Billie Sunday Farnum papers

The Billie S. Farnum papers cover the 1957-1967 period and includes materials covering his entire political career as well as some personal files. After the collection was transferred to OU, some of the files were kept in their original order but others were re-organized during several partial processing projects. The current arrangement preserves the original order when it was apparent.

The collection is arranged in ten series.

Series I: The Personal and Biographical Files include personal correspondence, correspondence with organizations Billie Farnum was a member of, and biographical information. Of note is a summary list of federally funded projects he brought to Michigan while in office.

Series II: The Michigan Office Files (1959-1964) series includes materials from Billie Farnum’s time as Assistant Secretary of State of Michigan (1957-1960) and Auditor General of Michigan (1961-1965). Other materials document his service for the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee in the first half of the 1960s.

Series III: The Legislative Files series documents the legislative activities of Congressman Farnum in the 89th Congress. It contains materials on the bills he sponsored, as well as his voting record. There is also extensive correspondence with other Congress members and with officials in other federal government agencies and Michigan state agencies regarding bills and other legislative issues. Folders may also contain some correspondence with organizations and constituents.

Series IV: The Subject Files series includes correspondence with constituents on bills and issues of the day, sometimes with supporting documentation; it also contains files of background information gathered by the Congressman’s office. Occasionally legislative correspondence and materials can be found too. This series documents the day-to-day activities and fields of interest of Congressman Farnum. Although the subject files contain significant constituent correspondence, they are different from the Constituent Correspondence series in that they include substantive comments and often detailed and individual responses from Farnum.

Series V: The Office Files series documents the daily activities of the Congressman’s office, including his schedules.

Series VI: The Press Files contains invitations and events Congressman Farnum attended, as well as speeches, press releases, and newsletters. Also included is Farnum’s personal reference files (namely handwritten cards with talking points).

Series VII: The Political and Campaign Files series documents Congressman Farnum’s political activities while in office, especially his work with liberal Democrats in Congress and in Michigan. The series also contains various materials related to Billie Farnum’s campaigns for Congress in 1964 and 1966.

Series VIII: The Routine Constituent Correspondence series houses the letters Congressman Farnum received from constituents who shared their ideas or submitted requests. Unlike the constituent letters found in the Subject Files series, the correspondence included here deals with personal, individual matters and has little political content.

Series IX: The Casework and Academy Appointments series represents work done by the Congressman’s staff in Washington and in his local office on behalf of individual constituents who were struggling with the red tape and bureaucracy of federal agencies. The files are organized alphabetically by last name.

Series X: Photographs and Audio Files