1897-1986
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The bulk of the Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth papers is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@thawedding.com.
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of U.S. Congressman and ambassador Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth, including correspondence; business and educational papers; travel diaries; military papers; papers related to the Treasury Department, the Foreign Debt Commission, and World War I reparations; Congressional and campaign papers; papers documenting his work as ambassador to Canada; and scrapbooks.
Biographical Sketch
United States Congressman and ambassador Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth was born 25 April 1891, the son of George (1853-1930) and Mary Catherine Dixwell Wigglesworth (1855-1951). He graduated from Milton Academy in 1908, Harvard College (A.B.) in 1912, and Harvard Law School (L.L.B.) in 1916, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1916, and served in World War I with the 303rd Field Artillery of the 76th Division. Wigglesworth also coached football at Harvard as a graduate assistant and a graduate in the years before and after World War I.
After the war, he was legal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1922-1924, and also served as secretary for the World War I Foreign Debt Commission. From 1924 to 1927, he was the assistant to the Agent General for Reparation Payments in Berlin, then served as the Paris representative and general counsel for organizations created under the Dawes Plan, 1927-1928. In the fall of 1928, he was elected as a member of the 70th Congress to fulfill the unexpired term of Hon. Louis A. Frothingham (to 1929) and then was elected to the 71st and 72nd Congresses, 1929-1933, for the 14th Massachusetts District. He was then elected to the 73rd through 85th Congresses consecutively, for the 13th Massachusetts District. In October 1958, he declined to seek re-election and was appointed by President Eisenhower as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth married Florence Joyes Booth (1902-1992) in 1931, and the couple had three daughters. He died in October 1960 while serving as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
Collection Description
This collection consists of the papers of U.S. Congressman and ambassador Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth, son of George and Mary C. D. Wigglesworth. The collection contains correspondence, routine (personal) business papers, materials related to his schooling at Milton Academy and Harvard University (including football and other sports materials), records of his military training and service in the 303rd Field Artillery in World War I, papers created while he worked for the U.S. Treasury Department and the Foreign Debt Commission (under Andrew Mellon), the Agent General for Reparation Payments (S. Parker Gilbert, Berlin, Germany), and later with the Dawes Plan in Paris. Among the correspondents are S. Parker Gilbert, Andrew Mellon, Ogden L. Mills, and Douglas Miller. Also included are papers related to his 30 years of service (1928-1958) as U.S. Congressman from the 13th and 14th Massachusetts Congressional districts, as well as from his appointment as ambassador to Canada (1958-1960). Some items were collected and saved by his wife Florence Joyes (Booth) Wigglesworth. Family correspondents include George Wigglesworth, Mary C. D. Wigglesworth, Florence J. B. Wigglesworth, and other Wigglesworth and Booth family members.
The collection contains a number of scrapbooks documenting Richard B. Wigglesworth's long Congressional career, his schooling, some of his military activities, and travel to the western United States and around the world (1912-1913), as well as a stop in the Philippines. Included are brief diaries for western travel (1912), his voyage abroad (1912-1913), and again to the western U.S. and particularly to Oregon (1914). Two scrapbooks document the presidential campaign of Charles E. Hughes, led by W. Cameron Forbes and the National Hughes Alliance (1916).
Arrangement
The collection is divided into 14 series as follows: I. Personal correspondence; II. Routine business papers; III. Educational papers; IV. Travel papers; V. Military papers; VI. Legal/Treasury Department/Foreign Debt Commission papers; VII. Reparations subject files; VIII. Congressional papers; IX. Campaign papers; X. Ambassadorial papers; XI. Death of Richard B. Wigglesworth and later papers; XII. Scrapbooks; XIII. Oversize papers; and XIV. Miscellaneous printed matter. The collection was broadly organized by Wigglesworth himself, or his assistants, over the course of his life and work. The series which most reflect this arrangement are his correspondence, Treasury Department and reparations papers, military papers, campaigns for Congress, and ambassadorial papers.
Acquisition Information
Gift of members of the Richard B. Wigglesworth family, ca. 1981, 1992. Additions from Jane Wigglesworth Lescure, 2016-2018.
