Search

This collection consists of the personal papers of Brigadier General William Burr Cochran, VMI Class of 1888, including:

• Correspondence
• Photographs
• An unpublished biographical essay titled "Reminiscences of Camp Life During the World War"
• Other items, such as instructions for "final German Figures," a formal VMI dance

Eugene Edward Chiles papers, (3 cubic feet, 1915-1922) contain love letters from his girlfriend, Eugenie O'Neill who is traveling in European circles with wealthy and or famous acquaintances, while he is working as a realtor in Pittsburgh, PA. and Stephens City, Virginia, after the war. Her letters mostly describe her feelings for him and mention (briefly) famous places, people, and events from the Twenties. Topics consist of post war conditions, unemployment, strikes, feminism, racism, and the Sinn Fein rebellion (newspaper clippings). Included are a few letters from Eugene and letters from his mother, and girlfriends (1915-1922). There are also financial, military, miscellaneous, and personal papers belonging to Eugene Chiles.

The collection contains more than 450 letters written between Lieutenant Frank Owen Wilson from Wilson, Arkansas, who was a University of Virginia graduate and his Charlottesville girlfriend, Susan Smith Rinehart (1925-1995), whose family lived on an estate called "Boxwood." There are 276 letters from Wilson and 180 letters from Rinehart. Wilson's early letters are from Saint Elmo Hall at the Univeristy of Virginia. His letters while in military service were not subject to censorship, yet describe his training in detail. Frank's letters are usually hand-written but many of the letters are typewritten and some are accompanied by printed ephemera. The letters describe their courtship, his military service, their families, and her pregnancy, among other topics. Susan was from a wealthy family and her letters reflect how she and her family lived through the war without seemingly any financial concern. Letters describe Albemarle County horse rides and related activities. Her letter of June 6, 1994, regarding D-Day, is of historical interest.

Collection contains correspondence between Fredel & Elizabeth Mendinger during the former's time at Camp Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey, during the summer of 1918.

Collection contains letters between Frederic Baer & Willie Baer, newlyweds from Tarrytown NY, detailing life after service at Fort Dix & some mentions of service as a chiropodist in the US Army near the end of the war.

The Guy Elwood Webb papers (1941-1952; 1 cubic foot) consists of letters to Guy Elwood Webb from his devoted girlfriend and later wife, Linnie Ethel Davis, her mother, Mrs. D. V. Davis, and his own mother, Lulu Green, as well as family members and friends (1944-1945). Guy Webb is in boot camp in the Great Lakes, Illinois, and continues his service in Shoemaker, California, and Hawaii. There are also some telegrams and greeting cards from Guy Elwood Webb in a scrapbook that was made by his wife.

Twelve letters with envelopes, a total of 26 pages. All the letters are addressed to Hilda or Hildagarde Pabst. Five of the letters were sent to her while she was at William and Mary, the others were to addresses around Richmond. The bulk of the letters are signed "Frank." One is signed "Mille," and her father Dr. Rudolph Pabst sent the rest from a hospital in Philadelphia.