H. R. Kauffman papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll887

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the papers of H. R. Kauffman and his family. In addition to personal and family papers, the collection contains materials relating to his career as a medical doctor, his military service, and his time as a state legislator. Papers from his time as legislator include four scrapbooks and two volumes of caricatures of legislators by Wade Murray. Papers relating to his medical career include records from his partnership with Floyd M. Hellwarth, photographs of the Lincoln Hospital in Toledo, Oregon, that he and Hellwarth managed, and records for the use of controlled substances at the hospital. Military papers include certificates, memos, and photographs from his service at Fort Riley, Kansas, during World War I, as well as papers relating to post-war military training and applications for disability payments. Other materials in the collection include biographical notes about Kauffman from his daughter, family photographs, photographs of a house he owned at Devil's Lake, Oregon, records of his divorce from his first wife, and his estate records. Some folders include contextual notes provided by Kauffman's grandson, P. Bradford Westwood.

Dates

circa 1879-2012
Majority of material found within 1918-1960

Creator

Kauffman, H. R. (Herman Roscoe), 1879-1949 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Herman Roscoe Kauffman was born in 1879 in Ohio, and studied at Ohio Medical University. He came to Oregon in 1908 to live nearer to his brother William B. Kauffman (1877-1920). He first lived in Glendale, and then in Forest Grove. In World War I, he served as a medical officer at Fort Riley, Kansas. Following the war, he continued service as a reserve officer until 1934.

Kauffman moved to Toledo, Oregon, in 1923, where he lived for the rest of his life. There, he partnered with Floyd M. Hellwarth (1885-1949), and the two managed the Lincoln Hospital in Toledo until Hellwarth's retirement in 1945. Kauffman served as mayor of Toledo in the early 1930s, and was the chairman of the Lincoln County Republican Central Committee. He later served as an Oregon state senator from 1941 to 1943. As state senator, Kauffman co-authored legislation that established and maintained the Marine Biology Laboratory near Yaquina, and sponsored legislation regulating the use of oyster beds in Yaquina Bay.

Kauffman was married twice. He first married Emma G. Bench in 1905, and the couple adopted a daughter, Virginia. They divorced in 1922. Kauffman then married Eva Louise Tucker in 1923; the couple had one daughter, Yvonne. Kauffman died in 1949.

Sources: Vital records via Ancestry.com; articles in the Oregon Journal, the Oregonian, the Oregon Statesman, and Newport News, 1932-1951.

Extent

1.72 Cubic Feet (2 legal document cases; 1 slim legal document case; 1 flat box (16x20))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of H. R. Kauffman, including ones relating to his medical career, his military service in World War I and later, and his career as an Oregon state senator. Kauffman was a medical doctor who lived in Toledo, Oregon, and who served as state senator from 1941 to 1943.

Arrangement

Collection is arranged in four series: Series 1. Legislative career; Series 2: Medical career; Series 3. Military service; Series 4. Personal and family papers.