Restrictions on Access
The bulk of the Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth papers is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@thawedding.com.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Personal correspondence, 1912-1960
13 cartonsArranged chronologically from 1912-1922. Arranged in year groups from 1922-1960, then alphabetically by correspondent. Where dates overlap, the overlapping month is usually October. Partially dated letters are filed at the end of a year or year group, and undated correspondence is filed at the end of the series. The papers were organized by Wigglesworth and/or his assistants during his early life and career.
This series, the largest of the collection, contains correspondence deemed "personal" by Wigglesworth and consists of letters and copies of letters between him and friends, acquaintances, and professional associates, as well as some family correspondence. Frequent correspondents include Wigglesworth and Booth family members, as well as Wigglesworth's close friends Oscar Haussermann and Jefferson Caffery and many other friends and associates from all aspects of Wigglesworth's personal and professional life. While Wigglesworth labeled this correspondence "personal," there is much in this series that pertains to his professional positions both abroad in the 1920s and at home and in Congress, and finally while serving as ambassador to Canada from late 1958 to his death in October 1960.
II. Routine business papers, 1908-1960
3 cartonsArranged chronologically.
Papers in this series comprise correspondence and other papers that pertain to routine, personal (ongoing) business matters such as bills, legal papers, banking, club memberships, household maintenance, cars, insurance, and medical concerns. Also included are papers regarding the death of George Wigglesworth and estate papers (1950-1955) of Mary C. D. Wigglesworth, items relating to the Robert E. Lee Foundation (a project of Florence Joyes Booth Wigglesworth), records of charitable contributions, invitations, wedding and honeymoon materials, papers regarding the children's schooling, and anything else that is not strictly personal correspondence but rather a personal business-type of communication. The series was created based on Wigglesworth's own files and his method of keeping personal records.
III. Educational papers, 1905-1986
2 cartonsArranged chronologically.
Richard B. Wigglesworth attended Milton Academy, a private school located in Milton, Mass. (his hometown), from 1905 to 1908. He then went to Harvard College, graduating in 1912. After a year traveling around the world and working for some months in the Philippines, Wigglesworth attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1916. During his graduate years, he also served as an assistant football coach at Harvard, where he had been a valued member of the team as an undergraduate.
Educational papers consist primarily of notebooks for Milton Academy, Harvard, and Harvard Law School courses. Also included are materials relating to Harvard in World War I, Harvard football (1919-1921), and Wigglesworth's post-graduate activities: class reunions, clubs, admissions, the Alumni Association, Harvard's tercentenary, Wigglesworth's 50th reunion (1962, after his death), and Harvard's 350th celebration (1986, after his death). Materials dated 1962 and 1986 were probably collected and kept by other family members.
IV. Travel papers, 1912-1914
1 carton and 2 boxesArranged chronologically.
Richard B. Wigglesworth made several trips to the western United States, but kept more detailed records on two trips, one in 1912 and one in 1914. His particular voyage abroad, dubbed his "Voyage 'Round the World," took place in 1912-1913. He traveled around the world, making stops in many different countries (mostly in Asia), including a lengthy pause in the Philippines. He remained there for some months as private secretary to the Governor General, W. Cameron Forbes, a family friend and fellow Miltonian.
V. Military papers, 1913-1930
2 cartonsArranged chronologically.
Early papers in this series include articles leading up to, and about the beginning of, World War I. The series also contains papers related to Richard B. Wigglesworth's early (pre-war) military training at a camp in Plattsburgh, New York, as well as his training at Field Artillery School in Texas in 1917. Wigglesworth was in the army from 1916 to 1919, serving in France near the end of the war as captain and commanding officer of Battery E, 1st Battalion, 303rd Field Artillery, 76th Division.
Also included are Battery E papers arranged by year, Officers' Reserve Corps materials, some items pertaining to the Military Order of the World War (to 1930), and souvenir printed material from battlefields in France. This series does not contain any wartime correspondence home.
VI. Legal/Treasury Department/Foreign Debt Commission papers, 1916-1924
1 cartonArranged chronologically.
