Mary Bartelme PapersAn inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Mary Bartelme Papers

An inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago


Collection Summary
	Creator:	Bartleme, Mary
	Title:	Mary Bartelme Papers
	Dates:	1904-1958
	Abstract:	Part of the Jane Addams Memorial Collection. Part of the Midwest Women's Historical Collection. Mary Bartelme (1865-1954) was the first woman Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County assigned to the Juvenile Court. She held that position from 1923 until her retirement in 1933. Prior to being elected a judge, Mary Bartelme worked in private practice as a probate and real estate lawyer. In 1897, she was appointed Public Guardian of Cook County. She was the first woman to hold that position. From 1913 to 1923 she was the assistant to Judge Merrit W. Pinckney of the Juvenile Court. The collection contains diaries, photographs, articles, speeches, clippings, correspondence, case records, minutes and obituaries. The materials pertain to election campaigns, the Mary Clubs, the St. Charles School for Boys, the Friends of the Juvenile Court, juvenile delinquents, Hull-House and the Bowen Country Club. Finding aid available.
	Quantity:	4.75 linear feet
	Identification:	MBartleme

Biography of Mary Bartelme

Mary Margaret Bartelme, the daughter of Balthasar and Jeannette T. (Hoff), was born on July 24, 1866 in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents owned farmland located on north Halsted Street. Bartelme, along with her two sisters and brother, attended the West Division High School and Cook County Normal School. At age 19 Bartelme graduated and began to teach at Armour Street and Garfield Park schools. She enrolled in law school at Northwestern University in 1892, graduating in probate and real estate law two years later. In 1894 she was admitted to the Illinois Bar.

Bartelme co-founded the Chicago Business Woman's Club in 1894 becoming president of the club in 1902. She also was a member and office holder of the Chicago Suffrage Club. Bartelme retained active membership in the Chicago Women's Club, the Cordon Club, the Women's City Club of Chicago, the League of Women Voters (after 1920), the Friendly Big Sisters League, and the Everyday Club. Bartelme accepted honorary memberships of the Chicago College Club and the Big Sisters.

Illinois Governor John R. Tanner appointed Bartelme to be Public Guardian of Cook County in 1897. She was the first woman to occupy this office, her tenure lasted 16 years. In 1899, Bartelme with Julia Lathrop, Lucy Flowers, the State Board of Charities, and other reformers she lobbied for and established the juvenile court in Chicago. That same year, with Louise deKoven Bowen and Sara Hart, Bartelme established a detention home instead of adult jail for juvenile offenders. Bartelme resigned from her position as public guardian in 1913 to become assistant judge to Judge Merritt W. Pinckney who presided over a growing number of juvenile court cases. In 1914, she established a "Mary Club" in her house as a place for girls to be supervised before their placement in foster care. In 1916 she created a second Mary Club for white girls and five years later she established a separate Mary Club for black girls. By 1923, over 2,600 girls passed through the houses. Elected judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1923, Bartelme was assigned to the Juvenile Court. She included social scientists in the hearing and sentencing portions of court proceedings. Bartelme believed the county should provide public services to juveniles and worked with the Juvenile Protective Association and the Chicago Park District to give juveniles an opportunity to experience city services. In 1925 she organized the Service Council for Girls. Though elected for a six-year term in 1927, the economic depression just two years later undermined public financial support for juvenile services. Bartelme retired in 1933 and moved to Carmel, California with her brother until her death on July 25, 1954.

Scope and Contents

The Mary M. Bartelme papers consists of material between the years 1890-1954. The collection consists of journals, correspondence, photographs, and articles. Correspondence includes letters between Bartelme and her family as well as communication with women's organizations and groups. Personal photographs depict Bartelme, her family, and friends vacationing in Africa, Europe, and the United States. Judicial correspondence includes memorandums circulated by the Cook County Juvenile Court, letters from former wards, and Bartelme's thoughts regarding the court. Records from her career as Public Guardian of Cook County and her subsequent retirement to Carmel, California are also included.

This collection is arranged into two series:

Series 1. Personal Papers (1890-1954) - 72 files

Series 2. Judicial Papers (1913-1946) - 82 files

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Case records restricted


Index Terms
	This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
	Subjects:
		Bartelme, Mary--Archives.
		Juvenile justice, Administration of--Illinois--Cook County--Sources.

