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The Chesnut-Ewalt papers contain correspondence, documents, and a biographical sketch related to the family of Reverend Thomas Chesnut. The collection includes late 19th century correspondence by Chesnut's wife, Jane, to her children, as well as material documenting the Civil War service of William Ewalt, Chesnut's son-in-law.

The Chesnut-Ewalt papers contain correspondence, documents, and a biographical sketch related to the family of Reverend Thomas Chesnut. The collection includes late-19th-century correspondence by Chesnut's wife, Jane, to her children, as well as material documenting the Civil War service of William Ewalt, Chesnut's son-in-law.

The Chesnut papers contain five items directly related to Thomas Chesnut and his family. An early letter addressed to Jane Chesnut and "Dear Children" displayed parental concern for their welfare, driven by particularly strong religious views (December 17, 1834). Jane wrote three letters to her children showing her concern for their welfare and providing news of acquaintances and of her daily life in Urbana, Illinois (December 31, 1867; May 11, 1875; September 29, 1876), as well as one including a detailed description of a wedding she attended (December 31, 1886). The final item in the series is a four-page biographical "Sketch of the Missionary life of Rev. T. M. Chesnut," about his life in Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois. The sketch mentions his marriage to Jane Officer, as well as his decision to become a missionary and to bring his "little family" along on his travels. The essay also details specific projects and successes during his time as a missionary. The anonymous essay, sent from Evanston, Illinois and composed after Chesnut's 1872 death, was originally addressed to his daughter, Kate A. Ewalt of Shelby, Ohio.

• A discharge certificate for private William Ewalt of Company E, 64th Ohio Infantry Regiment (December 28, 1862)
• A discharge certificate for private William Ewalt of Company D, 163rd regiment, Ohio National Guard (September 10, 1864)
• A certificate commemorating the honorable military service of William Ewalt (December 15, 1864)
• Two pension certificates for William Ewalt (August 11, 1891 and July 29, 1913)
• A typed letter certifying that Ewalt's certificate of discharge was returned to him, as it was not required for his pension claim (December 3, 1912)

The Ferdinand C. Porée Collection is made up of eight documents or sets of documents and one business card pertaining to Porée's efforts to secure and maintain his Civil War pension. Porée served as 2nd Lieutenant in the 30th Massachusetts Infantry. By 1890, suffering from poor health, he retired from his position as Post Office clerk in Boston. The bundles of documents were compiled by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, and include a denial of his 1892 application. Porée had heart, skin, nervous, and bowel issues and the Bureau determined his symptoms too closely resembled rheumatism to accept the application. In the late 1890s, he worked with pension attorneys to create a new application with physician diagnoses of malarial fever/poisoning, dysentery, sun stroke, rheumatism, "Army Itch", and acute mania. He received his pension approval in the spring of 1897, but the Bureau revoked the pension in 1901 for lack of evidence of the connection between ailments and his military service.

The collection includes a printed business card of Elmer C. Richardson, "Successor to FREEMAN EMMONS", pension claims attorney.

Peter A. Sickal, a teacher and farmer from Banner, Kansas, maintained this pocket diary between January 1884 and August 1886. He held teaching positions at Abilene, Prairie Union, and Banner, Kansas. While teaching, Sickal noted school attendance, his students' progress and disobedience, examinations, and occasionally distributing prizes and candy. He frequently commented on weather, his agricultural work, construction on his home, attendance at Sunday School, and management of his military pension and hernia. He was politically involved, commenting on local elections and attending Republican gatherings. The diary includes several references to receiving letters from relatives in Italy and San Francisco.

