Scope and Content Note
The papers of Walter Francis Willcox (1861-1964) span the period 1851-1965, with the bulk of the material from 1886 to 1940. The collection consists of correspondence, a diary, memoranda, notes, reports, books, articles, scrapbooks, and other materials relating primarily to Willcox's career as professor of economics and statistics at Cornell University and as chief statistician in the United States Bureau of the Census for the twelfth United States census. The papers are organized in six series: Family Papers , General Correspondence , Subject File , Book and Article File , Scrapbooks , and Microfilm .
Willcox's practice of saving his papers and his unusually long career make them a rich source for the students of the development of the academic disciplines of economics, sociology and statistics. The history of Cornell University is documented in the letters between Willcox and fellow academicians, especially those exchanged with Jacob Gould Schurman, Cornell president from 1892 to 1920.
Aside from a photocopy of his birth certificate and random comments in later correspondence, there is little information about Willcox's formative years. The Family Papers series consists of bound volumes of correspondence between Willcox and Alice Elaine Work, including before their marriage in 1892, and with other family members.
During his long career, Willcox culled the materials pertinent to the emergent field of statistics, which embraced many related fields in the early years. His concern with the collection of accurate vital statistics led to his appointment as chief statistician for the twelfth census and later to his correspondence with Cressy L. Wilbur, S. N. D. North, and Joseph A. Hill, officials of the Bureau of the Census.
Other noteworthy correspondents include economist Harold Joseph Laski, publicist Alfred Holt Stone, statistician Carroll Davidson Wright, economist F. W. Taussig, Herman Hollerith of the Census Bureau, and Henry L. Stimson.
For his early papers, from 1886-1904, Willcox used a year-by-year alphabetical arrangement. This became unwieldy as his correspondence grew more voluminous, and in 1904 he switched to an alphabetic arrangement that he continued until 1933. For the period 1928-1940 Willcox used a third series of alphabetically arranged general correspondence . He borrowed this portion of his papers from the Library in 1957 and returned only the portion for the letters S through W.
The Subject File reflects Willcox's work as a statistician. It documents his contributions to the field of statistics, and the section on apportionment documents his contributions in the areas of apportionment and reapportionment of seats in the House of Representatives. Correspondents in this effort include Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, and historian Carl L. Becker. Research material spans 1928-1961. The files also document his work in such areas as the census, demography, divorce, hygiene, international cooperation in collecting statistics, and African-American population studies.
Also included in the Subject File are papers concerning J. C. G. Kennedy, formerly superintendent of the census. These include a typescript of a portion of Kennedy's diary for the period June 6-August 8, 1851, and correspondence between Willcox and Kennedy's daughter during the years 1917-1923.
Among Willcox's major contributions are his textbooks on statistics. Drafts of his text Studies in American Demography (1940) are included in the collection along with printed copies of some of his published writings.
Scrapbooks of correspondence, articles, speeches, and clippings for the years 1933-1952 attest to his continued interest and activity in the concerns of his pre-retirement years. The Microfilm series consists of copies of Willcox's correspondence with fellow statistician Stuart A. Rice for the years 1938-1965.