Daniel H. McCullough papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-0603

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

Personal papers, scrapbooks, photographs and publications of a Toledo, Ohio defense lawyer active in civil liberties and criminal cases.

Dates

Creation: 1890-1974
Creation: Majority of material found within 1940-1970

Extent

10.5 Cubic Feet (7 record cartons, 2 legal manuscript boxes, 1 half legal manuscript box, 3 flat boxes)

Creator

McCullough, Daniel H., 1898-1976 (Person)

Scope and Contents

The McCullough Papers are the personal papers, photographs, scrapbooks and publications of prominent Toledo defense lawyer, Dan McCullough (1898-1976). Thirty-seven scrapbooks are the main series of this collection. They contain newsclippings and memorabilia dating from 1932 to 1974 covering cases handled by McCullough as well as his involvement in Toledo's high society. His cases included numerous gambling and pinball cases in the 1930s and 1940s and civil liberty/due process cases in the 1950s and 1960s. One of his most interesting and infamous cases was the defense of Rose La Rose, owner of a well-known Toledo burlesque showplace. The scrapbooks also detail McCullough's participation in social events in Toledo; theater, opera and especially polo.

Two other series form an important part of the collection. The first is an extensive series of photographs. Unfortunately, most are not identified nor dated and thus grouped only by subject. The other series is a collection of McCullough's speeches and articles responding to the civil liberties movement of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, of which he was a tireless and prominent supporter.

The collection does not include any complete case files and is frustratingly silent on the extent of his work in the civil liberties movement. It will, however, serve as an excellent starting point for researchers investigating the Toledo law community and national and local legal issues during the time period 1930 to 1970, and for those working specifically on the life of Dan McCullough.

Biographical / Historical

Born on March 17, 1898, Daniel H. McCullough was the son of Daniel Harvey McCullough and Edlen Scanlen. He attended school at St. Johns (now a private high school), there completing high school, college and law school courses. He served in Troop D of the 1st Ohio Cavalry, 37th Division, American Expeditiary Force, in England, France and Belgium during World War I. He remained an avid horseman and an expert polo player throughout his life. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1922. As a lawyer, he was feisty and quick-minded and his temper nearly saw him disbarred. Fortunately for McCullough, a local lawyer, John McMahon, became a mentor and provided him with a sense of professionalism and discipline. The reborn McCullough became one of Toledo's most masterful defense lawyers.

McCullough built his practice defending some of the seamier elements of Toledo such as bootleggers and gamblers. This was especially true in the 1930s and the 1940s. In the 1950s and beyond, McCullough became heavily involved in the civil liberties movement championing it in speeches, articles and in the courtroom.

McCullough developed a national reputation as an opponent of McCarthyism and a proponent and defender of civil liberties. In 1961-1962, he served as the President of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers and was instrumental in passage of the Bail Bond Act of 1966.

Always a colorful character, his exploits earned him various nicknames; "Silver Dollar Dan" and "One Punch Dan" among them. He died on August 20, 1976 of cancer.

Further information on his life can be found in the biographical file or gleaned from the scrapbooks located in the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Related Materials

Other known repositories of McCullough materials include the John B. McMahon Memorial Library at the University of Toledo (a memorial McCullough established in his mentor's name) and the special collections at St. John's High School. He regularly contributed books to both institutions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The personal papers of Daniel H. McCullough (1898-1976) were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by his law partner, Richard Secor on August 14, 1991, with an addition transferred on September 24, 1991. Local historian and author Naomi R. Twining was instrumental in working with the CAC to find a home for the McCullough papers and included a chapter on Mr. McCullough in her book They Fought for Civil Liberties: Genesis of the ACLU in Northwest Ohio.