Papers of Daniel W. Working

Collection

Identifier: ADWW

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Papers of Daniel W. Working consists of documents dated 1852 to 1937, with the bulk falling from 1919 to 1925. The majority of the collection is comprised of correspondence and research notes gathered by D. W. Working for the creation of the History of Agriculture in Colorado. In addition to Working's typed or handwritten copies of older documents such as county records and newspaper articles, the collection includes news clippings and photostats of correspondence and deeds.

Dates

Creation: 1852-1937
Creation: Majority of material found within 1919-1925

Creator

Working, D. W. (Daniel Webster), 1862-1944 (Person)

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection. However, the collection is stored off-site, so advance notice is required.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

Biography

Daniel Webster Working served as a Colorado State Grange lecturer during the 1890s and early 1900s and as Grange master from 1892-1894. He wrote numerous articles and speeches concerning agriculture and Grange history, and created a large file of research notes utilized by Alvin T. Steinel in writing the History of Agriculture in Colorado (1926).

Born in Scott County, Minnesota, on May 9, 1862, Working graduated from the Kansas State Agricultural College in 1888. He relocated to Denver, Colorado, after his graduation and found work as an editor of the Colorado Farmer and then of the Fancier and Farm Herald. He was appointed to a committee that reported on the work of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station in 1889 and 1890. He earned a master's degree from the University of Denver in 1907.

In addition to his work with the Grange, Working served as secretary of the State Board of Agriculture from 1893 to 1897 and superintendent of the Arapahoe County School System from 1905 to 1907. After four years as director of Agricultural Extension at the University of West Virginia, he worked in Washington, D.C., for the Office of Farm Management and the States Relations Service of the United States Department of Agriculture from 1911 to 1919. During this time, Working organized the Extension county agent work in Colorado. He left Washington to serve as Dean of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1919 until 1922. In anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of Colorado statehood, in 1923 the Colorado State Board of Agriculture authorized the preparation of a history of Colorado agriculture and hired Working to gather research materials for the book.

In 1892 Working married Ella Grace Booth, daughter of Colorado Grange pioneer Levi Booth, and they had three sons: Holbrook, Earl, and Elmer. At the age of 81, Daniel W. Working died of heart failure while digging post holes on his farm near Denver in April 1944.

Extent

3 linear feet (2 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Daniel Webster Working (1862-1944) served as a Colorado State Grange master and lecturer during the 1890s and early 1900s. He wrote numerous articles and speeches concerning agriculture and Grange history and created a large file of research notes utilized by Alvin T. Steinel in writing the History of Agriculture in Colorado (1926). The majority of the collection is comprised of correspondence and research notes gathered by Working for the History during the 1920s. In addition to Working's typed or handwritten copies of older documents, such as county records and newspaper articles, the collection includes news clippings and photostats of correspondence and deeds.

Arrangement

In creating this collection, D. W. Working appears to have used an alphabetical arrangement within series, but use of the documents by Steinel and others over the years may have resulted in some categories being placed out of order. The folders or dividers have been rearranged to return them to alphabetical order.

The collection consists of four series in two record cartons:

Series 1: Personal papers, 1884-1935

Series 2: Subject files, 1852-1927

Subseries 2.1: Colorado counties, 1867-1927

Subseries 2.2: Farming and agricultural topics, 1852-1927

Subseries 2.3: Grange, 1873-1925

Series 3: Publications, 1854-1937

Series 4: Research notes, 1859-1930

Subseries 4.1: 4x6 inch notes on agricultural topics, 1859-1930

Subseries 4.2: 5x8 inch notes relating to agricultural experiment stations, undated

Custodial History

The collection was sent to the Colorado State Archives from the Colorado Agricultural College sometime after the History of Agriculture in Colorado was published in 1926. Since it contained research notes used by Alvin T. Steinel in writing the history, it was known as the Steinel Collection at that time.

Acquisition

The Papers of Daniel W. Working was acquired by the Colorado Agricultural Archive from the Colorado State Archives in the early 1980s. The Colorado Agricultural Archive became part of the Colorado State University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department in 2004.

Online Materials

Some materials have been scanned and are available through the Colorado State University Libraries website. In the electronic version of this document, direct links appear in context.

Related Collections

Documents relating to the Grange, to agricultural topics and to Cooperative Extension are found in the Records of the Colorado State Grange, the Records of the Colorado Cooperative Extension and the Records of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, all preserved in the Colorado Agricultural Archive. Notes for A.T. Steinel's book 'History of Agriculture in Colorado' that he received from Working's files are found in the Local Colorado and Regional History Collection: https://archives.mountainscholar.org/digital/collection/p17393coll79/id/526/rec/22. Additional Working materials are housed in the Daniel Webster Working manuscript collection at the Stephen H. Hart Library of History Colorado.

Processing

A folder list for Series 1 through 3 of the collection was created in 1986. CSU public history graduate student Jane Blandford completed the preliminary processing of these series in 1994 by removing metal fasteners, re-housing files in acid-free folders and creating an item-level inventory. The folders have been arranged alphabetically within subseries.

In 1997, graduate student Betsy Ewing photocopied and inventoried the fragile 4x6 inch research notes included in Series 4 and placed the photocopies in folders labeled according to Working's note dividers. Alena Wagner then created a subseries list for these notes, removed metal fasteners and placed photographs and news clippings in protective sleeves.

The folders of photocopied notes are available for use by researchers to minimize damage to the fragile original notes. The original 4x6 notes are housed in Box 3, with the exception of folded items, photographs and news clippings, which have been unfolded, housed in protective sleeves and placed in the folders of photocopies.

Further processing of the collection was completed in March 2006. Numerous oversized items which had been folded to fit in the files were removed, unfolded and placed in Box 4. These oversized items are listed with the folders from which they were removed, with the notation, *Oversize, following the item listing.

Inventory Note

Note: Title information supplied by the archivist is bracketed. The abbreviation"DWW" is used to refer to Daniel W. Working. Oversized items which have been movedto Box 4 are indicated by the notation, *Oversize.