Reed Family 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 reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

Reed Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Summary

Extent:
0.66 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Reed Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the papers and biographic material, 1899-1946, of the Reed family of Floyd County, Virgina and Warren, Ohio. Included are personal letters and photographs, as well as records relating to service of family members in WWI and WWII. The correspondence series consists largely of personal letters written by Asa Daniel Reed to his future wife, Clarence Elizabeth Mangus (later Clarence Elizabeth Reed), during Reed's service in the U.S. Army. Reed's assignments included posts in the Philippines during the U.S. occupation thereof, in Texas along the border with Mexico, and in Germany and France during World War I. Interwar correspondences focus more on Clarence Reed's domestic life in Warren, Ohio. During the World War II period, Asa and Clarence Reed received correspondences from their son, Eugene Mangus Reed, serving in the U.S. Army. The biographic material series includes publications from the late nineteenth century on health remedies, as well as brief histories of the Ohio and Erie Railroads. The series also contains Asa D. Reed's discharge papers from the U.S. Army, the baby book of Eugene Mangus Reed, and a photograph of Clarence Mangus.

Scope and Contents This series consists largely of personal letters written by Asa Daniel Reed to Clarence Elizabeth Mangus (later Clarence Elizabeth Reed) during Reed's service in the U.S. Army. From 1913 through 1920, Reed wrote to Mangus on a consistent basis from Army posts in Alabama, Georgia, the Philippines, Texas, Wyoming, Germany, France and Arkansas. During this time period Mangus resided in Floyd County, Virgina with her parents. Reed describes his military service in these letters, but focuses more so on his desire to return to civilian life and marry Mangus. Reed frequently refers to himself as "John" and to Mangus as "Irene." After their marriage in 1920, Asa and Clarence Reed moved to Warren, Ohio. Later items in this series include letters to Clarence Reed from her mother, Kitty A. Mangus, in Floyd County, Virgina. Clarence Reed also received frequent letters from a relative named Lila. During World War II, Asa and Clarence Reed received postcards and letters from their son, Eugene Mangus Reed, who also served in the U.S. Army. Other items in the collection include telegrams informing Asa Reed of family deaths, postcards from the World I and World War II era, and invitations to family weddings and school graduations.

Items in this series include publications such as account books and pamphlets on health remedies. The series also contains Asa D. Reed's honorable discharge papers from the U.S. Army, which provides a brief summary of his service from August 27, 1913 through June 4, 1920. A baby book provides information on the birth and early years of Eugene Mangus Reed, the son of Asa and Clarence Reed. Other items of interest include advertisements for coffee companies and a local bank in Warren, Ohio. The series also contains a pamphlet for a sanitary train that Asa Reed served on in the military, as well as pamphlets on the Erie and Ohio railroads. The series concludes with one photograph of Clarence Mangus (Reed) and several unidentified photographs of what appear to be WWI German military officers.

Acquisition information:
Purchase.
Processing information:

Accessioned and minimally processed in January 2010 by Ute Schechter, Warren E. Burger Archivist. Further arranged and described by Peter Klicker, SCRC staff, in February-March 2010.

Arrangement:

Organized into two series: Series 1: Correspondence, Series 2: Biographic Material. Each series is arranged chronologically.