Frank Wilson and family papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Papers of New Yorker Frank Wilson (1895–1979), the son of Lithuanian immigrants, consisting chiefly of letters sent home during World War I, when, as a private in the 310th Machine Gun Battalion of the 79th Division, United States Army, he participated in the Battle of the Argonne. The collection includes Wilson's wartime diary and ephemera from his time in France. Also present are letters to and from other members of the Wilson family—some in Yiddish—living in Manhattan and South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Biographical / Historical
Morris (or Max) Wilson (1869–1942) and Annie Damsey (1875–1959) were late 19th-century immigrants from Lithuania to New York City. (The surname Wilson was originally "Shavelson" or "Savelson." Damsey was originally "Damsky.") They married in Manhattan in 1894 and had six children between 1895 and 1913, the oldest being Frank Wilson (1895–1979). Max was a building contractor and real estate owner (operating as Max S. A. Wilson Construction Co.) whose prosperity allowed the family the luxury of a brownstone at 210 East 79th Street. A series of financial setbacks forced their move to apartments in Harlem (326 West 119th Street) and Washington Heights (701 West 177th Street), and eventually to South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where they lived at 212 Warren Square in 1916–1922. Eventually they returned to Manhattan, residing first in Washington Heights, at 848 St. Nicholas Avenue, and, by 1940, at 301 West 107th Street. Max died in 1942, and Annie died in 1959.
Frank Wilson, after working with his father, continued in building management and construction ventures. Drafted into the United States Army on October 12, 1917, he served as a private, first class, in Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, of the 79th Division. Shipped overseas in July 1918, he saw action in the Battle of the Argonne between September and November 11, Armistice Day. He was honorably discharged in April 1919. Frank Wilson married twice, first, to Ethel Lewis, who died in 1948, and second, to Lillian Weiler, who died in 1989. He died in 1979.
[This note is based on the "Family Sketch" found in Box 2, Folder 9.]
Arrangement
The collection is organized chronologically.
Scope and Contents
At the core of this collection are the over 80 World War I letters of Private First Class Frank Wilson, who wrote home to his mother, Annie (Damsey) Wilson and other family members, while in training at Camp Meade, Maryland, and from France, as a member of Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, 79th Division, United States Army. Accompanying the letters is a pocket address book, which Wilson used as a diary between July and November 1918, and a smattering of wartime ephemera, like theatre programs from Paris, and menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner at Camp Meade, Maryland, 1917. Also present are scattered letters of the extended Wilson-Damsey family: Frank's brother, Harry Wilson (1899–1980), and his sister, Marjorie (or Margie) Wilson (1901–1982), and correspondents living in Colorado and, apparently, Lithuania, who wrote in Yiddish.
Subjects
Genres
Topics
Places
Access Restrictions
This collection may be stored offsite. To arrange to consult it, please go to www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: "Frank Wilson and Family Papers, MS 3238, New-York Historical Society."
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Susan E. Wilson and Peter Glassgold, 2016 (accession no. MS-2016-33).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta arranged and described the physical portion of this collection in February-March 2024. Digital Archivist Margo Padilla processed the digital media in March 2024. Digital files were transferred off two CDs using TeraCopy. Virus and malware scan was completed using ClamWin and Malwarebytes with no results.
Repository
View Inventory
John A. Borden letters [4 items], 1900, 1902, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Four letters from John A. Borden, Police Justice, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, and Commissioner of Deeds, Asbury Park, New Jersey, to members of the Wilson family in New York City, and to Josephine Keip, who was apparently employed by the Wilsons, regarding Keip's domestic problems.
• 1900 Oct. 22, to Mrs. Wilson, 210 East 79th Street, Manhattan
• 1902 Apr. 29, to Miss Josephine Keip
• 1902 Oct. 28, to Miss Josephine Keip, 1143 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan
• 1902 Nov. 1, to Mr. M. A. S. Wilson
Yiddish letters [7 items], 1901-1903, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Seven letters in Yiddish to and from members of the Damsky / Damsey family (for explanation, see collection documentation in Box 2, Folder 9).
• 1901 Feb. 3, from Denver, Colorado (on Denver Bazar Department Store stationery), to Mr. S. A. Wilson, 210 East 79th Street, Manhattan
• 1901 Apr. 14 (foreign postmark), to Mr. or Mrs. M. Wilson, 210 East 79th Street, Manhattan
• 1901 Sep. 26, from Fort Collins, Colorado (on Linden Hotel Stationery)
• 1901 Nov. 17, from Fort Collins, Colorado
• 1902 Apr. 9, from Denver, Colorado
• 1903 Dec. 18 (foreign postmark; Lithuania?), to Mrs. B. Damsky [mother of Annie (Damsey) Wilson?], 326 East 117th Street, Manhattan
• Undated
P.S. 10 commencement program [1 item], 1912 January 31
Scope and Contents
Commencement program for Public School 10, Manhattan, 117th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. Frank Wilson appears in the list of graduates in class 8B2.
