Title: Edith Wakeman-Hughes Papers
Dates: 1864-1957
Collection Number: Mss 10114
Quantity: 13 ft.
Provenance: The State Historical Society of North Dakota acquired the Edith Wakeman-Hughes Papers from Hartley L. Weingartner on July 29, 1959. This collection was processed and the inventory prepared by Karen Mund, Grace Wanttaja, and Kari Rombs Kohlhoff, in August 1988.
Property Rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.
Copyrights: Hartley L. Weingartner has dedicated such copyrights as he possesses in this collection to the public. Consideration of all other copyrights is the responsibility of the researcher.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
Transfer: Three feet of material were removed from the Edith Wakeman-Hughes Papers and transferred to the appropriate collection management area of the State Archives. One-half foot of transferred material consisted of publications such as books, booklets, bulletins, and magazines. All publications were transferred to the library.
One and three fourths feet of photographs were transferred to the Photo Archives. The photographs were black and white and mostly of Edith, her friends and family, and Aurora, the pig.
One-half foot of postal covers and post cards were placed with the philatelic collection. Two items, a 1905 calendar and a handkerchief, were transferred to the Museum Division. Two ribbons, for the Reception Committee to the President of the United States, 1919, were transferred to the ephemera collection. One atlas of Genesee County, New York, was transferred to the map collection.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Edith Adele Wakeman, philanthropist and socialite, was born on May 21, ca. 1876-1879, in Rochester, New York. The only child of Bismarck pioneer residents, James David and Josephine Warner Wakeman, Edith grew up in Bismarck and attended Bismarck schools. She later attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. From 1897 to 1900 she held several clerical positions in Bismarck: with the U.S. Surveyor General's office, 1897-1898; the Secretary of State's office, 1898-1899; the State Treasurer's office, 1899; and with the State Land Commissioner's office, 1900.
On June 13, 1900, in the Episcopal Church in Bismarck, Edith A. Wakeman married Edmond Alexander Hughes, a pioneer of electric power development within North Dakota. Among Edmond Hughes' interests were lignite mining; telephone communications; construction of hotels, theaters, apartment buildings, and garages; state and local politics--he served in the state legislature from 1913 to 1915; and various causes such as the Missouri Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Edith and Edmond did not have children; they were divorced after less than forty years of marriage. Edmond A. Hughes died on October 9, 1970.
Perhaps best known for her work on behalf of the blind, Edith Wakeman-Hughes' interest in such work was sparked by her own experience: in 1934 she lost her sight to cataracts. At Christmas time in 1939, she sent five hundred colorful clay piggy banks to friends, asking them to fill the banks with "A Penny a Day to Keep Darkness Away". Responses were numerous and the money was used by the Braille Institute of America to bring Braille to blind people across the nation. Mrs. Wakeman-Hughes then conceived the idea of a "super piggy bank" to collect money for the Braille Institute. From prize-winning photographs of pigs at Minnesota county fairs, and with a five-week-old piglet as a model, sculptors Evelyn and Harold Gebhardt created "Aurora", so named for the Roman goddess of dawn. Aurora was unveiled in August of 1944 at the Farmers Market in Los Angeles, California. In 1949, the same year the Aurora/Braille Institute float won first prize in Class "C" of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade, surgery restored Edith's sight. Over a period of eighteen years from 1939 to 1957, Mrs. Wakeman-Hughes helped to raise over $90,000 for the Braille Institute while covering over $15,000 in expenses herself. She also served on the Institute's Board of Trustees.
The Braille Institute of America was not the only charity supported by Mrs. Wakeman-Hughes. During World War I she was involved with the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. In 1918 she applied for service with the American Red Cross and was recommended for Hospital Hut duty in France, though it is not known whether she was actually sent. Edith was also a longtime fund-raiser for the United China Relief Association.
In 1939 Edith began handling Walt Disney Productions originals. During that year she was commissioned, one of over twenty individuals and galleries nationwide, by Courvoisier Galleries of San Francisco to sell Walt Disney Productions original celluloid paintings. Courvoisier Galleries was the sole, legal distributor of the limited number of issued "celluloids" or "cells" used in creating Disney films. Edith received a commission of forty per cent of the sale price of each "cell", and this she often donated to charity.