		Chicago Political and Civic Life
		Hull-House and Settlement House History
		Midwest Women's History

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Mary M. Bartelme papers were donated to the University of Illinois at Chicago, Main Library, Special Collections, as two distinct collections in 1992 and 1994 from the Bartelme family and Barry Cassidy Rare Books located in Sacramento, California. In 2003 the collections were combined and arranged into series reflecting Bartelme's personal life and judicial career. The series are arranged chronologically.

Bibliography

Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele Haste, eds. Women Building Chicago 1790-1950.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. 66-70.

Detailed Description/Box and Folder Listing


Series I. Personal Papers
Box	Folder
		Series I reflects Mary M. Bartelme's personal life during her involvement with Hull-House
Box	Folder
1	1	Diary, 1883; Travel Notes, 1897, 1936-1940
	2	Diary 1892; Trip to Denver, 1895; Trip to Carmel, 1934; Trip to Europe, 1906; Election Flyer, 1923; Trip to Rancho Santa Fe, 1950; speech to Juvenile Court, n.d.
	3	Address Book, 1918
	4	Adelaide Bartelme travel diary--Europe, 1929
	5	Travel Memorabilia from Europe and Africa, 1929
	6	Daily Calendar, 1929-1930, 1933-1934
	7	Daily Calendar, 1935, 1941, 1946-1947
	8	Daily Calendar, 1948-1951
	9	Guest Book, 1950-1951
	10	Letters to-- log, 1951-1954
Box	Folder
2	11	Philip George Bartelme Programs, 1891-1892, 1917,1944; Correspondence, 1908, 1911, 1917-1919, 1929, 1939 Newspaper Clippings, 1930, 1936, 1913-1914, 1903-1921; Program, 1941
	12	Grace Bartelme Notebook, 1899
	13	Jeannette Mary "Jimmie" Bartelme Raymond Correspondence, 1907-1908, 1917-1949
	14	Eugene A. "Swats" Bartelme Fraternity Membership Certificate; Correspondence, 1911-1919
	15	Adelaide Bartelme Greeting Cards; Newspaper Clippings, 1929-1934
	16	Ibid., Correspondence, 1918-1953; Mary Bartelme Club Leaflet, 1952-1953; Newspaper Clipping, 1941
	17	Business and personal correspondence, 1920-1952
	18	Mary E. McDowell Newspaper Clipping, 1924
	19	Bartelme Property Carmel Highlands Correspondence, 1925-1946
	20	Newspaper Clippings, n.d., 1926, 1940; Invitation n.d.
	21	Newspaper Clippings, 1930; Program, 1927
Box	Folder
3	22	Correspondence. Mary Bartelme to Grace and Adelaide Bartelme about trips to Europe and Africa, 1929
	23	Jeannette "Jimmy" Raymond Foster Correspondence, 1931-1954; Program, 1941, n.d.
	24	Boys Club correspondence, 1931
	25	Mary Anne Raymond Bird Correspondence, 1931-1953; Newspaper Clipping, n.d.
	26	Mary Bartelme Biographical Data, 1933
	27	Susan Raymond Correspondence, ca. 1935-1953
	28	Adelaide Bartelme Correspondence, n.d., 1936; Program, 1935; Article, 1935
	29	Correspondence, 1929-1944
	30	Newspaper Clippings and Maps, 1948
	31	Jeannette "Jimmy" Raymond Foster Correspondence, 1949-1951
	32	Correspondence, 1907-1908, 1917-1949
Box	Folder
4	33	Correspondence, 1951
	34	Newspaper Clippings, 1952
	35	Newspaper Clippings, 1953, 1955
	36	Correspondence, n.d.
	37	Jeannette "Jimmy" Raymond Foster Newspaper Clippings, n.d.
	38	Citizenship Papers of Elsie Anderson, 1930, 1941; Greeting Cards, n.d.; Correspondence, 1948
	39	Grace Bartelme correspondence and notebook, January 1899
	40	Newspaper Clippings, 1903, 1919, 1921, 1931, 1944, 1947
	41	Newspaper Clippings, 1922
	42	Mary M. Bartelme Obituary, 1954
	43	Photographs, ca. 1890s
	44	Ibid., ca. 1890s-1929
	45	Ibid., 1895
Box	Folder
5	46	Ibid., ca. 1896
	47	Ibid., 1898
	48	Ibid., ca. 1910
	49	Ibid., 1910
	50	Ibid., ca. 1920s
	51	Ibid., 1923, 1934
	52	Ibid., 1923, 1925, 1927, 1940
	53	Ibid., 1924
	54	Ibid., 1924
	55	Ibid., 1924
	56	Ibid., 1927, 1934, 1936
	57	Ibid., 1924, 1927, n.d.
	58	Ibid., 1927
	59	Ibid., 1927
	60	Ibid., 1927-1928, 1934-1935,1940
	61	Ibid., 1930, 1934-1935, 1941-1942
Box	Folder
6	62	Ibid., 1924
	63	Ibid., 1935-1936
	64	Ibid., 1936
	65	Ibid., 1946-1947, 1949, 1952-1953
	66	Ibid., 1947
	67	Ibid., 1948
	68	Ibid., n.d.
	68	Ibid., n.d.
	68	Ibid., n.d.
	69	Glass Slide, n.d.
	70	Photograph, n.d.
	71	Ibid., n.d.


