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Carter, Lewis, and Battersby Family Letters [In progress]

 Collection
Identifier: SC MS 0462

Scope and Contents

The collection holds around 1,000 letters written between the Battersby, Carter, and Lewis families all collected and assembled by Carol Carter. The bulk of the items in each subject folder are letters and correspondence. There are also mementos like commencement programs, locks of children's hair, drawings, photographs, and school work ranging from elementary to high school level related to each family.

Dates

  • Creation: 1872 - 1949

Biographical / Historical

This collection was created collectively by members of the Carter, Lewis, and Battersby families. The three families lived in different parts of the state of New York in the 1900s. Leon Carter lived in Norwich. His wife Eugenia Phelps Carter lived in West New Brighton, Staten Island before marrying. Eugenia and Leon lived together in Norwich where they had two daughters, Comelia and Carol. Eugenia Phelps Carter and Leon Carter both passed away in Port Charlotte Florida in 1983 and 1989 respectively. Carol Carter was the eldest sister. She attended the MacMurray College for women in 1943 before enlisting in the Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Service of the US Navy between 1945 and 1946. Letters written indicate she achieved the rank of sergeant. After her service she enrolled in the Berlitz School of Languages in France through the GI Bill of Rights. She later married Robert Lewis who was employed by The New York Times in an unknown capacity, and the two would also live in Norwich. The Battersbies were an extended family of the Carters. Bertha Battersby and M. Agnus Battersby lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey and Mary Battersby lived in New York City.

Extent

10 Linear Feet (5 record center boxes (32 folders))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collection is made up of letters and family mementos from the Carter, Lewis, and Battersby families. The three families lived in New York around Staten Island, Greenwich, and New York City, and in New Jersey. The Batterbies are an extended family of the Carters, and they are connected to the Lewis’s through the marriage of Robert Lewis and Carol Carter. The Carter family letters are primarily written to Leon and Eugenia Phelps Carter between the 1910’s and 1940’s. The Carter family makes up the majority of the collection The Lewis family letters are mainly written to Carol Carter Lewis and Robert Lewis from 1942-1950. The Battersby letters make up a small portion of the collection where B.C., Mary, and M. Agnus Battersby received letters from 1905-1931. Letters and correspondence that do not affiliate with another family and non-letter items like family mementos, drawings, photographs, and programs make up the second largest portion of the collection.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into three series. Series one is letters divided by family association, series two is other correspondence with no clear affiliation, and series three is non-correspondence items such as family mementos and other items: Battersby family, Carter family, and Lewis family. The subject folders are further divided into sub-folders determined by the recipient and the date range the letters were received. The folders in each series are arranged alphabetically by recipient and then by date.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, April 2024 – Allentown Paper Show

Status
In Progress
Author
Brandon Sherer
Date
December 9, 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)