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Leroy Marcus Glodell papers

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Leroy Marcus Glodell was born on May 24, 1902 in Hartford, CT to Leroy Marcus Glodell (1875-1939) and Agnes Mary McCarty (1874-1918). The family moved to New York City around 1913. After his mother's death in 1918, he migrated west and worked for a paper and pulp company in British Columbia, Canada in 1920-1921. By 1922, he was living in California where his father and stepmother, Helen M. Barclay, were residing and working as a radio sales person. On November 27, 1922, Glodell married Helen M. Barclay (not to be confused with his stepmother of the same name). They had a son, Leroy Marcus Glodell, III, who was born on June 29, 1923. Sadly, the child passed away on March 14, 1925. Roy and Helen divorced soon thereafter and Glodell joined a Chicano theater troupe performing as a dancer throughout Arizona, Texas and California. It was reported that Glodell left for Mexico in 1928 and became the dance partner of Dorita Cesprano. During his time in Mexico, he was taught the art of castanet making, which he continued to make and sell throughout his life. He moved back to the United States in December 1929 and worked as a long-distance wire chief in New Haven, Connecticut. He married dance teacher Josephine Lavoie (1903-1995) on March 2, 1933, and the couple taught dance together in their studio in Providence, Rhode Island. Their marriage lasted until 1941, when Josephine filed for divorce. He was married for the third and final time to Frances Grace Knapton Consolves (1910-1997) on July 14, 1947 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. They had two sons, David Kenyon Glodell (1948-2000) and Dwight Marcus Glodell (1951-).

Glodell's military career began in 1925 when he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserves. He went on to join the U.S. Army Reserves in 1933 and the Rhode Island National Guard in 1938. He eventually enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and obtained the rank of Colonel. He served in the Army for 32 years before retiring in 1960. His Army career focused on communication and intelligence, including organizing and commanding the Bolivian Army Signal School from 1944-1948. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Inter-American Defense Board from 1951-1955 and then went on to serve as chief of a signal school for Latin Americans at Fort Gulick in the Panama Canal Zone.

After retiring from the Army, Glodell received a Master in Education degree from Worcester State College. He taught Spanish at Quinsigamond Community College and Assumption College, and served as a Reserve Officers Training Corps instructor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He also taught military science and tactics at the University of Bolivia.

Glodell was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Antique Wireless Association, and a Freemason. He received several honors including, Officer of the Order of the Condor of the Andes from Bolivia, Commander of the Order of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa medal from Panama, and Knight Commander of the Order of Civil Merit from Spain. Glodell passed away on January 26, 1984.

Sources:

Ancestry Library, 2023. https://www.ancestry.com/.

"Roy Glodell va a Mexico a Trabajar en Los Mejores Teatros'." El Heraldo De Mexico [Los Angeles, CA],28 Nov. 1927, p. 6.

Richards, Richard. "Leroy M. Glodell, Adj. Professor in Spanish: A Very Model of a Modern Colonel." Assumption, Winter 1963, pages 10-12.

Wilson, Vincent. The Callimahos Course - National Security Agency/Central Security Service, www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/cryptologic-spectrum/Callimahos_Course.pdf. Accessed 5 July 2023.

This collection contains correspondence, photographs, programs, reports, notes, publications and ephemera documenting the military, diplomatic, personal and cultural experience of U.S. Army intelligence officer, Leroy Marcus "Roy" Glodell, Jr. and his future wife throughout his service in World War II, until his retirement in 1960. The collection is arranged in three series: I. Correspondence; II. Military; and III. Photographs. The bulk of the material is in English with a small amount in Spanish and Esperanto. Series I, Correspondence is divided into two subseries, a. Letters between Roy and Frances and b. Family and friends. Subseries a. comprises the largest part of the collection and contains over 1,000 letters between Glodell and Frances Consolves. Despite both being married, they conducted a secret love affair via correspondence until 1947, when they were finally married in Cochabamba, Bolivia. They wrote to each other every day, sometimes twice a day, detailing their day-to-day experiences. Subseries b. primarily contains correspondence Frances received after she moved to Bolivia to marry Glodell. Letters from friends and family provide updates to life in her hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. This subseries also contains some biographical information on Glodell.