Series 2. Judicial Correspondence and Articles
Box	Folder
		This series contains correspondence and articles related to Mary M. Bartelme's career within the judicial system of the Cook County
Box	Folder
6	72	Juvenile Court Correspondence, 1915, 1932; Newspaper Clippings, 1927, 1928
	73	Juvenile Court Correspondence, 1915, 1932; Newspaper Clippings, 1927, 1928
	74	Juvenile Court Records, 1920-1933
	75	Correspondence, Juvenile Court Records, 1922-1931
	76	Bartelme Speeches and radio addresses, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1933
	77	Correspondence, 1923-1950
	78	Correspondence related to election, 1923
Box	Folder
7	79	Judge Arnold questionnaire on treatment of juvenile problems, 1923
	80	"A Center of Service," Social Service. Vol.1 No. 2, October 1923
	81	Female Juvenile Court, 1923
	82	Invitation to Tenth Annual Banquet of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, 29 March 1924; Newspaper Clippings, 1926, 1931
	83	Blair, Emily Newell. "Americans We Like: Florence E. Allen," The Nation, 7 December 1927; Hand-written notes and letters, 1925
	84	Correspondence from Juveniles, 1924-1932
	85	Mary McDowell to Mary Bartelme, n.d.
	86	Chicago Women's Club speeches, 1925, 1926
	87	Moller, Bertha C. ed. Who's Who Illinois, Women-Makers of History, 1925; G.M. Gilman, Editor-in-chief, "Who's Who Illinois" to Mary Bartelme, 1925; Bertha Moller to Mary Bartelme, 1926
	88	Chicago Women's Club Correspondence, 1925, 1929
	89	Child study Group, October 1925-January 1926
	90	Mary Bartelme to Pension Mothers. Invitation to bus outing, June 1926
	91	Mary Club Correspondence, 1927
	91	Mary Club Correspondence, 1927
	92	Election Letters, 1927
	93	Julia Lathrop to Mary Bartelme; Mary Bartelme to Sophonisba Breckenridge; Mary Rozet Smith to Mary Bartelme, 1928
	94	People, ex rel., George F. Harding vs. David Matchett, Mary Bartelme et. al. motion for writ of Mandamus, 1927
	95	Justice Carter Memorial, 1928
	96	Election Speech, 1928
	97	Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, Speeches, 1929, 1930
	97	Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, Speeches, 1929, 1930
	97	Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, Speeches, 1929, 1930
	98	Friends of the Juvenile Court Minutes, 1929, 1930
	99	Correspondence, Louise deKoven Bowen, 1929, 1930
	100	Correspondence, Friends of Juvenile Court, 1930, 1931
	101	Juvenile Court Newspaper Clippings, 1931
	102	Juvenile Court Minutes, 1930
	103	Mary Clubs, 1931
	104	Correspondence, Chicago Boys Club, 1931, 1932, 1933
	105	Court Correspondence, 1931
	106	Conference Correspondence, 1931
	107	Correspondence, Chicago Boys Club, 1931
	108	Speech and Correspondence, Union League Club, 1932
	109	Correspondence, Julia C. Lathrop, 1932
	110	Correspondence, Invitation, Jane Addams' Speech, 1933
Box	Folder
8	111	Saint Charles School for Boys Correspondence, 1932
	112	Ibid., 1933
	113	Correspondence, 1934
	114	Correspondence, Chicago Home for Girls, 1939
	115	Mary Bartelme Club Invitation, 1952
	116	Memorandum. "Problems" n.d. Essay on legal issues related to marriage, delinquency, and pregnancy among young girls
	117	Chicago Legal News Articles, 1899, 1900, 1923
	118	"A Court for Girls with a Woman Judge," Collier's The National Weekly, n.d.
