport, 1855
These images show several pages of the passport book from the Samuel Marshall Papers (Milw Mss AQ). The book consists of a certificate and forty-two pages with travel stamps and notations. Marshall was a banker in Milwaukee beginning in the 1840s, and was very well traveled.
The passport certificate, second photo above, was sewn into the book, obscuring some of the description section, and making it particularly delicate to unfold. It also features several stamps and notations, indicating that it was used to document Marshall’s travels along with the rest of the pages in the book.
The third photo includes a description of Marshall so he can be identified by his passport. Included in the description are notes that he had a “prominent” nose and forehead, a “small” mouth, and a “sound” chin. How do you think the written description compares to this undated photograph of Marshall (third, left)?
Visit the UWM Archives to see more of this passport, or stay tuned here for more selections over the summer.
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1980 Milwaukee Pride March
The black and white photographs above showcase the 1980 Pride March here in Milwaukee. If you look closely, you can recognize signage from local LGBTQ+ organizations like the Gay Peoples Union as well as downtown Milwaukee landmarks such as the State Street bridge and the Wisconsin District State Office Building.
These photographs were taken to be used in the LGBTQ+ news-magazine Milwaukee Calendar, later called Gay Milwaukee, which ran from 1978-1981. Milwaukee Calendar featured a calendar of local events and bar specials, brief news articles, and a handful of photographs from local events in their biweekly issues. You can view more photographs here at the UWM Archives, and you can find complete issues of Milwaukee CalendarandGay Milwaukee in our sibling department, @uwmspeccoll
These black and white photographs can all be found in box 1 of the Milwaukee Calendar Photographs, call number UWM Mss 312, at the UWM Archives.
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Celebrating Juneteenth Day: Milwaukee’s 50th Anniversary
On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received the news about the end of the Civil War and their newly “freed” status. Known as Juneteenth (”June” plus “nineteenth”), the day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
Official celebrations of Juneteenth began as early as 1866 in Southern cities and spread to other parts of the United States in the 1900s. For many years, Black Milwaukeeans held neighborhood block parties to celebrate Juneteenth, but in 1971, Milwaukee became one of the first northern cities to officially host celebrations to commemorate emancipation with their inaugural Juneteenth Day Festival. Today, June 19, 2021, marks 50 years of Milwaukee’s celebration of the day.
This short clip from WTMJ-TV shows footage of the parade, food, and booths during the Juneteenth Day celebration in 1975.
More footage of Milwaukee’s Juneteenth Day celebrations from 1974-1979 is available online through the WTMJ-TV News Search, accessible through the UWM Archiveshomepage.
Pride Month: Making the ‘B’ Visible
Bi Definition formed in 1996 when two other bisexual support groups that met at the Counseling Center of Milwaukee merged, BiDesign (a women’s group), and an unnamed men’s group. Bi Definition sought to provide their members with a sense of belonging not always found in the gay or straight communities. The 2003 “Bi All Means” newsletter shown here outlines some of Bi Definition’s activism around bisexual visibility within the LGBTQ+ community. In response to declining attendance at business meetings and dwindling financial resources, Bi Definition voted to discontinue its print newsletter and regular meetings in 2004.
This issue of “Bi All Means” can be found in box 1 of the Bi Definition Records, call number UWM Manuscript Collection 219, at the UWM Archives.
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Pride History: Black and White Men Together
The Milwaukee chapter of Black and White Men Together (BWMT) formed in November 1980, shortly after the formation of the original chapter in San Francisco. BWMT-Milwaukee provided a safe environment for gay males, interracial couples, and individuals interested in interracial dating. It also raised awareness about and combated racism within Milwaukee’s gay community and homophobia within its black community. BWMT-Milwaukee remained active throughout the 1980s, eventually changing its name to Men of All Colors Together in 1993, and to People of All Colors in 1995 before becoming inactive by 1997.
The July 1985 newsletter and undated photographs shown above can be found in boxes 1 and 2 of the Black and White Men Together-Milwaukee Records here at the UWM Archives.
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LGBTQ History: Gay Community at UWM
Founded in 1971, Gay Community was a student organization at UW-Milwaukee that provided education and support to UWM’s LGBTQ community through events, support groups, and other community-building activities like monthly pot-lucks and dances.
The poster and brochure from 1980 featured here can all be found in the Michael Lisowski Papers, call number UWM Mss 235, at the UWM Archives.
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June is Pride Month!
While early LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations, protests, and marches were held in Milwaukee, WI as early as 1971, Milwaukee’s first Pride parade happened on June 17th, 1989. This article comes from a 1989 issue of The Advocate, a prominent LGBTQ magazine that began in Los Angeles, CA in 1967 and continues to represent an important public voice for the LGBTQ+ community today. The excerpt and photographs shown above highlight the preparation that went into Milwaukee’s first Pride parade and the importance it held for members of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.