Series II. Military, contains reports, outlines, invitations, correspondence, awards, and notes documenting Glodell's military career as a signal and intelligence officer in Latin America. Stationed state side for most of World War II, Glodell was sent to Bolivia in 1944 to organize and command the Bolivian Army Signal School. Most of the items in this series document his life in Bolivia. Glodell returned stateside in 1948 and served as Deputy Secretary of the Inter-American Defense Board in Washington, D.C. from 1951-1955. In 1955, he deployed to the Panama Canal Zone, where he served as chief of the communication division of the U.S. Army Caribbean School at Fort Gulick. While in Panama, he became interested in the fortresses Santiago de la Gloria in Portobelo and San Lorenzo. Glodell worked with Army volunteers to restore San Lorenzo, for which he was awarded the Order of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa from the Panama government. The series also contains three maps of the fictional Zendia Respubliko. These maps were used as pedagogical aides in the top-secret National Security Agency's Intensive Study Program in General Cryptanalysis, course CA-400, taught by Lambros D. Callimahos. The 18-week course ended with the 12 students tackling the Zendian Problem, an exercise in communication intelligence operations.

Series III. Photographs contains an assortment of largely unidentified personal photographs. The bulk of the photographs were taken by the Glodells in Bolivia. They include a mix of friends, landscapes, soldiers and military events. There are several photo albums and a few pages of an unbound scrapbook found in this series. They detail Glodell's interest in the fortresses Santiago de la Gloria in Portobelo and San Lorenzo, Panama, and his expedition down the Espiritu Santo River in Bolivia.

I. Correspondence

a. Letters between Roy and Frances

b. Family and friends

II. Military

III. Photographs and oversized

Sold by McBride Rare Books, 2023.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Kristine McGee
Finding Aid Date
2023 June 28
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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1939-1940.
Box 1 Folder 1
1941 January-June.
Box 1 Folder 2
1941 July-December.
Box 1 Folder 3
1942 January.
Box 1 Folder 4
1942 February.
Box 1 Folder 5
1942 March.
Box 1 Folder 6
1942 April.
Box 1 Folder 7
1942 May-June.
Box 1 Folder 8
1942 July.
Box 1 Folder 9
1942 August-September.
Box 1 Folder 10
1942 October-December.
Box 1 Folder 11
1943 January-February.
Box 1 Folder 12
1943 March-April.
Box 1 Folder 13
1943 May-July.
Box 1 Folder 14
1943 August-September.
Box 1 Folder 15
1943 October-December.
Box 1 Folder 16
1944 January.
Box 1 Folder 17
1944 February.
Box 1 Folder 18
1944 March.
Box 1 Folder 19
1944 April.
Box 1 Folder 20
1944 May.
Box 2 Folder 1
1944 June-July.
Box 2 Folder 2
1944 August-September.
Box 2 Folder 3
1944 October-December.
Box 2 Folder 4
1945.
Box 2 Folder 5
1946.
Box 2 Folder 6
1947.
Box 2 Folder 7
1950-1951.
Box 2 Folder 8
1952.
Box 2 Folder 9
1958.
Box 2 Folder 10
1973-1976.
Box 2 Folder 11
Biographical: Roy, 1946-1984.
Box 2 Folder 12
Boston American, 1914.
Box 2 Folder 13
Branger de Long, Ana, undated.
Box 2 Folder 14
Clark, Etta, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 15
Clippings, 1946-1971.
Box 2 Folder 16
Corey, Dolores, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 17
Dance: magazines and programs, 1934-1954.
Box 2 Folder 18
Durell, Ivaloo, 1948.
Box 2 Folder 19
Financial, 1944-1947.
Box 2 Folder 20
Frederick, Ada, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 21
Frederick, Sandra Lee, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 22
Freemasons, 1976-1977.
Box 2 Folder 23
Fryer, Jane, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 24
Gage, Frances J., 1947.
Box 2 Folder 25
Geralda, Sister M., 1947.
Box 2 Folder 26
Glodell, David Kenyon, 1979.
Box 2 Folder 27
Glodell, Josephine, 1941.
Box 2 Folder 28
Historia del tango, 1973-1978.
Box 2 Folder 29
Hollis, Virginia, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 30
Kearns, Agnes, 1948.
Box 2 Folder 31
Knapton, Emmett and Gerry, 1947.
Box 2 Folder 32
Knapton, Grace, 1944-1948.
Box 2 Folder 33
Knapton, Wilbur, 1947-1948.
Box 2 Folder 34
Legal documents, 1947-1948.
Box 2 Folder 35
Long, Anita, undated.
Box 2 Folder 36
Miscellaneous, undated.
Box 2 Folder 37
Mitchell, Florence H., 1947-1948.
Box 2 Folder 38
Moralee, Edith, 1943-1948.
Box 2 Folder 39
Mozos, Manuel de, 1936-1937.
Box 2 Folder 40
Poetry, 1940.
Box 2 Folder 41
Paso, Victor D., 1947.
Box 2 Folder 42
Pratt, Anna, 1942.
Box 2 Folder 43
Programs, 1977, 1986.
Box 2 Folder 44
Rhode Island: article and maps, 1977.
Box 2 Folder 45
Robechek, Edith, 1947-1948.
Box 2 Folder 46
Spur club, circa 1937-1939.
Box 2 Folder 47
Suárez, Bianca and Rómulo, 1945-1953.
Box 2 Folder 48