Writing was another interest of Edith Wakeman-Hughes. In addition to composing poems and "tales", presumably for her own pleasure, she penned a "pocket edition" book. Motoring in White from Dakota to Cape Cod was published in 1917; it chronicled the trip taken by her and her husband during the summer of 1915 or 1916 from Bismarck to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and back. Her article on a New York City roof garden was published in the September 1917 issue of the "The Vogue". She also assisted other authors in publishing their works.
Before she began dividing her time between North Dakota and California, Mrs. Wakeman-Hughes was an active Bismarck and North Dakota resident. Edith served as the Navy and (Theodore) Roosevelt Day state chairperson for several years during the 1920s. A member of the Bismarck Country Club in the 1910s and 1920s, she served on its tournament and house furnishings committees and assisted in procuring land for the club. She, along with her husband, was also active in state and national Republican politics.
When she was not busy with business, charitable, or political affairs, Edith Wakeman-Hughes enjoyed many other activities. She traveled extensively throughout her life, touring parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, the United States, and Canada. She played golf and tennis, winning several loving cups for her efforts. Mrs. Wakeman-Hughes was also a popular hostess.
On June 20, 1957, after a long illness, Edith Wakeman-Hughes died in Los Angeles, California. Funeral services and burial took place in California.
Sources:
The Bismarck Capital, March 3, 1936, p. 4.
The Bismarck Tribune, June 24, 1940, p. 1; March 21, 1944, p. 1; September 11, 1944, p. 2; June 28, 1957, p. 13; October 9, 1970, pp. 1, 13.
Edith Wakeman-Hughes Papers, 1864-1957, 13 ft., 10114.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Edith Wakeman-Hughes Papers date from 1864 to 1957, the bulk of material dating from the 1900s through the 1940s, and measure 13 ft. This collection documents the life and activities of Edith Wakeman-Hughes, and to a lesser extent, those of her husband, Edmond A. Hughes, and her parents, James D. and Josephine Warner Wakeman. This collection consists of subject files and scrapbooks.
The subject files date from 1864 to 1957, the bulk of files dating from the 1900s to the 1940s, and measure 10 1/4 ft. Contained in the subject files are several address books, bills and receipts, brochures, broadsides, budget books, business cards, greeting cards, clippings, correspondence, a diary, decals, invitations, two daily journals, several manuscripts, maps, a marriage certificate, pamphlets, paper dolls probably dating from the late 1800s, a passport, poems, programs, reports, film scripts and synopses, sketches, speeches, telegrams, and one oversize folder. Subjects of interest include the Atheneum of Bismarck; Aurora, the pig; Bismarck Auditorium; Braille Institute of America; Walt Disney Productions; James W. Foley; the Hotel Prince of Bismarck; Edith's marriage plans; Motoring in White; politics; and the Roosevelt family. The subject files are arranged alphabetically by keyword.