The full copy of “After the Parade Passed By” featured here can be found in the Miriam Ben-Shalom Papers, call number UWM Mss 237, here at the UWM Archives.
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On March 22nd, 1923, Milwaukee attorney and labor activist William B. Rubin lost his beloved umbrella during a visit to Chicago. Hoping to see its return, he reached out to several places he visited during his trip, starting with the Morrison Hotel.
For good measure, he also reached out the the Yellow Cab Company in hopes it had been accidentally left behind in one of their cabs.
Last but not least, he reached out the the Pullman Company in case the umbrella had been left on a train car during his travels.
Success! The umbrella was finally located and sent back to Rubin, ensuring a happy reunion.
We hope you enjoyed following this lost umbrella journey via 1920s Chicago business stationery! All of the correspondence featured here can be found in Box 4 of the William B. Rubin Papers here at the UWM Archives.
Charlotte Russell Partridge and Miriam Frink Papers
ThePartridge and Frink Papers (Milw Mss 167) are full of interesting photographs related to the Layton School of Art, the Layton Art Gallery, and Partridge and Frink’s own work. Included in the collection (box 75) are two particularly unique artifacts: a small metal object consisting of an interconnected “C” and “M” for Charlotte and Miriam and a scroll commemorating the birth of Frederick Layton, on this day in 1827, both pictured above.
More information about Partridge and Frink can be found by searching the rest of our blog or by visiting the UWM Archives to see their papers in person. The Archives also holds the records for the Layton School of Art (Milw Mss 168) and the Charlotte Russell Partridge Collected Papers (Milw Mss ED) for further information on the history of art in Milwaukee.
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Happy Graduation Day, Panthers!
Even though commencement is virtual this spring, we hope you all feel the same joy in your accomplishment as the 2011 UWM graduates in these photographs!
Here at the UWM Archives, we are also celebrating the graduation of our two interns; Samantha with an MA in History and an MLIS, and Lizzie with an MA in Women’s & Gender Studies and an MLIS. We wish them both the best for the future!
These photographs from UWM’s 2011 Spring Commencement Ceremony can be found in the UW-Milwaukee University Communications & Media Relations Photographs digital files here at the UWM Archives.
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My 15th is Nylon Stockings Day!
These colorful 1950s hosiery ads are from the Phoenix Hosiery Company of Milwaukee, WI. Founded in the 1890s, the Phoenix Hosiery Company became one of the largest single producers of silk hose in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. In the 1940s, when nylon began to replace silk, Phoenix began the production of women’s nylon hosiery. The advertisements featured above show some of Phoenix’s 1958 hosiery collections and feature nylon hose.
All of these 1950s promotional materials can be found in Box 2 of the Phoenix Hosiery Company Records, UWM Mss 89, here at the UWM Archives.
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New Digital Collection: Desi Wisconsin, 1950-79
Today the UWM Libraries officially launch the Desi Wisconsin Digital Collection! The collection contains oral history interviews and photographs documenting the experiences of some of the first South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin. Here is a brief description from the collection’s webpage:
“Whether it was segregation in the 1950s or the cultural and political tumult of the 1960s and 1970s, South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin confronted a world fundamentally alien to that they had left behind. Neither black or white, these individuals managed to raise families and often succeeded in their careers. From a few dozen students, professionals, and businessmen and their families who settled in Wisconsin, the presence of South Asian immigrants grew exponentially as they became tightly integrated in the fabric of their communities. The journey to develop a distinct identity as South Asian Americans in Wisconsin over the course of decades is highlighted in this collection of oral histories from some of the first South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin.”
The black and white photograph from 1955 featured above shows Joni and Chandra Raja outside St Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was shared by Sharath Raja as part of an oral history interview with Lajwanti Waghray. Sharath Raja’s full interview and collection of photographs can be found in the Desi Wisconsin Digital Collection.
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Today is International Nurses Day!
Here at the UWM Archives, we want to wish all nurses a fantastic International Nurses Day! First celebrated in 1965, International Nurses Day falls on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The International Council of Nurses announced that this year’s theme is Nurses: A Voice to Lead - A vision for future healthcare. We are incredibly grateful for the hard work of all the nurses this past year!
The black and white photograph featured here shows a group portrait of Milwaukee County Hospital Nurses in 1939, with handwritten labels for Bertha Saunders, Minna Newhouse and Bessie Norstrant on the photograph.
This photograph can be found at the UWM Archives in box 1 of the Roman B.J. Kwasniewski Photographs as well as online in our Milwaukee Polonia Digital Collection.
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