Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, while serving in the United States Army during World War II. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service. Drischell wrote about his experiences while training in various camps, participating in an educational program, working with army theatrical groups in the United States and England, and serving in Germany during the last months of the war and the first months of the occupation.

The bulk of this collection (1 linear foot) consists of over 300 letters that Private Albert Starke Drischell wrote to his family in Baldwin, New York, about his experiences in the United States Army from January 21, 1943-December 6, 1945. The collection also contains letters and postcards that Drischell received during his military service and a few ephemera items.

Drischell addressed the majority of his letters to his parents, and occasionally wrote to his younger siblings, Ralph and Ruth. He composed his first letters while at Camp Upton in Long Island, New York, soon after entering the service, and provided his impressions of the camp, his companions, military life, and training exercises. At Camp Swift, Texas, he wrote about his experiences at Texas A&M University, where he was among a group tested for entrance into a selective educational program. After being accepted, he moved to New Mexico and began taking college-level engineering courses at New Mexico College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts. He and many others found the coursework difficult, and by November he had failed a course and was removed from the program. While in New Mexico, he shared his determination to succeed and gave his opinions of other men in the army, particularly his negative opinions of those who drank to excess (July 8, 1943). He also mentioned his moral objection to the war.

Drischell left New Mexico for Fort Custer, Michigan, where he attended courses in military government and occasionally guarded German prisoners. In one letter, he expressed his fear that soldiers would have difficulty readjusting to civilian life after being schooled in "mass murder" (January 23, 1944). In early 1945, Drischell moved to Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania, where his unit awaited overseas deployment. He continued to describe his experiences, offered his opinions on the army, and mentioned trips taken to the surrounding towns while on temporary leave. In mid-May 1944, Drischell arrived in Scotland, though he was transferred to England soon after. As part of a replacement battalion, he occupied much of his free time by accompanying women to dances and befriending local families. He also acted in a play put on by the army, and briefly toured with an army theatrical group in the fall of 1944, an experience he enjoyed and hoped to continue in his post-army life. Many of his letters from this time focused on the economic and physical hardships of the war, and other letters mention a visit to London (February 15, 1945), his support for Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 presidential election (August 6, 1944), George Bernard Shaw's views on capitalism, communism, and democracy (August 8, 1944), and his efforts to obtain conscientious objector status.

After being deployed on the Continent in March 1945, Drischell shared his impressions of the devastated French and German countryside, through which he advanced as part of the 318th Infantry Regiment. After the war, he described the small Austrian town where he was stationed, in which German children born out of wedlock were being "raised for use in foreign lands" (May 16, 1945). Drischell also accounted for the gap in his letters between April and May, when he advanced deep into Germany and Austria and participated in active combat (May 31, 1945, et al.). Freed from the constraints of censorship after V-E day, he reported on some of his combat experiences, and he believed that he never directly killed an enemy soldier. Throughout his European service, Drischell continually voiced his appreciation for the United States and compared it to Europe, occasionally calling his native country a relative "utopia."

Drischell sometimes enclosed souvenirs from his European travels in his letters, including a French 50-franc note (March 25, 1945), German stamps (June 20, 1945), and clippings from the Stars and Stripes and other papers. By late August 1945, he was in Paris as a member of a traveling dramatic troupe, and he wrote less frequently. His final letter, dated December 6, 1945, reveals that he went on tour in Germany.

Additional items include 2 printed church programs from 1944, a newspaper clipping featuring an English unit's canine mascot, and a list of men from St. Peter's Church who served in the war, including Albert S. Drischell. One undated letter fragment from "Iggie" discusses his experiences as a soldier in India, and another by an anonymous writer concerns Drischell's acting and a mutual acquaintance named "Fip."

This collection is made up of incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining to Mary Flavin and her grandson, Charles A. Robertson of Albany and Berkeley, California, who served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II. Robertson wrote letters to Flavin about his experiences in Western Europe and received letters from Flavin and his fiancée, Naomi Watson ("Dee"), who wrote about her life in Oakland, California, during the war. Later letters pertain to Robertson's compensation from the Veterans Administration and to romantic relationships between soldiers. The collection also contains ephemera.