Richard B. Wigglesworth was admitted to the Massachusetts bar and began practicing law in Boston in 1916. His legal career was fairly short-lived, and this series contains only a few items from this time period. He worked in a legal capacity in the Treasury Department (Washington, D.C.) and for the World War Debt Commission, 1922-1924. The United States Federal World War Foreign Debts Commission Act of 9 February 1922 authorized the creation of this commission, which worked under Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon to negotiate repayment agreements with Great Britain and France in the aftermath of World War I.
VII. Reparations subject files, 1924-1934
7 cartonsArranged alphabetically. Files were organized in rough alphabetical order when they came to the MHS, and this arrangement has been preserved as much as possible.
In October 1924, Richard B. Wigglesworth was appointed assistant to the Agent General for Reparation Payments in Berlin, and afterward served as general counsel and Paris representative for organizations created under the Dawes Plan, 1927-1928. The Dawes Plan was an initiative of the British and U.S. governments that provided for a "Committee of Experts" led by Charles G. Dawes to produce a report on German reparations for financial liabilities of World War I. The report was accepted by the Allies and by Germany on 16 August 1924. It provided for a reorganization of the Reichsbank and an initial loan to Germany of 800 million marks, with a schedule for repayments starting at one billion gold marks in the first year. The Agent General for Reparations Payments in Berlin was S. Parker Gilbert.
While the bulk of this material ends in 1928, some subject files extend to 1934, presumably as Wigglesworth continued to collect papers relating to his professional interest in the Dawes Plan.
VIII. Congressional papers, 1928-1960
8 cartonsRichard B. Wigglesworth was elected as a Republican from Massachusetts to the 70th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Louis A. Frothingham. He was re-elected to the 71st Congress and to the fourteen succeeding Congresses (first from the 13th Congressional District, which then became the 14th), serving from 6 Nov. 1928 until his resignation on 13 Nov. 1958.
This series comprises files arranged by year, covering political and Congressional topics of interest to Wigglesworth in his career as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts. He paid particular notice to the Federal Communications Commission and radio (House Select Committee on Broadcasting), the Republication National Committee, Republican politics in general, Roosevelt and the New Deal, the House Appropriations Committee, aeronautics (1940), and the Speakers Bureau (1940). The series also contains a great deal of ephemera connected to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Study Mission to Europe, and the Near East, Far East, and South Asia (1955). A few items date to 1960 and reflect Wigglesworth's continued interest in Congressional matters after his retirement.
Also included is a separate carton of speeches and addresses.
A. Subject files, 1928-1960
Arranged chronologically.
FCC and radio, Republican National Committee, Civil Service Commission, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and anti-Roosevelt information.
Appropriations Committee, FCC and radio, Roosevelt and the New Deal, Civil Aeronautics Authority, and Speakers Bureau.
Speakers Bureau, FCC and radio, World War II, European Command Tour (1947), and Republican National Committee.
European Command Tour, FCC and radio, Palestine (1947), President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Eisenhower, illness (1953), Tehran and Yalta agreements (1953), and Truman scandals (1953).
House Foreign Affairs Committee, Study Mission Abroad, 1955
France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Formosa (Taiwan), Korea, and Japan.
B. Speeches, statements, releases, etc., 1929-1958
Arranged chronologically, with undated speeches at the end of the carton.
IX. Campaign papers, 1928-1956
5 cartonsArranged chronologically.
This series contains papers created in the course of Richard B. Wigglesworth's campaigns for Congress. The papers include correspondence (both before and after elections), nomination papers, expenditures, campaign literature (flyers, posters, etc.), donation information, etc. The campaigns took place every two years from 1928 to 1956.
X. Ambassadorial papers, 1958-1961
4 cartonsThis series consists of papers generated while Richard B. Wigglesworth served as ambassador to Canada (stationed in Ottawa), Dec. 1958-Oct. 1960. While Wigglesworth's official papers are not in this collection, this series contains material relating to the social aspects of the position, including travel around Canada as a representative of the U.S. Also included are a number of files labeled "scrapbook" or "Ottawa scrapbook" that were most likely intended to be gathered into scrapbooks, but never were. Some items date to after 1960 and were probably saved by Florence Joyes Booth Wigglesworth.
