A Guide to the Leroy Tudor Vernon Papers, 1884-1945

Biographical Note

Leroy “Roy” Tudor Vernon was born in Wilmington, Ohio on February 11, 1878. He began his journalism career in 1898 working as the City Editor at the Everett Times in the state of Washington. He received an A.B. from the University of Chicago in 1900. In 1902 he started as the political and legislative correspondent at the Chicago Daily News. In 1903 he became their Washington Correspondent; a post he held until 1934, when he became Political Editor.

He was active with the Republican Party and served as the Publicity Director for the National Taft Bureau in 1912. In 1920 he was the Eastern Publicity Director for Frank O. Lowden’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.

He married Georgia Mary Wheeler in 1904. Leroy Vernon Tudor died on January 3, 1938.

Biographical note prepared from information contained in the collection and from Marquis Who’s Who on the Web.

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the material is incoming manuscript and typescript letters and outgoing carbon copies of typescript letters between Vernon and various notable politicians, government and elected officials, journalists, newsmen, and business leaders. Much of the correspondence relates to Vernon’s coverage of the day’s crucial news events, including World War I, the Mexican Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, Prohibition, the Depression, New Deal policy, Presidential campaigns and national politics, the rise of Adolph Hitler, as well as other important contemporary events.

There is a significant amount of correspondence between Victor Freemont Lawson, publisher of the Chicago Daily News; Walter A. Strong, Lawson’s successor; and Charles Henry Dennis, the longtime editor of the Chicago Daily News. Tudor also corresponded frequently with other journalists.

Also included is a substantial amount of personal correspondence between Vernon and his brother, Mercer; as well as correspondence with his wife, father, and mother.

Non-correspondence material includes five folio binders containing press releases and articles from Vernon’s work with the presidential campaigns of William Howard Taft and Frank Orren Lowden. There is a small amount of writings, including edited drafts and published versions of news articles, as well as drafts of Vernon’s unpublished fiction writing.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Leroy Tudor Vernon Papers, 1884-1945, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Papers