This collection (1.5 linear feet) mainly consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining to Mary Flavin and her grandson, Charles A. Robertson, who served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II. Robertson wrote letters to Flavin about his experiences in Western Europe and received letters from Flavin and his fiancée, Naomi Watson ("Dee"), who wrote about her life in Oakland, California, during the war. Later letters pertain to Robertson's compensation from the Veterans Administration and to romantic relationships between male soldiers. The collection also contains ephemera.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, is primarily made up of Robertson's incoming and outgoing correspondence, particularly during his military service. The earliest items are family letters and greeting cards to Robertson's grandmother, Mary Flavin ("Mother May"). From September 1943-March 1946, Robertson wrote letters to his grandmother and received letters from his fiancée, the Veterans Administration, and acquaintances. Between September 1943 and July 1944, he discussed his army training at the Presidio of Monterey; Camp Lee, Virginia; Fort Washington, Maryland; and Fort Omaha, Nebraska. From August 1944-April 1946, he wrote about his experiences in England, France, Germany, and Belgium with the 48th Machine Records Unit (Mobile), 29th Machine Records Unit (Mobile), and 65th Machine Records Unit (Fixed). He occasionally mentioned attending mass and communion and responded to family news, such as the death of his Aunt Lizzie. His letter of December 9, 1944, has diagrams of his quarters in a building formerly held by German troops and a cabinet, and his letter of April 10, 1945, encloses several German monetary bills. Some of Robertson's later letters are written on stationery with printed cartoons about military life. Flavin received many greeting cards for Mother's Day, her birthday, and other holidays throughout the World War II era. The collection also has a small number of letters from Flavin to her grandson.

Much of the series is comprised of letters and greeting cards to Charles A. Robertson from his sweetheart and fiancée, Naomi M. Watson ("Dee") of Oakland, California. She regularly wrote to Robertson about her work, social activities, and life in Oakland, particularly after he was sent to Europe. She reported news of her family and his, whom she occasionally visited or with whom she corresponded, and discussed their relationships and her hopes for their future. A few of her letters enclose newspaper clippings, often with cartoons about military life or photographs of herself and friends. In the spring of 1945, she celebrated the one-year anniversary of their engagement and V-E Day, which she hoped would lead to Robertson's quick return home. Her letter of October 29, 1945, has drawings of cartoon mice representing Watson and Robertson. Watson's mother sometimes wrote personal letters to Robertson, whom she referred to as a "son." One large group of newspaper clippings is enclosed with correspondence dated July 1945, and other enclosures include advertisements, telegrams, a program, and an invitation. Watson stopped writing to Robertson after February 1946, and later correspondence indicates that their relationship eventually ended.

Charles A. Robertson occasionally received letters from fellow soldiers and other acquaintances after the war. A group of letters from the Veterans Administration, including some drafts of Robertson's responses, pertains to financial compensation and to Robertson's health in the late 1940s. Charles F. Foley ("Chuck") wrote a series of letters to Robertson while stationed in Tokushima, Japan, with the United States Army in July and August 1948. He frankly discussed his reluctance to visit prostitutes, despite the threat of derogatory epithets from fellow soldiers, and mentioned the possible effects of giving up the "gay life" (August 7, 1948). Foley's later letters apparently went unanswered, and he ceased to write after August 25, 1948. Later items, dated as late as 1951, concern Robertson's financial compensation from the Veterans Administration.

Dee Watson compiled 2 Scrapbooks entitled "Army Life of Charles A. Robertson 1943-1946." The volumes have picture postcards, train timetables, travel ephemera (including guides and visitors' maps), souvenir folders, performance and church service programs, and newspaper clippings. Additionally, several items relate to a trip taken on a United Air Lines "Mainliner" aircraft. The postcards have images with humorous mottos, paintings of army bases and other locales, and photographs of army bases where Robertson was stationed. The clippings and other materials pertain to his service in the United States and Europe.

Most items in the Ephemera series pertain directly to Charles A. Robertson's military service, such as his service record and military documents. Among the printed items are a French/English dictionary, a religious pamphlet, newspaper clippings, and pocket guides to Paris and Birmingham. Other items include, but are not limited to, a record with a message for Mary Flavin from Robertson, name cards, and photographs.

This collection consists of condolence letters, newspaper scrapbooks, a letter book, a published memorial volume, and a photograph album related to John M. Francis of Troy, New York, and to his son Charles. The letters, which are addressed to Charles Francis, express sympathy following his father's death in June 1897; the memorial volume contains biographical sketches and published tributes to John M. Francis; and the newspaper scrapbooks chronicle John M. Francis's travels around Europe and the world between 1869 and 1876.

This collection (1 linear foot) consists of condolence letters, newspaper scrapbooks, a letter book, and a published memorial volume related to John M. Francis of Troy, New York, and to his son Charles.

The Condolence Letters series contains 211 items addressed to Charles S. Francis between June 5, 1897, and January 18, 1898. One letter from Hallie M. Brown concerns her regret about missing an opportunity to visit, and the remaining correspondence is made up of letters expressing the authors' condolences after the death of John M. Francis on June 18, 1897. Writers included Charles Francis's friends and family members and John Francis's personal and professional acquaintances. Many writers reminisced about their relationships with John M. Francis and shared stories about their experiences at the Troy Daily Times.

