Kansas Collection
The Collection provides researchers with primary source materials that document the history of Kansas and the region. A significant part of the collection focuses on the African American experience in Kansas. This list provides a selection of those materials that relate to World War I. Personal communication: letters, diaries, and postcards from the war front make up the majority of the material. Also prominent are photographs and news clippings collected by these individuals. Towards the end are general records like books and newspapers, not related to one individual. Click on the hyperlink to navigate to the online finding aid or catalog record.
- Deane Emmett Ackers papers, 1912-1966 [RH MS 237]Official papers, certificates, and medals from Deane Emmett Ackers' military service in World War I. He graduated from KU in 1917 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in civil engineering and enlisted in the Army. From 1917-1919, he served in World War I and was a member of the 16th Infantry of the American Expeditionary Forces' First Division. For bravery in combat, Ackers was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre.
- Letters to Harriet M. Kemper Morrison, predominantly from Lionel A. Anderson. [RH MS 624]Lt. Lionel A. Anderson, originally from Lawrence, Kansas, served as a doctor in the British Army during World War I. This collection includes his letters to his fiancée, Harriet M. Kemper Morrison, and describes his time in service while still in the United States and abroad in France, Belgium and England.
- Barkemeyer Family Letters, 1913-1919 [RH MS P625]39 letters, 1913-1919, written to Grace Barkemeyer of Halstead, Harvey County, Kansas, by immediate family members. The majority of the letters (1913-1915) were written by Grace's sister Carrie, a nurse at various hospitals in California, including the German Hospital in San Francisco. These are lengthy letters and describe the rigors of a nurse's life. Other letters include those written to Grace and her mother from their brother and son John, who served in the U.S. Army during World War I and was stationed at various camps in Texas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Florida.
- Letters of Forrest W. Bassett (Company A, 6th Field Battalion, U.S. Signal Corps), while in training at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1917-1918 [RH MS 612]This collection consists of eighty-one letters and two postcards written from July 1917 to May 1918 by U.S. Army Signal Corpsman Forrest W. Bassett of Beloit, Wisconsin, while stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Most of Bassett's letters are descriptions of his drills and training for World War I military service as a radio operator.
- Catherine Campbell papers [RH MS 281]The bulk of the Catherine Campbell Collection is reports and speeches relating to her involvement with the Daughters of the American Revolution. Although the papers cover the years 1909 through 1924, they deal primarily with the war years of 1918-1919.
- Coffey Family Papers [RH MS 692]The Coffey family papers are those of two brothers. Vernon C. Coffey was a train porter who played an important role in the Brotherhood of Trainmen, Brakemen, Porters, Switchmen, Firemen, and Railway Employees, Inc. Cornelius R. Coffey became a pioneer in the field of aviation.
- Peggy Hull Deuell Collection [RH MS 130]Ms. Deuell was the first accredited woman war correspondent. She was with Gen. Pershing in the Mexican Border War in 1916, she covered World War I in France, the American Army or Occupation in Siberia after World War I, and World War II in the Pacific. Some of the newspapers she wrote for were: The El Paso Morning Times, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and The Shanghai Daily News. She was among the organizers of the Overseas Press Club of America.
- John W. Dulles papers [RH MS 256]This collection contains 76 photographs taken during World War I of the 28th and 91st Divisions of the U.S. Army, which were collected by Dulles, together with two diaries written by Dulles from June 18, 1916 to April 3, 1917 as an enlistee stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas.
- Zanoni B. Freeman letters, 1918-1919 [RH MS 647]Freeman was a Sergeant in the United States Army during World War I. He wrote these letters to Bernice Henderson while serving at Camp Funston, Kansas, and, later, in France. They date from March 24, 1918 to April 6, 1919.
- William A. Griffith and Stevens family papers, [RH MS 1012]William A. Griffith joined the KU faculty in 1899 and served as head of the Art Department for 21 years. Includes World War I related photographs and postcards.
