Guide to the John Henry Wigmore (1863-1943) Papers, 1868-1999

John Henry Wigmore was born March 4, 1863, at San Francisco, California, one of several children of John and Harriet (Joyner) Wigmore. John Henry Wigmore, called Harry by his parents, received his early education at San Francisco's private and highly regarded Urban Academy. From there he attended Harvard where he took A.B. (1883), A.M. (1884), and LL.B. (1887) degrees.

Wigmore practiced law in Boston for two years following his graduation from law school. Subsequently he embarked on an academic career, his first appointment was as professor of Anglo-American law at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

While at Keio Wigmore became immersed in the study of comparative law and a distinguished student of Japanese law. A major legacy of his tenure at Keio was his research into Tokugawa era law and a resultant series of publications he edited and issued under the collective title Materials for the Study of Private Law in Old Japan.

Wigmore accepted an offer to teach at Northwestern University and joined the faculty of its School of Law in 1893. He remained affiliated with Northwestern for the rest of his life, serving as the School of Law's dean from 1901 to 1929. In this capacity Wigmore transformed a relatively modest institution into one of the leading law schools in the United States. He assembled a distinguished faculty, reformed and added breadth to the curriculum, promoted research into developing areas of legal scholarship, expanded the School's library holdings, and founded or strongly supported the Illinois Law Review (now the Northwestern University Law Review), the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, and the Journal of Air Law. Wigmore was a key figure in his advocacy for building a new, consolidated Chicago campus for Northwestern's professional schools and directed the effort to construct, endow, and furnish Levy Mayer Hall as home to the School of Law. Even after giving up his deanship, Wigmore's contributions to Northwestern, his standing in the legal community, and his remarkable ambition and energy made him a forceful and respected presence at the School of Law for the remainder of his life.

Within the legal profession, Wigmore was universally known for his multi-volume work, A Treatise on the System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law, Including the Statutes and Judicial Decisions of All Jurisdictions of the United States (1904-1905), commonly called the Treatise on Evidence1 and probably the most useful and heavily cited law text of its day.

The Treatise is the foundation for Wigmore's reputation as a scholar but it is by no means his only significant contribution to the literature of evidence. He initiated his work in this field by editing the first volume of Greenleaf's A Treatise on the Law of Evidence (Sixteenth Edition, 1899). Wigmore published three editions of A Pocket Code of the Rules of Evidence in Trials at Law (1910, 1935 and 1942), A Selection of Cases on Evidence for the Use of Students of Law (1906, Second Edition 1913, Third Edition 1932), and A Students' Textbook of the Law of Evidence (1935). Some of his major publications on other topics include A Panorama of the World's Legal Systems (3 vols., 1928), A Kaleidoscope of Justice (1941), Examinations in Law, Consisting of Practical Problems and Cases (1899), and A Guide to American International Law and Practice (1943). Wigmore was an editor of considerable energy and renown. Titles and series published under his editorial control or with his assistance include the Modern Criminal Science Series (9 vols.), Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History (3 vols.), the Modern Legal Philosophy Series (12 vols.), the Continental Legal History Series (10 vols.), the Evolution of Law Series (3 vols.), Sources of Ancient and Primitive Law (1915) and Science and Learning in France (1917). In spare moments he authored many score of law review articles, comments, and notes as well as topical pieces and book reviews for general interest magazines and newspapers.

Wigmore was also very active in the work of academic organizations and professional associations of the legal community. He served as the second president of the American Association of University Professors. He was a leading member of the American Bar Association and the first chairman of its Section of International and Comparative Law. He organized the National Conference on Criminal Law and Criminology in 1909. From this issued the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology; Wigmore was its first president. He was influential in the development of the American Judicature Society, helped establish both the Air Law Institute and the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwestern University, and contributed to the work of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and to the Illinois Commission on Uniform State Laws.

Wigmore married Emma Hunt Vogl (born July 26, 1860) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1889. Their marriage was long, happy, and characterized by exceptional and mutual devotion. Wigmore drew upon his wife's talents to aid him in his professional duties and especially in the completion of his publications. Generations of students knew her as the considerate first lady of Northwestern's School of Law. The Wigmores traveled extensively both in the United States and abroad. Their itineraries nearly always brought them to places of legal interest: courts and legislative halls, governmental buildings, law schools, the homes and offices of distinguished jurists, and historic sites of the profession.

John Henry Wigmore died in Chicago on April 20, 1943. Emma Wigmore died four months later on August 22nd. Their remains are interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The Wigmores had no children.

