October 29, 2022

Oliver Perry Mason, 1829-1891 [RG3903.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3903.AM: Oliver Perry Mason, 1829-1891

Papers: 1871-1907
Nebraska City, Otoe County, Neb.: Chief Justice and Constitutional Convention member
Size: 4 boxes; 2.0 cu.ft.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Oliver Perry Mason was born May 13, 1829 in Brookfield, New York. and served as Chief Justice of the Nebraska State Supreme Court from 1866-1873. He also served as a member of the Nebraska Constitutional Convention of 1871. He died on August 18, 1891. For a printed memorial tribute to Chief Justice Mason, see: Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Nebraska. January and September Terms, 1890. Vol. 30 (Lincoln, Neb.), 1891, pp. ix-xix. For additional biographical information, see J. Sterling Morton’s Illustrated History of Nebraska, vol. 1, 1905, pp. 372-374.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of four boxes of manuscript material arranged in three series: (1) Transcript of notes of proceedings, constitutional convention, 1871; (2) Correspondence, 1873-1875 and 1907; and (3) Miscellaneous. The bulk of this collection (Series 1) relates to the proceedings of the Nebraska Constitutional Convention of 1871, transcribed from shorthand and revised by the recorders. The records are incomplete, covering only between the thirty-sixth and forty-seventh days. The correspondence in Series 2 dates from 1873-1875 and 1907. Correspondents include: Oliver Perry Mason, 1873-1875; John T. Bell, 1907; Dr. J.A. Kenaston, 1907. The miscellaneous material of Series 3 includes a list of members of Constitutional Conventions; abstract of items from the minutes of the convention; and short-hand transcripts of two trials.

Note: See the Library Catalog and the Nebraska History index for various published materials by/about Oliver Perry Mason, the Nebraska State Supreme Court, and the Constitutional Convention of 1871. See RG0069 for official records of the Nebraska Supreme Court.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Transcript of Proceedings, 1871

Box 1
Folder

  1. Transcript 36th Day
  2. Transcript 37th Day
  3. Transcript 38th Day
  4. Transcript 39th Day

Box 2
Folder

  1. Transcript 40th Day
  2. Transcript 41st Day

Box 3
Folder

  1. Transcript 42nd Day
  2. Transcript 43rd Day
  3. Transcript 44th Day

Box 4
Folder

  1. Transcript 46th Day
  2. Transcript 47th Day

Series 2 – Correspondence, 1873-1875 and 1907

  1. Correspondence

Series 3 – Miscellaneous

  1. Miscellaneous

Subject headings:

Constitutional conventions — Nebraska, 1871
Mason, Oliver Perry, 1829-1891
Nebraska — Constitutional history

HEK/js 07-08-1965
Encoded TMM 07-02-2010

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