Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1507

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

3 linear feet (3 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Leroy Marcus Glodell papers, 1918-1986, Ms. Coll. 1507, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1918-1986 (inclusive) and 1939-1952 (bulk)

Creator:

Glodell, Leroy Marcus and Glodell, Frances G. Knapton

Form:

Correspondence, Photographs, Love letters, and Maps (documents)

Abstract:

The Leroy Marcus Glodell papers document the wartime and post-war experience of this U.S. Army Intelligence officer and his future wife Frances Grace Knapton Consolves, during his various military assignments in the United States and Central America.

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