FRANK P. LESLIE:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

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BIOGRAPHY OF FRANK P. LESLIE

Frank P. Leslie was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on December 9, 1892, the son of John and Bessie McAfee Leslie. He was educated in Minneapolis schools and attended the University of Minnesota. He graduated from Princeton University in 1915. He joined his father's firm, the John Leslie Paper Company, and eventually became its president. During World War I he was commissioned in the 2nd Officers' Training Camp and served 15 months.

Leslie served as a member of the first Hoover Commission, serving as a deputy to Secretary of Defense James Forrestal (a fellow member of the Princeton class of 1915). He was a director of Northwestern National Bank, a trustee of Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank, chairman of the board of the Title Insurance Company of Minneapolis, and a trustee of the Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church in Minneapolis. He was also active in the Republican Party in Minnesota.

Leslie married Ruth Hill in 1916. They had five children: Frank, Jr., Mary, Ruth, Anne, and James. He died May 1, 1972 in Minneapolis.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE PAPERS

Correspondence and subject files include information on national and Minnesota politics, the Republican Party, the first Hoover Commission on which Leslie served, Princeton University (the class of 1915 and the rare book library), Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church (Minneapolis, Minn.), books and book collecting, history of printing, travel, and the Leslie Paper Company. The correspondence from 1932 to 1949 is mainly political. Later correspondence becomes more topically diffuse. It is apparent from the files that Leslie's correspondence with many people predates that found in the collection.

The general correspondence is in chronological order, while the subject files are in order by year only. The correspondence for 1932-1944 includes information on Minnesota state politics, the Republican Party, Leslie's fund raising activities for the Republicans in Minnesota, a recommendation of Stassen's appointment to the United States Navy (1942), and an exchange of letters between Leslie and Sydney Anderson regarding Governor Thye's veto of a bill regulating labor union practices.

Correspondence for 1945-1949 includes letters discussing Harold Stassen's campaign for the presidency, a letter from Leslie to Stafford King assessing King's chances of election in the Republican primary (1947), letters from Leslie to Warren Burger and Julian Baird censuring the critics of Republican campaign practices and office holders (1949), and information on the Republican national convention in 1948.

A series of letters between Leslie and Forrestal discuss Leslie's assignment to study the problems of civil defense. Others relate to Leslie's work on the Hoover Commission, including letters from Herbert Hoover, Clarence J. Brown, and Clarence Francis.

In addition to political correspondence with Hoover, there is a letter from Dwight D. Eisenhower about Leslie's memorial of Forrestal. Several letters during the 1950s from Wilton B. (Jerry) Persons, deputy assistant to President Eisenhower, discuss Republican politics. A letter from Leslie to Stassen comments on the political situation in Europe (1954), and one to Persons doubts that Eisenhower can convince the United States public of the advisability of entering the Indochina war (1954).

Later correspondence becomes more general and includes, in addition to his political interests, Leslie's book collecting, his photography of illuminated manuscripts and the presentation of these slides to colleges and universities, and his travels. There is little family correspondence.

See also: Frank P. Leslie, The Resurrection of the Republican Party in Minnesota, 1932-1950 (Wayzata, 1971) in the MHS book collection, which includes 4 tipped-in letters: Warren Burger to Leslie (2), J. Paul Getty to Leslie, and Leslie to Richard M. Nixon.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below.

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