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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

The Navy Department Library

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Wars & Conflicts
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Yale University Libraries

New Haven, CT

Yale University Libraries
New Haven, CT 06520-8240

 

Baldwin, Hanson W.
Papers, 1900-1988

The papers consist of correspondence, writings, subject files, research materials, publicity for books, and other papers of Hanson W. Baldwin, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and military affairs reporter and editor for the New York Times from 1929-1968, and editor for Reader's Digest, 1968-1976. The papers relate to Baldwin's work and interests as a journalist and author and include correspondence with many high-ranking officers of the armed services, government officials, and writers and historians, as well as other members of the staff of the New York Times and Reader's Digest. Of particular interest are the subject files of printed materials and clippings which Baldwin collected and maintained for his own use. Included in these files are a number of important reports, transcriptions, and other items, some of which are not easily obtainable elsewhere. 

99.5 feet

 

Bishop, Charles W.
Papers, 1862-1864

The papers are made up entirely of a combined logbook and journal, "Log of a cruise in the U.S. Gunboat 'Port Royal'." Included in the journal is Bishop's account of the sinking of Cumberland by Merrimac, together with poetry, newspaper clippings, and other papers about the battle.

0.25 feet

 

Blair, James L.
Papers, 1841-1842

James L. Blair, midshipman in the United States Navy, served in the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842, on the ships ReliefPeacockFlying Fish, and Vincennes. The journal begins in the Harbor of Honolulu and records the voyage of the shipVincennes to Manila Bay, Mangsee Islands, Singapore, Table Bay, James Town, and St. Helena. Copied into the journal is an 1841 letter from Commodore Wilkes refusing James Blair's request to return home.

241 pages

 

Boyd, F.C.C.
Collection, 1635-1934

Chiefly an autograph collection of approximately three hundred letters, two United States Navy Department letterbooks (1873-1876), photographs, drawings, and a small amount of F.C.C. Boyd's financial papers. Major topics covered by the collection include numismatics, the theater, and the United States Navy.

4 feet

 

Buck, Polly
Photographs, 1944-1946

The collection is comprised of photographs used in We Minded the Store: Yale Life and Letters During World War II (1975), by Polly S. Buck. The photographs depict student life in Branford College during the years 1944-1946; a large majority is of the Navy ROTC. The collection also includes some photographs of individual students as well as clippings.

0.25 feet

 

Camp, Walter C.
Papers, 1870-1983

Walter Camp was an author, athletic director, chairman of the board of the New Haven Clock Company, and director of the Peck Brothers Company. He was general athletic director and head advisory football coach at Yale University from 1888-1914, and chairman of the Yale football committee from 1888-1912. Camp was director of the naval athletic program during World War I, and devised the Daily Dozen series of exercises. The papers consist of correspondence, writings, photographs and family papers, and document Walter Camp's devotion to sports and in particular to football, the form of which he greatly modified. Camp's interest in physical fitness was put into action during World War I when he organized exercise programs for elderly men, a special program for Washington officials, and ultimately developed his "Daily Dozen" exercises for the Navy. These activities are reflected in his correspondence with Newton D. Baker, Josephus Daniels, John W. Davis, William G. McAdoo, Franklin D. Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

32.25 feet

 

Colvocoresses, George M.
Papers, 1840-1852

George Musalas Colvocoresses (1816-1872) was ransomed from the Turks after the Greek War of Independence and brought to America in 1821 where he attended Norwich Academy in Vermont. In 1832 he was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy and served on the Wilkes Expedition, 1838-1842, surveying Grays Harbor under Eld and journeying overland from Oregon to California with Emmons. He served on the ships PorpoisePeacockVincennes, and Oregon. "Diary of Lt. Colvocoresses" describes the Wilkes Expeditionin 1840 as it explored near the Fiji and Hawaiian Islands. "The People's Book" follows the expedition from the Islands of Madeira to Cape Verde Islands, around South America, Australia, the Antarctic Ocean, island groups throughout the South Seas, the Northwest Coast of America, Oregon, California, and back to the South Pacific. "Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition" is a slightly altered published edition of "The People's Book."

850 pages

 

Cooper, James F.
Papers

American novelist and U.S. Navy Midshipman. Contained in the Beineke Library's American Literature Collection.