Peter A. Sickal, a teacher and farmer from Banner, Kansas, maintained this pocket diary between January 1884 and August 1886. He held teaching positions at Abilene, Prairie Union, and Banner, Kansas. While teaching, Sickal noted school attendance, his students' progress and disobedience, examinations, and occasionally distributing prizes and candy. He frequently commented on weather, his agricultural work, construction on his home, attendance at Sunday School, and managements of his military pension and hernia. Sickal commented on notable events, like the development of railways, attending the play "Spy of Atlanta" (February 16, 1884), and a coroner's inquiry (February 7, 1885). He was politically involved, commenting on local elections and attending Republican gatherings (July 12, 1884; October 4, 1884; August 29, 1885), but made few comments about broader state or national affairs beyond some anxiety about the 1884 Kansas election (November 8, 1884) and the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant (August 8, 1855). The diary includes several references to receiving letters from relatives in Italy and San Francisco, and a number of addresses are written at the back of the volume.

This collection contains correspondence, military records, ephemera, and other material related to Commander Sherlock Hibbs, who served in the United States Navy during World War II. The material documents his service on the staff of Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and in an intelligence unit. Additional material concerns his grandfather, William Congress Hibbs, a Civil War veteran who lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

The Sherlock and William C. Hibbs collection contains correspondence, military records, ephemera, and other material related to Commander Sherlock Hibbs, who served with the United States Navy in both theaters of World War II, and to his grandfather, William Congress Hibbs, a Civil War veteran who lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Included are 9 letters and documents, 2 photographs, and 1 typescript (47 pages) related to William C. Hibbs, concerning his Civil War pension and a Michigan soldier's experiences as a prisoner of the Confederate Army. Most of the material, including approximately 250 items and numerous photographs, relates to the military service of Sherlock Hibbs, who served in both theaters of World War II, and trained at Quonset Point, Rhode Island.

The William C. Hibbs series is divided into 3 subseries: Letters and Documents, Photographs and Newspaper Clipping, and Typescript.

The Letters and Documents subseries contains 9 items. Two items are letters: one from F. H. Wagner, a Civil War veteran, who reminisced about his Civil War service and enclosed a 2-page typed account entitled "The Johnson Court-Martial Case" (July 1909), and the other from Robert Hibbs to his brother William C. Hibbs, discussing the costs of a recent funeral (April 5, 1919). Other items include 4 documents concerning the Civil War pension claimed on behalf of William C. Hibbs, who served with Company I of the 14th Illinois Volunteer Regiment (1909-1921), and 3 forms discharging Hibbs from the Illinois Soldiers' & Sailors' Home (1918 and 1926), and from the Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (1918).

The Photographs and Newspaper Clipping subseries includes two undated black-and-white photographs of a man standing amidst buildings, as well as a newspaper obituary for William C. Hibbs ([1927]).

The Typescript, entitled "The Terrors of Rebel Prisons," by Private Thaddeus L. Waters of Company G, 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment, recounts the author's experiences at Andersonville and other Confederate prisons after his capture at the Battle of Chickamauga. The document, published in 1891, consists of 12 chapters (47 pages).

The Sherlock Hibbs series holds correspondence, military documents, and other items, primarily concerning his military service during World War II.

The Correspondence subseries contains 42 items, including 10 letters and 2 Christmas cards addressed to Sherlock Hibbs, 4 telegrams Hibbs wrote during the 1940 Republican National Convention, 24 letters Hibbs wrote to his parents while serving in the United States Navy during World War II, 1 letter Admiral Calvin T. Durgin wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Hibbs, and 1 navy telegram.

Of the first 7 items, one concerns Hibbs’s financial career (February 19, 1933), and 6 relate to the 1940 Republican National Convention, including brief signed acknowledgments from Alf M. Landon and Wendell Willkie (June 24, 1940, and November 18, 1940), and 4 telegrams Hibbs sent to members of the convention, regarding his views on intra-party cooperation and his support for Wendell Willkie (June 25, 1940-June 27, 1940).

