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Michigan State University

World War I Collections at the MSU Archives & Historical Collections : Family and Individual Collections

Family and Individual Collections

Anonymous Diary (c.00474) 

  • 1 folder 
  • Anonymous diary written in France right after Armistice ending WWI was signed.  The author, a soldier, mentions places he visited in France, shows and other entertainment and how much he spent on them, souvenirs he purchased, and other daily activities.  He mentions seeing the President of France, King George of England, the King of Italy, and Woodrow Wilson.  The first part of the diary is used as an address book. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1610  

Sarah E. Metzler Papers (UA 10.3.29) 

  • 6 folders 
  • This collection contains information regarding special events at M.A.C.; her collection of ticket stubs and programs is an exquisite portrayal of the wide array of social events at M.A.C. The collection also contains receipts; sports schedules; class schedules, including the freshman schedule for the Home Economics Course (1917); newspaper clippings; and memos from University President Kedzie pertaining to World War I. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1031  

Mary Crocker Boutell Papers (UA 10.3.104) 

  • 1 volume; 19 folders 
  • The papers of Mary Crocker consist of a scrapbook containing grade cards, programs from a variety of campus events, name cards, letters, receipts, ribbons, postcards, and news clippings, primarily relating to her days at Michigan Agricultural College.  Included are letters from her brothers, Emory and Martin, while they were serving in World War I. Emory was stationed for a time in France, and Martin served in both England and France. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1314  

Clive S. Beurmann Papers (c.00195) 

  • 1 folder 
  • This collection contains World War I letters from Clive S. Beurmann to his sister and brother-in-law.  Beurmann, a dental surgeon in the 126th Infantry of the American Expeditionary Force, was stationed first in Texas and then transferred to France.  His letters describe his experiences both in battle and behind the lines. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1324  

Claude Bywater Papers (c.00143) 

  • 1 folder 
  • Claude Bywater of Grand Rapids, Michigan, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1917 with the intention of going overseas, but after a prolonged illness he was discharged from service.  In 1918 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to France, where he was wounded in action.  He died in an army hospital in Vittel, France, on October 22, 1918, and was buried in a local cemetery.  This collection contains Bywater's letters to family members in Grand Rapids (1917-1918).  The collection also contains his draft notice, a note of welcome from King George V to American soldiers, and documents relating to Bywater's death and burial. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/918  

William L. Carpenter Papers (UA 10.3.411) 

  • 0.66 cu. ft. 
  • Included in the collection are several writings by Carpenter relating to his experiences as a lawyer and judge. References to M.A.C. appear throughout the collection as Carpenter had two brothers and two sisters who also attended school there. There are letters from Europe written during World War I by his son Rolla and a diary kept by his son-in-law, Dr. Frederick Buesser. This diary is particularly valuable for its day-to-day accounts of life in the medical corps. The diary includes a particularly good description of Armistice Day in 1918. 
  • Carpenter's correspondence includes letters from several prominent persons including Woodbridge Ferris, Charles Evans Hughes, John Basset Moore, Elihu Root, and William Howard Taft. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/860  

Walter J. Carrier Papers (00138) 

  • 1.66 cubic feet 
  • The Walter Carrier papers consist of correspondence, government publications, scrapbooks, and volumes collected by Carrier during the years 1914-1931. The correspondence reveals Carrier's deep pacifistic beliefs. His views on such issues as World War I and the American intervention into Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the 1920s are of particular interest. The scrapbooks contain several pieces of correspondence as well as newspaper clippings. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1155  

Edna Z. Emley Papers (c.00406) 

  • 1 folder 
  • The Edna Z. Emley papers include letterheads from correspondence written by a soldier during World War I, most of which were sent from France.  Unfortunately, the collection does not include the correspondence. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1543  

George Fox Collection (c.00169) 

Emily Frame Collection (c.00593) 

  • 5 folders 
  • The collection consists of 152 postcards and one black and white photograph of a church.  The subjects include an image of World War I British troop trenches at Zillebeke, Belgium and scenes from China, England, Switzerland, France, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Israel. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/434  

Cecile Gebhart Collection (UA 10.3.163) 

