Humphrey Family Collection

J. Otis Humphrey (1850-1918) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois from 1901 to 1918. Born in Morgan County, Illinois, Humphrey attended Shurtleff College and studied law to enter the bar exam in 1880. He was a legal clerk for the Illinois State Office of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners from 1880 to 1883. He was in private practice in Springfield, Illinois from 1893 to 1897. J. Otis Humphrey married Mary Ellen Scott and had five children.

Maude Humphrey (1881-1959) was the daughter and second oldest of J. Otis Humphrey’s five children. She graduated from Springfield High School and attended National Park Seminary of Forest Glen, Maryland, toured Europe, studied in Italy, and graduated from Yale Drama School in 1928.  Maude was a lifelong resident of Springfield and for many years had been active in city and county civic work. She was the executive secretary of the Sangamon County Tuberculosis Association, secretary of the Vachel Lindsay House Fund group and organized the Springfield Community Players.

Scope

The collection includes Humphrey family photo albums, journals, letters, photographs, daily planners, notebooks, play scripts by Maude, and a screen play by Maude.