Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr. Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr. Letters, 1875-1935, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
4.0 Linear Feet
Creator:
Chapman, Thomas Putnam, Jr.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr. Letters, 1875-1935, Special Collections Research Center, William and Mary Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection of letters, cards, ephemera, and personal items belonging to Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr. A large portion of the letters are written to his family from his time spent as a student at the College of William and Mary. Included with Thomas' letters are letters from his father and other family members. This collections is currently in processing and is not fully available to researchers. The collection guide will be updated once processing of the collection is complete.

Consists of letters circa 1875-1935 between members of the Chapman family. Letters are organized alphabetically by creator's first name and each creator's letters are chronological. Letters with unknown creators are filed under their recipient, if known. Oversized letters are not organized alphabetically by creator, only chronologically. Letters were primarily written in Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Mediapolis, Iowa; Vienna, Virginia; Napanoch, New York; Washington, D.C.; and Williamsburg, Virginia. Box 1 Folder 1 contains genealogical information and related resource guides concerning the creators of letters.

Three letters from Elizabeth (signed "Bets" and "Liz") to her brother Thomas Chapman, Jr.(addressed as "Junior") while Elizabeth and her husband (Gus?) were stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Mentions political conventions, family issues, and her health.

Contains both stamped and unstamped postcards, greeting cards, and invitations dating from circa 1893-1921. Ordered chronologically.

Contains pamphlets, calling cards, a map of the area surrounding Napanoch, New York, and miscellaneous documents including some of Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr.'s schoolwork. Documents that may be letters but are incomplete or have no known recipient or creator are included.

Newspaper article on Angier Biddle Duke, the individual who presented Thomas P. Champan with the cigareete box artifact that is part of this colleciton.

Framed postcard of the White House with the signature of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Silver cigarette box presented to the Honorable Thomas P. Chapman May 12, 1962 and engraved with the State Department seal and a signature line of With the Esteem of Angier Biddle Duke, who served as Ambassador to Morroco, Denmark, Spain, and El Salvador from the early 1950s through the 1960s.

Diary of Thomas Chapman, dated 1926 and the year after his graduation from William & Mary. Daily, handwritten entries discuss his daily activities, the weather, his acquaintances, and local events.

Acquisition information:
Gift from the family of Thomas Putnam Chapman, Jr., 2019.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard