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Elsie Travilla Spear Diary

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0685

Content Description

Pocket Diary with entries from 9 September, 1918-20 July, 1919, documenting her experience as a dietitian with the United States Sanitary Corps in France during World War I. Inside the diary there are metal Iron Crosses from Champagne Bottles, patches, and other materials taped to the pages. Loose materials include personal photographs, baggage tag, R.M.S. Aquitania Deck Chair ticket, Nurses Pass for Hospital Center Kerhuon 1919, Paper from Grand Hotel De La Plage Morgat, War Department Certificate of Identity 1918.

Dates

  • 1918-1919

Conditions Governing Access

This 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

Elsie Travilla Spear (1888-1974), of Rock Falls, Illinois, served as a dietitian with the United States Army Sanitary Corps (precursor to the Medical Specialist Corps) during World War I. Spear sailed on the Sailed on the S.S. Leviathan from Hoboken, New Jersey on 29 September, 1918. She served at the Army Base Hospital 62, Nièvre, France. Spear left from Brest France 2 July 1919 on the S.S. Aquitania.

Extent

0.42 Linear Feet (Pocket diary and loose materials.)

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 fair. Taped items in diary are fragile, and some loose papers are very fragile.

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

Process by Victoria Hinshaw.

Title
Elsie Travilla Spear Diary
Status
Completed
Author
Victoria Hinshaw
Date
2023 February
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