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Manuscript Collections - D. Joseph St. Germain Papers
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D. JOSEPH ST. GERMAIN PAPERS, 1937-1962 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 1893 July 27 Born in Ellenburgh, N.Y. Son of Dolphus and Adeline (Rivers) 1916 Military service in the Mexican border campaign. 1918 Student, Army Training Corps. 1919‑24 Securities salesman and manager. 1924 Established firm: D.J. St. Germain and Company, specializing in New York bank stocks and New York and Hartford insurance stocks. Married Dorothy Himmelmann. Seven children: Marjorie Adeline, Marion Elizabeth, J. Gordon, Dorothy Josephine, Nancy Ruth, J. Brewster, Mildred Louise. 1939‑41 Chairman of Republican Finance Committee for city of Springfield, Massachusetts and vicinity. Re‑elected in 1943 and 1947 and very active other years. 1940 Elected delegate to Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. 1942‑48 Chairman of the City Committee, Springfield, Massachusetts every year but 1945. 1944 Elected President of the Republican Club of Massachusetts. Also active as a Vice‑President 1939, Secretary 1940‑43, Honorary President 1945‑47, and 1949‑51 Charter member of the Citizen's Committee for the Hoover Report. 1954‑61 Served in various executive capacities with the non‑partisan State Club, Inc. 1980 April Died at Springfield, Massachusetts. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Although he would proudly remark that he had never been a candidate for paid political office, D. Joseph St. Germain was an influential leader of the Republican Party in Massachusetts from the late 1930's through the early 1960's. During almost all of his adult life he was a resident of Springfield; but his leadership and influence were not confined to Hampden County. His correspondence reveals that he was an associate and confidant of many of the leaders of the Republican Party in Massachusetts. (See the list of principal correspondents following this note). He declined, on several occasions, to run for a position in the Republican State Committee and might have become state chairman in 1947 if he had not insisted on being drafted. St. Germain was a successful investment banker, but it was his effectiveness as a political fund raiser that brought him to the attention of Republican leaders in the state. By 1940, many candidates for state offices and Congress were coming to him for advice, political support, and assistance in financing their campaigns. His reputation for impartiality and devotion to party welfare caused him to be approached by rival factions for advice and commiseration. As a result, his correspondence provides many insights into the inner workings of the Republican Party in Massachusetts. St. Germain's influence in state politics might have been even greater if it had not been for his devotion to Herbert Hoover and Robert A. Taft. Elected as a delegate to the 1940 national convention, St. Germain was one of the few delegates who held out for Herbert Hoover and refused to join the Willkie bandwagon. Before the convention, he conducted a poll of all the national convention delegates to determine who they felt was most qualified to be President and had the best chance of defeating Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The written responses of the delegates, including a few governors, congressmen, and potential nominees are preserved in the St. Germain Papers. Correspondence with Herbert Hoover over the next twenty‑four years attests to the friendship that developed between these two men. In 1946‑47, St. Germain took an active role in the successful effort to restore the name of Hoover Dam. Two years later he became one of the earliest members of the Citizen's Committee for the Hoover Report, and spoke to numerous groups urging the adoption of the Hoover Commission's recommendations. The 1952 candidacy of Robert A. Taft produced a split in Massachusetts Republican ranks which appears to have been slow in healing. St. Germain was an early, outspoken advocate of the Ohio senator; but, unlike many other Taft partisans, eventually supported Eisenhower and Cabot Lodge's bid for re‑election to the U.S. Senate. FOLDER LIST Box Contents 1 Alberti, Charles R., 1942-1950 (3 folders) 2 Bradford, Robert F. – Dinner, 1947 (2 folders) 3 Bushnell, Robert T., 1948‑1949 and undated 4 Cote, Valmore O., 1947‑1948 5 Haigis, John W., 1941‑1956 6 Herter Dinner for President Eisenhower, 1955 7 Lawson, Douglas, 1948-1961 (Republican Club of Massachusetts, 3 folders) 8 Political, 1937-1948 (10 folders) 9 Political, 1949-1952 (2 folders) 10 Republican City Committee, 1943-Sep 1947 (10 folders) 11 Republican City Committee, Oct 1947-1949 (4 folders) 12 Republican Club of Massachusetts, Aug 1944-1954 (8 folders) Correspondence, Jan-May 1940 (2 folders) 13 Correspondence, June-Aug 1940 and undated (5 folders) Republican National Convention 1944 Correspondence, 1947-Mar 1948 (2 folders) 14 Correspondence, Apr 1948-1949 and undated (3 folders) Republican National Convention, 1956‑1960 15 Republican State Committee – Finance Committee, 1940-1944 and undated (2 folders) 16 Stone, Leland A. 1951‑1952 General, 1940‑1956 Tilden, Nathaniel 1947 |