Letters home: 1910-1919

I am working on a bundle of letters from the 1910s. The majority of the letters so far are from William Walter Negley (usually referred to as Walter) to his mother, Susan M. Jones Negley. They are mostly from his time at Exeter and Yale, but there are also letters sent during his time in the army.

In one letter, dated May 11, 1916, Walter makes this statement on international affairs, "Mexican affairs are still interesting, aren't they? I do wish we would intervene and take the pesky little country."

Another item of interest is a letter from Walter explaining to his mother his reason for joining the army as an officer to avoid being drafted later on as a private.

There are other letters in the bundle: some addressed to Susan Negley, from friends and from her other son, Richard Van Wyck Negley (usually referred to as 'Dick'); from Dick to Walter and vice versa; from these brothers to their sister, Rose Gertrude Negley (usually referred to as 'Gertrude'); and to their father, William Negley.

Most of the letters are in good shape, and a little dirty. Brushed of the dirt, took the letters out of and clipped them to their envelopes. One of the letters is bent and curled pretty badly and will need to be humidified before flattening. One of the letters to Susan is still sealed with the instructions 'please hold' written on the front.

-MCM