A great deal has been written on the life and career of John Henry Wigmore. The most extensive consideration is William R. Roalfe's John Henry Wigmore, Scholar and Reformer (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1977). Many shorter works by a number of authors may be found filed at Box 1, folders 6 through 9 of the Wigmore papers. Bibliographies of Wigmore's voluminous writings are filed at Box 1, Folders 4 and 5. Finally, “Recollections of Dean Wigmore,” a collection of biographical reminiscences edited by Albert Kocourek, may be found at Box 17, Folders 8 through 11 and Box 18, Folders 1 through 3

The Northwestern University School of Law transferred the John Henry Wigmore Papers to the University Archives in 1990 and 1991. A small amount of biographical materials previously held by the University Archives (Accession #79-132) have been incorporated.

Carol Loar, Peter Oehlkers, Kevin Leonard and the student assistants of the Northwestern University Archives; 1990-1998.

School of Law curricular and student and alumni materials (Boxes 159-172 and 237-240) may be used only with permission of the University Archivist.

The papers span the period 1868-1999 although the vast bulk date from the late-1880s to 1943, the year of Wigmore's death. Wigmore was an inveterate correspondent and a person of catholic interests. The papers include material of considerable importance to the investigation of law, legal scholarship and the work of legal and quasi-legal institutions such as bar associations and organizations promoting, for example, the study of criminology, international law, and comparative legal institutions. The papers also are replete with the documentation of more mundane concerns such as Wigmore's health, finances, family matters, and hobbies.

The papers of John Henry Wigmore are prodigious in volume and scope. They document not only the long and productive career of an eminent legal scholar but also reflect upon many of the most significant issues and developments of jurisprudence during the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. The Wigmore papers are organized into eight major categories: biographical materials, general and subject correspondence, materials relating to the Northwestern University School of Law, military records, items concerning his work and travel in Japan and materials germane to the study of Japanese law and legal customs, speeches and minor publications, books and other major publications, and music. Many materials of non-standard format, particularly oversized items, are arranged at the end of the papers; thereafter these are arranged into categories as enumerated above.

Biographical materials fill more than seventeen boxes and include items pertaining to Wigmore's education and to his many awards and honors; clippings; personal financial records; health records; travel diaries and memorabilia; and correspondence between Wigmore and his wife, Emma. Of special note are the many encomiums from friends and colleagues collected by Albert Kocourek and intended for publication in a memorial volume.

Biographical materials are topically categorized with folders arranged alphabetically by their topical headings. Items within folders will be found in chronological order with undated items, where present, at the back of each folder. Researchers seeking general information relating to major events in Wigmore's life or material of a personal nature should review and consult this category of the papers.

General and subject correspondence forms the bulk of the collection, filling over one hundred boxes. Included are both incoming and copies, usually carbons, of outgoing letters. Most of Wigmore's correspondence with other individuals or with institutions and organizations will be found here. Correspondents represented include, for the most part, other legal scholars or academics in fields tangential to law, prominent lawyers and judges, officers and representatives of bar associations and professional societies, Northwestern University School of Law alumni, close friends, and relatives.

The correspondence and related materials pertaining to institutions and organizations commonly concern professional associations such as bar and other juridic associations, both domestic and foreign; colleges and universities and especially schools of law; courts and governmental agencies; foundations; publications such as newspapers, magazines and journals; and publishing companies. Of particular note are sizable bodies of material relating to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; the Society for American Fellowships in French Universities; the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory; Little, Brown, & Company, Wigmore's major publisher; the Legal Aid Bureau, Legal Aid Society, and National Association of Legal Aid Organizations; the International Congress of Comparative Law; files on notable cases of criminal law; civil air regulations, the Bureau of Air Commerce, and the nascent field of air law; the Association of American Law Schools; the American, Illinois, and Chicago bar associations; the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology; and the American Judicature Society.

The folders containing general and subject correspondence are arranged alphabetically by name of individual or entity with whom or with which Wigmore dealt. Also, at the beginning of each letter of the alphabetized files will be found one or more folders of general correspondence between Wigmore and individuals or organizations whose family or corporate names begin with that letter. Letters within these folders, themselves arranged alphabetically, represent single or infrequent transactions between Wigmore and his correspondents. Letters within all the other correspondence folders are arranged chronologically.

Wigmore's endeavors as dean of the Northwestern University School of Law are represented by nearly fifty boxes of material. These are organized further into the following subcategories: administration and finance, endowment and building fund records, building design and interior decoration, the Gary Library, faculty, curriculum, and students and alumni. Within these subcategories folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topical headings.

Materials relating to administration and finance are useful particularly for the information they contain on foundation support of School of Law programs.

