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Roger Hargrave Scrapbooks

Call Number

ALBA.245

Dates

1873-1984, inclusive
; 1930-1979, bulk

Creator

Hargrave, Roger, 1911-1980

Extent

1 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

Roger Hargrave served as a volunteer first-aid man in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. He repatriated to the U.S. after suffering shrapnel wounds, returning to his studies at the University of Iowa and later pursuing concurrent careers in teaching, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) politics, and law. The collection is comprised of three scrapbooks; all are of a personal and biographical nature, containing materials ranging from news clippings, personal and professional correspondence, and photographs to personal memorabilia, genealogies, resumes, and certificates. Subjects represented include Hargrave's involvement in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression, his service in the Spanish Civil War and continued connections with fellow veterans, his education, participation in amateur boxing, careers in teaching, law, and politics, his term as Master of the Euclid Masonic Lodge, his espousal of local causes such as pollution control in Duluth, MN, and his family genealogy. Scrapbook 1, housed separately in the Karl Ichiro Akiya Papers, TAM #236, contains the bulk of Spanish Civil War-related material.

Historical/Biographical Note

Roger J. Hargrave was born in Sioux Township, Clay County, Iowa to parents Wallace and Sadie Hargrave on April 22, 1911. His fraternal grandparents James Joseph and Jane Hargrave were pioneer homesteaders in Clay County and Roger himself maintained close ties to the state throughout his young adult life. He attended the local Sioux Township grade school and graduated from Gillett Grove High School, Gillett, Iowa in 1928. Beginning in October 1933, Hargrave served for two years in company no. 1750 of the Civilian Conservation Corp to help his family through the Depression. Prior to this, Hargrave had dropped out of the State University of Iowa due to lack of funds, but returned and graduated with a B.S. in 1936. As an undergraduate, Hargrave engaged in amateur boxing, winning several championships that helped finance some of his college expenses. He also became involved in student activism, especially in the Iowa Branch of the American Student Union, during his last year.

In 1937, Hargrave decided to volunteer for the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic. Along with his roommate, Milton Felsen, Hargrave sailed to Paris in March, making a journey to Paris, southern France, the Riviera, and then back to Paris, where the two men enlisted at the office of the American Medical Bureau. Hargrave and his roommate were assigned to an ambulance train under Dr. Randall Sollenberger in Albacete, Spain, the latter as the driver and the former dispensing first aid. In June, Hargrave moved to the Jarama front. After an exploding shell killed Sollenberger, Hargrave was then transferred to Dr. Mark Strass's medical staff. In July, he was transferred to the Brunete front with the George Washington Battalion. There, he suffered shrapnel wounds and was sent to a hospital in Madrid, where he convalesced for four months. Hargrave spent an additional several months in rest homes in Southern Spain and Barcelona, where he met author Ernest Hemingway and pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement Jawaharlal Nehru, about whom Hargrave would later write his PhD dissertation.

After his repatriation to the States, Hargrave returned to his studies at Iowa State, earning a PhD in Political Science and International Law in 1944. For three years, Hargrave taught political science and international law at the University of Iowa, Bucknell University, and Duluth Teacher's College.

In 1946, while in Duluth, Minnesota, Hargrave became active in the local Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party and served on John A. Blatnik's campaign committee for Congress. He went on to serve for eight years as Congressman Blatnik's legislative aide. While working in Washington, Hargrave completed a law degree from National University School of Law, graduating as valedictorian of his class in 1953.

In 1954, upon admittance to the Minnesota Bar, Hargrave returned to Duluth to practice law. He remained politically active locally. He served as DFL Chairman of the 59th Legislative District, campaign chairman of Senator Francis "Frenchy" La Bosse, and a member of the Minnesota "McGovern for President" committee in 1972. Additionally, Hargrave served on the Rudy Perpich Committee for Governor and Lieutenant Governor. He also espoused the local pollution control movement, speaking vocally in local papers against practices of Duluth steel and cement plants and submitting statements before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

He died on June 27, 1980, survived by his wife Anne Gerlovich Hargrave, who compiled the three Hargrave scrapbooks. Anne, daughter of a Socialist father, became active in her union, Textile Workers Local 4, while working at the Klearflax Linen Rug factory in West Duluth. She was also active in the Duluth and Minnesota CIO Councils, serving on the Executive Board of the Minnesota CIO in 1942. She and Roger married in 1960.

Sources: North, Joseph. "Iowa Farmer," in Men in the Ranks: The Story of 12 Americans in Spain. New York: Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 1939.

Arrangement

Scrapbooks are arranged in rough chronological order.

Arranged in rough chronological order within each series.

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of three scrapbooks arranged in roughly chronological order, with materials relating to specific moments in Hargrave's life generally grouped together. The bulk of the material in the collection dates from the 1930s to the 1970s, with the oldest material being photographs of various Hargrave ancestors. All three scrapbooks are of a personal and biographical nature, containing materials ranging from news clippings, personal and professional correspondence, and photographs to personal memorabilia, genealogies, resumes, and certificates. Subjects represented include Hargrave's involvement in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression, his service in the Spanish Civil War and continued connections with fellow veterans, his education, participation in amateur boxing, careers in teaching, law, and politics, his term as Master of the Euclid Masonic Lodge, his espousal of local causes such as pollution control in Duluth, MN, and his family genealogy.

Spanish Civil War-related material constitutes about a third of the contents in Scrapbook 1. These materials include news clippings and photographs of Hargrave and other Abraham Lincoln Brigade veterans he befriended. Other Civil War-related materials include personal memorabilia, copies of The Volunteer (organ of the VALB), and medical documentation for treatment of a war-inflicted leg injury. A few additional Spanish Civil War-related news clippings, (informal) veteran reunion photographs, and personal correspondence can be found in Scrapbook 2 and 3. More detailed content description of scrapbooks follows in the container list.

Note that the contents of each scrapbook are organized by type, not by physical order within the scrapbook.

Subjects

Access Restrictions

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for more information and to schedule an appointment, tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA), were transferred to New York University in November 2000 by the ALBA Board of Governors. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. For more information, contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu or 212-998-2630.

Provenance

Hargrave Scrapbooks 2 and 3 came to New York University in January 2001 as part of the original acquisition of ALBA collections, formerly housed at Brandeis University. Scrapbook 1 was given to the Tamiment Library at New York University in 2002 by Elizabeth Chestnut and Frederick Akiya as part of the Karl Ichiro Akiya Papers, TAM #236.

Separated Materials

The first in the collection of three scrapbooks resides in the Karl Ichiro Akiya Papers, TAM #236. The scrapbook was given to Mr. Akiya, whose family later donated it to the Tamiment Library as part of his papers.

Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

ALBA collections at the Tamiment Library.
A file containing biographical information can be found in the Irving Weissman Papers, ALBA #165
ALBA Vertical Files
Karl Ichiro Akiya Papers, TAM #236
Milton Felsen Papers, ALBA #233

Collection processed by

Y. H. Nancy Ng Tam, 2009

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:38:08 -0400.
Language: English

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012