University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Donovan, Anne and Laurence.

Papers, circa 1890-2002.

UWM Manuscript Collection 227

2.6 cubic ft. (7 archives boxes)

ABSTRACT: This collection contains the papers of Anne and Laurence (Larry) Donovan, long-time residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, relating to their personal and professional activities, which included the founding of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and administration of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. The collection contains extensive correspondence from World War II, when Laurence served with the U.S. Army in Europe. Also included are files documenting the couples’ family life as well as political and volunteer activities.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Donovan Papers are arranged into three series: Family and Personal Activities, Military Activities, and Professional and Service Activities.

The Family and Personal Activities series consists largely of correspondence between Laurence and Anne during his military service in World War II. This correspondence includes Laurence’s narratives about the POW and Displaced Persons camps he liberated in 1945 in Germany and Austria, the countryside and local people encountered by his unit, and fatigue regarding delay in his military discharge. Anne’s school files contain some of her coursework from Milwaukee-area Catholic schools. This series also includes daily journals, family genealogies, and photographs of their extended family, as well as files on Anne and Laurence's three daughters, Kathryn, Mary Eileen, and Margaret.

The subject matter of the scrapbooks located in this series complements material found in all three series. These scrapbooks consist of letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other material. The scrapbooks were re-housed in archival-quality material during processing and retain both their original titles and original order.

The Military Activities series documents Laurence’s military career during World War II. Laurence was also involved in veteran activities and reunions until his death in 2002. This series includes notebooks, postcards, photographs and Laurence’s military card and draft notice. See also the correspondence files from the Family and Personal Activities, as those letters provide additional details about Laurence during World War II.

The Professional and Service Activities series contains political files relating to the couple’s work with various political campaigns, including those of Carl Zeidler and Charles Kersten, as well as their political affiliations with the G.O.P and Young Republican Club. Subject files in this series document their various professional and service activities, such as work done at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. The couple was also involved with the local civil rights movement, and this series includes photographs taken at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial March in 1968, showing Father Groppi, Jesse Jackson, and other notables.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Anne Donovan (nee Kreimsreiter) (1908-1999) was born in rural Wisconsin to Aloysius and Walburga Kreimsreiter, and grew up in Milwaukee. Anne attended Holy Angels Academy and Marquette University in Milwaukee. She served as secretary to Congressman William Stafford (R), and accompanied him to Washington, D.C. in 1928. It was there that she met her husband, Laurence Vincent Donovan (1908-2002), who was born in Brocton, Massachusetts to John J. Donovan and Catherine Agnes Donovan (nee Smith). Anne and Laurence married in 1934. After moving to Milwaukee, they were both active participants in the local political scene, and worked on several political campaigns, including former Mayor Carl Zeidler's. Anne and Laurence co-founded the Milwaukee Chamber Music Society (later the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra). Anne was the chief administrator of the Milwaukee Art Center (later the Milwaukee Art Museum), and was the first administrator of the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum when it opened in 1967. Laurence served in the U.S. Army during WWII as a part of the 42^nd Rainbow Infantry Division, and upon his return to civilian service worked for the Wisconsin Telephone Company for 32 years. Both remained actively involved in the Milwaukee community until their deaths.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Donovan, Anne and Laurence. Papers, circa 1890-2002. UWM Manuscript Collection 227. University Manuscript Collection. Archives. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Mary Eileen Sorenson donated this collection in February 2005 (accession 2004-047) and in March 2005 (accession 2004-052).

PROCESSING: Ann Stachewicz and Ellen Engseth processed the collection at the Archives from September to December of 2005.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.
Political campaigns--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Soldiers--Family relationships--Correspondence.
Veterans--Wisconsin.
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum (Milwaukee, Wis.).
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.

