Guide to the Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers 1936-1956

Overview of the Collection

	Repository Name:		University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections & University Archives 1299 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1299 URL: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/index.html
	Collection Number:		Ax 033
	Creator:		Ellsworth, Harris, 1899-1986
	Title:		Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers
	Dates:		1936-1956 (inclusive)
	Quantity:		23.5 linear feet 17 containers
	Languages:		Collection materials are in English.
	Summary:		The collection comprises the congressional files of Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth, U.S. Representative of the Oregon Fourth District.

Biographical Note

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth was born in Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, Washington on September 17, 1899. He moved from Hoquiam to Eugene and later to Wendling, Oregon with his parents. Ellsworth attended public schools and served in the Student Army Training Corps during the World War I. He graduated in journalism from the University of Oregon in 1922. In 1923 he was advertising manager of the Eugene newspaper. He worked in the lumber business from 1923-1925 as manager of a lumber-industry publication from 1926-1928. In 1928 and 1929 he was an associate professor in journalism at the University of Oregon. Since 1929 he was publisher and co-owner of the Roseburg, Oregon News-Review. He was appointed to the State senate in 1941 and was subsequently elected as a Republican to the 78th Congress in 1943. He served in Congress through 1957. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1956 to the 85th Congress. In 1957 he was appointed by President Eisenhower as chairman of the Civil Service Commission for a two-year term and served to February 28, 1959. He returned to Oregon and resumed his newspaper business profession and became a real estate broker. In 1975 he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and lived there until his death on February 7, 1986. He was interned at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Albuquerque.

Content Description

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth served as the first representative from the Oregon Fourth District, 78th to 84th Congresses. The files include correspondence, reports, investigations, studies, and political records.

Of special interest are the files dealing with flood control, river development, forestry, lumbering, mining, and the hydro-electric partnership principle. The political files are primarily concerned with district rather than state or national issues.

Correspondence of importance exists between Mr. Ellsworth and his professional associates in the Oregon newspaper field: Merle Chessman, Editor of the Astorian Budget; Ralph R. Cronise, Publisher and Editor of the Albany Democrat Herald; Louis Felsheim of the Bandon Western World; Herb Grey of the Medford Mail Tribune; Palmer E. Hoyt Publisher, Denver Post; Frank Jenkins of the Klamath Falls Herald; Robert W. Sawyer Publisher, Bend Bulletin; Charles Stanton Editor, Roseburg News-Review; and William M. Tugman Managing Editor, Eugene Register-Guard.

The collection includes 4,000 letters.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into the following series:

Series I. Congressional Files
Series II. Legislative Files
Series III. Political Files
Series IV. Trips
Series V. General Correspondence

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth presented the University of Oregon Libraries with his Congressional files in the fall of 1967.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open to the public.

Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.

Restrictions on Use

Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth Papers, Ax 033, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Ellsworth, Harris, 1899-1986--Archives

United State Civil Service Commission--Officials and employees

United States. Congress. House

Oregon--Politics and government--1859-1950

Oregon--Politics and government--1951-

United States--Politics and government--1933-1945

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989

Flood control--Oregon

Forests and forestry--Oregon

Legislators--United States

Mines and mineral resources--Oregon

Water resources development--Oregon

Speeches

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series I: Congressional Files, ca. 1936-1956

Container(s)

Description

Dates

box
1

folder
1

Agriculture

1956

Auchincloss Committee (Republican congressional members)

1949

Columbia Valley Authority

1945-1949

General

1945-1948

General

1949-1950

Correspondence

1945-1947

6-8

Correspondence

1949

Defense Department

1956

Federal Housing

1956

Flood Control

1936-1956

General

1943-1944

General

1945

13-14

General

1946

15-16

General

1947

General

1949

General

1950-1952

General

1955-1956

Amazon Creek

1945-1950

Amazon Creek

1951-1952

Coquille River

1936-1956

Report on Coquille River Bar and Entrance

1926 1934

Hearing on Coquille River Bar and Channel

1936

Hearing on Coquille River/Port of Bandon

1936

Report on Port of Bandon-Tonnage Analysis

1936

Includes topographic map and 22 b/w photos of the port and Bandon Cheese and Produce Co. cargo being loaded.

5-6

Rogue River

1943-1956

Umpqua River

1950-1956

Willamette Basin

1948-1956

General

1948-1949

General

1949-1950

General

1950-1956

11-12

General

1953

Dorena Dam

1944-1949

Hills Creek

1955-1956

Holley

1956

Presentation of Appropriation Figures

1948

Food Study Committee

1943-1947

17-18

General

1943

Hearings

1943

Minutes

1943

21-22

1945

Correspondence

1945-1947

Releases

1945-1947

Resource Files

undated

Resource Files-Meat

undated

Forest Service

1950-1956

Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI

1950-1954

Sustained Yield

1951-1952

Forest Conservation Committee

1952-1954

Forest Conservation Committee

1955

Forest Conservation Committee

1956

Sustained Yield-Oakridge

October 1951

Sustained Yield-Oakridge

October 9, 1951

Comments on Oakridge Sustained Yield

December, 1951

Brief of Proposed Lakeview Federal Unit

undated

The Simpson Lookout, Washington

March, 1952

Includes b/w "photo album" of approximately 62 photographs of Shelton, Washington.

Department of the Interior

1946-1956

1946-1947

1946-1947 1954-1956

Al Serena Mines

1953-1955

13-14

Al Serena Mines-Hearings

1956

Bonneville

1947-1956

Hells Canyon

1952-1956

Indians

undated

Bureau of Land Management

1951-1956

Bureau of Land Management

1951-1952

Bureau of Land Management

1954-1955

Bureau of Land Management

1956

Chudoff Committee

1955

Timber Market Areas and Access Roads

1954-1955

Bureau of Mines

1943-1956

General

1950-1952

General

1953

Metallurgical Lab, Albany

1946

Metallurgical Lab, Albany

1946-1956

Metallurgical Lab, Albany

1943-1945

Report on the Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory

Miscellaneous

National Parks