Correspondence, speeches, and miscellaneous material of Chicago judge and diplomat, Lambert Tree.

This collection consists mainly of letters to Judge Tree, with many drafts of outgoing replies, mostly to and from fellow politicians and diplomats (including Adlai Stevenson, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, John P. Altgeld, and Carter H. Harrison), and Chicago colleagues and friends. Content ranges from the political issues of the day, to political appointments, invitations, and letters of introduction. In addition, there are letters between family members, the bulk of which are from Lambert Tree and his two brothers, Joseph and Charles, to his father, Lambert Tree, Sr. during 1859-1860. These letters describe every day life and business in Chicago and Norfolk, Virginia, respectively, including details on fishing, weather, and views on marriage. Additional letters and mementos concern Lambert Tree, Sr.’s job at the post office in Washington D.C. The family papers include an album of newspaper clippings kept by Judge Tree’s wife, Annie Josephine Tree.

Along with the correspondence are passports, certificates, and papers connected with Lambert Tree’s political career, as well as clippings concerning the La Salle Statue he commissioned in Belgium and gave to Lincoln Park, and letters congratulating him on his appointment to Minister to Belgium. The collection also includes drafts of numerous speeches given by Tree and newspaper clippings detailing his political views and reporting his death. Research materials by Chicago journalist and biographer Harry Barnard include a typescript draft of his work, "Lambert Tree Esq. A Memorandum" and correspondence and clippings of Barnard's solicitation of information for his Tree research.