Army: telegram and note, 1944.
Box 2 Folder 49
Directories, 1945-1947.
Box 2 Folder 50
Canon de Castillo, undated.
Box 2 Folder 51
Caricature: unidentified, 1939.
Drawer 108 Folder 1
"Chronological outline of events in Mexico and Mexican-American relations, 1910-1920", circa 1925.
Box 2 Folder 52
Cielos de Bolivia, 1946.
Box 2 Folder 53
Formulae for the solution of geometrical transposition ciphers, 1918.
Box 2 Folder 54
Invitations, 1948-1956.
Box 2 Folder 55
Louisiana maneuvres: clippings, 1941.
Box 2 Folder 56
Notas sobre la fisica, circa 1945-1947.
Box 3 Folder 1
Spain and Panama, 1956-1974.
Box 3 Folder 2
USA Carib school, 1952.
Box 3 Folder 3
Zendia Respubliko maps, undated.
Drawer 108 Folder 1

Baltimore, 1939.
Box 3 Folder 4
Bolivia, 1944-1945.
Box 3 Folder 5
Bolivia, 1946.
Box 3 Folder 6
Bolivia, circa 1944-1948.
Box 3 Folder 7-11
Bolivia: Espiritu Santo River expedition, 1946.
Box 3 Folder 12
Bolivia: Prado La Paz, circa 1944-1948.
Box 3 Folder 13
Bolivia: road to Vera Cruz, circa 1944-1948.
Box 3 Folder 14
Bolivia: Seleme, Carlos, circa 1944-1948.
Box 3 Folder 15
Bolivia: Signal school, 1945.
Box 3 Folder 16
Bolivia: Villarroel, Gualberto and Paz Estenssoro, circa 1944-1946.
Box 3 Folder 17
Bolivia: wedding, 1947.
Box 3 Folder 18
Bolivia and Panama, undated.
Box 3 Folder 19
Dancers, 1976, undated.
Box 3 Folder 20
Dunham, Dwight: Warehouse Point, undated.
Box 3 Folder 21
Florida, New York and Rhode Island, 1931-1941.
Box 3 Folder 22
Fort Belvoir, 1938.
Box 3 Folder 23
Fort Gordon: ROTC Signal C camp, 1958.
Box 3 Folder 24
Fort Leavenworth, 1943.
Box 3 Folder 25
Friends, 1939-1949.
Box 3 Folder 26
Friends: Chiristmas cards, 1952, undated.
Box 3 Folder 27
Glodell, David and Dwight, circa 1948-1951.
Box 3 Folder 28
Glodell, Leroy Marcus, Jr., 1935-1963.
Box 3 Folder 29
Glodell, Leroy Marcus, Jr. : with others, undated.
Box 3 Folder 30
Glodell, Leroy, Sr. and Helen, 1928-1930.
Box 3 Folder 31
Glodell Castanet Company, 1978.
Box 3 Folder 32
Mexico, 1928-1929.
Box 3 Folder 33
Mexico: Paricutin volcano, circa 1943.
Box 3 Folder 34
Mexico: War Department, 1903, 1920.
Box 3 Folder 35
Military officers, 1942, undated.
Box 3 Folder 36
Miscellaneous, 1930-1971.
Box 3 Folder 37
North Carolina manuevers, 1941.
Box 3 Folder 38
Panama: USACARIB balloon pickup, undated.
Box 3 Folder 39
Unidentified, undated.
Box 3 Folder 40
What's My Line?, undated.
Box 3 Folder 41
Album: Escuela de Transmisiones Bolivia, undated.
Box 3 Folder 42
Album: Panama, undated.
Box 3 Folder 43
Album: Portobelo: Early plans from Spain and general photographs, undated.
Box 3 Folder 44
Album: Portobelo: Castillo de San Felipe de Sotomayor and Portobelo: Castillo de Santiago y El Reducto en la Punta de la Racheria, undated.
Box 3 Folder 45
Album: El Castillo de San Lorenzo and San Lorenzo de Charges, undated.
Box 3 Folder 46
Album: Spanish Garrison Carriage, mid 18th century, 24 pounder and others, undated.
Box 3 Folder 47
Oversized photograph: cabinet, undated.
Drawer 108 Folder 1

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