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This collection contains correspondence between Charles W. Chase, Jr. ("Pete") and his wife, Harriet P. Johnson, during their courtship and throughout the early years of their marriage. The couple's courtship letters highlight social aspects of everyday life in the Florida Keys just before the First World War, and a series of letters from Charles illuminates the experience of a naval officer stationed along the Atlantic coast during the war.

This collection contains correspondence between Charles W. Chase, Jr. ("Pete") and his wife, Harriet P. Johnson, during their courtship and throughout the early years of their marriage. The couple's courtship began around 1912, and they wrote each other frequently before their marriage in mid-October of the following year. Pete, who worked for his father at the Florida Keys Sponge & Fruit Company, often mentioned aspects of his work and frequently made arrangements to see Harriet, who lived in Key West and who shared details of her active social life in her own letters to Pete. As the wedding approached, the couple focused on plans for the day, and both anxiously anticipated the ceremony, with Pete counting down the days by early October. After the wedding, they wrote less frequently until April 1917, when Pete joined the United States Navy in anticipation of the nation's entry into World War I. An ensign, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Barney at the Charleston Navy Yard, and though his military service was voluntary, he greatly missed his wife and young child, who lived for a time in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Several letters from 1918 reflect his efforts to find a local apartment where they could join him. While at Charleston and, later, Norfolk, Virginia, Pete regularly wrote of daily naval life, which he found tiresome, and about his leisure activities, which included many trips to movies and, occasionally, to the theater. By 1919, Chase, a lieutenant stationed on the U.S.S. Anniston, focused his efforts on obtaining a transfer to inactive duty following the war; his father intervened on his behalf, but it is unclear whether their efforts were successful. Pete later wrote to Harriet while he worked for several real estate companies located in Miami Beach, Florida, and also received several letters from his young daughter Sarah between 1931 and 1939.

This collection is comprised of 46 letters that Lieutenant Melville Selleck wrote to his family while serving in the United States Navy during and after World War I. He described his training, wartime service in the United States, and postwar service in northern Europe.

This collection is comprised of 46 letters that Lieutenant Melville Selleck wrote to his family while serving in the United States Navy during and after World War I. He described his training, wartime service in the United States, and postwar service in northern Europe.

Melville Selleck wrote 46 letters and telegrams to his parents, Franklin and May Selleck of Buffalo, New York, from August 29, 1917-December 31, 1920. In his earliest letters, he described his experiences at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where he attended basic training and quartermaster's school. He discussed his daily activities, including drills, and commented on his homesickness and desire to participate in active duty. By November 1917, Selleck was stationed on the SS Sierra in the Great Lakes, and he spent much of the spring of 1918 in New York City, where he anticipated departing for Texas. He later mentioned his travels in Texas, and continued to write about his homesickness.

In September 1918, he was stationed onboard the USS William Isom in Virginia, and he was promoted to junior grade lieutenant in November 1918. Selleck's letters from early 1919 concern his training at the United States Naval Auxiliary Reserve Officer-Material School at Pelham Bay, New York. Throughout the second half of 1920, he wrote from the USS South Bend, SS Winchester, and SS Susquehanna. While onboard theSusquehanna, Selleck described travels to northern Europe and provided his impressions of Bremen, Germany, where he noted the inflation of the German mark. Enclosures include a copy of Selleck's request for a promotion, a copy of a letter of inquiry Selleck sent a potential employer, typed extracts from some of Selleck's letters, and a newspaper clipping about sailors' pay. The collection also contains one undated letter that Lawrence Selleck wrote to his family.