Overview
The Merritt Star collection contains printed briefs prepared by Mr. Starr and other court documents in Illinois Appellate Court and Supreme Court cases.
Dates
- Creation: 1884 - 1895
Conditions Governing Access
Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the Harvard Law School Library. This collection is open to the public, but is housed off-site at Harvard Depository and requires 2 business-day advance notice for retrieval. Consult the Special Collections staff for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Law School Library holds copyright on some, but not all, of the material in our collections. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the Harvard Law School Library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.
Extent
1 collection (1 Paige box)The six volumes that make up the Merritt Star collection span the years 1884 to 1895. They contain printed briefs prepared by Mr. Starr and other court documents from Illinois Appellate Court and Supreme Court cases. The cases relate to a variety of areas of law including contracts, negligence, voluntary association, wills, attachment, stockholders, insurance, mortgages, contested elections, and railways. Each volume contains a table of contents prepared by Star.
This collection also contains a single 1897 letter from Merritt Star to James Barr Ames, bound in Volume 1.
Historical/Biographical Information
Starr earned his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1881 and returned to his native Chicago to practice law.
Mr. Starr was active in Chicago's intellectual and civic life. He was a founding member of the Hull House Social Science Club for Men in 1889. A resident of the North Shore suburb Winnetka, Starr was active in New Trier Township civics and organized the creation of New Trier High School in 1899. Starr was elected the first president of the New Trier Board of Education and the high school opened in 1901.
An acquaintance of the future President while both were at Harvard, Starr contributed the introduction to Thomas H. Russell's 1920 Life and Work of Theodore Roosevelt. The introduction is a laudatory biographical overview of Roosevelt and contains several anecdotes from their student years.
Starr died August 2, 1931 and was survived by his wife and three children.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection of six volumes was received by the Harvard Law Library from Merritt Starr on December 13, 1897.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennifer Carter, 2004.
Topical
- Title
- Starr, Merritt. Briefs, 1884-1895: Finding Aid
- Author
- Harvard Law School LibraryCambridge, MA 02138
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- law00157
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections Repository
Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections (HSC) collects, preserves, and makes available research materials for the study of the law and legal history. HSC holds over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over 100,000 rare books, and more than 70,000 visual images.
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