Q. I was interested in knowing how relevant the thesis paper of "The Public Life of Elmer S. Dundy, 1857-1896," written by David H. Price in 1971
I was interested in knowing how relevant the thesis paper of "The Public Life of Elmer S. Dundy, 1857-1896," written by David H. Price in 1971 would be in my research assignment on the life of Judge Elmer Dundy, and whether there is any other notable and significant biography anywhere based on the judge's life that may be out there. I noticed that the University carries two copies. Standing Bear v. Crook was obviously a very important case in our country's history, and I am interested in delving into the personal life background of Judge Elmer Dundy; I am trying to understand how he earned a reputation as a compassionate judge by the time the case was petitioned to his court, as Reporter Tibbles and the two attorneys for the Poncas knew without a doubt that they wanted Judge Dundy to hear the matter. Searching through various databases, I have found little information on his personal life to go on, but I did come across this thesis paper and wondered if it contained any useful information that would go towards my research. Is this thesis paper available anywhere for purchase or for borrowing outside of this University (I live far out of state from Nebraska)? Is all that is in this thesis paper just merely a general account of the cases Judge Elmer Dundy heard during his tenure, or something much more substantial that I could use? If useful, I would love to look through the material if there is any possible way. I apologize for the long explanation, but any help in this matter would help me by narrowing my focus on relevant scholarly works. Thank you.
Hello. I took a look through the Price piece, and given a cursory reading of the table of contents, it seems that this thesis paper could only help and definitely couldn't hurt your research. However, I'll quote the preface: "Research into the public life of Elmer Dundy has been somewhat hampered by the fact that no personal papers could be located, nor could any descendants be found who might cast some illumination on his life." So it would seem that you're not the first to run into this problem. But this book would be a great place to start.
If you'd like access to this material, the best way is to find your local library that participates in Inter-Library Loan, and request the book through them. You can indicate to them that we're the university that owns the item. And because we have two copies of this item, we're more likely to be willing to ship it off.