Wigmore was involved intimately in the fundraising and planning for School of Law facilities especially Levy Mayer Hall and the Gary Library. The design and especially the decoration of Levy Mayer Hall and the development of the Library's collection are documented in great detail.

Faculty records generally concern routine personnel matters such as hiring and course assignments or other activities which normally fall within the purview of a dean.

Curricular files, arranged by course title or content, include syllabi, examination questions, lecture notes and, on occasion, student papers or other works for courses Wigmore taught.

Finally, student and alumni files contain correspondence, often routine in nature, frequently pertaining to School of Law fundraising or to matriculation, course requirements, and graduation. Topical files on student organizations, prizes, scholarships, and student military service during the two world wars are located here.

Wigmore's military career, which was a source of great personal pride, is documented by correspondence, memoranda, reports, and graphic materials. His service during World War I as a member of the staff of General Enoch H. Crowder, Judge Advocate General, and with the Selective Service division of the Provost Marshall General is particularly well-documented. Wigmore offered critical appraisals of the American war effort in “The Conduct of the War in Washington: A Critique of Men and Methods” and “Military Justice during the War.” Some of Wigmore's correspondence with Northwestern alumni and students in uniform and his School of Law “Soldiers' Newsletter” may be found in this category.

Wigmore's work and travels in Japan and his research relating to Japanese law and legal customs are represented by thirteen boxes of correspondence, subject files and research materials. The correspondence is arranged, for the most part, chronologically and dates from both the 1890s and from the period 1935-1942. The subject files largely pertain to Wigmore's teaching career at Keio University, 1889-1892, as well as to his lecture engagements and travel through Japan in 1935. Wigmore was an outstanding scholar of Japanese law and a leader of the project to compile and translate the private laws of the Tokugawa era. He was a witness to a crucial period in Japanese history -- the establishment of a parliamentary government in 1890, a friend and colleague to a number of important Japanese, and an outspoken supporter of Japan during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The correspondence of Emma Wigmore and her mother, Frances Vogl, to their family in Boston and captioned under the heading “Letters of an American Bride from Japan in the [18]90s,” offer views both of quotidian Japanese life and customs and of the interests and activities of the expatriate community in Japan.

Finally, for his work on the Study of Private Law in Old Japan, Wigmore gathered a considerable amount of research materials. These included translations of Japanese legal writings as well as untranslated and original sources relating to Japanese law. He viewed the Study as an opportunity to examine the evolution of a society's law without Western influence. With the help of a team of translators and a body of sources from which to work, Wigmore managed to complete four volumes of the work before returning to the United States in 1892. Materials from the Study comprise the majority of his files pertaining to Japan.

Wigmore returned to Japan in 1935, in part to resume work on the Study. Rising tensions and, ultimately, war between the United States and Japan foreclosed its completion during Wigmore's lifetime. Researchers should be aware that much of Wigmore's correspondence relating to Japan will be found with the General and Subject Correspondence Files. Noteworthy among his correspondents were S. Kurino, Kentaro Kaneko, and Kenzo Takayanagi and the occidental scholars Basil Hall Chamberlain, Lafcadio Hearn, Frank Brinkley, and Gustave Boissonade.

While he remains known for his monumental Treatise on Evidence, Wigmore was the author or editor of other major works of legal scholarship. In addition, he wrote hundreds of articles, comments, and reviews for both professional journals and the popular press. A heralded speaker, Wigmore traveled often and widely to address topics in contemporary legal scholarship before members of the bar, law students, and academics. He spoke frequently before general audiences on contemporary legal issues.

Wigmore's public addresses and writings are grouped into two sections: speeches and minor publications and books and other major publications.

Speeches and minor publications are arranged into folders alphabetically by article or speech title when available or, alternately, by name of publication of speaking venue. Material includes clippings, reprints, and typescript or handwritten drafts. Correspondence pertaining to a particular article or speech is sometimes included with that article or speech.

Materials concerning Wigmore's books and other major publications are arranged first by title and thereafter by type of documentation. Many of the titles are represented by considerable amounts of correspondence and promotional materials relating to production concerns, sales, and distribution. Manuscript drafts and proofs are available for some titles. Noteworthy are the copy books Wigmore prepared in connection with his “Treatise on Evidence.”

The last major category of Wigmore's papers relates to his lifelong love of music. Wigmore enjoyed composing comic airs for gatherings of lawyers and law students but also wrote love songs and lachrymose and sentimental ballads. He was especially proud of “We'll See Them Through,” a martial, patriotic number written during the First World War. Compositions and related correspondence are arranged in folders by song title or sometimes by venue of performance. Oversize materials, typically pieces of sheet music, are housed in one dropfront box.

