Milo Milton Quaife

Background

Milo Quaife was born on October 6, 1880, in Nashua, Iowa, the United States, to Albert Edward and Barbara S. (Hine) Quaife.

Education

Quaife attended Grinnell College, where he received a bachelor's degree. He continued his education at the University of Missouri and became a Master of Arts. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1908.

Career

Quaife was a historian specializing in the United States, particularly the Midwest. His works about Chicago include Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835: A Study of the Evolution of the Northwestern Frontier, Together with a History of Fort Dearborn, which he published in 1913. The book includes profiles of various settlers, and it chronicles conflicts between those settlers and the region’s native inhabitants.

In an ensuing volume, Checagou: From Indian Wigwam to Modern City, 1673-1835, Quaife provides a history of its beginnings as a wilderness settlement to its development as a village. Lake Michigan, still another of Quaife’s volumes on the American Midwest, relates life on the Great Lake from its early settlers to the mid-twentieth century.

Among Quaife’s other writings is Kingdom Saint James: A Narrative of the Mormons, wherein he depicts Mormon leader James J. Strang, who sought to establish a kingdom on a Lake Michigan island in the mid-nineteenth century.

Quaife is also the author of The Flag of the United States, which was revised as The History of the United States Flag, with additional material by Melvin J. Weig and Roy E. Appleman.

In addition to writing several books, Quaife served as editor of numerous volumes relating to American history. He also prepared editions of noteworthy works such as Christiana Holmes Tillson’s A Woman’s Story of Pioneer Illinois, George Roger Clark’s The Conquest of Illinois, Alexander Ross’s Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbian River, and James B. Gillett’s Six Years with the Texas Rangers.

Quaife served as a superintendent of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin from 1914 until 1920. He also was the editor of the Lakeside Classics historical series from 1916 to 1957.

Achievements

• Quaife became known as the greatest authority on the history of Michigan and the Northwest. Quaife has been listed as a notable author and historian by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

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  • The Conquest of the Illinois

    (The Conquest of Illinois, also known as "Clark's Memoir",...)

  • Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835

    (In this sweeping survey, Milo Milton Quaife traces the ev...)

    1913
  • The Truth About Geronimo

    (Britton Davis's account of the controversial "Geronimo Ca...)

    1929
  • A Woman's Story of Pioneer Illinois

    (So many pioneer stories were written at the request of a ...)

  • Kit Carson's Autobiography

    (Kit Carson is the archetypal hero of the American frontie...)

  • The Diary of James K. Polk During his Presidency, 1845 to 1849
  • Chicago and the Old Northwest 1673-1835 1913
  • War-Path and Bivouac: The Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition 1890
  • Growing Up With Southern Illinois: 1820-1861
  • Pictures of Gold Rush California
  • The western country in the 17th century
  • Army Life in Dakota
  • Lake Michigan 1944
  • Uncle Dick Wootton: The Pioneer Frontiersman of the Rocky Mountain Region 1890
  • The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency: 1845 to 1849
  • John Long's Voyages and Travels in the Years 1768-1788

Connections

Quaife married Letitia May Goslin on June 29, 1909, in Pokagon, Michigan. They had four children, Helen Elizabeth, Donald L., Dorothy Barbara, and Mary Louise.

Father:

Albert Edward Quaife

Mother:

Barbara S. (Hine) Quaife

Spouse:

Letitia May Goslin

Daughter:

Helen Elizabeth Quaife

Son:

Donald L. Quaife

Daughter:

Dorothy Barbara Quaife

Daughter:

Mary Louise Quaife

References

• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 189
  2001