  • 1 scrapbook 
  • This collection consists of a scrapbook created by Gebhart during her time as a student at M.A.C.  It includes photographs of campus buildings and student activities, mementos from various events put on by student organizations, tickets stubs from athletic events, receipts, telephone and package slips, and commencement programs.  A variety of items involving World War I including a banner headline from the Lansing State Journal declaring “PEACE;” a cigarette smoked on “Peace Night;” a clipping from Gebhart’s hometown paper about the death of a soldier from influenza; pictures of military training activities; and post cards announcing the safe arrival of soldiers overseas. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/454  

Henson Family Papers (UA 10.3.449) 

  • 2.66 cubic feet 
  • These papers contain the diaries of Fred T. Henson from 1907 to 1944, and 1946 to 1969.  Henson was a farmer in Richland Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan.  The diary entries cover his daily activities, the weather, chemicals used on crops, his wife Gladys' activities, genealogical data on Kalamazoo County residents, obituaries, and wedding announcements.  Henson also describes his service days in World War I, including a stay in East Lansing, Michigan where he was a member of the Michigan Agricultural College Training Detachment.   
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1075  

J. P. Hoffman Collection (c.00613) 

  • 38 photographs 
  • The J. P. Hoffman Collection contains 38 photographs of the United States Army from the American Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I. The bulk of the collection consists of the United State Army Signal Corps in the Spanish-American War, World War 1, and scenes from the American Civil War. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1108  

Frank Stewart Kedzie Papers (UA 2.1.8) 

  • 3.9 cubic feet 
  • Frank S. Kedzie became president of MAC in 1916, and as such his papers contain much of interest regarding World War I.  These include War Rosters of MAC Alumni (Box 1166, Folder 34), a report on alumni and undergraduates in federal military service (Box 1166, Folder 35), a List of MAC Alumni and Students Called to the Service (Box 1166, Folder 36), and service records of MAC students killed in World War I (Box 1166, Folder 37).  This collection also includes Kedzie’s correspondence throughout the war. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/33  

Charles C. Killingsworth Papers (UA 17.439) 

  • 31 cubic feet 
  • The papers span the years from 1918, when the National War Labor Board of World War I was created to resolve issues raised by a fledgling labor movement, to 1968, when labor unions had become powerful fixtures in virtually every major industrial sector of our economy. Arbitration decisions comprise the bulk of the collection; these are generally accompanied by background information on the grievance, company and unions exhibits, and correspondence. In those instances where the dispute captured public attention, the material is also accompanied by newspaper articles and editorials. These supplementary materials are of special interest because they reveal the social and political climate in which the disputes took place. 
  • The collection also contains material from various federal labor agencies, such as the Wage Stabilization Board and the National War Labor Boards of World War I and II, as well as various state agencies. In addition, there is a large assortment of publications, ranging from trade journals to U.S. Government reports. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1072  

Madison Kuhn Collection (UA 17.107) 

  • 2 folders 
  • This collection includes "The Story of the MAC Women's Club during World War I" by Mrs. J.L. Snyder and a term paper written by one of Kuhn’s students about M.A.C. during World War I.  Additionally, there is a Farmer’s Week speech titled “The Food Situation in Relation to the War,” and a letter from Linda Landon urging people to donate money for books to send to the soldiers. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/152  

Mrs. Francis McDonald Reminiscences (c.00451) 

  • 1 folder 
  • A brief, personal account of life in and around Lansing during World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.  Mrs. McDonald recounts her life as a child growing up in a rural community.  She writes about life in general; the difficulty in finding a job, the hardships of the Depression, the relief offered by the New Deal, and a trip to the Chicago World's Fair of 1931.  Throughout her writing, Mrs. McDonald shows how people were able to cope with the problems presented by the Depression and two world wars, and how she, herself, profited from the experience. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1590  

McKibbin Family Papers (UA 10.3.410) 

  • 2 folders 
  • The McKibbin Family Papers contain letters from Harold Clark, Grace McKibbin Clark's son, who was a soldier stationed in the United States and France from 1917 to 1918.  The letters were sent from Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as well as from England and France. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1531  