UWM Manuscript Collection 227	BOX	FOLDER
Family and Personal Activities, 50^th Wedding Anniversary Service, 1984	1	1
Family and Personal Activities, Church Activities, 1943-1985	1	2
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Anne to Larry, 1944 November-March	1	3
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Anne to Larry, 1945 April	1	4
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Anne to Larry, 1945 May-June	1	5
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Anne to Larry, 1945 July-August	1	6
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Anne to Larry, 1945 September-October	1	7
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Greeting Cards, circa 1940s	1	8
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1943	1	9
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1944	1	10
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1945 January-March	1	11
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1945 April-May	2	1
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1945 June-July	2	2
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1945 August-September	2	3
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, Larry to Anne, 1945 October-December	2	4
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, To and From Other Family Members, 1941-1944	2	5
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, To and From Other Family Members, 1945-1946, 1964, 1972	2	6
Family and Personal Activities, Correspondence, To and From Other Correspondents, 1943-1950, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1984-1985	2	7
Family and Personal Activities, Daughters, 1945-1970	2	8
Family and Personal Activities, Diaries and Day Planners, Laurence, 1943, 1985	2	9
Family and Personal Activities, Diaries and Day Planners, Laurence, 1993-1994	3	1
Family and Personal Activities, Diaries and Day Planners, Laurence, 1995	3	2
Family and Personal Activities, Diaries and Day Planners, Laurence, 1998-2000	3	3
Family and Personal Activities, Genealogy, circa 1940s-1990s	3	4
Family and Personal Activities, Legal Documents, 1945	3	5
Family and Personal Activities, Newsletters, 1959-1975	3	6
Family and Personal Activities, Obituaries and Funeral Programs, 1946-2002	3	7
Family and Personal Activities, Photographs, Extended and Nuclear Family, circa 1890-1999	3	8
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Holy Angels Academy, Newsletter, 1958	3	9
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Holy Angels Academy, Notebook, 1924-1925	3	10
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Holy Angels Academy and Holy Cross school, Awards and Diploma, 1922, undated	3	11
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Holy Cross School, Composition Books, circa 1922	3	12
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Marquette University, Notebook and Grade Book, 1927-1928	3	13
Family and Personal Activities, School Files, Anne, Marquette University, Notebook, 1928-1929	4	1
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, Anne’s Family, circa 1900	4	2
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Anne and Larry, 1908-50s” (1 of 3)	4	3
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Anne and Larry, 1908-50s” (2 of 3)	4	4
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Anne and Larry, 1908-50s” (3 of 3)	4	5
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Anne and Larry, 60’s-90’s” (1 of 2)	4	6
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Anne and Larry, 60’s-90’s” (2 of 2)	4	7
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Community,” 1956-1994	5	1
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Family and Friends,” circa 1980s-1990s (1 of 3)	5	2
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Family and Friends,” circa1980s-1990s (2 of 3)	5	3
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Family and Friends,” circa 1980s-1990s (3 of 3)	5	4
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Politics,” 1918-1982 (1 of 2)	5	5
Family and Personal Activities, Scrapbooks, “Politics,” 1918-1982 (2 of 2)	5	6
Family and Personal Activities, Sports Memorabilia, 1955-1987	6	1
Military Activities, Photographs, 1940-1945	6	2
Military Activities, Postcards, Army Training Facilities, circa 1940s	6	3
Military Activities, Postcards, “Reims and Paris,” 1945	6	4
Military Activities, Veteran Affairs and Reunions, 1944-1998	6	5
Military Activities, World War II Military Memorabilia, 1940-1945	6	6
Professional and Service Activities, Photographs, 1930-1994	6	7
Professional and Service Activities, Photographs, Anne and Laurence in Washington D.C., 1931-1932	6	8
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, Campaigns, 1930-1992	6	9
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, G.O.P., 1933-1958	6	10
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, Kersten, Charles J., 1950-1956	6	11
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy Educational Foundation, Inc., 1987	6	12
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, Stafford, William H., 1933, 1943-1944	7	1
Professional and Service Activities, Political Files, Wisconsin Young Republicans, 1940	7	2
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 1987	7	3
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Bureau of the Census, regarding Appointment as Employee, 1929-1930	7	4
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Civil Rights Photographs, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial March, 1968 April	7	5
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Civil Rights Work, 1967	7	6
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Irish Americans, regarding Ethnic Slurs, 1984-1991	7	7
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, 1979-1999	7	8
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, 1961-1997	7	9
Professional and Service Activities, Subject Files, Wisconsin Telephone Company, 1943-1973	7	10