Collection Dates: 1856 - 1939
(Bulk Dates: 1922 -- 1924)
1.5 linear ft.
This document describes a collection of materials held
by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Posted to Internet: March 2000
Acquisition Note: This collection was given to the University of Iowa Libraries by John W. Coverdale in 1958.
Digital
Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but
does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this
collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections
Department.
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John Walter
Coverdale was born in Clinton County, Iowa, in 1883. He attended Delmar
High School and in 1906, graduated from Iowa State University in Ames,
Iowa. He began his career as a farmer and then became a county agent.
In 1917, the first efforts to federate farm bureaus in Iowa took place
under the leadership of Coverdale. A temporary committee was formed and
on December 27, 1918, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation was founded. Coverdale
became the organization's first secretary and wrote its constitution.
The American Farm Bureau Federation was founded the following year and
John W. Coverdale became its first secretary. In the early 1920s, he was
secretary, treasurer, and director of organization form the AFBF. In 1925,
Coverdale returned to private business in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Seven years
later, he went to work at Rath Packing Company as manager of the feed
and fertilizer department. In 1945, he became the director of Rath's agricultural
bureau. Upon retirement he managed a 340 acre farm.
Scope
and Contents
The papers
of John W. Coverdale consist of three boxes (1.5 linear feet) of manuscripts
relating to the early years of the American Farm Bureau Federation and
the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Subject files include items such as minutes
of the executive committee, treasurer's reports, and correspondence of
the AFBF. There is also a typescript (with notes and early drafts) entitled
"The Federation" by J.W. Coverdale and James R. Howard. Finally, the papers
include clippings, articles, and a scrapbook all relating to agricultural
issues.
Box List
"The Early Days of the Farm Bureau in Iowa and the American Farm Bureau Federation" by John W. Coverdale and James R.Howard. Typescript (carbon copy), notes and preliminary drafts.
Correspondence and clippings relating to Coverdale's resignation and reinstatement as secretary of the A.F.B.F., 1923. (Including a letter from Henry C. Wallace)
Correspondence concerning the National Wheat Growers Advisory Committee.
Minutes of meetings of the Executive Committee of the American Farm Bureau Federation, 1921 -- 1922.
Minutes of meetings of the Executive Committee, 1923 -- 1924.
County Agent and Farm Bureau, January, March, and May, 1924.
A.F.B.F. Weekly News Letter, November 12, 1925 -- April 13, 1926. (Incomplete)
The Dearborn Independent, April 12, 1924 (Article "Jewish Exploitation of Farmers' Organization," by Robert Morgan).
The Dearborn Independent, August 2, 1924 (Article "To Save an Industry from Sapiro Hands," by Robert Morgan).
Clippings concerning grain market co-ops.
Transcripts of letters, 1923 -- 1924, relating to the American Farm Bureau.
Farm Bureau Clippings.
Minutes of the Executive Committee of A.F.B.F., 1922 -- 1923.
Treasurer's reports, 1920 -- 1925.
Miscellaneous notes and correspondence, 1923.
Farm Bureau Federation Organization plan.
Minutes of Mid-West States Meeting, May 13-September 29, 1922.
Newspaper clippings.
"History of John Walter Coverdale".
Correspondence, Committee on the Relation of Electricity to Agriculture, 1938 -- 1939.
Scrapbook, opposition to Dickinson Bill.
Autobiography of Hans J. Jepson (grandfather of J.W. Coverdale) (photocopy)
"Ray's Higher Arithmetic, Common Fraction; Promiscuous Exercises." (notebook)
Farm
Records of Hans J. Jepson, 1856 -- 1891. (photocopy)
