Walter Hoge papers
Scope and Contents
The material in this collection is composed of the correspondence and financial records of Walter Hoge and his son W. Smith Hoge. While some of these papers deal with political, religious, or family matters, the vast majority of the collection pertains to the real estate transactions generated by Hoge's company. Hoge seems to have been involved in all aspects of the real estate business, from buying and selling land, to lending money to purchasers, and even to handling the land titles for these sales.
It is unclear what the original order of this collection was, since it had been extensively reorganized by the previous owner. As a result, a default organization for the collection has been utilized. The papers are divided into two series: Walter Hoge's papers and W. Smith papers. Within each series the papers have been subsequently divided into financial, outgoing correspondence, and incoming correspondence. Financial and outgoing have been organized by date. Incoming is arranged alphabetically. Individual correspondents who wrote five or more letters to Hoge have been placed in separate folders. Walter Hoge's papers make up about two-thirds of the collection with incoming correspondence to either Walter or Smith composing the vast majority of the material.
Researchers should note that Special Collections has two reels of microfilm containing Walter Hoge's incoming and outgoing correspondence for 1910-1911. (The film was created by A.J. Simmonds in 1971, and is filed under call number: Utah Reel 60.) While the incoming correspondence appears to match the paper copies in this collection, the outgoing correspondence on the film seems to include letters for which we do not appear to have hard copies. How exactly this material came into the temporary possession of Special Collections, and why only this portion, remains unclear.
Special Collections has two reels of microfilm containing Walter Hoge's incoming and outgoing correspondence for 1910-1911. (Created by A. J. Simmonds in 1971, the microfilm is filed under call number: Utah Reel 60.) While the incoming correspondence appears to match the paper copies in this collection, the outgoing correspondence on the film seems to include letters for which we do not have hard copies.
Dates
- 1905-1927
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Walter Hoge papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Biographical Note
Walter Hoge was born on November 18, 1842 in Northumberland, England, the son of Walter and Elizabeth Hogg. (Hoge apparently changed the spelling of his name later in life.) When he was twenty years old, Hoge left Britain and sailed to Vancouver Island in the hopes of striking it rich in the gold mines there. For the next five years he wandered throughout the Pacific Northwest, holding a variety of jobs. In 1867 Hoge settled in the Cache Valley in Utah, first working at a sawmill in Millville and then later teaching school in Providence. It was here that he met and married his first wife, Amelia Ann Smith (1850-1927), in 1869. Together they had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood. It was also during this time period that Hoge joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shortly after their marriage, Brigham Young called for the couple to help settle the Bear Lake Valley in Idaho.
Hoge and his family settled in Paris, Idaho, where he quickly became a pillar of the community and was involved in a number of different business ventures including lumber, the local newspaper, and land speculation. A staunch Republican, Hoge also served in a number of elected positions, among them county sheriff (1882-1888), city council, and the Idaho legislature. Eventually he was appointed deputy clerk of the U.S. District Court. In 1881 Hoge took up the practice of polygamy and married a second wife, Sarah Cecelia Beck (1859-1937), with whom he had three children. Hoge died of pneumonia on November 3, 1911.
Sources of information for Walter Hoge:
The Year of 1867 by the D.U.P. (SpecColl Call Number 979.208 D265 no. 287), pgs. 34-37.
Obituary, Pocatello Tribune, November 4, 1911.
W. (William) Smith Hoge was born October 6, 1884 in Paris, Idaho, the son of Walter and Amelia Hoge. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith served a mission to Great Britain from 1906 to 1908. He married his wife, Bertha May Grimmett (1887-1951), in 1909 and together they had three children. Smith worked with his father in the Bear Lake Abstract Company, which Walter Hoge had founded. Like his father, Smith was active in Republican politics and held a number of local offices in Paris, among them probate judge, deputy county recorder, justice of the peace, and city clerk. He also ran (in 1910) for county treasurer, although he apparently did not win the election. Smith died on September 20, 1951.
Source of information for W. Smith Hoge:
Obituary, Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 1951, p. 36.
Extent
10 boxes (3.5 linear ft.)
Abstract
The material in this collection includes the correspondence and financial records of Walter Hoge and his son W. Smith Hoge. While some of these papers deal with political, religious, or family matters, the vast majority of the collection pertains to the real estate transactions generated by Hoge's company. Hoge seems to have been involved in all aspects of the real estate business, from buying and selling land to lending money to purchasers, and even to handling the land titles for these sales.
Arrangement
Organized into 2 series: I. Walter Hoge's papers; II. W. Smith papers. Within each series arranged topically, chronologically and alphabetically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These papers were purchased by Special Collections from a historical documents dealer in 2005. Funding for this purchase was provided by the B.G. Olesen Endowment. The material in this collection previously had belonged to James Schwerdt, who in 1969 purchased a building in Paris, Idaho. (This building was subsequently relocated from Paris to Saint Charles, Idaho at the intersection of Highway 89 and the road leading to the Utah Power pumping station at Bear Lake.) In the course of cleaning out the building, Mr. Schwerdt found the following documents. He took the material with him back to his home in California and used it in the high school classes he taught there. During this time period Mr. Schwerdt extensively reorganized the materials.
- Title
- Guide to the Walter Hoge papers 1905-1927
- Author
- Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives.
- Date
- ©2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide is in English in Latin script.
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Revision Statements
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu