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Finding Aid of the William Martin Jeffers Papers
1091
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Title: William Martin Jeffers Papers,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1935-1950
Collection number: 1091
Creator:
Jeffers, William Martin, b. 1876
Extent: 54 boxes (27 linear ft.)
6 oversize boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: William Martin Jeffers (b.1876) left school at age 14 to work for the Union Pacific Railroad. He worked his way up the organizational
ladder from call boy to vice-chairman of the board of directors (1946-1953). In 1942, Jeffers agreed to serve for one year
in the War Production Board as Rubber Director, where he organized the manufacture of rayon to boost the synthetic rubber
industry. He also ordered gasoline rationing before resigning in 1943. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings,
copies of speeches, manuscript materials, reports, magazines, books, newspapers, and memorabilia relating to William Jeffers'
service as U.S. Rubber Director, 1942-43 and his work as a former president of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], William Martin Jeffers Papers (Collection 1091). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
1720751
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Judge Thomas C. Yager, 1970.
Jeffers was born on January 2, 1876 in North Platte, Nebraska; he left school at age 14 to work for the Union Pacific Railroad;
worked his way up the organizational ladder as call boy, clerk, telegrapher, train dispatcher, chief dispatcher, trainmaster
of the Green River, Wyoming division, assistant superintendent, then superintendent of the division in 1909; became superintendent
of the Nebraska district (1915), general superintendent (1915), and vice-president and general manager (1917); in 1928 he
became vice-president in charge of operations, served as president of the railroad from 1937-46, and then vice-chairman of
the board of directors until 1953; in 1942 Jeffers agreed to serve for one year in the War Production Board as Rubber Director,
where he organized the manufacture of rayon to boost the synthetic rubber industry; he also ordered gasoline rationing before
resigning in 1943; he died on March 6, 1953 in Pasadena, California.
Collection consists of correspondence, clippings, copies of speeches, manuscript materials, reports, magazines, books, newspapers,
and memorabilia relating to William Jeffers' service as U.S. Rubber Director, 1942-43 and his work as a former president of
the Union Pacific Railroad. Also includes original drawings for political cartoons on Jeffers' activities as Rubber Director
by Herbert Block, John M. Baer, Hugh M. Hutton and others.
Expanded Scope and Content Note
William Martin Jeffers served as Executive Vice-President and President of the Union Pacific Railroad during the 1930's and
very early 1940's. He was appointed Rubber Director in the Franklin Roosevelt administration during the early years of World
War II. It is with this period of his life that this collection of papers is primarily concerned.
The collection contains voluminous correspondence, copies of speeches, manuscript materials, clippings, and scattered memorabilia
relating to the Union Pacific as well as to the Office of Rubber Director. In addition, there are over 40 original drawings
for political cartoons on Jeffers' activities as Rubber Director.
The collection was presented to the Library by Judge Thomas C. Yager of Los Angeles.
Arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence (Boxes 1-24).
- Speeches (Boxes 15-24).
- Clippings (Boxes 15-45).
- Reports (Box 46).
- Publications (Boxes 47-51,55).
- Certificates, petitions, resolutions, etc. (Boxes 52,59).
- Memorabilia (Boxes 53,58).
- Books and bound newspapers (Boxes 54,60).
- Scrapbooks (Boxes 56-59).
- Political cartoons (Box 59).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the repository's online public access catalog.
Jeffers, William Martin, b. 1876--Archives.
United States. Office of the Rubber Director.
Union Pacific Railroad Company--Management--Archival resources.