Swope Family Correspondence, 1917-1918 (MSS 510)

The Swope Family Correspondence contains letters from Charles Byron Swope to his new wife Gretchen, written from Fort McDowell on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, between December 1917 and November 1918. The letters begin shortly after Swope's induction into the US Army and end the day before the World War I Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Swope wrote about personal and financial matters, the loneliness of his separation from his wife, his efforts to increase his income as a musician and photographer, and his dream of owning a farm. His letters also provide insight into everyday life on a stateside military base during World War I.

The collection also contains letters from Gretchen to Charles, although far fewer in number; letters from siblings and parents to Gretchen or Charles; and letters from friends. As a group, these letters relate family news and occasional gossip.

Arranged in three series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS and 3) MICROFILM.