The following 29 items pertain to Hibbs's naval service, including 24 letters he wrote to his parents, William E. and Emma S. Hibbs of Battle Creek, Michigan, while onboard the USS Ranger in early 1943; during his training with the Commander Air Fleet at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, throughout the summer of 1943; and while serving on the USS Tulagi in 1944. He described several aspects of military life, including his friendship with Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and activities while on leave in New York City. He also commented on war news and offered his parents some investing and financial advice. Durgin wrote one letter to the Hibbs family on June 29, 1944, anticipating an upcoming foreign deployment and enclosing a photograph of himself from a newspaper clipping. After the war, Sherlock Hibbs received a typed letter of appreciation for his military service and well wishes for his future, signed by Secretary of the Navy James Vincent Forrestal (March 30, 1946). Also included is a telegram from the United States Navy Communication Service, relaying the news that the USSR had declared war against Japan (August 9, 1945).

Postwar material includes 2 photograph Christmas cards Sherlock Hibbs received from the Reynolds family of Sapeloe Island, Georgia, in 1947 and 1949, as well as 4 letters from Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates, who thanked Hibbs for providing advice about business opportunities (February 24, 1959-April 29, 1968). Hibbs also received one undated letter from Margaret Durgin.

Two Diaries chronicle the wartime experiences of Sherlock Hibbs, during his service with the United States Navy in both theaters of the war. They are dated June 10, 1942-June 23, 1944, and June 13, 1944-December 11, 1945 (the first 5 pages are dated May 30, 1942). The diaries contain brief daily entries that relate the movements and other actions of Hibbs while onboard the USS Ranger and while working with the navy's flight command. Hibbs served along the East Coast of the United States, in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific Theater.

The 158-page Personal Military Record of Sherlock Hibbs contains forms, official reports, and other documents pertaining to his service in the United States Navy during World War II and to his time in the United States Naval Reserve until 1968. Early documents relate to his service on the staff of Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and to his actions in the Pacific Theater of the war. Documents include the citation for his Bronze Star award (March 4, 1945, pp. 92-94) and a form authorizing his release from active duty (October 2, 1945, p. 68). Many later items relate to his health and physical fitness.

The Appointments series is comprised of 40 official forms and military documents related to the naval service of Sherlock Hibbs. The material traces his movements with the United States Navy throughout World War II, and includes appointments to different positions, orders to complete temporary duties, and paperwork concerning leaves of absence. The final document of June 8, 1949, signed by Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews, officially appoints Hibbs a commander in the United States Naval Reserve.

• USS Ranger
• Commander Fleet Air, Quonset Point
• USS Tulagi
• USS Makin Island
• Carrier Division 29
• Composite Squadron 84
• Commander Escort Carrier Force, Pacific Fleet
• USS Wright

The 20-item Air Combat Intelligence subseries holds 20 items about intelligence operations related to naval air combat, including a manual for instruction at the Naval Air Combat Intelligence School at Quonset Point, Rhode Island (April 18, 1942), war-era documents requesting intelligence information, and programs and minutes from symposia and advisory meetings held between 1949 and 1953. A photograph of a meeting, held on November 19, 1953, is enclosed with a certificate of attendance for Sherlock Hibbs.

Identification Cards and Ration Book (27 items) include the cover for a World War II ration book for sugar, as well as various identification and business cards used by Sherlock Hibbs before, during, and after his service in the United States Navy. These include official naval identification cards, business cards, identification used while attending certain events, a pay allowances card, an immunization card, and similar items. Also included are a picture postcard from Japan and a business card from the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, as well as a check and a brief note.

The Summaries of Flights subseries is a 135-page report entitled "Ranger Air Group Summary of Flights During Torch Operations November 8-12, 1942" that contains detailed, classified reports on naval air operations carried out by airmen serving on the USS Ranger near North Africa. These included intelligence missions, bombing raids, and scouting trips. The report includes a table of contents and four additional pages of introductory material.

The Military Papers are comprised of 45 miscellaneous documents from Sherlock Hibbs's service in the United States Navy and Naval Reserve. Most items date to World War II, though a few cover his time in the reserves after the war. Items include memoranda, forms, orders, and citations. The series contains a ribbon Hibbs earned for active duty service (February 6, 1945), a copy of a newsletter printed onboard the USS Makin Island (May 8, 1945), a note about Hibbs's qualification for promotion (October 8, 1945), a note regarding his separation from the Naval Service (November 15, 1945), and permanent citations for his Bronze Star (May 21, 1947) and Gold Star (June 10, 1947). Several later documents concern his transfer to the Naval Reserve after the war.

