Library Digital Collections

Swope Family Correspondence

View Collection Items

Collections »

Swope Family Correspondence

About this collection

Extent

15 digital objects.

Description

The Swope Family Correspondence contains letters written by Charles Byron Swope to his new wife Gretchen, written while he was stationed at 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.

Creation Date
  • 1917-1918
Creator
Location Of Originals

From the Swope Family Correspondence. MSS 510. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Geographics
Genre
Family Name
Personal Names
Topics

Format

View formats within this collection

Language
  • English
Related Resource