The scrapbooks date from 1912 to 1945 and measure 2 3/4 ft. The seven scrapbooks contain greeting cards, clippings, correspondence, invitations, photographs, programs; publications; and telegrams. Scrapbook subjects include Aurora, the pig; the Braille Institute; James Wakeman's 88th and 89th birthdays; Josephine Wakeman's death; and the Wakeman's 65th wedding anniversary. Arrangement is alphabetical by keyword.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Scrapbooks
Box 1:
1. Aurora the Pig Scrapbook 1944
2. Braille Institute of America Scrapbook 1939-1944
3. Christmas Cards Scrapbook 1939
4. Clippings Scrapbook 1925-1936
5. Wakeman, James D., Birthday Scrapbook 1938-1939
6. Wakeman, Josephine, Death, Scrapbook 1940
7. Wakeman, M/M, 65th Anniversary Scrapbook 1939
Box 11:
16. Aurora the Pig Scrapbook Inserts 1944
17. Aurora the Pig Scrapbook Inserts 1944-1945
18. Braille Institute of America Scrapbook Insert 1912-1940
19. Christmas Cards Scrapbook Inserts 1939-1943
20. Clippings Scrapbook Inserts 1920-1939
21. Wakeman, James D., Birthday Scrapbook Inserts 1938-1939
22. Wakeman, Josphine, Death Scrapbook 1932-1941
Subject Files
Box 1:
1. Adair, Robin 1894-1897
2. Address Book
3. Address Book
4. Address Book, Bachelors in Hollywood
5. Addresses
6. Atheneum Programs 1890-1900
7. Aurora the Pig 1939-1947
8. Aurora the Pig 1948-1952
9. Aurora the Pig Report 1946-1948
10. Aurora the Pig Statements 1945-1950
11. Aurora the Pig Third Birthday Telegrams 1947
12. Aurora the Pig Tournament of Roses Float 1949
13. Ballet Russe and Col. de Basil Party 1937-1938
14. Barnebetta Script
15. Barrymore, John and Ethel, Clippings 1918-1942
16. Bills and Receipts, Miscellaneous 1923-1957
17. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1914
18. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1915
19. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1916
20. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1917-1919
21. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1920-1923
22. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1920-1925
23. Bismarck Auditorium Programs 1923-1930
24. Bismarck Country Club 1915-1920
25. Bismarck Country Club Golf 1914-1918
26. Bismarck Country Club Membership 1922
27. Bismarck Country Club Records 1915-1918
28. Bismarck Country Club Tennis 1913-1915
29. Bismarck Pageant 1921
Box 2:
1. Bismarck to Hollywood Trip 1931
2. Bracelet, Lost 1950
3. Braille Institute of America Arrangement 1940
4. Braille Institute of America, Building 1946
5. Braille Institute of America, Correspondence 1944-1948
6. Braille Institute of America, Pig Banker 1939-1947
7. Braille Institute of America, Pig Banker 1940-1949
8. Brochures 1916-1952
9. Burton, Helen 1943-1944
10. Business Cards
11. California and New Mexico, Tours of 1930
12. Cannes Program of Events 1929
13. Chiang Kai-Shek, Madame, Address 1943
14. Chateau Elysee/Fifield Manor
15. Check Register, Chase National Bank, NY 1940-1942
16. Check Register, First National, Bismarck 1940
17. Check Register, First Nat'l, Los Angeles 1944-1947
18. Check Register, Security 1st Los Angeles 1940-1943
19. Cherbourg and Southampton, Tours of 1926
20. Cherbourg and Southampton, Tours of 1930
21. China Relief Association, United 1941
22. Chinese Dynasty Throne Room Rug 1920
23. Christmas Cards 1926
24. Christmas Cards 1927
25. Christmas Cards 1928-1929
26. Christmas Cards 1930-1934
27. Budget Book 1937
28. Budget Book 1940
29. Budget Book 1941
30. Car Account Book 1931-1941
Box 3:
1. Christmas Cards 1936-1953
2. Christmas Cards
3. Christmas Cards and Gifts Lists 1917-1938
4. Christmas Cards and Gifts Lists 1939-1944
5. Clippings 1918
6. Clippings 1912-1922
7. Clippings 1915-1922
8. Clippings 1916-1928
9. Clippings 1928-1938
10. Clippings 1920-1944
11. Clippings 1916-1945