The collection's Photographs cover much of the World War II service of Sherlock Hibbs, including photographs taken on Iwo Jima, various Japanese islands, and in other unidentified tropical locations. The photographs depict naval vessels, such as the USS Makin Island and USS Tulagi, soldiers, and military events. Several show Sherlock Hibbs, including many prints of the ceremony at which he received a medal. Two larger photographs show an airplane catching fire and bursting apart, and one group shows celebrations onboard an unidentified ship, with many soldiers in pirate and other costumes. Though most pictures were taken in the Pacific Theater, others show scenes of destruction in France and Italy in 1944.

• United States dollar issued to forces serving in North Africa
• Philippines
• Japanese invasion money, Pacific Theater
• Egypt
• China
• France
• Italy
• Tripolitania

The Maps subseries holds folded maps of southeast Kansas and of the "Trails of Utah." 7 cloth maps and 2 printed maps show Okinawa, Japan, and several Pacific Islands as they appeared during the Second World War.

The collection's Newspaper Clippings primarily concern United States Navy personnel who served in World War II, including Thomas S. Gates and Calvin T. Durgin. One article mentions business executives serving in the navy, and explicitly refers to Sherlock Hibbs. The series also holds 2 issues of The Stars and Stripes (July 11, 1944 and September 5, 1944), several pages of The Commercial and Financial Chronicle (January 24, 1952), an undated article entitled "A Bachelor's House," and obituaries for Calvin T. Durgin (March 27, 1965) and Sherlock Hibbs (July 8, 2002).

The Ephemera subseries has several types of items, such as pamphlets distributed by Allied forces in Southeast Asia during World War II, Japanese-language pamphlets, a political cartoon, 2 documents related to Sherlock Hibbs's studies at the New York University School of Law in the early 1930s, and "A Minute Review" of "Forever Amber." Also included are a pamphlet entitled "Instructions for Writing the Deck Log," issued for the USS Ranger in September 1942, the copy of The Bluejackets' Manual 1940 that belonged to Sherlock Hibbs, a data table on Japanese combat aircraft (June 1945), and a maneuvering board. A dog tag and uniform insignia identifying Hibbs as a lieutenant commander and commander in the United States Navy are also present, as is a 1 point red "opa" coin.

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial records, legal documents, photographs, speeches, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, financial papers, legal documents, photographs, speeches, printed items, and ephemera related to Ziba Roberts of Shelby, New York, and his family. Much of the material concerns his service in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, veterans' pensions, reunions, genealogy, and estate administration.

The Correspondence series (approximately 110 items) includes a group of 17 items (1826-1852) related to the family of James Harland, an ancestor of Cynthia Dewey Roberts. Harland, who lived in Manchester, New York, received letters from his son William, who moved to Clarksfield, Ohio, around 1839. Shortly after his arrival, William described local marshes and discussed his land and the prices of various crops. His later letters concern his financial difficulties and his Christian faith. A letter of September 3, 1841, includes a small manuscript map of property lines.

The remaining correspondence pertains to Ziba Roberts and, to a lesser extent, his wife and children. The first item is a letter from his sister Henrietta dated March 14, 1858. Roberts regularly corresponded with family members and friends while serving in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment between January 1862 and April 1863. In his letters home (around 20 items), he described aspects of military and camp life, including food, hygiene, illness, long marches, and general boredom; several items concern his experiences in occupied Winchester, Virginia, in the spring of 1862 and his treatment after his release from Confederate prison. He sometimes commented on news of the war, expressing confidence in a Union victory. During this period, Roberts occasionally received letters from family members at home, who discussed farming, religion, and family news (5 items).

