Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois 60208-2300 Charles G. Dawes Archive Biography: Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951), prominent in U.S. politics and business, served as Comptroller of the Currency (1898-1901), director of the Military Board of Allied Supply (1918-1919), and first director of the Bureau of the Budget (1921). He received a Nobel Peace Prize as chairman of the Reparations Commission which restructured Germany's economy and devised a repayment plan (1924). He was elected Vice-President (1925- 1929), and appointed ambassador to England (1929-1931) and chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932). Charles and his brothers founded Dawes Brothers Incorporated. Dawes formed the Central Trust Co. in Chicago (1902), guided its successor banks, and was influential in Chicago business, politics, and philanthropy until his death. Charles Gates Dawes was born and educated in Ohio. He married Caro Blymyer in 1889, practiced law, and incorporated a real estate business in Lincoln, Nebraska, before moving to Evanston, Illinois in 1895. He acquired utility companies and real estate in northern Illinois and Wisconsin; and in 1908, with his brothers Henry, Rufus, and Beman, formed Dawes Brothers Incorporated, to invest assets in banks, oil companies and real estate throughout the country. Various acquaintances who were prominent in political and industrial affairs trusted them to manage their investments as well. Other companies in which Charles Dawes and his brothers played leading roles included Chicago's Central Trust Co. and its successor banks and Pure Oil Company of Ohio. Dawes made significant philanthropic contributions to the Chicago metropolitan community. He solicited major financial support for food distribution to the unemployed during Chicago recessions between 1908 and 1911; founded and financed two hotels in Chicago and one in Boston for homeless men and women; supported the Chicago Grand Opera company, the American Symphony Orchestra, and various musical organizations and musicians; and donated to countless organizations and individuals. His personal interest in music led him to compose at least two pieces for violin and piano. "Melody in A" has had eleven copyrights and was made famous by adaptations "Let Me Dream" and "It's All in the Game." Scope and Content : The Charles Gates Dawes Archive consists of personal, business and political correspondence received by Dawes and drafts or copies of his correspondence written between 1884 and 1951; manuscripts of most of Dawes' journals, speeches, essays and books; some personal and company financial records, including those of the Dawes Hotels and Dawes Brothers Incorporated; annual reports and records of various companies and organizations; newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and scrapbooks related to Dawes' accomplishments and interests; political ephemera and photographs. Books, pamphlets and serials found in the archive have been cataloged for the Dawes collection and may be found in the online catalog. Provenance : All materials in the Charles Gates Dawes Archive were donated by Dawes or his family after his death in 1951. Restrictions : There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations. Processor : Preliminary processing was completed by Northwestern University Library staff before 1960. A detailed inventory and revisions to the finding aid have been made by Sigrid Pohl Perry between 1994 and 2009. Note: The inventory of this archive is still in process and will be updated as completed. Box 1 Dawes Family, 1876-1900 F. 1 Dawes family letters. 1876-1897. Caro B. Dawes; D.G. Dawes; Henry Dawes; R.C. Dawes F. 2 Railroad company court briefs: Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, C.G. Dawes, Counsel for Plaintiff, State of Nebraska; Argument of C.G. Dawes , August 13, 1891. F. 3 C.G. Dawes Argument before the Nebraska State Board of Transportation (annotated typescript, 2 drafts). F. 4 Dawes' miscellaneous drafts on railroads and transportation. F. 5 Misc. published material on railroads. F. 6-8 Dawes business material. c.1884-1900 Box 2 Correspondence, 1884-1891. Business documents and correspondence. Includes 1889-90 Nebraska Circuit Court documents. Box 3 Correspondence, 1887-1890. F. 1 A (incl. M.J. Averill). F. 2 B (incl. Blymyer family, Cincinnati Ice Machine Co.; Buckland & Buckland; S.H. Burnham). F. 3 C (incl. J.R. Clark, Union Central Life; Jacob D. Cox; H.A. Crosby, St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute R.R.; Sarah Cutler; W.C. Cochran; H.E. Crandell; James W. Clark). 