Special Collections: Primary Resources in Politics, Policy and Government Research Guide

Brief hand-written manuscript by David Rogers regarding a near riot at an 1864 presidential campaign rally, accompanied by several letters to and from Rogers, a clipping, and court records.

The Fred Telford - Charles Polk Messick papers includes material generated during the careers of the two men and spans the dates 1913-1972. The collection surveys the history of public personnel administration through the personal writings and professional work of Telford and Messick, providing valuable information about the evolution of public personnel administration.

The manuscript collection of the Latimer Family Papers consists of material spanning the dates 1690-1927, with bulk dates of 1770-1870. The collection as a whole includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, ledgers, checks, bills, receipts, indentures, deeds, wills, photographs, and ship logs. The collection details the personal and business affairs of the Latimer family and also documents events of historical and economic significance in the context of revolutionary America and early 19th century trade. The contents of the collection were previously arranged in chronological order, and are here presented in four series.

Hugh M. Morris (1878-1966) was a Delaware lawyer and served as a federal district judge from 1919-1930. The Morris family papers, spanning the dates 1740-1985 and including legal deeds, account books, personal and busienss correspondence, legal records and photographs, documents the lives and career of Judge Hugh Morris and members of his extended family and network.

Willard Saulsbury, Jr. (1861-1927), was a prominent Delaware lawyer and a member of a a leading Delaware political family, serving in the United States Senate from 1913-1919 as as President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 1916 to 1919. The bulk of the Willard Saulsbury, Jr., papers belong to Saulsbury himself, dating from 1908-1926 when Saulsbury was at his political and business peak. The collection, consisting of papers, photographs, maps, and political realia, also includes papers and legal documents belonging to Saulsbury's father, items from the settlement of Saulsbury's estate and papers from cases handled by Saulsbury's law firm, which were not closed until after his death.

The Everett C. & Louise Stanton Johnson papers concern the personal affairs of prominent Delaware publisher and politician Everett C. Johnson (1877-1926) and his wife Louise Staton Johnson (1882-1977). In addition, the collection contains material from their Newark publishing house, the Press of Kells, which brought the Arts and Crafts Movement to the community from 1916 to 1918.

These papers document the lives and careers of the Delaware-based civil rights activist and educator Littleton P. Mitchell (1918-2004) and his wife Jane E. Mitchell (1921-2004). The collection contains material relating to his education, activities as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, his three decades-long leadership of the Delaware NAACP, his career as a teacher and counselor at Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City, and his involvement in a number of organizations. The collection also highlights the career of Jane Mitchell, one of Delaware's first African-American nurses and former director of nursing at the Delaware State Hospital. There are also photographs, slides, and other media documenting their family life as well as their participation in local and national events.As a whole, the papers explore the professional, personal, and family relationships of an African-American family in the 20th century.

Dale E. Wolf served as lieutenant governor of Delaware (1989-1992) and briefly as governor (December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993). The Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia document Wolf’s military service in World War II, his early agricultural research and DuPont Company career, his political career and public service, as well as the community service of his wife, Clarice Wolf.