Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 646

Repository:

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

Extent:

1 linear feet (3 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

James Terrence McCabe letters, 1873-1919 (bulk: 1917-1919), Ms. Coll. 646, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1873-1919 (inclusive) and 1917-1919 (bulk)

Creator:

McCabe, James Terrence

Form:

Manuscripts, American -- 20th century and Correspondence

Abstract:

James Terrence McCabe (1890-1975) served in the United States Army during World War I. This collection contains letters to and from McCabe, his family, fiancée, and neighbors, primarily written between July 1918 and August 1919, during his service as a private with the American Expeditionary Forces.

Born on February 17, 1890, James Terrence McCabe served in the United States Army during World War I. He was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia and in France during the end of the war. His wife, Joye Rapp, to whom he was engaged during his service, died in 1921. Mr. McCabe and his family were Catholic and from Easton, Pennsylvania. McCabe was a bookkeeper in the years following his service in the Army, working for John Schaible and Ingersoll Rand. He died in January 1975.

This collection contains letters to and from James Terrence McCabe, his family, fiancée, and neighbors, primarily written between July 1918 and August 1919, during his service as a private with the American Expeditionary Forces. The bulk of the letters are between McCabe and his future wife, Joye M. Rapp (who died in 1921). Others with whom McCabe frequently corresponded include his mother, sister Sadie, and various other female friends. There are also 45 assorted photographs of family and friends in both the United States and France, as well as a few newspaper clippings and miscellaneous documents and diary pages.

McCabe's letters concern his experiences while stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia and in France during the tail-end of the war and the year following the Armistice. The letters of his family and non-army friends address home-front life in Easton, Pennsylvania, including the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919. Several of the letters touch on issues of religion, as McCabe, his relations, and many of his friends were devout Catholics, and his future wife a Protestant.

The letters are arranged alphabetically by author of the letter.