Henry Merriman Papers (00139) 

  • 0.66 cubic feet 
  • The collection contains correspondence between the inventor and his patent attorneys, Beaman and Beaman; Merriman's New Ideas; a Merriman family history, rather lengthy memoirs entitled "The Early Years in Kent County and West Whetland" (39 pages); newspaper clippings pertaining to his work; family photos, two autograph albums; journals and notebooks such as "Notes on Gas", based upon 2nd Lieutenant Merriman's World War I experience; and photographs. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1156  

Gaylord Nelson Letters (00081) 

  • 0.75 cubic feet 
  • This collection consists wholly of personal correspondence from Nelson to his wife, Hal Fraley Nelson.  Much of it is of a highly personal nature but there is a substantial amount of more general interest.  The bulk of the correspondence falls in the period July 1917 to December 1918.  Nelson writes about his service as Secretary-Treasurer of the Chautauqua at Ithaca in August 1917, and as Vice-President of the county Liberty Bond drives of 1917 and 1918.  In addition, national affairs (particularly World War I) are heavily covered.   In the later years, the correspondence contains discussion of the investigation into the cement industry of Michigan in 1923 and the civil unrest involving the Ku Klux Klan in Oklahoma that same year.  Further letters have a limited amount of material on the depression and World War II eras. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/985  

Charles Donald Palm Papers (UA 10.3.431) 

  • 6 folders 
  • Charles Donald ("Don") Palm of East Lansing, Michigan, was the son of Dr. and Mrs. Milton Palm, and he attended Michigan Agricultural College as a sub-freshman in 1910-1911.  He served with the U.S. Ambulance Service in 1917-1918, later transferring to Ordnance (3rd Company, 5th Battalion, 1st Regiment).  He was then shipped to Europe in 1918 with the American Expeditionary Forces. Don Palm's papers consist mostly of letters and postcards he wrote to his family while serving in the ambulance corps and in the army.  He was stationed at Camp Allentown, Pennsylvania; Camp Hancock, Georgia; Camp Merritt, New Jersey; and Mehun, France.  The letters detail camp life and describe wartime France.  Palm's assignment overseas consisted primarily of cleaning guns.  His duties were apparently not very demanding, and one of his greatest concerns was gaining membership in Freemasonry.  The collection also includes a "Prayerbook for Soldiers and Sailors." 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1240  

Harald S. and Marguerite I. Patton papers (UA 17.437) 

  • 1.0 cubic feet 
  • These papers primarily document Patton's World War I experiences.  The correspondence consists of letters written by Patton to Marguerite Irene Taylor, who later became his wife; friends and relatives.  It dates almost entirely from 1915 to 1919.  Included is a journal (in letter form) describing his voyage to England in 1915 on the troopship Northland.  Also included are postcards and photographs. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/897  

Putnam Family Collection (c.00208) 

  • 2 folders 
  • This collection consists of materials relating to social and political issues in Michigan during the World War I era.  They include pamphlets circulated by the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association advocating women's suffrage.  It also includes pamphlets and sample ballots from the Michigan Anti-Saloon League concerning a proposed "Beer and Wine Amendment" to the state constitution, which would set up protection for the liquor trade.  Other materials relate to voter registration procedures, Liberty Loans, and Selective Service registration.  Also included in the collection are certificates acknowledging Grant Putnam's membership on the Ingham County War Preparedness Committee and the War Board. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1338  

Howard C. Rather Papers (UA 17.442) 

  • 0.33 cubic feet 
  • The Howard C. Rather papers contain Rather's correspondence and diaries documenting his experiences as an Army officer during World War I.  Covering the time period of January 1918 to May 1919, the collection includes descriptions of the people Rather dealt with every day, and the conditions he lived in, both in America and in France.  His letters home describe his training at Camp Custer Michigan, Camp Jackson South Carolina, Camp Merritt New Jersey, and Saumur Artillery School France.  The daily routine and activities around him are duly described.  He spent the last six months of the war seeing combat duty as part of a field artillery unit in France. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1184  

Rule Family Papers (00216) 