The Roberts correspondence resumes in 1886 and continues as late as 1937; most date between 1889 and 1912. Roberts received a series of letters from William W. Eastman in South Dakota, who wrote at length about his financial difficulties. Most of his late correspondence concerns Civil War veterans' affairs, particularly related to pensions and reunions. Some writers complained about the difficulty of receiving a pension, the health issues that affected former soldiers, and Roberts's own disability claim. One printed circular contains reminiscences by members of the 28th New York Infantry Regiment (printed and distributed in May 1892). In 1912, Ziba Roberts received letters from fellow veterans regarding the 28th Regiment's annual reunion; most expressed or implied a lasting sense of comradeship with their fellow veterans, though many declined the invitation on account of poor health or other circumstances (with some reflecting on whether deaths would put future reunions in jeopardy).

The latest correspondence, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerns the Grand Army of the Republic, insurance policies, and Roberts and Sanborn family genealogy. One correspondent returned an essay written by Ziba Roberts in December 1916: "A Brief History of the Methodist Episcopal Church at East Shelby" (enclosed with letter dated February 27, 1924). Minutes of the 28th Regiment's 68th reunion, held in May 1929, note the death of Ziba Roberts and other soldiers.

Ziba Roberts wrote two Diaries between November 14, 1861, and December 31, 1862. His daily entries concern aspects of his service with the 28th New York Infantry Regiment in Maryland and Virginia, including his imprisonment in 1862. He wrote about marches, guard duty, drills, health, and rations.

The Documents and Financial Papers series (74 items) includes legal documents and financial papers dated 1864 to 1940. Correspondence, indentures, and mortgages pertain to land ownership, management of decedents' estates, and a legal dispute between William W. Dewey and Seneca Sprout in the 1890s. Four items are Grand Army of the Republic commissions for Ziba Roberts, dated between 1918 and 1922. One group of tax receipts pertains to payments made by Ziba and Cynthia Roberts as late as 1940.

The collection's account book originally belonged to Ziba Roberts in the late 19th century. Roberts recorded around 35 pages of accounts between around 1884 and 1919, including records related to everyday purchases of food and other goods, a female domestic worker's wages, road construction, and estates. A later owner recorded tax payments for the years 1922-1944.

The Photographs series consists of 2 photograph albums and 8 loose items. Together, the photograph albums contain around 120 cartes-de-visite, tintypes, and cabinet cards. These items consist of studio portraits of members of the Roberts, Dewey, Wolcott, and Sanborn families, as well as additional friends and family members. Most of the pictures, which feature men, women, children, and infants, were taken in New York.

The loose items are made up of photographs of Ziba Roberts, including a heavily retouched portrait and a corresponding print of the original image; portraits of soldiers in the 28th New York Infantry Regiment; pictures of Colonel Dudley Donnelly's tomb; and a group of soldiers posing by the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument at Gettysburg. Additional items show a group posing for a souvenir photograph after a "balloon route trolley trip" in Los Angeles, California, and members of the Sprout family standing in front of their home.

The Speeches, Printed Items, and Ephemera series (30 items) includes Civil War materials, such as scores for the songs "We're Marching on to Richmond," "The Passing of the Veteran," "We Old Boys," and "Have You Got the Countersign"; and a printed booklet of war songs issued by the Grand Army of the Republic and related veterans' societies. Other items pertain to veterans' reunions and reminiscences. The series also includes two typed carbon copies of postwar speeches given by Ziba Roberts, "Seeing Lincoln" and "Lecture on Army Prison Life."

Additional pamphlets and ephemeral items concern New York political reforms, cholera, and a meeting of the descendants of Henry Wolcott. One newspaper clipping describes the career of William Ziba Roberts. The series includes a biography of George Dewey and history of the Dewey family (Adelbert M. Dewey, 1898). The final items are World War II-era ration books, with many stamps still attached.

The Genealogy series (21 items) is comprised of records related to the Roberts and Dewey families, and to the ancestors and descendants of Ziba and Cynthia Dewey Roberts. A manuscript volume contains approximately 35 pages of family trees; registers of births, marriages, and deaths; and the military service of Daniel Roberts (Revolutionary War) and Ziba Roberts (Civil War). Other items include additional registers, death notices, and notes.