William McMurtrie Speer papers, 1880-1936

Summary Information

Description

Summary

Correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts, contracts, legal briefs, patents, and other documents, music scores, cartoons, technical drawings, account books, blueprints, photographs, clippings, printed legal briefs & transcripts, proofs, scrapbooks, and other printed materials of William M. Speer.

There are 14 manuscript boxes & 3 oversize volumes concerning his work as a journalist & publisher. Speer was the Albany correspondent for "The Sun" from 1884 until 1893. From 1893 to 1896 he was editor and part owner of "The Argus" in Albany and there are business records from this period. There is a scrapbook of his articles for "The Buffalo Express" for the period from 1896 until 1903. In 1896 he founded The Law Press as a commercial printer for lawyers, and The Cornucopia Company to publish music and a literary periodical. From 1904 to 1909, he was editorial and legislative writer for the "Evening World" in New York City and there are files of his correspondence, editorial writing, and his investigations of the insurance industry and the Panama Canal libel suit. From 1903 until 1922, he contributed to periodicals and wrote books and pamphlets on many subjects. Starting in 1919, he worked on a scenario and publicity for the Fox Film Corporation's film on wounded veterans of the war. In 1922, he became an editorial writer for "The Evening Mail".

There are 10 boxes of material covering his activities as a public official and political appointee. In 1889, he was Secretary of the Johnstown Flood Committee; in 1889 and 1890, Secretary to The Committee for The International Exposition of 1892; in 1890, Secretary to Mayor of New York City Hugh J. Grant; in 1894, Delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention. In 1910, he was appointed Special Counsel to New York City for the Ashokan Reservoir Compensation Claims, advising the city on landowners' claims in Ulster County. In 1912 and 1913, he was Special Counsel for the Aldermanic Police Investigation in New York City during the anticorruption drive of Mayor William J. Gaynor. In 1920, he became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States to investigate profiteering in the coal industry.

There are 5 boxes of case files from his private legal practice for the period 1890 to 1923.

And there are 4 boxes of papers and an oversize folder of drawings concerning his interests as an inventor, promoter, and businessman. These are files about the Snow Melter (his device to clear city streets), his New York & Brooklyn Economic Power & Construction Company (for the transmission of electricity), The Pneumatic Co. (to manufacture stencil cutting machines), The Philippines Company (a shipping business), hinge making machines (patents and contracts for manufacturing), rack cutting apparatus, an old age pension plan (for the sale of annuities), the Food Committee (a planned co-operative purchasing company), Fabricated Concrete Corporation (which built, rented, and sold houses made of cinder block), Sunlight Gas Machine Co. (which sold equipment for gas lighting), timber mill and timber land sales (acting as an agent for selling land in the southern states), and public transit reorganization (his plan for improving the transportation system in New York City).

Among the cataloged correspondents are: Maxwell Anderson, Charles A. Dana, David B. Hill, Walter Hines Page, S.S. McClure, and Elihu Root.

• Series I: Cataloged Correspondence and Uncataloged Miscellaneous Materials

  Includes cataloged correspondence, as well as miscellaneous clippings, correspondence, documents, pamphlets. Also includes photographs of Speer.

• Series II: Journalist and Publisher, 1884-1923

• Series III: Public Official and Political Appointee, 1889-1921

• Series IV: Attorney in Private Practice, 1890-1923

• Series V: Inventor, Promoter, and Businessman, 1891-1923

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged chronologically within professional categories. Box 1-2: 1888-1936, Cataloged correspondence & Misc.; Box 3-14: 1884-1923, Journalist & Publisher; Box 15-24: 1889-1921, Public Official & Political Appointee; Box 25-29: 1890-1923, Attorney in Private Practice; Box 30-34: 1891-1923, Inventor, Promoter & Businessman.

• Series I: Cataloged Correspondence and Uncataloged Miscellaneous Materials
• Series II: Journalist and Publisher, 1884-1923
• Series III: Public Official and Political Appointee, 1889-1921
• Series IV: Attorney in Private Practice, 1890-1923
• Series V: Inventor, Promoter, and Businessman, 1891-1923

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

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This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William McMurtrie Speer papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Ownership and Custodial History

Gift of Mrs Ann Satterthwaite, 1991.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Source of acquisition--Satterthwaite, Ann. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--03/22/1991. Accession number--M-91-03-22.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers Processed HR 05/19/1992.

Revision Description

2020-10-16 EAD document created by CCR.