The Letter Book, Scrapbooks, and Published Memorial series (6 volumes) pertains to John M. Francis's travels around the United States, Europe, and Asia in the 1870s and to Charles S. Francis's career and business affairs. Four scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings of letters that John M. Francis sent to the Troy Daily Times while traveling abroad. Each contains lengthy descriptions of local people, customs, politics, architecture, geography, and history, and some also have accounts of transoceanic and transcontinental travel.

• Western Europe, June 12, 1869-October 15, 1869, including England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and France (21 letters; 38 pages)
• Western and Southern Europe, July 18, 1871-December 28, 1871 (published August 2, 1871-January 3, 1872), including England, Wales, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic and Austria), Italy, and Greece (20 letters; 28 pages)
• Around the world, July 5, 1875-June 6, 1876, including the western United States, Japan, China, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Egypt, Greece, Italy, and France (2 volumes containing duplicate clippings, 115 pages and 71 pages)

The letter book (282 pages), which belonged to Charles S. Francis, has retained copies of his outgoing correspondence from October 25, 1897-July 29, 1901. The letters pertain to personal and business affairs, such as Francis's editorial work for the Troy Daily Times and land he owned in Mississippi. Several newspaper clippings relate to Francis's appointment as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Greece, Romania, and "Servia."

The published memorial (125 pages), entitled In Memoriam: John M. Francis, March 6, 1823-June 18, 1897, contains an engraved portrait, a brief biographical sketch, reminiscences, essays, poetry, and reprinted newspaper obituaries commemorating the life and death of John M. Francis.

The Photograph Album (ca. 1905?) contains 14 images of a new automobile, family members, and pets (possibly in New York state); and 144 vacation photographs showing landscapes, buildings, and persons in Europe. The photos are not labeled or identified, but appear to show Switzerland or Austrian lake districts, as well as urban environments. The photographer captured many of these images with a panoramic camera.

This collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to members of the Marsh and Capron families of Rahway, New Jersey, and Walden, New York.

This collection contains correspondence, financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to members of the Marsh and Capron families of Rahway, New Jersey, and Walden, New York.

The Correspondence series (161 items) begins with letters to Caroline Capron ("Carrie") from her future husband, Edward Marsh, and other correspondence. Marsh wrote to H. B. Sears, a mutual friend, while living in Germany in the mid-1860s. Edward Marsh provided news of family members, described his travels, and discussed his studies in chemistry. Members of the Capron family later discussed Carrie's intention to marry Marsh and the couple's proposed move to Germany. Later items include business and personal letters to Rolph Marsh, and correspondence regarding his donation of land to a Rahway church.

The Bills and Receipts series (18 items) pertains to Rolph Marsh's finances. Three carte-de-visite Photographs include 2 studio portraits of unidentified men and a view of unidentified buildings. The collection also contains Calling and Business Cards (13 items) and Printed Items (11 items) pertaining to Catherine Marsh's funeral, religious associations and churches, property assessments, and other subjects.

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.

This collection contains letters that Morris Rea Paul wrote to his parents about his experiences as an ambulance driver in France during World War I. Paul described his service along the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 and later discussed his travels in France and Germany.

This collection (132 items) contains around 115 letters that Morris Rea Paul wrote to his parents about his experiences as an ambulance driver in France during World War I. Paul described his service along the Western Front in 1917 and 1918, and later discussed his travels in France and Germany.

The Correspondence series (123 items) contains letters dated May 22, 1917-April 16, 1919. The first 6 items pertain to Morris Paul's decision to volunteer for the American Ambulance Field Service (later the American Field Service) in 1917. The letters concern requirements for entering the service and practical information for men traveling to France. The series also contains a copy of a recommendation letter for Morris Paul, as well as letters Paul received from the minister of a church in Brockton, Massachusetts, and from a friend, who sent Paul a check in lieu of a gift.

Morris Paul wrote the remaining letters to his family between July 1917, when he embarked for Europe, and April 1919, after his return to the United States. In his first 2 letters, Paul commented on his experiences aboard the Touraine while sailing from the United States to France. In France, he provided details about the ambulance service; one letter includes a diagram showing the relative distances of hospitals to the trenches and locations of ambulances and relief cars (August 24, 1917), and another contains a pencil drawing of an ambulance driver in a helmet and gas mask (September 4, 1917). Paul served in the trenches and mentioned hearing artillery barrages and witnessing an airplane battle. He recounted several occasions on which he escaped death and reflected on the emotions associated with being a soldier. In his letter of August 29, 1917, he enclosed a piece of a German soldier's hatband. The series also contains a French-language military order (October 18, 1917).