12. Clippings 1913-1946
13. Clippings 1922-1946
14. Clippings 1937-1946
15. Clippings 1908-1949
16. Clippings 1916-1950
17. Correspondence and Phrases, Record of 1908-1910
18. Correspondence, Incoming 1894-1899
19. Correspondence, Incoming 1903-1914
20. Correspondence, Incoming 1915-1919
21. Correspondence, Incoming 1920-1924
Box 4:
1. Correspondence, Incoming 1925-1926
2. Correspondence, Incoming 1927
3. Correspondence, Incoming 1928
4. Correspondence, Incoming 1928-1929
5. Correspondence, Incoming 1930-1933
6. Correspondence, Incoming 1933
7. Correspondence, Incoming 1933-1934
8. Correspondence, Incoming 1934-1937
9. Correspondence, Incoming 1938-1939
10. Correspondence, Incoming 1940-1942
11. Correspondence, Incoming 1945-1947
12. Correspondence, Incoming 1948-1949
13. Correspondence, Incoming 1950-1956
14. Correspondence, Incoming
15. Correspondence, Incoming
16. Correspondence, Incoming
17. Correspondence, Incoming
Box 5:
1. Correspondence, Incoming from Edmond 1926-1927
2. Correspondence, Incoming from Parents 1926-1933
3. Correspondence, Incoming from Parents
4. Correspondence, Incoming Miscellaneous
5. Correspondence, Outgoing 1916-1919
6. Correspondence, Outgoing 1920-1929
7. Correspondence, Outgoing 1932-1948
8. Correspondence, Outgoing
9. Correspondence, Outgoing to Edmond 1920
10. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1895-1897
11. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1898-1899
12. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1900
13. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1901-1904
14. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1905-1911
15. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1912-1919
16. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1920-1927
17. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1928-1929
18. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1930-1931
19. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents 1932-1940
Box 6:
1. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
2. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
3. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
4. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
5. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
6. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
7. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
8. Correspondence, Outgoing to Parents
9. Cuba, Tour of 1903
17. Diary 1952
Disney, Walt
10. Christmas Cards 1932-1947
11. Clayburgh, Alma 1940-1942
12. Clippings 1941-1942
13. Coral Casino 1939-1941
14. Courvoisier Galleries 1939
15. Courvoisier Galleries 1940
16. Courvoisier Galleries 1941-1942
Box 7:
1. Disney, Walt, Correspondence 1933-1940
2. Fairbanks, William K. 1940-1941
3. Lilly, Rachel (Mrs. Richard) 1939-1941
4. Paintings, Originals 1939-1940
5. Paintings, Originals, Consignments 1940-1941
6. Paintings, Originals, Expenses 1939
7. Paintings, Originals, Expenses 1940
8. Paintings, Originals, Expenses 1941
9. Paintings, Originals, Expenses 1942
10. Paintings, Originals, Sales 1939
11. Paintings, Originals, Sales 1940-1943
12. Social Service Gift Shop 1939-1940
13. Walsh, Clara Bell 1942
14. Weyerhaeriser, Mrs. F. E. 1939-1942
15. Donahue, Lester 1937-1939
16. Douglas Family Clippings 1927-1928
17. "Ellen Young" Script
18. Entertainment Party Lists 1912-1945
19. Entertainment Party Lists 1940-1946
20. Financial Information 1930-1957
21. Finnish Relief 1939-1940
22. Foley, James W. 1912-1917
23. Foley, James W. 1918
24. Foley, James W. 1919-1924
25. France, Tour of 1928
26. Fraunces Tavern, New York City 1907
27. French Grammar 1906-1907
28. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Tours of 1912
29. Golf, Score Cards and Programs 1915
30. Great Lake Cruise 1918
31. Greeting Cards 1931-1933
32. Greeting Cards 1938-1944