2,000 items

Davison, Frederick T.
Papers, 1882-1961

Correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, photographs and memorabilia documenting Davison's activities as founder of a Yale aviation unit during World War I, his political career in the Republican Party in New York State, his presidency of the American Museum of Natural History (1933-1951) and his activities in many foundations, academic institutions and philanthropies. The aspect of his life most thoroughly documented is his organization of a Yale flying unit, which was formally recognized by the Navy in 1917 as Aerial Coast Patrol Unit No. 1 for action in the war. The records include correspondence, financial and legal papers relating to the formation and operation of the unit, maps, photographs, ephemera and printed articles about the unit. A series of radio broadcasts (1941) on its history were recorded on phonograph discs (now in the Historical Sound Recordings of the Sterling Memorial Library) and slides made in 1966 in connection with a 50th anniversary celebration are also in the papers.

10.5 feet

Duckworth, Thomas
Papers, 1793-1812

ALS to [Richard Birth?] Admiralty House Deck.  10 May 1815, 2 p. 20 x 23 cm. Free postal cover signed "Duckworth" franked 9 December 1815. Accompanying letter suggests Birth is addressee of May 10 letter. Portraits, etc. Contained in the Beineke Library's Osborn Manuscript Collection.

 

Eld Jr., Henry
Papers, 1841-1858

Henry Eld (1814-1850), born in New Haven, became a midshipmanin the United States Navy and joined the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. He served on the ship Peacock, on the ship Vincennes at Fiji, and joined Lieutenant George Emmons's overland journey through Oregon and California. The papers contain two journals dating from Henry Eld's service in the Wilkes Expedition which record his survey of Grays Harbor and overland journey through the Pacific Northwest. There are also three sketchbooks from the expedition (WA MSS 161). Accompanied by letters, reports, and orders, documenting Eld's personal and professional life from 1845-1858. This material includes letters from Eld during service in the Mexican War and from family in California and the Midwest (WA MSS 162.)

117 items

 

Emmons, George F.
Papers, 1828-1850

George Foster Emmons (1811-1884), appointed a midshipman in 1828, served on board the frigate Brandywine in the Mediterranean 1830-1833, served on board Peacock in the Wilkes Expedition 1838-1842, joined the ship Boston of the Brazil Squadron, and served on board Ohio as part of the Pacific Squadron. He was commissioned Commodore in 1868 and spent the rest of his career on shore at the Hydrographic Office in Washington and as commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard.Three journals and four sketchbooks, created during the Wilkes Expedition, describe and illustrate surveys of Pacific harbors, an overland journey from Vancouver to San Francisco, Antarctic, and the South Seas. Family and professional letters, and documents are inserted. A scrapbook of letters and orders documents George Emmons's active navy career and another volume of clippings records the 1842 court martial of Charles Wilkes and other members of the United States Exploring Expedition.

7 volumes

 

Evans, Amos
Papers, 1812-1813

Medical prescription book kept on board U.S. Frigate Constitution, 28 August 1812-5 March 1813.

1 volume

 

Gibson, Langhorne
Papers, 1710-1957

Langhorne Gibson graduated from Yale College with the Class of 1922. He was apprenticed with the Crowell Publishing Company in New York City, and was author of Death of a Fleet and The Riddle of Jutland. Gibson's hobbies were hunting and yachting, and he designed and built Diana, a motor-sailer on which he and his wife lived during the first year of their marriage. The papers consist of pamphlets and other printed matter with some letters, diaries and manuscripts relating to naval affairs. The largest block of material concerns World War I, particularly the questions of the German naval mutiny of 1917, the surrender of the German Fleet in November 1918, and the scuttling of its most important units at Scapa Flow in 1919. Also in the collection are ca. two thousand postcards showing World War I naval scenes and photographs of American transports.

3 feet

 

Holmes, Silas
Papers, 1838-1842

The journal describes the voyage of the United States Exploring Expedition around South America, throughout the Pacific Ocean, Antarctica, Australia, the south sea islands, and the Northwest Coast of America. Silas Holmes noted the countries visited, as well as the customs of the natives, particularly the Polynesian Indians.

3 volumes

 

Hooker Family
Papers, 1623-1929

The papers contain correspondence, financial and legal records, genealogical material, account books, maps, autograph albums, scrapbooks, ships' logs, and memorabilia from several generations of the Hooker family of Farmington, Connecticut. Early family records contain correspondence and documents relating to the American Revolution. Eighteenth-century legal and financial records in the papers include deeds and leases on land in Farmington, Connecticut, indentures (1760-1763), wills, and inventories of estates. One of the major figures in the papers is Edward Hooker (1822-1903), commander in the United States Navy. Two volumes document his command of the Potomac Flotilla (1863) and of USS Commodore (1864-1865), both during the Civil War. Maps and charts collected by Edward Hooker relate to the Civil War and eight are connected with his command of USS Idaho during its voyage around the world (1867-1868.)

