WWI. World War I

Abstract A collection of 19th and early 20th century family papers of the Coombs and Learned extended families who lived in Michigan, California, and Ohio. Papers include extensive family correspondence, diaries, business and financial records, and over 300 photographs. Noteworthy among the contents are several letters written by President James A. Garfield to a family member when he was a young man, as well as Palmer Coombs' World War I diaries and papers. Portions of this collection, including...

Scope and Contents The diary, kept by Sergeant Jay H. Crawford, details a World War I soldier’s experience in 1918. It starts in Houston in May 1918, describing Crawford’s journey to the east coast, and later to France. The diary discusses his experiences in France, including describing airplanes and dogfights in May and June, and describing the aftermath of the Battle of Verdun. The diary consists of multiple longer passages, with dates referenced in narrative form. The last events discussed appear to date to...

Abstract

Curtiss La Q. Day, an early American aviator, obtained his pilot's license at the Wright Brothers School in 1914. He was a flight instructor at several flight schools, including the Wright Flying School at Hempstead Plains, New York. Day was also a member of the Early Birds and his name appears on the Wright Memorial Plaque in Dayton. The collection consists of 79 photographs, 2 letters and a postcard.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of a single metal badge/pin (believed to be copper). The front of the pin includes an image of a biplane, the text "The Dayton Wright Airplane Co. Dayton Ohio," and the number 15046 (presumably an employee identification number of some kind). The item measures approximately 1-1/2 inches wide by 1-1/8 inches tall.

Abstract

The collection contains 156 large format glass plate negatives and 63 nitrate negatives depicting factory workers, interior and exterior plant views, airplane assembly, and completed airplanes from a Dayton manufacturer of World War I aircraft.

Abstract

Harvey Dressler was a civil engineer in the Dayton area owning the firm of Cellarius and Dressler Engineering. The Harvey Dressler Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, maps, books, and other documents related to Harvey Dressler, his wife Florence Bremberger Dressler, and daughter Mary Dressler Stansell.

Abstract The Fred F. Marshall Papers reflect Marshall's career as an engineer, aviation journalist, photographer, environmentalist, and local historian. Marshall was attached to the Signal Corps in World War I; he then returned to Dayton to work at McCook Field where he was editor of the aviation journal, Slipstream. Retiring in 1955 after working for several engineering and aircraft firms, Marshall devoted his time to writing articles dealing with the history of the Yellow Springs, Clifton, and...

Abstract

The collection consists of a single piece of linen wing fabric from Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, where Albert V. Gress Sr. worked in 1918.

Content Description

The collection consists of a single item, an original "Individual Pay Record Book" for Herbert Wright, a Private in the American Expeditionary Forces who was stationed at the 104th Field Hospital in France during World War I. It covers the time period of October 1918 to March 1919.