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

This collection contains World War II-era correspondence between Garrison ("Garry") and Jane Dover of Queens, New York, as well as letters that Garrison Dover received from other family members. Jane told Garrison, an army private, about her social activities, her work, and life on the home front; he wrote about his affection for her and his uncertainty about overseas deployment while stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and at Camp Beale, California.

This collection (96 items) contains World War II-era correspondence between Garrison ("Garry") and Jane Dover of Queens, New York, as well as letters that Garrison Dover received from other family members.

Jane Dover wrote the majority of the letters, describing her life and social activities on the home front and commenting on her work for a temp agency, finances, and, on one occasion, the effect of the Victory Tax on her paycheck (October 29, 1943); she frequently sent money to her husband. Her letters also reflect Garrison's updates about his training at the Aberdeen Proving Ground from October 1943-March 1944.

Between March 17, 1944, and April 10, 1944, Garrison Dover wrote 12 letters to his wife from Camp Beale, California, where he anticipated being sent overseas. He described his travels to Sacramento on weekend passes and various aspects of camp life. On May 23, 1944, his wife reported that a Ouija game had predicted his return home on April 2, 1945, and she sent him a birthday card in late August. Her letter of September 14, 1944, mentions a hurricane threatening Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jane also wrote about the 1944 presidential election, including her growing distaste for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt (September 26, 1944) and a literacy test she underwent as a first-time voter (October 12, 1944). Her final letter to Garrison is dated February 7, 1945, during his recovery at Mason General Hospital in Brentwood, Long Island. The collection also contains a card that Jane wrote to her husband in June 1945, while he lived and worked in Utica, New York, and letters that Garrison Dover received from family members.

This collection is made up of letters that Jacob A. Riis sent to Elgin R. L. Gould and an unidentified female correspondent in the early 20th century. Riis commented on his health, politics, and tenement housing.

This collection is made up of outgoing letters that Jacob A. Riis wrote to Elgin R. L. Gould (6 items) and an unidentified female correspondent (1 item) in the early 20th century. In his letters to Gould, Riis discussed his health and requested that Gould help find employment for "Mrs. Heath," a former colleague. On several occasions, he referred directly or indirectly to tenement housing and political issues, such as the dominance of Tammany Hall. Riis enclosed a letter from Henry C. Wright of the Cincinnati Union Bethel in his letter of February 18, 1901. An undated letter from Riis to an anonymous woman contains his promise to forward her suggestions to the secretary of the Public Education Society and his agreement with her sentiments about the inclusion of children's playrooms in tenement apartments. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.