“Doing Eau Claire History in the Digital Age: Problems and Opportunities for the Working Historian” *
For presentation to the Wisconsin Historical Society Sites RetreatFeb. 19, 2008
by Jim Oberly
Dept. of History and American Indian Studies Program
Univ. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
*…and some thoughts about interpreting Eau Claire sites….
My background: a “historial genealogist” and/or a “genealogical historian”
Both of my books have taken up national issues or problems in U.S. history and tried to study them at the community level
Sixty Million Acres (1990) studied individual-level geographical mobility among veterans of the War of 1812
Nation of Statesmen (2005) studied inter-generational politics within an American Indian community, the Stockbridge-Munsees of Shawano County
Amazon.com’s subject tracings:
James W Oberly (Author) Key Phrases: allotment selections, lands herein ceded, second draft constitution, United States, Indian Party, Citizens Party (more...) No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
WorldCat’s subject tracings:
Oberly, James Warren, 1954-
Subject(s):
Stockbridge and Munsee Tribe of Indians –
Politics and government.Mohegan Indians –
Politics and government.Indians of North America --Wisconsin --Politics and government.
Political culture --Wisconsin --History.
Question: who did aBetter job of subjectCataloguing?
My 2005 book on Stockbridge-Munseehistory
Teaching History 489 at UWEC
I work with UWEC students on their senior theses in History 489, almost always on Wisconsin history topics
Past History 489 authors published in the *Wisc. Magazine of History*: Mary Ellen Stolder and Bonnie Ripp.
I try to write an article-length seminar paper each time I teach the class, taking an issue or problem in U.S. history and studying Eau Claire in that light.
My last seminar paper (for which I took an “incomplete”) but hope to finish for publication…”A Population History of Eau Claire, 1856-2000”
U.S. population history—as organized into discrete periods by demographic historians1840-1900, the fertility transition from high birth rates to
low birth rates1880-1920, the “mortality revolution” from a high death
rates to low death rates1845-1924 and 1965—ongoing, high rates of
international migration to the U.S.
Question: how does Eau Claire’s population history fit into this national framework?
Here’s how I organize Eau Claire’s population history….
Age-Sex Distribution, Eau Claire 1860 (villages that later made up the City)
15 10 5 0 5 10
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70 and up
ag
e c
ate
go
rie
s
percentage of total population
female
male
Age-Sex Distribution City of Eau Claire, 1950
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70-74
85 and up
ag
e c
ate
go
ries
percentage of total population
female
male
Age-Sex Distribution City of Eau Claire 2000
10 5 0 5 10
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70-74
80-84
age
ca
teg
ori
es
percentage of total population
female
male
City of Men, 1856-1900
City of Children, 1900-1970
City of Women, 1970-ongoing
Age-Sex Distribution, Eau Claire 1860 (villages that later made up the City)
15 10 5 0 5 10
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70 and up
ag
e c
ate
go
rie
s
percentage of total population
female
male
City of (young) Men, 1856-1900
Imagine the type of society characterized by a “City of (young) Men” as Eau Claire was in the second half of the 19th century…
Felony Charges, City of Eau Claire, 1872-1881
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentValid ADULTERY 2 .3 .3 .3 ANIMALCR 1 .2 .2 .5 ARSON 4 .6 .6 1.1 ASSAULT 276 43.3 43.3 44.4 BROTHEL 6 .9 .9 45.3 BURGLARY 8 1.3 1.3 46.6 CONTEMPT 7 1.1 1.1 47.8 DR-NL 3 .5 .5 48.3 FORGERY 4 .6 .6 48.9 FORNICATE 6 .9 .9 49.8 FRAUD 6 .9 .9 50.8 GAMBLING 1 .2 .2 50.9 HUNTING 3 .5 .5 51.4 JUVDELIN 5 .8 .8 52.2 LARCENY 119 18.7 18.7 70.8 OBSCENITY 3 .5 .5 71.3 PATERNIT 6 .9 .9 72.3 PERJURY 1 .2 .2 72.4 RAPE(ATT 5 .8 .8 73.2 RESIST 4 .6 .6 73.8 RIOT 2 .3 .3 74.1 SEDUCTIO 1 .2 .2 74.3 SELLNL/I 1 .2 .2 74.5 SERVING 21 3.3 3.3 77.7 SUNDAY 56 8.8 8.8 86.5 THREAT 13 2.0 2.0 88.6 VAGRANCY 57 8.9 8.9 97.5 VANDALISM 12 1.9 1.9 99.4 WEAPON 3 .5 .5 100.0 Total 638 100.0 100.0
19th Century Eau Claire a more extreme imbalance of men to women than the state….