The Photographs, Newspaper Clippings, and Ephemera series (9 items) mainly concerns Paul's military service. Photographs depict Paul as a child and in uniform around 1918. A group of newspaper clippings pertain to the ambulance service and medal citations. Other items include equipment lists, an address list for ambulance service members, and a broadside advertisement for volunteer ambulance drivers.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The items include diaries, financial records, a newspaper clipping scrapbook, and a photograph album.

The Williamson family collection is made up of 9 bound volumes pertaining to Clara Gurley Williamson, her daughters Ruth and Mary, and other members of the Williamson family.

The D. Abeel Williamson Diary, composed in a pre-printed pocket diary, contains David Abeel Williamson's daily entries about his life in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from January 1, 1862-May 25, 1862, and about his experiences with the 7th New York Militia Regiment from May 26, 1862-August 27, 1862. His early entries mainly record the weather and his social activities; he mentioned his admission to the bar in his entries of May 21, 1862, and May 22, 1862. A newspaper clipping about the surrender of Fort Donelson is pasted into the entries for February 16, 1862, and February 17, 1862. During his time in the army, Williamson noted the hot weather near Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, and mentioned other aspects of military service, such as guard duty, marching, and reviews. A commuter's ticket for the "New Jersey Rail Road" is laid into the volume's pocket.

The Hattie S. Williamson Memorandum Book contains financial records of collections that the Second Reformed Dutch Church Sunday School of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received from November 26, 1865-June 16, 1867. The amount of each donation is recorded next to the donor's name. Other records pertain to the Sunday school's accounts with the Novelty Rubber Company and the church's efforts to raise money for an organ.

The Clara Gurley Account Book, kept from July 9, [1875]-April 16, 1880, contains accounts for Gurley's purchases of items such as books, ribbon, fabrics, and buttons. A piece of fabric is pinned onto the book's final page.

The first Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, written in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, covers the year 1905. Williamson began writing in Dresden, Germany, where she had lived with her children since late 1903, and recounted her daily activities and news of acquaintances. In April, she and her children took an extended tour of Europe, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Holland, where Williamson remarked on visits to museums and other points of interest. The entries from August concern the family's return to the United States on the Holland-American Line steamer Ryndam and their first months back in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Indianapolis, Indiana. Williamson kept a record of letters written and received and acquaintances' addresses in the volume's memoranda section. She laid newspaper clippings, a letter, calling cards, small photographs, stamps, and other items in the volume. The final page of the diary contains a newspaper clipping about the Williamsons' return to the United States and intention to relocate to Indianapolis.

The Mary Williamson Diary recounts the author's travels through Europe from April 10, 1905-August 11, 1905. Williamson described her daily activities and sightseeing in cities such as Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, and Paris, as she visited museums and places of historical importance with her mother and sister. The diary includes a list of books Williamson read from 1907-1908 and a list of addresses of European hotels.

The Ruth A. Williamson Diary pertains to the author's experiences and travels in England from June 7, 1909-September 3, 1909. She spent most of her time in London; some later entries mention travels around southern England and to Edinburgh, Scotland. Williamson most frequently wrote about sightseeing and visiting famous landmarks, but also commented on other activities, such as shopping. Ruth A. Williamson's calling card is laid into the volume.

The second Clara Gurley Williamson Diary, also in a pre-printed Excelsior volume, contains daily entries about Williamson's life in Indianapolis, Indiana, from January 1, 1918-April 2, 1918. Williamson commented on her social activities, her health, and news of her friends and family members, especially her children. She occasionally mentioned news of the war, such as the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 22, 1918). Financial records and instructions for knitting a "Kitchener sock" are written in the back of the volume. Items laid in include a calling card for Charles G. Williamson containing his military address, a cloth United States flag mounted on a small wooden dowel, and clippings about the deaths of Henry Janeway Hardenburgh and Douw D. Williamson. A postcard with a painting of Waikite Geyser in New Zealand, addressed to A. Parsons in London, England, is also laid into the diary.

The Scrapbook (1860s-1880s) is comprised of newspaper clippings about numerous topics, including biographies of William Gurley and biographical notices about other members of the Gurley family, such as Clara Gurley Williamson and Esther Gurley Cook. Some clippings feature prominent individuals such as Ulysses S. Grant, Charles Dickens, and Louisa May Alcott. Items report national news, news from Troy, New York, and stories about Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary. Additional topics include poetry, international travel, and stamp collecting.

A Photograph Album contains 42 carte-de-visite photographs, 2 lithographs, and 1 tintype print. Most of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children, including many members of the Gurley family and related families. Most of the pictures are dated 1866-1880, though the album includes a 1902 photograph of Charles G. Williamson in a military uniform.