  • 0.25 cubic feet 
  • Clifford Rule was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army infantry, serving in France from 1918 to 1919.  His collection contains postcards sent to his sweetheart (and later, wife) Lela Alward, which include images of military training exercises and parades.  Photographs in the collection include famous French landmarks (e.g, Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower), soldiers, and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson with French President Raymond Poincaré. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2366  

D. Giacomoe Savoldi Papers (c.00157) 

  • 1 folder 
  • The collection contains two envelopes, stamped by American Expeditionary Force censors, addressed by D. Giacomoe Savoldi, of Three Oaks, Michigan.  The letters were sent by Private A. Moretti from Field Hospital #13, First Division A.E.F., France, during World War I. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/951  

George W. Spinning Papers (UA 10.3.239) 

  • 1 folder 
  • The George W. Spinning Papers includes a “First Infantry Company Officers’ Training School, Camp Custer, Michigan” pamphlet from 1918 and a War Information Series bulletin titled “The Government of Germany” by Charles D. Hazen, written in 1917. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/665  

Linda Oliphant Stanford Papers (UA 17.256) 

Leta C. Steinestel Collection (c.00161) 

  • 1 folder 
  • This collection contains a letter to Leta C. Steinestel, describing the death of her cousin, who was killed in action in France in 1918. The collection also includes official information relating to the graves of American soldiers buried in France or Belgium; a pamphlet for American soldiers on leave in the Riviera, suggesting things to see and do; and a copy of "Le Pantheon de La Guerre," a pamphlet describing a French artist's war memorial paintings. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/955  

Waldo family papers and the Waldo Travel Agency records (00042) 

  • 1 cubic foot, 3 volumes on shelf 
  • The Waldo family papers consist of personal correspondence, notes, reports, and financial records. The majority of these relate to Waldo's activities in Russia and Finland from 1916‑1918.  Letters to family and friends written from 1916‑1917 describe life in Siberia and comment on the political situation in the United States and the entry of the U.S. into the First World War.  Later letters (1918) concentrate on the Finnish Civil War.  Those dating from after 1919 primarily relate to Waldo's business travels for the Novo Engine Company and REO Motors, but also include personal letters from friends in Russia, Finland, Germany, and Japan.  Waldo's personal notebooks include observations on the Russian Revolution, international affairs, and war; informal reviews of books he read; notes made during his travels through Finland in 1918; and lists of personal expenses.  The official records relating to his YMCA service and his term as Vice Counsel are few, but there are several reports prepared by Waldo. The most important of these recommended that the Allies recognize an independent Finland, and was used by the historian Samuel E. Morison in his report to the U.S. Department of State on the Peace Settlement. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/884  

Lewis A. Wileden Papers (UA 10.3.415) 

  • 0.66 cubic feet, 8 volumes in box 
  • Wileden's papers best document his service in World War I and the financial aspect of his veterinary practice.  In addition, they provide a detailed account of his injury in and recovery from a freight train accident in 1941.   
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/906  

Easton W. Williams Collection (00167) 

  • 15 scrapbooks 
  • The Easton Williams scrapbook collection consists of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and pictures covering World War II.  Several pictorial reviews of foreign countries and peoples are also included.  Newspapers from around the United States were used, as well as several popular magazines.  The bulk of the information is from 1929 to 1945, with greater coverage being given to the years 1941-1943.  Williams also included a number of articles from 1918, about World War I. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1183  

Woodrow Wilson Address, 1917. (c.00302) 

Roy Clark Vandercook Papers (00011) 

  • 0.33 cubic feet 
  • This collection consists of letters, newspaper clippings, legal documents related to Roy Vandercook and his various careers.  Most significant in the collection is the bulk of correspondence concerning the Michigan National Guard and the 1913 copper strike. Vandercook was responsible for the majority of military action and exchanged a great deal of letters with Gov. Woodbridge Ferris. Also included are letters discussing various phases of the U.S. occupation of the Philippines. Military correspondence referring to the security measures taken in Michigan during World War I to protect vital industry and transportation is included. And, in this same general time period, is information regarding wheat production and possession and federal action. 
  • Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/786