Witkowsky Family Papers, 1840-1942

Gift, Mr. and Mrs. Alan D. Whitney, 1960, 1986.

The Witkowsky Family Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room (Priority III).

The Witkowsky Family Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Witkowsky Family Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Alison Hinderliter, 2010.

This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Family who settled in Chicago in the 1840s.

Pauline (born September 1845 in Germany; immigrated in 1848) married Conrad Witkowsky in 1864. They had a son and two daughters: Esther (ca. 1865-1942), James (ca. 1866-1950), and Amy (ca. 1868-1934). James Witkowsky married Flora Mayer, daughter of banker Leopold Mayer. It appears that Esther and Amy never married.

James Witkowsky's cousin and executor to his will, Alan, D. Whitney, was an investment banker and advisor in Winnetka, Illinois. In his World War I military papers he is Pvt. Alan D. Witkowsky; at some point after his service his name was legally changed to Alan D. Whitney. He died in 1984 at the age of 90.

Variety of papers from and about the Witkowsky family of Chicago.

Papers include unsigned valentines with intricate paper cutouts and bas-relief imprinted envelopes, addressed to Pauline, James, or Esther Witkowsky. One valentine is dated 1875; the others are undated and are estimated to be from the 1840s to the 1870s. There is one letter from Pauline (age 13) to her betrothed (Conrad, age 19) while he was in California in 1858; among other topics, she mentions the ship Austria which was lost at sea and had friends and relations on board, and also remarks that the Lincoln-Douglas debates were coming to an end.

The 20th century materials include official papers, poems, and remembrances from Alan D. Whitney (nee Witkowsky), a cousin of James Witkowsky, from his experiences during World War I when he served seven months in the War Trade Board and five months in the Army SOS in Washington, D.C. A final folder includes remembrances and memorial to Esther Witkowsky, who graduated from Vassar College in 1886 and who spoke at the Jewish Women's Congress held in Chicago, September 1893.

Papers are arranged chronologically.

• Names
  • United States. War Trade Board. Bureau of imports. -- Records and correspondence
  • Vassar College. -- Students
  • Whitney, Alan D., 1894-1984
  • Witkowsky, Conrad -- Family
  • Witkowsky, Esther, 1865-1942
  • Witkowsky, James, 1866-1950
  • Witkowsky, Pauline, b. 1845 -- Correspondence
• Subject
  • Chicago
  • Courtship -- Illinois
  • Family Papers
  • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives