MS 417 William H. Mills

Descriptive summary

creator:	Mills, William H.
title:	Papers
dates:	1869-1952, n.d.
extent:	2.25 linear feet (2 document boxes, 1 oversize box)
collection number:	MS 417
repository:	Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

Administrative information

access:	Open for research
publication rights:	Consult Head, Special Collections Department
preferred citation:	William H. Mills, Papers, MS 417, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

Biographical note

William H. Mills was born in Ohio in 1865 and was the only child of Irish immigrants Joseph and Isabelle Mills. He was raised on farm in Story County, Iowa and continued farming land in Nevada and Ames. He married Adda in 1891 and they raised three children: Harry, born in 1892; Sadie, born in 1896; and Marie, born in 1899. In addition to farming, Mills was a subscription agent for Wallace’s Farmer and occasionally sold furs.

Collection description

This collection contains certificates, correspondence, directories, ephemera, ledgers, receipts, and subscriptions. Researchers will find information concerning Wallace’s Farmer, farming in Iowa, and taxes in Story County, Iowa. Other individuals include family members Joseph, Harry, Marie, and Sadie Mills and the circulation manager for Wallace’s Farmer, H. H. Johnston. Groups include the Story County Farm Bureau, Ames Business Firms Co-operative, Northwestern Hide and Fur Company (Minneapolis, MN), and West Milford Farmer’s Telephone Company (Ames, IA).

Organization

The collection has been arranged into four series:

Series 1. Wallace’s Farmer
Series 2. Farming-related materials
Series 3. Financial records
Series 4. Miscellaneous.

Folders are arranged alphabetically within each series.

Description of series

Series 1	Wallace’s Farmer	1917-1933, n.d.
extent:	8 folders and 2 oversize items
description:	This series contains lists of subscribers, correspondence with circulation and general management at Wallace’s Farmer, ephemera, and a book about Henry Wallace.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
1	1	Correspondence – Wallace’s Farmer	1925-1931
1	2	Generic Wallace’s Farmer correspondence	1927-1930
1	3	Publication: "Uncle Henry’s Own Story" by Henry Wallace	1917
3	OVR	Wallace’s Farmer growth brochure	1926
1	4	Wallace’s Farmer service certificate	1923
1	5	Wallace’s Farmer subscription card orders	1928-1933
1	6	Wallace’s Farmer subscription/expiration memoranda	1925-1930
3	OVR	Wallace’s Farmer subscription offer	n.d
1	7	Wallace’s Farmer subscriptions	1926-1929
1	8	Wm. H. Mills’ account with Wallace’s Farmer	1928

Description of series

Series 2	Farming-related materials	1870-1952, n.d.
extent:	12 folders and 2 oversize items
description:	This series contains ephemera relating to farm machinery, advice pamphlets, farm business ledgers, Story County Farm Bureau materials, and directories of farms in Story County, Iowa.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
3	OVR	Burt Curtis Cornish mating list brochure (Farmersville, TX)	n.d
1	9	Cream separators/separation	1949, n.d.
1	10	Farm business record ledgers	1918-1925
1	11	Farm leases	1870-1943
1	12	Farm warehouse certificate	1934
1	13	Farming advice pamphlets	1937, n.d.
1	14	Farming correspondence	1932
1	15	Gravel receipts	1928
1	16	Products/machinery ephemera	1932-1952
1	17	Receipts from Boston merchants	1883-1886
1	18	Story County Farm Bureau	1932, n.d.
1	19	Story County Farm directory	1922
1	20	Story County Farm directory	1942
3	OVR	Vega cream separator brochure (Minneapolis, MN)	n.d

Description of series

Series 3	Financial records	1886-1935
extent:	7 folders and 1 oversize item
description:	This series contains receipts for taxes paid to the treasurer of Story County by William H. and Joseph Mills. It also contains two of W. H. Mills’ federal tax return forms (1919-1920) and various other receipts, including the United War Fund Campaign, the Farm Defense Program (for Harry, Marie, and Sadie Mills), the Second Red Cross Fund, Ames Grain and Coal Company, and receipts for furs sold by Mills to a fur dealer in New York in 1886.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
3	OVR	Farm return of income	1917
2	1	Federal (U.S.) Taxes	1919-1920
2	2	Other financial papers	1886-1935
2	3	Story County taxes – W. H. and Joseph Mills	1892-1899
2	4	Story County taxes – W. H. and Joseph Mills	1900-1909
2	5	Story County taxes – W. H. and Joseph Mills	1910-1919
2	6	Story County taxes – W. H. Mills	1920-1929
2	7	Story County taxes – W. H. Mills	1930-1935

Description of series

Series 4	Miscellaneous	1869-1939, n.d.
extent:	5 folders and 4 oversize items
description:	This series contains some materials from Joseph Mills, a complete coupon book for various Ames businesses, receipts and a certificate from an Ames telephone company, generic correspondence from a Minneapolis fur company, and a miscellaneous newspaper clipping.

Container list

Box	Folder	Title	Dates
2	8	Ames business firms co-operative coupon book	ca. 1939
3	OVR	Joseph Mills’ citizenship document	1873
2	9	Miscellaneous newspaper clippings	n.d.
2	10	National Geographic Society	1928
2	11	Northwestern Hide and Fur generic correspondence	1927
3	OVR	Northwestern Hide and Fur price list, February	1927
3	OVR	Northwestern Hide and Fur submission sheet (completed), March	1927
3	OVR	Warranty deed between Pollards and Joseph Mills	1869
2	12	West Milford Farmer’s Telephone Company	1922-1924