For ease in handling and economy in boxing and shelving, many items of non-standard or oversized formats have been arranged at the end of the papers and include biographical materials, correspondence, School of Law records, military records, and lantern slides from Wigmore's speaking engagements and lecture tours. These are enumerated in the container list of this inventory.

Completing the series is a small amount of correspondence of Sarah B. (Sallie) Morgan, secretary to John Henry Wigmore. This correspondence relates primarily to the management of John and Emma Wigmore's estates in the years immediately following their deaths.

The papers span the period 1868-1999 although the vast bulk date from the late-1880s to 1943, the year of Wigmore's death. Wigmore was an inveterate correspondent and a person of catholic interests. The papers include material of considerable importance to the investigation of law, legal scholarship and the work of legal and quasi-legal institutions such as bar associations and organizations promoting, for example, the study of criminology, international law, and comparative legal institutions. The papers also are replete with the documentation of more mundane concerns such as Wigmore's health, finances, family matters, and hobbies.

The papers of John Henry Wigmore are prodigious in volume and scope. They document not only the long and productive career of an eminent legal scholar but also reflect upon many of the most significant issues and developments of jurisprudence during the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. The Wigmore papers are organized into eight major categories: biographical materials, general and subject correspondence, materials relating to the Northwestern University School of Law, military records, items concerning his work and travel in Japan and materials germane to the study of Japanese law and legal customs, speeches and minor publications, books and other major publications, and music. Many materials of non-standard format, particularly oversized items, are arranged at the end of the papers; thereafter these are arranged into categories as enumerated above.

Biographical materials fill more than seventeen boxes and include items pertaining to Wigmore's education and to his many awards and honors; clippings; personal financial records; health records; travel diaries and memorabilia; and correspondence between Wigmore and his wife, Emma. Of special note are the many encomiums from friends and colleagues collected by Albert Kocourek and intended for publication in a memorial volume.

Biographical materials are topically categorized with folders arranged alphabetically by their topical headings. Items within folders will be found in chronological order with undated items, where present, at the back of each folder. Researchers seeking general information relating to major events in Wigmore's life or material of a personal nature should review and consult this category of the papers.

General and subject correspondence forms the bulk of the collection, filling over one hundred boxes. Included are both incoming and copies, usually carbons, of outgoing letters. Most of Wigmore's correspondence with other individuals or with institutions and organizations will be found here. Correspondents represented include, for the most part, other legal scholars or academics in fields tangential to law, prominent lawyers and judges, officers and representatives of bar associations and professional societies, Northwestern University School of Law alumni, close friends, and relatives.

The correspondence and related materials pertaining to institutions and organizations commonly concern professional associations such as bar and other juridic associations, both domestic and foreign; colleges and universities and especially schools of law; courts and governmental agencies; foundations; publications such as newspapers, magazines and journals; and publishing companies. Of particular note are sizable bodies of material relating to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; the Society for American Fellowships in French Universities; the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory; Little, Brown, & Company, Wigmore's major publisher; the Legal Aid Bureau, Legal Aid Society, and National Association of Legal Aid Organizations; the International Congress of Comparative Law; files on notable cases of criminal law; civil air regulations, the Bureau of Air Commerce, and the nascent field of air law; the Association of American Law Schools; the American, Illinois, and Chicago bar associations; the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology; and the American Judicature Society.

The folders containing general and subject correspondence are arranged alphabetically by name of individual or entity with whom or with which Wigmore dealt. Also, at the beginning of each letter of the alphabetized files will be found one or more folders of general correspondence between Wigmore and individuals or organizations whose family or corporate names begin with that letter. Letters within these folders, themselves arranged alphabetically, represent single or infrequent transactions between Wigmore and his correspondents. Letters within all the other correspondence folders are arranged chronologically.

Wigmore's endeavors as dean of the Northwestern University School of Law are represented by nearly fifty boxes of material. These are organized further into the following subcategories: administration and finance, endowment and building fund records, building design and interior decoration, the Gary Library, faculty, curriculum, and students and alumni. Within these subcategories folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topical headings.

Materials relating to administration and finance are useful particularly for the information they contain on foundation support of School of Law programs.

Wigmore was involved intimately in the fundraising and planning for School of Law facilities especially Levy Mayer Hall and the Gary Library. The design and especially the decoration of Levy Mayer Hall and the development of the Library's collection are documented in great detail.

Faculty records generally concern routine personnel matters such as hiring and course assignments or other activities which normally fall within the purview of a dean.

Curricular files, arranged by course title or content, include syllabi, examination questions, lecture notes and, on occasion, student papers or other works for courses Wigmore taught.