33. Greeting Cards 1906-1948
Box 8:
1. Greeting Cards 1929-1948
2. Greeting Cards 1907-1953
3. Greeting Cards 1930-1953
4. Head, Edith 1945
5. Hoffman, Ed and Erna 1927
6. "Hollywood Houseboy", Amando Acuin 1936
7. "Hollywood Houseboy", Amando Acuin
8. Hotel Decals
9. Hotel Prince 1926
10. Hotel Prince 1930
11. Hotel Prince and Lucky Lindy Light 1927-1929
12. Hotel Prince Publicity 1926-1928
13. Hotel Prince Redecorating 1926
14. Hotel Prince Redecorating Swatches
15. Hotel Prince Remodeling 1926
16. Hughes Alliance, National, Campaign Train 1916
17. Hughes, Edmond, Correspondence 1921-1928
18. Hughes Electric Stockholders Meeting 1925
19. Hughes Family History 1938
20. Invitations 1902-1949
21. Itinerary for Stevens, Fonda 1919
22. Journal 1904-1910
23. Journal
24. Kackley, Olive, Biographical Material 1950
25. Karlsbad Regime 1928
26. Longworth, Alice 1921-1928
27. Marriage Plans 1900
28. Mediterranean Cruise 1924
29. Mediterranean Cruise 1924
30. Miscellaneous 1909-1931
31. Morse Code
32. Motoring in White 1915-1933
33. Motoring in White Diary 1915
34. Motoring in White Drafts
Box 9:
1. Motoring in White Travel Brochures 1912-1915
2. Motoring in White Travel Brochures 1915
3. Motoring in White Travel Brochures 1915-1916
4. Motoring in White Travel Brochures 1915-1916
5. Motoring in White Travel Brochures 1915-1916
6. Navy and Roosevelt Day 1922-1923
7. Navy and Roosevelt Day 1923
8. Navy and Roosevelt Day 1923-1926
9. Navy and Roosevelt Day 1927
10. Nestos, R. A., Governor 1923
11. "New Clothes for Old", Goulding, Edmund 1917-1918
12. Nursing Care 1949
13. Olympiad, Tenth 1932
14. Pamphlets 1924-1927
15. Paper Dolls
16. Paper Dolls
17. Paper Dolls
18. Paper Dolls
19. Paper Dolls
20. Paper Dolls
21. Paper Dolls
22. Paper Dolls
23. Paper Dolls
24. Paper Dolls
25. Paper Dolls
26. Paper Dolls
27. Paper Dolls
28. Passport 1928
29. Personages for Memory Book
30. Piano Tuning Record 1924-1927
31. Poems
32. Poems and Lyrics 1930
33. Politics 1919-1921
34. Politics 1921-1922
Box 10:
1. Politics 1922
2. Politics 1921-1923
3. Politics 1923-1939
4. Politics Clippings 1922-1946
5. Pons, Lily, Breakfast 1941
6. Pons, Lily, Clippings 1940-1949
7. Pons, Lily, Party 1943-1945
8. Programs 1881-1903
9. Programs 1912-1916
10. Programs 1917-1926
11. Programs 1932-1946
12. Recipes
13. Red Cross 1918
14. Riter, Joe 1917-1918
15. Roosevelt, Eleanor
16. Roosevelt Family Clippings 1919-1931
17. Roosevelt, Theodore 1900-1922
18. S.S. America Menu 1941
19. St. Alexius Hospital Directory 1924-1926
20. School, Hughes Junior and Senior Lists
21. Silver Service, Battleship North Dakota 1923-1926
22. Sketches 1924
23. Speeches 1918-1925
24. "Spring Has Come"
25. "Strange Adventures of Johnnie Whittle"
26. Sulgrave Institution 1924-1925
27. Summer Tours Brochures 1898
28. Tales 1923-1933
29. Telegrams 1915-1940
30. "The House of Troon" Synopsis 1917
31. "The Ice Wagon", Acuin, A. P. 1934
32. "The Seventh Story in Dakota" 1925
33. Theater Clippings and Programs 1914-1916
34. "Thorns of Success" Synopsis
Box 11:
1. Tournament of Roses Parade Programs 1949-1952
2. Wakeman Corresp., James and Josephine 1897-1899
3. Wakeman Corresp., James and Josephine 1902-1921
4. Wakeman Corresp., James and Josephine 1902-1940
5. Wakeman Family History
6. Wakeman, James D., Death 1944
7. Wakeman, James D., Penmanship 1864
8. Wakeman, Josephine, Death 1940
9. Wakeman, Josephine, Hospital Statement 1931
10. Wakeman, Josephine, Telegrams on Death 1940
11. Wakeman, M/M James D., Invitations 1880-1892
12. Wakeman, M/M James D., Invitations 1877-1893
13. Wakeman, M/M James D. Silver Anniversary 1899
14. Who's Who in America 1923
15. Women's Club House, New York 1924-1925
23. Wakeman Account Book 1930-1941
990407 Miscellaneous Oversize 1865-1941
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