TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview of the Collection

Biography

Scope and Content

Arrangement

Restrictions

Index Terms

Related Material

Administrative Information

Detailed Description

Series I: Correspondence, 1931-1944

Series II: Writings, undated, 1931-1944

Series III: Biographical Material, undated, 1945-1947

Series IV: Speech Reference File, undated, 1943

Series V: Scrapbooks, 1929-1959

Francis T. Maloney Papers

Biography

Francis Thomas Maloney, son of Patrick and Grace (Hickey) Maloney, was born in Meriden, Connecticut, on 31 March 1894. After attending public and parochial schools in Meriden, he became a reporter for The Meriden Morning Record (1914-1921). During World War I, Maloney was a member of the United States Naval Reserve Force as a seaman first class.

In 1918, Maloney married Martha Herzig of Wallingford. They had a son, Robert, and three daughters, Marilyn, Grace, and Ann. Maloney sold real estate and fire insurance from 1921 until 1929 when he was elected mayor of Meriden. He served for two terms.

He was elected as a Democratic member to the 73rd Congress in 1933, and in 1934 was elected to the United States Senate. While in the Senate he chaired the Special Committee Investigating Gasoline and Fuel Shortages. He also was chairman of the Special Committee to Study International Petroleum Production and Distribution. Maloney was reelected to the Senate in 1940. While in the Senate, Maloney supported the social reforms of the New Deal. He opposed President Roosevelt's plan to reorganize the Supreme Court in 1937.

Maloney held membership in many organizations, including the American Legion, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Knights of Columbus, Loyal Order of Moose, Meriden Turner Society, Sons of Union Veterans, and Young Men's Temperance and Benevolence Society.

While working on a proposal to modernize Congressional procedure in December 1944, Maloney became ill from exhaustion. He died in Meriden, Connecticut, on 16 January 1945.

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Scope and Content

These papers were the only ones to survive basement flooding before the collection was donated to Special Collections in 1969. In Series I, correspondence between Senator Maloney, Albert N. Jorgensen, the War Department, and the Federal Works Agency which deal with a proposal to construct an armory at the University of Connecticut were photocopied from the Albert N. Jorgensen correspondence in the records of the President's Office in the University of Connecticut Archives. In Series II, subject index excerpts have been removed from the original notebooks and placed in manuscript folders. In Series V, loose newspaper clippings were removed and placed in manuscript folders, chronologically.

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Arrangement

Series I: Correspondence (1931-1944) contains incoming and outgoing letters written between 1931 and 1944. Several of the letters are between Francis T. Maloney and the Library of Congress. They request information Maloney needed for speech writing. There are photocopies of correspondence between Senator Maloney, Albert N. Jorgensen, the War Department, and the Federal Works Agency which deal with a proposal to construct an armory at the University of Connecticut. The letters were written between August 1940 and November 1940. These letters were copied from the Albert N. Jorgensen correspondence in the records of the President's Office.

Series II: Writings (undated, 1931-1944) is organized into two sections. The first part consists of speeches, radio broadcasts, and articles written by Maloney. The second part consists of excerpts from the Congressional Record relating to Maloney. They were mounted in looseleaf notebooks and organized by Congressional term, by session and then by form—remarks and speeches, bills, resolutions, and petitions. At the beginning of the papers for each session, there is a subject index. These excerpts have been removed from the notebooks and places in folders.

Series III: Biographical Material (undated, 1945-1947) contains information about Maloney, such as published articles, photographs, and campaign posters. There are several photographs, including two of Senator Maloney and Jimmy Durante visiting war plants in Connecticut. There is a bound volume of the Congressional memorial service for Maloney, which was held on 23 May 1945. Several oversized campaign posters are located in box 2.

Series IV: Speech Reference File (undated, 1943) is an alphabetized series of material Maloney used as research for speeches.

Series V: Scrapbooks (1929-1959) is organized into two sections. The first section contains nine volumes dating between 1929 and 1945. Three of the volumes (1937 December - 1939 January, 1939 January - 1939 July, and 1939 November - 1944 June) contain clippings relating only to Meriden events and personalities. The second section contains loose newspaper clippings, some of which were removed from scrapbooks because they had become unglued and others, which were found loose among the papers. A tenth scrapbook, dating from December 1944 to May 1945 was filled with loose clippings, which were removed and placed in folders, chronologically.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from both the University of Connecticut Libraries and the owner(s) of the copyright.

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Related Material

Archives & Special Collections has a substantial collection of materials pertaining to Connecticut's Congressional delegation. For detailed information on these collections please contact the curator or ask at the reference desk.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Persons:

Subjects:

Document Types:

Occupations:

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item description, #:#], Francis T. Maloney Papers. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The Francis T. Maloney Papers were donated to the University of Connecticut Library circa 1969 by Senator Maloney's son, Robert Maloney. These papers were the only ones to survive basement flooding. Until August, 1979, the papers were maintained by the Special Collections Department, which then transferred them to Historical Manuscripts and Archives. In 1995, Special Collections and Historical Manuscripts and Archives merged to become Archives & Special Collections, now located in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

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Detailed Description