Mostly social papers, appointment records, holiday cards, invitations, thank you notes, publicity, memos, and ephemera. Probably kept by Florence Joyes Booth Wigglesworth.
Clippings, cards, invitations, postcards, photographs, menus, handbooks, maps, travel literature, and other ephemera.
Date of meal, guests, seating plan, and menus.
XI. Death of Richard B. Wigglesworth and later papers, 1960-1977
3 cartonsRichard B. Wigglesworth died after a short illness in October 1960 while serving as U.S. ambassador to Canada in Ottawa. All items in this series were apparently saved by Florence Joyes Booth Wigglesworth. They consist primarily of condolence letters, clippings, items related to memorial services, and published memoirs of Richard B. Wigglesworth. Also included is a small amount of material of Florence Wigglesworth relating to her later activities (1961-1977).
XII. Scrapbooks, 1897-1959
8 cartons and 11 oversize boxesScrapbooks form an integral part of the Richard B. Wigglesworth papers and were important to him as a form of recordkeeping. He kept scrapbooks all his life, and many contain personal correspondence, photographs, postcards, newspaper and magazine clippings, graphics, other printed matter, writings, notes, and ephemera.
This series includes two scrapbooks (Carton 54) that Wigglesworth kept to document the National Hughes Alliance presidential campaign for Charles E. Hughes in 1916, headed by W. Cameron Forbes with Wigglesworth as assistant. Carton 55 contains scrapbooks about Wigglesworth, created by his mother Mary C. D. Wigglesworth, and these hold the majority of his letters home to his parents. The oversize scrapbooks (onsite at Ms. N-463) are primarily Congressional scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, except for those pertaining to Wigglesworth's appointment as U.S. ambassador to Canada.
NOTE: A number of the scrapbooks have been disbound due to their deteriorating condition, but pages are numbered and foldered in their original order.
Milton Academy, football, hockey, baseball, travel, and freshman year at Harvard.
Mainly Harvard senior year, social life, and correspondence.
Harvard, travel in England and Europe, football, school exams, invitations and social life, Hasty Pudding Club, baseball, and Manchester Yacht Club (summer 1911).
Football, track, baseball, social life, correspondence, school exams, student council, and graduation.
Divided into three sections by Richard B. Wigglesworth: "Official," "Harvard College," and "Social – Engagements etc."
Oregon travel, Harvard football, Harvard memorabilia, general interests, World War I, diplomacy, and law school.
Oregon travel, Harvard miscellany, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, White Sulphur Springs, and Plattsburgh (N.Y.) military training camp (1915).
National Hughes Alliance
W. Cameron Forbes and Richard B. Wigglesworth ran the presidential campaign for Charles E. Hughes in 1916.
Clippings, pamphlets, flyers and posters, memoranda, notes, and ephemera.
Notes and memoranda, clippings, campaign literature, and correspondence.
Photographs, printed matter, letters, notes, postcards, and ephemera from Harvard; World War I clippings, printed matter, Officers' Reserve Corps, Plattsburgh training camp, and miscellaneous military; bar exam (Dec. 1916); and Russian politics.
Mostly correspondence with some clippings.
Scrapbooks compiled by Mary C. D. Wigglesworth for Richard B. Wigglesworth
Included are Richard B. Wigglesworth's letters to family, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.
Reparations/Dawes Plan
Congressional scrapbooks
Mainly newspaper clippings.
Congressional scrapbooks
Clippings, correspondence, invitations, photographs, and ephemera.
XIII. Oversize papers, 1908-1959
3 oversize boxesThis series contains oversize items removed from different parts of the collection. All items have been dummied out from their original locations.
Certificates and parchment; Ottawa scrapbook loose items; politics and campaign graphics, 1932 and undated; military papers (printed matter), "Journey 'round the world" printed matter, 1912-1914; Executive Office of the President, Bureau of the Budget, 25 June 1941 (bound carbon typescript); and Appropriations Committee, 1954.
XIV. Miscellaneous printed matter
Preferred Citation
Richard Bowditch Wigglesworth papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
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Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.