Sex Ratios for State of Wisconsin and City of Eau Claire, 1860-1920
020406080
100120140160
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940
year
nu
mb
er o
f m
en p
er 1
00
wo
men
WisconsinEau Claire
…and did not reach parity until 1910….
The Immigration boom….
Was intense in Eau Claire up through 1880…
…but ended well before national immigration restrictions in the 1920s
Eau Claire after 1900 attracted very few immigrants from Eastern or Southern Europe—why?
Immigrant Eau Claire(Adults--City only) 1860-1880
Category/Year 1860 1870 1880
Total adult population 1,560 4,241 6,520
Adult population born in the U.S.
60.2% 51.7% 45.4%
Adult population born outside the U.S.
39.8% 48.3% 54.6%
Number of adults born in Canada (French and English-speaking)
134 422 832
Number of adults born in Ireland
186 387 355
Number of adults born in German-speaking nations
156 390 643
Number of adults born in Norway
21 607 1,231
Research Issues:Calculating the crude and age/sex-adjusted
death rates for Eau Claire before 1907Estimating life expectancies at birth and at
different age pointsPublic health measures and combating
infectious diseases
I’m mainly working with Civil War veterans life-time health histories….
Another big question: How did Eau Claire fit into the national history of the “Mortality Revolution” between 1880 and 1920?
Eau Claire’s Civil War Veterans and Widows of 1890 City Ward Disabled
VetsWidows Assorted Causes of Disability
1st 28 3 “Rheumatism,” “chronic diahrrea,” “heart disease,” “gunshot wound,” “dyspepsia,” “367 days in Andersonville Prison,” “forefinger shot at Fair Oaks”
2nd 36 2 “Asthma,” “rupture,” “malaria,” “scurvy,” “blind,” “piles,” “varicose veins,” “partial loss of great toe”
3rd 42 8 “Measles,” “nervous affliction,” “general debility,” “horse fell on leg,” “paralysis,” “wounded by saber”
4th 45 9 “Hernia,” “bronchitits,” “catarrah”
5th 53 5 “Kidney disease,” “nose,” “bowel trouble,” “deafness,” “dysentery”
6th 22 4 “Sunstroke at Vicksburg,” “malarial poisoning”
7th 47 7 “Cough,” “rheumatism,” “diahrrea”
8th 15 3 “Fever,” “agues,” “prisoner at Andersonville Prison for 8 months”
Totals 285 44
Wisconsin Death Rates, 1910-1999
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
year
de
ath
s p
er
10
00
p
op
ula
tio
n
Series1
…but what about before 1907?
What I use now from the WHS…online
Civil War soldiers indexVital Statistics Indexes…Wisc. Public DocumentsWisc. Local Newspaper Collection
What I’d like to have access to, online, from the WHS…
--WNI database, but not at $15 per search!--Full-text searching of local newspaper articles--Digitization of pre-1907 vital statistics
Eau Claire in 1872…are there any sites to interpret from the first phase of the city’s history?
The Grand Ave. bridge and the old courthouse…
Some of the most important sites are under water…
Age-Sex Distribution City of Eau Claire, 1950
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70-74
85 and up
ag
e c
ate
go
ries
percentage of total population
female
male
Phase II--City of Children, 1900-1970
Research issues for the “City of Children” phase of Eau Claire history, 1900-1970
Placement and construction of schools and parks; housing patterns; recruitment of teachers; PTAs, youth sports, etc.
What I use from WHS….School Board minutesBuilding Department recordsParks Department records
What sites are there to interpret for the 2nd phase of Eau Claire history?
Age-Sex Distribution City of Eau Claire 2000
10 5 0 5 10
under 5
age 10-14
20-24
30-34
40-44
50-54
60-64
70-74
80-84
ag
e c
ate
go
rie
s
percentage of total population
female
male
City of Women, 1970--onward
Research issues for “City of Women” phase of Eau Claire history, 1970-onward
Why did the University grow so quickly and in the manner it did, increasingly attractive to women students
How did the gender gap in age grow in Eau Claire among the elderly?
How to interpret Eau Claire State (later, UWEC) as a historic site?
…and what aboutelderly, female Eau Claire today?
Women students at UWEC, 1966-1980