Exploring Eau Claire's History in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities for Historians

1. “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….

2. 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

3. My 2005 book on Stockbridge-Munsee history 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 a Better job of subject Cataloguing?

4. 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.

5. 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 historians • 1840-1900, the fertility transition from high birth rates to low birth rates • 1880-1920, the “mortality revolution” from a high death rates to low death rates • 1845-1924 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?

6. Here’s how I organize Eau Claire’s population history…. City of Men, 1856-1900 City of Children, 1900-1970 City of Women, 1970-ongoing

7. City of (young) Men, 1856-1900

8. 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 Percent Valid 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

9. 19th Century Eau Claire a more extreme imbalance of men to women than the state…. …and did not reach parity until 1910….

10. 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?

11. Immigrant Eau Claire (Adults--City only) 1860-1880

12. Another big question: How did Eau Claire fit into the national history of the “Mortality Revolution” between 1880 and 1920? • Research Issues: • Calculating the crude and age/sex-adjusted death rates for Eau Claire before 1907 • Estimating life expectancies at birth and at different age points • Public health measures and combating infectious diseases I’m mainly working with Civil War veterans life-time health histories….

13. Eau Claire’s Civil War Veterans and Widows of 1890

14. …but what about before 1907?

15. What I use now from the WHS…online • Civil War soldiers index • Vital Statistics Indexes… • Wisc. Public Documents • Wisc. 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

16. Eau Claire in 1872…are there any sites to interpret from the first phase of the city’s history?

17. The Grand Ave. bridge and the old courthouse…

18. Some of the most important sites are under water…

19. Phase II--City of Children, 1900-1970

20. 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 minutes • Building Department records • Parks Department records

21. What sites are there to interpret for the 2nd phase of Eau Claire history?

22. City of Women, 1970--onward

23. 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?

24. How to interpret Eau Claire State (later, UWEC) as a historic site? Women students at UWEC, 1966-1980 …and what about elderly, female Eau Claire today?