7.5 feet

 

Hurd, Jesse
Papers, 1700-1910

Three generations of the Hurd family of Chatham, Connecticut are represented in the papers. The primary figures are Jesse Hurd (1760-1831), his brother Benjamin Hurd (1739-1781), and Jesse's sons Cyrus and Jesse II; and Cyrus Hurd's sons Cyrus II and Charles W. B. Hurd. Jesse Hurd (1760-1831) was a storekeeper, distiller, ship-builder, shipmaster, shipowner, state representative from Chatham, and first president of the New York Screw Dock Company. The papers consist of correspondence, diaries, legal papers, account books, ship's papers, and miscellanea relating to the private lives and business interests of the Hurd family of Chatham, Connecticut and New York City. Family interests in shipbuilding, ship repair, mercantile holdings, distillery operations, and politics are detailed, with extensive records for the New York Screw Dock Company and for many of the ships built, owned, and operated by the Hurd family.

5.25 feet

 

Johnson, William W.
Papers, 1783-1903

William Woolsey Johnson: taught at U.S. Naval Academy at Newport, Rhode Island, 1864-1865; at Annapolis, Maryland, 1865-1870; at Kenyon College, 1870-1872; at St. John's College, Annapolis, 1872-1881; at U.S. Naval Academy, 1881-1921; in 1913 was given a commissioned rank in the Navy and retired with the rank of Commodore; author of numerous books on mathematics. The papers consist almost entirely of family correspondence among Johnson, his wife, children, and parents, including letters from Johnson as a student at Yale University.

1.25 feet

 

Laird Family
Papers, 1890-1980

The principal figures in these papers are Thelma Fae Laird, nurse and educator, and her immediate family. Photographs and memorabilia collected during her service in the Navy Nurse Corps during World War II make up the largest part of the papers. Also in the collection are the letters of her father, Allan Max Laird, on Wisconsin politics and of her mother, Sara O'Neil Laird, describing her life as a school teacher in Wisconsin at the turn of the century. The activities of her brother, Joseph M. Laird, and other members of the Laird and O'Neil families are reflected in family correspondence (1901-1954), photographs and memorabilia.

2.5 feet

 

Lockwood, Samuel
Papers, 1822-1885

Correspondence, letterbooks, orders, journals, commissions, log extracts, mess receipts, handbook of naval rules and regulations, and other papers of Commodore Samuel Lockwood of the U.S. Navy. The papers relate principally to Lockwood's service in the War with Mexico, his command of the sloop Cyane in the Pacific Squadron, 1858-1860, and his command of the steamer Daylight as part of the Union blockade of the Confederate coast. Correspondents include Matthew C. Perry, Isaac Toucey, Gideon Welles, and John Percival.

1 foot

 

Louttit, Chauncey McK.
Papers, 1917-1956

The papers consist of correspondence and professional papers concerning Chauncey Louttit's teaching and administrative duties, his tour in the Navy during World War II, his publication activities, and his duties as editor of Psychological Abstracts.

10.5 feet

 

Margenau, Henry
Papers, 1927-1990

The papers document Henry Margenau's professional career as a physicist and philosopher of science. They chiefly consist of correspondence and published and unpublished writings.

3.5 feet

 

Merrill, Keith
Papers, 1915-1985

Keith Merrill was born on April 2, 1887 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Yale University in 1911 and in 1914 he received a LL.B. from Harvard University. Merrill served in the United States Foreign Service from 1917 until 1937. He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve and served asassistant to Captain W. D. Puleston, Navy liaison officer to the Board of Economic Warfare, from 1942 to 1946. He married Mary Katherine Ayer on May 7, 1917; they had three children. The papers consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, cables, and printed material concerning economic warfare, assembled by Keith Merrill when he served on the Board of Economic Warfare during World War II. Merrill intended to write a history of economic warfare, with emphasis on the violation of neutrality by the Swedes, and drafts of his manuscript are included in the papers.

