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Ola Babcock Miller papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0900

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Scope and Contents

The Ola Babcock Miller papers measure 4.75 linear feet in 13 boxes. The papers are arranged in the following series: Family History, Personal, Correspondence, Politics, and Photographs.

The Family History series (1908 – 2006) comprises documents about Ola Babcock Miller, her husband and children and the larger Miller family. It is arranged into five sub-series: General, Alex Miller, Ola Babcock Miller, Ophelia Miller Gallup, and Barbara Miller Benson. The General sub-series concerns the history of the Miller family in Iowa. There are few original documents, but the genealogical and family memoir folders contain information about the family from the 1850s to the early 2000s. The Alexander Miller sub-series focuses on the life and career of Alexander Miller, Ola Babcock Miller's husband. It contains financial information in the form of tax returns and a business binder and some bulletins about his career as a Chautauqua lecturer. There is one copy of his newspaper, The Democrat, but the issue was published after his death.

The Ola Babcock Miller sub-series is the most substantial in this series. It deals with the life and legacy of Ola Babcock Miller. This includes the by-laws and history of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a copy of "Remarkable Iowa Women" which includes a section on Miller, and several obituaries and tributes from newspapers across the state. One tribute, Ola Babcock Miller Day in Washington, Iowa occurred decades after her death and had an Ola Babcock Miller impersonator. The file includes photographs of the event. Information about Miller's daughters, Ophelia and Barbara can be found in the final two sub-series. Newspaper clippings cover Barbara Miller Benson's wedding announcement, and Ophelia Miller Gallup's antique store and homemaking skills. The University of Iowa folder in Ophelia Miller Gallup's sub-series contains dance cards and invitations from sororities, fraternities, and other organizations: Kappa Kappa Gamma, Delta Chi, Joy Love, Theta Sigma Phi and the YWCA.

The Personal series (1914 – 2002) contains materials saved and used by Ola Babcock Miller in her personal life. It covers her interests demonstrated by items like playbills and Chautauqua programs and promotions, along with activities like her membership in the Nineteenth Century Club. The folder titled "Personal items from box labeled Mother's things" holds a variety of papers including a birth announcement, a mounted check and a brief travel journal.

The Correspondence (1914 – 1937) series has professional and personal correspondence of Ola Babcock Miller and her family. It is largely arranged by correspondent beginning with the letters of Barbara Miller Benson and continuing with Ophelia Miller Gallup and Alexander Miller before beginning Ola Babcock Miller's correspondence. Gallup's correspondence in the 1910s focuses on her social life as a student at the University of Iowa and then on her home life.

The first few files of Ola Babcock Miller's correspondence cover her personal letters with her husband and daughters. After that, the folders focus on her time in office as Iowa's Secretary of State. Those folders labeled "Personal Correspondence" near the end of the series are maintained in Miller's original order and surprisingly have mostly to do with letters she received from constituents. Many of these letters are requests for jobs with the State of Iowa. This series also contains two folders that refer to Miller's membership in P.E.O, including her time as president of the organization. The bulk of these have to do with a 1928 controversy in which she revealed her support for presidential candidate Al Smith. This was interpreted by some as an endorsement from P.E.O, to the distress of some members.

The Politics series comprises of materials related to Miller's years as Iowa's Secretary of State. It has one sub-series Highway Patrol. There is little in the series about the day-to-day activities of the Office of the Secretary of state, but several folders with newspaper clippings about Miller and her election as well as drafts of speeches she gave for various organizations. Many of these speeches are incomplete and focus on highway safety.

The Highway Patrol subseries itself includes automobile accident reports put out by the state of Iowa, early driving license exams, and newspaper clippings about the development and successes of the Patrol. In 1936, Miller requested stories from members of the Highway Patrol about their experiences on the job. The folder, Highway Patrolmen reminiscences contains several letters detailing incidents they encountered on the highway from hitchhikers to cold weather emergencies.

The Photographs series (1930 – 2006) has original newspaper photo plates with pictures of Ola Miller, as well as the corresponding pictures in newsprint. They are followed by two photo essays span the lives of Ola Miller and Ophelia Miller in pictures.

Dates

  • Creation: 1903 - 2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been retained by the donor. However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/.

Biographical / Historical

Ola Babcock Miller, Secretary of State in Iowa, national president of the P.E.O., public speaker, and creator of the Iowa Highway Patrol, was born on a small farm in Washington County, Iowa, in 1872. She attended Washington Academy as a young girl and Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant. After college, Babcock taught in rural schools. She was active in the women’s suffrage movement and served as national president of the P.E.O., a prominent women's organization. She also traveled the state speaking for the Democratic Party and interviewed Franklin Roosevelt for “The Des Moines Register” before he became President of the United States.

In 1895 Babcock married Alexander Miller, a lawyer-turned-journalist who ran the newspaper, The Iowa Democrat and lectured on the Chautauqua circuit. Alex Miller ran for the office of Governor of Iowa in 1926 but lost to the republican candidate. He died of a heart attack in 1927. The Millers had three children: Ophelia, Barbara, and a son, Joseph, who died in infancy. Ophelia married George Gallup, famously known for the polls he instituted, which he claimed were inspired by Ola Miller. Ola Miller was famously known as the “mother” of the Iowa Highway Patrol. After her friend’s son was killed in an automobile accident she vowed to make the highways safer. Through sheer force of will she inveigled fifteen men whose jobs usually involved tax collection and deskwork to take on the added duty of patrolling the highways. When citizens were upset and scared upon being pulled over by people in plain clothes, Miller got the men uniforms. The men’s efforts were so effective that the program was able to get government funds.

Babcock also served as the first woman Secretary of State in Iowa from 1933 to 1937. Under the name, Mrs. Alex Miller she was swept into office with many others the year fellow Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected as President of the United States. She made the Highway Patrol highway safety a pillar of her tenure as Secretary of State giving speeches around the state about the importance of highway safety.

In 1975, Ola Babcock Miller became one of the first women to be inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. The state library of Iowa was renamed for Ola Babcock Miller in 2002 to honor her legacy. She lived her entire life in the state of Iowa, and died of pneumonia in 1937.

Extent

4.75 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

National President of the P.E.O., creator of the Iowa Highway Patrol, and first woman to serve as Iowa's Secretary of State. Her son-in-law George Gallup praised Ola Babcock Miller as the inspiration for his Gallup polls.

Custodial History

The papers were originally donated to the University of Iowa Special Collections along with the Gallup Organization records. Ola Babcock Miller's papers were transferred to the Iowa Women's Archives in 2015.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 1359) were donated by the Gallup family in 2015.

Related Materials

Gallup Organization records, University of Iowa Special Collections

Title
Ola Babcock Miller papers
Status
Completed
Author
Anna Holland
Date
2021
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)