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Elizabeth Williams Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0058

Content Description

The collection includes an oral history transcript, 29 March 1999; various photographs of Williams Red Cross service and for a Life Magazine publication, 1943-1944.

Dates

  • circa 1943-1999

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Elizabeth Williams (1916-1999) of New Bern, North Carolina, served primarily overseas as a Red Cross club director from 1943 to 1952, then had a long career as a teacher in New Bern. Elizabeth Williams was born on 18 June 1916 in New Bern, North Carolina. She was raised in New Bern and attended high school there. In 1933 she enrolled in the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and graduated in 1937 with a major in social studies and a minor in English. After graduation she returned to New Bern.

From 1937 to 1939, Williams worked as an English and social studies teacher in Madison, North Carolina. In 1939 she took up a teaching position in Sumner, North Carolina. Williams joined the Red Cross in 1943 after difficulties in joining the United States Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). She took training courses in Washington, D.C., and was assigned clubmobile duty. In 1943 she was sent to Bayview, Maryland, followed by Midston House, New York, and Camp Patrick Henry in Portsmouth, Virginia. That same year she was sent on the SS Mariposa to North Africirca Williams was stationed in Morocco at a club for the First Armored Division. She was then sent to the Red Cross headquarters for the Twelfth Air Force in Algiers, Algeria, followed by Hamamet, Tunisia.

From Christmas 1943 to April 1945 she was stationed in Manduria, Italy, in a combat area. She spent the summer of 1945 at home in New Bern and in Washington, D.C. When she returned to the Red Cross, Williams was sent to Calcutta, India, and flown out to Kunming, China. She was also stationed in Yangkai and Tientsin, China. In 1946 she was transferred to Yokohama, Japan.

Williams returned to the States in 1948 and worked with the Junior Red Cross until 1952. After retiring from the Red Cross in 1952, Williams taught school in Atlantic, North Carolina. She later taught at New Bern High School for twenty years. Elizabeth Williams died on 5 September 1999.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (2 folders )

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Condition Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Elizabeth Williams Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2022 September
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246