Biographical / Historical

William M. Speer was born in Huntingdon PA in 1865 and died in Piermont NY in 1923. He graduated from Yale University in 1880 and from the Albany Law School in 1887. He was a journalist, public official, lawyer, inventor, businessman, publisher, and author.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Genre/Form
Abstracts (summaries)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Account books	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Accounts	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Agreements	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Announcements	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Articles	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Articles of incorporation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Artifacts (object genre)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Bankruptcy proceedings	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Bills (financial)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Bills (legislative records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Biographies (literary works)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Briefs	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Brochures	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Bylaws (administrative records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Cartoons (working drawings)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Case files	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Certificates	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Charts (graphic documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Claims	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Clippings (Information Artifacts)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Commissions	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Contour maps	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Contracts	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Decisions (judicial records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Depositions	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Diagrams	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Drafts (documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Essays	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Fiction (general genre)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Galley proofs	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Geological maps	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Illustrations	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Indictments (legal documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Insurance	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Insurance policies	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Inventories	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Lists (document genres)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Maps (documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Mechanical drawings	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Patent drawings	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Patents	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Photoengravings (prints)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Photographs	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Printing blocks (printing surfaces)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Proceedings (reports)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Proofs (printed matter)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Receipts (financial records)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Reports	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Scores (documents for music)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Scripts (documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Sheet music	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Specifications	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Statistics	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Stock certificates	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Surveys (documents)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Tables	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Testimonials	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Testimonies	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Topographic maps	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Writs	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
architectural drawings (visual works)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
blueprints (reprographic copies)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Name
Anderson, Maxwell, 1888-1959	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Brooklyn Edison Company, Inc	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Comstock, Anthony, 1844-1915	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Cornucopia Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Dana, Charles A (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Dana, Paul, 1852-1930	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Delaware and Eastern Railway Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Dixie Transportation Co., Inc	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Douglass Barnes Corporation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Equitable Life Insurance Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Fabricated Concrete Corporation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Food Committee	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Fox Film Corporation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Gaynor, William Jay, 1849-1913	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Glynn, Martin Henry, 1871-1924	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Grant, Hugh John, 1855-	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Hill, David B (David Bennett), 1843-1910	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
International Exposition of 1892	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Johnstown Flood Committee	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Laffan, William M.	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Law Press	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Lord, Chester Sanders, 1850-1933	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
McClure, S. S (Samuel Sidney), 1857-1949	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Board of Aldermen	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Board of City Record	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Department of Water Resources	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Law Department	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Office of the Mayor	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (N.Y.). Police Department -- : Investigation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York (State). Constitutional Convention (1894)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York Mail and Newspaper Transportation Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
New York and Brooklyn Economic Power and Construction Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
O'Connor, Joseph, 1841-1908	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Page, Walter Hines, 1855-1918	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Philippines Company	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Pneumatic Co	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Pulitzer, Joseph, 1847-1911	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Ralph, Julian, 1853-1903	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Root, Elihu, 1845-1937	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Sulzer, William, 1863-1941	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Sunlight Gas Machine Co., Inc	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
United States. Attorney-General	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Untermyer, Samuel, 1858-1940	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Place
Ashokan Reservoir (N.Y.)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Kingston (N.Y.)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Panama Canal (Panama)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Ulster County (N.Y.)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Subject
Actions and defenses	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Agriculture	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Annuities	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Bankruptcy	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Businessmen	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Cinder blocks	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Coal -- Transportation -- Law and legislation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Coal trade	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Concrete houses	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Consumer cooperatives	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Cooperation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Dairy laws -- New York (State)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Deeds	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Editors	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Eminent domain -- New York (State)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Johnstown (Cambria County)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Food supply	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Gas-lighting	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Government attorneys	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Government litigation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Hinges -- Manufacture	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Insurance companies -- Investigation	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Inventions	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Inventors	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Journalism	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Journalists	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Lawyers	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Libel and slander	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Local transit -- New York (State) -- New York -- Reorganization	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Lumber trade -- Southern States	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Machinery	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Music publishers	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Music publishing	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Newspaper publishing	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Old age pensions	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Police corruption -- New York (State) -- New York	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Precast concrete construction	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Printing -- Technological innovations	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Promoters	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Public officers	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Publishers and publishing	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Real property	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Representation in administrative proceedings	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Sawmills -- Southern States	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Scrapbooks	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Shipping	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Ships, Concrete	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Snow removal -- Technological innovations	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Stencils and stencil cutting -- Technological innovations	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Transportation -- New York (State) -- New York -- Reorganization	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
Trials (Libel)	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID
World War, 1914-1918 -- Veterans	CLIO Catalog	ArchiveGRID