	119	Tracy, Eleanor. "The Mother of Ten Thousand Children," McCall's Magazine, June 1913
	120	Laughlin, Clara E. "A Court of Kindly Eyes: Some Unsolved Problems of a Woman Judge," The Metropolitan, January, 1914
	121	Juvenile Court for Girls Newspaper Clippings, 1913-1914
	122	Juvenile Court for Boys Newspaper Clippings, 1915, 1931
	123	Ibid., 1915
	124	Newspaper Clippings, 1922-1935
	125	Ibid., 1920, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1931
	126	Ibid., 1923
	127	The Austinite. Austin-Chicago Illinois: Pioneer Publishing Company. Vol. XLIV No. 44, 1923
	128	"Judge Bartelme," The Chicago Woman's Club Bulletin. Vol. VII, Number 3, December, 1923. pp. 132-133
	129	Northwestern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. Anderson, Violette N., "Woman's Place in the Judicial Campaign," The Colored Women's Exchange News. Vol. 1 No. 6, October, 1923
	130	"Miss Mary M. Bartelme and the November Election," The Eleanor Record. Vol. 9, No. 11, November, 1923
	131	Mary Bartelme Campaign Ads, Chicago Herald and Examiner, 5 November 1923
	132	Ibid., 1923, 1934
	133	Profile of Judge Mary M. Bartelme. Illinois League of Women Voters Bulletin. Vol. IX, No. 1 January 1924
	134	Mary Bartelme, Juvenile Court Speeches and notes, 1925, 1931-1932
	135	"Educational Method and the Function of Mental Hygiene," School and Society, Vol. XXI, No. 523, 3 January 1925
	136	"Women Who Help Boss Us," The Literary Digest, 17 January 1925
	137	Newspaper Clippings, 1926, 1927, 1933
	138	"Honored by Bench and Bar: Judge Mary Bartelme Re-elected to Circuit Court Bench and Made President of Woman's Bar Association of Chicago--in One Week." Viewpoints: A Magazine for Women. Vol. III., No. 9, July 1927
Box	Folder
9	139	City Club Bulletin Club, 1927
	140	Newspaper Clippings, 1928, 1930
	141	Bartelme, Mary M. "The Financial Crisis in Cook County and What it Has Meant to the Children of the Juvenile Court," The Young Citizen. 1930. Vol. 1 No. 5
	142	Ernest, Gifford. "The Cook County Juvenile Court," Chicago Daily News. 1930
	143	"Six Limelight Chicagoans," The Chicago Visitor. December 1930
	144	Ernest, Gifford. "Juvenile Home Chief Warns of Gangs' Menace," Chicago Daily News. 8 May 1930
	145	Juvenile Court Newspaper Clippings, ca. 1932
	146	Correspondence. Mary Bartleme to Carroll Binder of The Chicago Daily News regarding guest editorials; Mary Bartelme to Carroll Binder; Editorial on Herbert Hoover(Draft), 1932
	147	Pettit, B.M. "Salvaging Boys," The Cherry Circle; Correspondence. B.M. Pettit to Mary Bartelme, 1932
	148	"Honor Woman Judge as She Prepares to Retire," Chicago Sunday Tribune. 2 April 1933
	149	Illinois Bar Journal. Springfield: Illinois State Bar Association. Vol. 22, No.1. September 1933 p. 26
	150	Newspaper Clippings, 1939, 1944, 1946
	151	Schalek, Alice. "The Two Most Famous American Women," n.d.
	152	Invitation. Bar None: 125 Years of Women Lawyers in Illinois celebration, 6 March 1998
	153	Special Report--Bar None: 125 Years of Women Lawyers in Illinois. The Chicago Bar Association Record. Vol. 12, No. 1 January 1998; McNamee, Gwen Hoerr. "What's Happened in 125 Years?" The Chicago Bar Association Record. Vol. 12, No. 1 January 1998