- Hayden Family Papers [RH MS 1159]Willard Hayden served with the United States Army Medical Corps in France during World War I. This collection contains Mr. Hayden's correspondence to his family, and photographs taken in Europe during his service.
- Diary of Thomas C. Key (Musician, 357th Infantry Band, American Expeditionary Forces), 1917-1919, including diary entries to 1949. [RH MS B75]This World War I diary of Thomas Clarke Key documents his military service from 1917 to 1919 as a musician in the 357th Infantry Band of the American Expeditionary Forces, including his tour of duty from 1918 to 1919 in France and Germany.
- World War I letters from David Lupher, U.S. Army, 137th Infantry [RH MS P693]A collection of nineteen letters written from David to his family members. Lupher, a resident of Lawrence (Douglas County), Kansas, writes chiefly to his sister Dora, describing his training at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, and his later combat duty in France.
- Letters to Grace Hasson (Mrs. Henry) Pitcher, chiefly World War I letters from her brother James Hasson (Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 51st Infantry, 6th Division, Company M). [RH MSP691]This collection of sixteen letters is comprised chiefly of those written by World War I soldier James Hasson to his sister Grace. A native of Kansas, Hasson writes from France of his combat experiences with Company M of the U.S. Army's 51st Infantry, recounting German air raids, his hospitalization from machine gun wounds, his engagement in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and his company's bewilderment at cessation of enemy gunfire on Armistice Day.
- Stanley and Nelle Heady Reynolds letters. [RH MS 1047]Stanley Reynolds served in World War I as a member of a U.S. Army band. This collection contains correspondence between Nelle and Stanley, as well as letters from their son, other family members, and friends.
- Wint Smith private diary [RH MS C55]Smith wrote this diary as a young officer with the American Expeditionary Forces in England and France during World War I. The diary, which begins with Smith's departure from New York City aboard a troop ship, the "Mongolia," is quite detailed and anecdotal. The diary ends with an entry for May 10, 1918, while Smith is convalescing from a knee operation.
- Wint Smith military memorabilia [RH MS R30]Included is an Inter-Allied Games Programme, Sunday, July 6, 1919 and Invitation to American Expeditionary Forces. Inter-Allied Games, June 22-July 6, 1919. Paris, France.
- Harry Hines Woodring Papers, [RH MS 202]The papers of Harry Hines Woodring (1887-1967), governor of Kansas, 1931-1933, Assistant Secretary of War, 1933-1936, and Secretary of War, 1936-1940. Enlisted as a Private in World War I and was sent to the Tank Training Center, Camp Colt, Pennsylvania. Commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Personnel Section at Camp Colt 1918.
- Jayhawker in France [RH MS Q10]Unofficial organ of the 137th infantry, Sampigny, France, Wednesday, February 5, 1919.
- We belong 100% strong [graphic]1 print (poster) : lithograph, color.
- Camp songs of the United States Army and Navy / collected by Kenneth S. Clark, representing the War Department Commission on Training Camp Activities.Washington, D.C. : Printed by The Evening and Sunday Star, for the men in the Service, [between 1917 and 1919]. 1 sheet ([2] p.) ; 29 x 16 cm.
- U.S. Marines - first to fight in France for freedom [graphic] : Enlist with the "soldiers of the sea."1 photomechanical print (poster) : halftone, color. 1914-1918.
- Premiers au feu means in French first to fight, in English U.S. Marines [graphic] / F.1 print (poster) : lithograph, col. ; 106 x 71 cm. 1917.
Photographs
- LUNA-Kansas CollectionHistorical photographs from the Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas. The Kansas Collection is the regional history division of the University of Kansas Libraries. The Photo Collection consists of images documenting the history of Kansas, the region, and the people who have lived here.
Research Help
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Contact Information
Sherry Williams: Curator of Collections
swilliam@ku.edu
785-864-2027
Deborah Dandridge: Kansas Collection Librarian
ddandrid@ku.edu
785-864-2028