Series 1: Manuscript Materials, 1846-1923, inclusive

Alfred Cranston Papers, dated 1861 to 1919, contains all items other than books belonging to Alfred Cranston. Included is all correspondence written by Cranston, including a large number of letters written during his time in the 14th Regiment to his then-fiancée, Elizabeth H. Petford. These letters were transcribed by Beverly Wright Bastian prior donating the collection and the transcriptions are included, both in hard copy and as word processor files on a CD-ROM. Cranston's pocket-size edition of the Book of Psalms, likely issued to him during his military service, and a diary from 1864 are also included. Other items related to the Civil War include his Sergeant appointment certificate (1862), his Second Lieutenant certificate (1862), two discharge certificates (1862, 1863), and a leave of absense certificate (1864).

Cranston's firefighting activities, his employment by the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, and his participation in the St. Cloud Veterans' Colony in central Florida are represented by material in this sub-series.

Digitized versions of Alfred Cranston's correspondence, as well as transcripts, are included in this series.

Elizabeth Petford Cranston Papers, dated 1846 to 1923, contains all items belonging to Mrs. Elizabeth Hollington Petford Cranston. Two folders include material from her early adulthood, such as a letter to her husband soon after their marriage, and ephemera related to her housekeeping, religious, and charitable activities. The bulk of this sub-series, however, concerns her extensive involvement with the Society of the Wives and Daughters of the 14th Regiment War Veterans, including handwritten drafts of her annual welcoming addresses to the Society, the constitution and by-laws of the organization, clippings of the Society's participation in various celebrations, membership certificates (with Cranston's original, hand-drawn design for them), and printed ephemera.

Other Family Members Papers, dated 1851 to 1912, includes correspondence and ephemera belonging to Ella Cranston (daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth Petford Cranston), clippings of marriage and anniversary announcements, and ephemera from the Morehouse family. This sub-series also contains one folder of material pertaining to the Oliver and Bellows families, relatives through Alfred Cranston's mother, Susan Ann Oliver. These items primarily relate to the funeral arrangements and interment in Green-Wood Cemetery of Sarah Ann Oliver Bellows, a cousin of the Cranstons.