1 Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois 60208-2300 Charles G. Dawes Archive F. 4 E.C. Dawes. F. 5 B.G. Dawes; R.R. Dawes; R.C. Dawes. F. 6 James W. Dawes (Dawes & Foss & Stephens). F. 7 D (incl. C.W. Delamatre, Bradley & Delamatre; T.J. Deck; F.M. Dotson, Longworth & Dotson; S.J. Darrow. F. 8 F-G (incl. Aaron A. Ferris, Ferris, Morrow & Oldham; W.H. Gurley). F. 9 Beman Gates. F. 10 H F. 11 I-K (incl. C.H. Imhoff; Joy, Hudson, Call & Joy; Frederick W. Jones). Box 4 Correspondence 1888-1890. F. 1 L (incl. William Leese). F. 2 M (incl. Henry N. Morris; Norman Miller). F. 3 William W. Mills (First National Bank of Marietta). F. 4 N-R (incl. F.F. Oldham, Nye & Oldham; F.S. Rosseter). F. 5 S F. 6 South Branch Lumber F. 7 T-V F. 8 W (incl. J.W. Williams; William Weston & Daniel Weston; West Brothers; W.C. Walton; E.F. Welles; G.P. Williams; R. Woods; Frank R. Waters). F. 9 F.E. Watkins (First State Bank). F. 10 X-Z and miscellaneous. Box 5 Bills, Receipts and Statements, 1890-1898. Box 6 Business Correspondence 1904-1905 (incl. Henry Speer; W.W. Mills; W.C. Cochran). Promissory notes and deeds. Box 7 Correspondence 1891. F. 1 Francis Beidler, South Branch Lumber. F. 2 Blymyer family, Cincinnati Ice Machine Co. F. 3 Jacob D. Cox. F. 4 Sarah Cutler; Beman Gates. F. 5 B.G. Dawes F. 6 C.G. Dawes, Dawes Business Block. F. 7 E.C. Dawes F. 8 F.A. Dawes, St. Louis & Big Muddy Coal Co. (incl. Sam T. Brush). F. 9 R.C. Dawes F. 10 W.R. Dawes F. 11 J.W. Gilbough F. 12 F.H. Gilcrest F. 13 N.W. Harris F. 14 L.D. Hobson F. 15 W.W. Mills, First National Bank F. 16 F.F. Oldham F. 17 Pettibone Mfg. Co. F. 18 F.E. Watkins, First State Bank F. 19 Misc. Dawes family F. 20 Misc. correspondence, Jan.-Sept., 1891 Box 8 Correspondence 1891 F. 1 October-December, 1891 F. 2 Misc. 1891 correspondence, mostly receipts 2 Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois 60208-2300 Charles G. Dawes Archive Correspondence 1892 F. 3 Blymyer family F. 4 Jacob D. Cox F. 5 Sarah Cutler F. 6 B.G. Dawes F. 7 C.G. Dawes F. 8 E.C. Dawes F. 9 R.C. Dawes F. 10 R.R. Dawes F. 11 Misc. Dawes family, incl. Dawes Business Block & St. Louis & Big Muddy Coal Co. F. 12 D.W. Delamatre, Bradley & Delamatre F. 13 J.W. Gilbough F. 14 H.H. Gilcrest Lumber F. 15 Globe Iron Works, Luther Allen F. 16 L.D. Hobson F. 17 I.J. Mancett, Consulate. .U.S.A. Athens F. 18 W.W. Mills, First National Bank F. 19 Richard Montague F. 20 F.F. Oldham F. 21 South Branch Lumber F. 22 F.E. Watkins, First National Bank Box 9 Correspondence 1892 F. 1 Misc. (incl. Thomas Bates; M.J. Hull, Treasury Dept.; S.D. Killen; Pogue, Pottenger & Pogue) F. 2 Misc., Jan.-March, 1892 (incl. M.J. Averill; T.E. Steele; C.H. Bosworth; J.C. Clore; Lamb, Ricketts & Wilson; Elston & Co.) F. 3 April-May, 1892 (incl. Simmons Hardware; M.J. Averill) F. 4 July-November, 1892 (incl. Lamb, Ricketts & Wilson; Joel C. Clore; George Lee Peabody, Lee, Higginson & Co.; Robert Mather; G.C. St. John, New York Steam; Francis M. Banfill) Correspondence 1893 F. 5 Luther Allen, Globe Iron Works F. 6 Francis Beidler, South Branch Lumber & Francis Beidler Lumber F. 7 W.H. Blymyer, Blymyer Ice Works & Blymyer Ice Machine Co. F. 8 S.H. Burnham F. 9 Jacob D. Cox F. 10 C.G. Dawes, Dawes Business Block & Dawes, Coffroth & Cunningham F. 11 E.C. Dawes, St. Louis & Big Muddy Coal Co. F. 12 R.C. Dawes, R.R. & R.C. Dawes R.R. F. 13 Dawes miscellaneous F. 14 I.C. Elston F. 15 D.R. Greene F. 16 W.W. Mills F. 17 E.H. Pearson F. 18 I.M. Raymond F. 19 G.C. St. John, New York Steam Co. F. 20 F.E. Watkins Box 10 Correspondence 1893-1894 F. 1-2 Miscellaneous correspondence Correspondence 1894 F. 3 Francis Beidler, South Branch Lumber 3 Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois 60208-2300 Charles G. Dawes Archive F. 4 Blymyer Bros. F. 5 C.G. Dawes, Dawes Business Block, Dawes, Coffroth & Cunningham F. 6 E.C. Dawes, St. Louis and Big Muddy Coal Co. F. 7 R.C. Dawes, R.R. & R.C. Dawes Railroad, Lumber. F. 8 Dawes misc. (F.B.D.; R.R.D.; W.R.D.; Beman Gates) F. 9 Elston & Co. F. 10 Globe National Bank F. 11 LaCrosse Gas Light Co. F. 12 W.W. Mills, First National Bank F. 13 Rand, McNally & Co. F. 14 I.M. Raymond F. 15 J.R. Walsh F. 16 Misc. 1894 correspondence (Frank Battles; Jacob D. Cox; Charles Hanna, First National Bank of Lincoln; C.H. Morrill, Republican State Central Com.; F.F.