Skip to Main Content
Archives & Special Collections (ASC)

Political Collections: A-B

A-B

Earl Alluisi Papers, 1964

Extent: ca 350 items
Earl Alluisi, a member of the faculty at the University of Louisville, was chair and executive committee member of the Kentucky chapter of "Scientists and Engineers for Johnson-Humphrey."

 

Charles W. and Victoria McCall Anderson Papers, 1926-1960

Extent: 12.25 linear feet
Son of a Frankfort, Kentucky physician and well-known school teacher, Charles Anderson graduated from Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute (Kentucky State University) and Wilberforce University before earning a law degree from Howard University in 1933. Quickly rising in Louisville political circles, Anderson, a Republican, was elected in 1935 to the Kentucky House of Representatives, as the first African-American state legislator in the entire South except under post-Civil War Reconstruction. Serving six consecutive terms, he successfully guided historic bills through the House, becoming a watchdog for Kentucky’s Black citizens during a time of blatant racial segregation. The collection includes personal scrapbooks/newspaper sheets, honoraria, diplomas, photos, family papers, political and social publications, and legal, legislative and business files belonging to Charles W. Anderson, Jr. and Victoria McCall Anderson as well as clippings and condolence materials associated with Charles Anderson's death.
View online finding aid

 

Thomas Ballantine, 1970-1992 (bulk 1977-1992)

Extent: 4.75 linear feet
Thomas Austin Balantine, Jr. (1926-1992) received a BA from the University of Kentucky in 1948 and an LLB from the University of Louisville in 1954. He followed in the steps of his father, civic leader and Democratic Party leader Thomas A. Ballantine, Sr., by becoming an active Democratic precinct worker. He served as Deputy Commissioner of the Jefferson Circuit Court from 1958 to 1962, when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the Jefferson Fiscal Court. In 1964 he was appointed to the Jefferson Circuit Court, serving until 1977. President Jimmy Carter appointed Ballantine United States District Judge of the Western District of Kentucky in October, 1977, and he became Chief Judge in September 1990. The materials in this collection date between 1970 and 1992, with the bulk dating between 1977 and 1992. The collection includes political correspondence; material relating to various state and federal legal and judicial associations, conferences and workshops; office financial records and business related legal documents, as well as some verdicts and correspondence with the public.
View online finding aid

 

Gerta Bendl Papers, 1970-1987

Extent: 16 linear feet
Democrat Gerta Bendl served as a Louisville alderman from 1970 to 1975 and a state representative from 1975 to 1987. The material includes research files circa 1970-1987, including some material from her terms as alderman and a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. There is also a scrapbook of news clippings and memorabilia.
View the online finding aid

 

Bozarth Family Papers, 1786-1910

Extent: 5 items
The Bozarth family papers focus on Revolutionary War soldier Jonathan (1752- 1830); his son Eli (1800-ca.1870s) who served in the War of 1812 and in 1851 he became a state senator from Breckinridge County, later receiving a commission as a colonel during the Civil War; Eli's son Joseph Preston (1847-1929), and Eli's cousin, J. W. (1815- ca. 1880s). The Bozarths originally settled in Grayson County, Kentucky, and moved to Lagrange, Oldham County, Kentucky. A letter to J. P. Bozarth in 1910 from W. J. Peddicord contains the family genealogy in a limited form.
View the online finding aid

 

Emma Smith Ratterman Branch (1894-1987) Papers, 1922-1928

Extent: 22 items
Emma Smith Ratterman Branch was the first female elected to the Louisville Board of Council. She represented the First Ward as a Republican from 1921 until the council was disbanded in 1929. She was also the first woman president of the council, serving from 1927 to 1929. The collection contains correspondence, clippings, and printed material relating to Branch's political career.
View the online finding aid

 

Frank W. Burke Collection, 1958-1980

Extent: ca 100 items
Frank W. Burke, a native of Louisville, began the practice of law in the late 1940s. He held various city government posts before serving in the Kentucky General Assembly in 1957 and 1958. Burke represented the Louisville area in the United States Congress from 1959 to 1963. He lost a bid for reelection in 1962 but won the office of mayor of Louisville in 1969. Following his mayoral term, Burke returned to the private practice of law. The collection consists primarily of invitations to important events such as inaugurations and related correspondence and notes of congratulations. The correspondence includes letters from significant political figures such as John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
View the online finding aid