1.25 feet

 

Morris, Charles G.
Papers, 1742-1961

The papers consist of correspondence, writings, family papers, financial records, scrapbooks, daguerreotypes, and other material documenting the professional career of Charles Gould Morris and the personal lives of several family members. Morris's political career, his dairy business activities, and his municipal and civic concerns in Connecticut are documented. The letters and papers of family members involved in the settlement of the American frontier and in the Civil War are included, as are papers of Morris's father, Luzon Burritt Morris, a Governor of Connecticut.

20 feet

 

Murphy, John K.
Papers, 1893-1933

The papers consist of correspondence, photographs, papers, and other materials relating to Murphy's nautical interests and career with the naval reserve forces and the U.S. Coast Guard in New Haven, Connecticut. Murphy participated in naval operations during the Spanish American War, and World Wars I and II.

1 foot

 

Neeser, Robert W.
Collection, 1798-1909

The major part of this collection is made up of 58 volumes of logbooks for fifty-one British warships (1808-1840). The remainder of the collection consists of research material for his study of the history of the United States Navy (published 1909). Included are a list of vessels (1775-1907), a list of logbooks (1800-1907) and copies of letters from the archives of the United States Navy (1798-1842). Also included is a volume of records kept ca. 1870 by Horace A. Blanchard concerning the United States frigate Sabine.

20 feet

 

Pardee, Stephen D.
Papers, 1852-1876

The papers consist of family letters, business letters, and business and personal accounts of the Pardee family. The principal figures in the collection are Stephen Dickerman Pardee and his son John S. Pardee, who served in the U.S. Navy.

0.25 feet

 

Powell, William J.
Papers, 1829-1863

Chiefly medical notebooks (1829-1831) of lectures William J. Powell attended at the Columbia University Medical School, recording lectures by A. H. Stevens, John A. Smith, John B. Beck, Joseph M. Smith, and Edward Delafield. Also included is a notebook containing a diary of his medical practice on board USS Ohio (1842). The schoolbooks of his son, Stephen C. Powell, including notes from his studies at the Yale Medical School, are also in the papers.

0.5 feet

 

Remey, Charles M.
Papers, 1891-1957

The papers consist of his travel journals in Europe and Latin America as a teacher of the Baha'i faith (1945-1948) and typescripts of family biographies and other aspects of the Remey family history. Included are compilations of the life and letters of Charles Mason, Chief Justice of Iowa, of George Collier Remey, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and of Mary Josephine Remey. Remey's architectural career is represented in an "Architectural design for a Baha'i temple to be built upon Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land."

8 feet

 

Royal Navy
Logbooks, 1808-1839

69 volumes

 

Scofield, Walter K.
Papers, 1859-1910

Correspondence, diaries, journals, scrapbooks, photographs and miscellanea relating to Scofield's career as naval surgeon during the Civil War and his later voyages to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the West Indies.

1 foot

 

Shaw, Nathaniel
Papers, 1755-1799

Account books, ledgers, a letter book and over 8,000 bills and receipts of Nathaniel Shaw and his brother, Thomas, who succeeded him in managing the family business. Many of the ledgers and accounts are for cargoes in Shaw's ships which were engaged in the West Indies trade. During the American Revolution Nathaniel Shaw was an active partisan of the colonies and his letter books refer to the ongoing situation. From 1776 he was "agent of the Colony [Connecticut] for naval supplies and taking care of sick seamen" and his ledgers document the financial side of these enterprises, including the accounts of privateers and the disposition of prizes taken by American ships during the war.

17.5 feet

 

Stimson, Henry L.
Papers, 1846-1966

The papers consist of correspondence, letter books, speeches, articles, letters to the editor, statements prepared for presentation to Congress and substantial subject files with clippings, printed matter, reports, memoranda and photographs related to Henry Stimson's various public offices. While the official records of Stimson's service (as Secretary of War under President Taft, Secretary of State under Herbert Hoover and as Secretary of War in the cabinets of Presidents Roosevelt and Truman) are all in the National Archives, the substantial correspondence, as well as other papers, in this collection provide important records of his activities as a private citizen and in office and on special missions. Of major importance are Stimson's diaries which span the years 1904-1945, covering the entire period of his public career and including references to the early stages of the development of the atom bomb. Extensive family papers include the correspondence (1846-1966) of Stimson's parents, sister, and other relatives. In his father's papers are a series of diaries (1864-1916). There is also a collection of letters by Stimson to his wife and to other family members.