Finally, student and alumni files contain correspondence, often routine in nature, frequently pertaining to School of Law fundraising or to matriculation, course requirements, and graduation. Topical files on student organizations, prizes, scholarships, and student military service during the two world wars are located here.

Wigmore's military career, which was a source of great personal pride, is documented by correspondence, memoranda, reports, and graphic materials. His service during World War I as a member of the staff of General Enoch H. Crowder, Judge Advocate General, and with the Selective Service division of the Provost Marshall General is particularly well-documented. Wigmore offered critical appraisals of the American war effort in “The Conduct of the War in Washington: A Critique of Men and Methods” and “Military Justice during the War.” Some of Wigmore's correspondence with Northwestern alumni and students in uniform and his School of Law “Soldiers' Newsletter” may be found in this category.

Wigmore's work and travels in Japan and his research relating to Japanese law and legal customs are represented by thirteen boxes of correspondence, subject files and research materials. The correspondence is arranged, for the most part, chronologically and dates from both the 1890s and from the period 1935-1942. The subject files largely pertain to Wigmore's teaching career at Keio University, 1889-1892, as well as to his lecture engagements and travel through Japan in 1935. Wigmore was an outstanding scholar of Japanese law and a leader of the project to compile and translate the private laws of the Tokugawa era. He was a witness to a crucial period in Japanese history -- the establishment of a parliamentary government in 1890, a friend and colleague to a number of important Japanese, and an outspoken supporter of Japan during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The correspondence of Emma Wigmore and her mother, Frances Vogl, to their family in Boston and captioned under the heading “Letters of an American Bride from Japan in the [18]90s,” offer views both of quotidian Japanese life and customs and of the interests and activities of the expatriate community in Japan.

Finally, for his work on the Study of Private Law in Old Japan, Wigmore gathered a considerable amount of research materials. These included translations of Japanese legal writings as well as untranslated and original sources relating to Japanese law. He viewed the Study as an opportunity to examine the evolution of a society's law without Western influence. With the help of a team of translators and a body of sources from which to work, Wigmore managed to complete four volumes of the work before returning to the United States in 1892. Materials from the Study comprise the majority of his files pertaining to Japan.

Wigmore returned to Japan in 1935, in part to resume work on the Study. Rising tensions and, ultimately, war between the United States and Japan foreclosed its completion during Wigmore's lifetime. Researchers should be aware that much of Wigmore's correspondence relating to Japan will be found with the General and Subject Correspondence Files. Noteworthy among his correspondents were S. Kurino, Kentaro Kaneko, and Kenzo Takayanagi and the occidental scholars Basil Hall Chamberlain, Lafcadio Hearn, Frank Brinkley, and Gustave Boissonade.

While he remains known for his monumental Treatise on Evidence, Wigmore was the author or editor of other major works of legal scholarship. In addition, he wrote hundreds of articles, comments, and reviews for both professional journals and the popular press. A heralded speaker, Wigmore traveled often and widely to address topics in contemporary legal scholarship before members of the bar, law students, and academics. He spoke frequently before general audiences on contemporary legal issues.

Wigmore's public addresses and writings are grouped into two sections: speeches and minor publications and books and other major publications.

Speeches and minor publications are arranged into folders alphabetically by article or speech title when available or, alternately, by name of publication of speaking venue. Material includes clippings, reprints, and typescript or handwritten drafts. Correspondence pertaining to a particular article or speech is sometimes included with that article or speech.

Materials concerning Wigmore's books and other major publications are arranged first by title and thereafter by type of documentation. Many of the titles are represented by considerable amounts of correspondence and promotional materials relating to production concerns, sales, and distribution. Manuscript drafts and proofs are available for some titles. Noteworthy are the copy books Wigmore prepared in connection with his “Treatise on Evidence.”

The last major category of Wigmore's papers relates to his lifelong love of music. Wigmore enjoyed composing comic airs for gatherings of lawyers and law students but also wrote love songs and lachrymose and sentimental ballads. He was especially proud of “We'll See Them Through,” a martial, patriotic number written during the First World War. Compositions and related correspondence are arranged in folders by song title or sometimes by venue of performance. Oversize materials, typically pieces of sheet music, are housed in one dropfront box.

For ease in handling and economy in boxing and shelving, many items of non-standard or oversized formats have been arranged at the end of the papers and include biographical materials, correspondence, School of Law records, military records, and lantern slides from Wigmore's speaking engagements and lecture tours. These are enumerated in the container list of this inventory.

Completing the series is a small amount of correspondence of Sarah B. (Sallie) Morgan, secretary to John Henry Wigmore. This correspondence relates primarily to the management of John and Emma Wigmore's estates in the years immediately following their deaths.