154.5 feet

 

Ticknor, Benajah
Papers, 1818-1852

Journals, letterbook, medical notes, and essays of Benajah Ticknor, doctor and surgeon with the U.S. Navy. Of primary importance are the journals which describe journeys made by Ticknor with the Navy to South America, the Far East, and Europe.

1.5 feet

 

Tobin, James
Papers, 1930-1998

James Tobin, Nobel laureate and long-time professor of economics at Yale University, was born in Champaign, Illinois, in 1918. In 1939, he graduated from Harvard University, where he also obtained his master's degree in 1940 and his Ph.D. in 1947. He worked in the Office of Price Administration and on the Civilian Supply and War Production Board before enlisting in the Navy in 1941 and serving as an officer on board USS Kearney. The papers consist of correspondence, subject files, and writings, primarily documenting the professional career of James Tobin as an economist and educator.

 

Underwood, Joseph A.
Papers, 1838-1840

Joseph A. Underwood, midshipman in the United States Navy, served on the store ship Relief as lieutenant on the Wilkes Exploring Expedition. From 1839-1840, he served on board USS Vincennes, until he was murdered by the natives at Malolo, Fiji Islands. The journal describes the voyage of the ship Relief from Norfolk to Porto Praya, Rio de Janeiro, Tierra del Fuego, Valparaiso, and Callao, and continues with Vincennes's voyage to the Coral Islands, Tahiti, New South Wales, and Antarctica. There are daily reckonings and meteorological observations for 1838-1839.

1 volume

 

Verstille Family
Papers, 1754-1858

The principal figures in these papers are Peter Verstille of Wethersfield and Hartford, Connecticut, his wife Naomi Ridgway Verstille, their children and grandchildren. Most of the papers consist of correspondence, but also included are financial and legal papers, among them accounts of the estate of Peter Verstille and lists of house furnishings. The largest part of the correspondence is the exchange of letters between Nancy and Charlotte Verstille, granddaughters of Peter Verstille. Both were teachers and discuss their experiences at schools in various parts of New England and the South. The letters of Nancy Verstille also include an account of an operation performed in 1817. The Dabney family of Massachusetts were major correspondents and their letters contain a description of the bankruptcy of the family in 1818.

3.5 feet

 

War Posters
Collection, 1914-1946

The War Poster Collection is a composite of several individual donations and library purchases, accumulated from the 1920s through the 1980s. Individual donations, such as that of Lafon Allen, are identified within the War Poster Collection, as single collections themselves. The collection consists of posters published in nations involved in World War I, 1914-1918, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, 1939-1945. Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Canada, Australia, Ireland and other nations are represented through posters depicting such diverse topics as recruitment, enlistment, conservation, war loans, civilian service, home relief, foreign relief and propaganda messages. Posters issued by government agencies, social organizations, and private concerns are included.

6 feet

 

Williams Family
Papers, 1824-1936

The papers include correspondence (comprising over half of the collection), manuscripts of Samuel Wells Williams's Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language, themes and lecture notes by Frederick Wells Williams, diaries, newspaper clippings, articles on China, maps, and pictures. The bulk of the correspondence relates to S.W. Williams, missionary, diplomat, and Sinologue. The period between 1845 and 1855 has extensive correspondence with missionaries and with James Dwight Dana and Matthew C. Perry, whom Williams accompanied on his mission to open Japan and on his return visit in 1854. Williams's letters to friends and family comment on progress made and their reception in Japan. In1856 Williams became secretary and interpreter to the American Legation in China and many of the letters refer to Chinese problems of the following 20 years. His correspondents include, in addition to Dana and Perry, Anson Burlingame, Hamilton Fish, Asa Gray, Frederick Low, William Bradford Reed, and William Henry Seward. The remaining correspondence covers the period 1885 to 1939, encompassing the correspondence of F.W. Williams, Yale professor, and Wayland Wells Williams, writer.

11.5 feet

 

Yale University
Photographs, 1898-1945

The collection, part of Yale Record Group 42, contains photographs of ROTC and NROTC activity at Yale during World War I and World War II, primarily images of drilling instruction, exercises, and artillery practice. There are a few photographs of Yale students during the Spanish American War.

1 foot

 

Yale University
Records, 1916-1972

Yale Record Group 42 contains correspondence, memorabilia, accounts, photographs, clippings, statistics, student data, and administrative files related to the Yale University ROTC and wartime educational programs.

69.5 feet

10 May 2002

Published: Thu Jun 26 11:24:46 EDT 2014