Miscellaneous letters [4 items], 1916, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• 1916 May 16, Anna Gordon, Baltimore, to Mrs. M. ("Aunt Annie") Wilson, 701 West 177th Street, Manhattan
• 1916 May 30, Myra [Damsky], Denver, Colorado, to Mrs. Annie Wilson ("Aunt Annie"), 701 West 177th Street, Manhattan
• 1916 Dec. 8 (postmark), Frank Wilson, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (on Pacific House stationery), to his sister, Margaret/Marjorie Wilson, 701 West 177th Street, Manhattan
• Undated, Frank Wilson, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (on Pacific House stationery), to his sister, Margaret
Frank Wilson World War I diary and ephemera [12 items], 1914-1918, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Manual of Interior Guard Duty, U.S. Army (New York: Army and Navy Journal: 1914, corrected to Feb. 24, 1915)
• "Instructions on the French Measures: A help to the American Soldiers." Small handout explaining "chief features of the metric system," 1917/1918
• Army and Navy Service Book (New York: National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers and Sailors Welfare, 1918)
• Pocket address book, also used as a diary, 1918 July 6–Nov. 12
• Alhambra (theatre) program, Paris
• Casino de Paris (music hall) program, Paris (with notation "This place is like our Winter Garden")
• Thanksgiving dinner menu, Company A, 310th M. G. Bn., Camp Meade, Maryland, Nov. 29, 1917 (mailed to mother, Mrs. A. Wilson, 214 Warren Square, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Nov. 30, 1917)
• Christmas dinner menu, Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, National Army, Camp Meade, Maryland, Dec. 25, 1917
• U.S.S. Leviathan U.S. Navy Armed Transport Troop Billet (2 pieces)
• Photograph of Frank Wilson(?) in uniform (8 x 10 inches)
• Photograph of Annie (Damsey) Wilson (1875–1949) (4 x 5.5 inches)
• Small scrap of paper with penciled information "Scale of Maps"
Frank Wilson World War I letters [14 items], 1917, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Private Frank Wilson, Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, Camp Meade, Maryland, to mother (Mrs. A. Wilson), 214 Warren Square, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
• 1917 Aug. 21
• 1917 Oct. 12. Draft notice (postcard) to Frank Wilson, 212 Warren Square, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
• 1917 Nov. 6 (postmark), 8, 10, 13 (postmark), 15, 16 (postmark; empty envelope), 17, 22, 25
• 1917 Dec. 8, 16, 26 (postmark)
Frank Wilson World War I letters [26 items], 1918 January - June, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Private Frank Wilson, Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, Camp Meade, Maryland, to mother (Mrs. A. Wilson), 214 Warren Square, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
• 1918 Jan. 5, 9, 12, 17, 20, 30
• 1918 Feb. 2, 5 (postcard), 9, 20
• 1918 March 2, 16, 19, 30
• 1918 April 8, 19, 22, 28
• 1918 May 14, 18, 21, 30
• 1918 June 15, 25, 29, 30
Frank Wilson World War I letters [25 items], 1918 July - December, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Private Frank Wilson, Company A, 310th Machine Gun Battalion, Camp Meade, Maryland, to mother (Mrs. A. Wilson), 214 Warren Square, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Letters from July 15 on were sent from France.
• 1918 July 2, 5, 15, 19 (postmark), 22, 26, 29
• 1918 Aug. 1, 8, 25
• 1918 Sep. 5, 17
• 1918 Oct. 11, 15, 17, 21, 27
• 1918 Nov. 17, 21, 29
• 1918 Dec. 9, 14, 23, 30 (two; one being a drawing)
Frank Wilson World War I letters [16 items], 1919, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• 1919 Jan. 18
• 1919 Feb. 5, 6 (postcard), 11, 21, 28 (General Orders)
• 1919 March 4, 6, 11 (postmark), 14 (two; one from brother Abe), 16 (to Wilson), 27 (from mother)
• 1919 April 20 (telegram), 21 (telegram)
• 1919 undated
Frank Wilson World War I discharge papers [6 items], 1919, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Envelope marked "Frank Wilson Original Service Discharge / Marriage Paper" [latter in Box 2, Folder 8]
• Vital statistics form, [Nov. 2, 1917]
• Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, April 24, 1919 (original + copy)
• Enlistment Record, [April 25, 1919?] (2 copies)
Miscellaneous letters [1 items], 1920, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• 1920 April 18, Alonzo [Whitner?] to Frank Wilson
Miscellaneous letters [2 items], 1921, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• 1921 Jan. 11, Harry Wilson to Mrs. A. ("Mother") Wilson, 214 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• 1921 April 30, Frank Wilson to Mrs. M. ("Mother") Wilson, 214 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Miscellaneous letters [4 items], 1922, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• 1922 Jan. 11, Harry Wilson to Mrs. M. ("Mother") Wilson, 214 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• 1922 May 16, Harry Wilson to Mrs. M. ("Mother") and Pauline Wilson, 214 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• 1922 July 13 (postmark), Margie Wilson to Mrs. M. ("Mother") Wilson, 214 Warren Square, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• 1922?, Margie to "Mom"
Miscellaneous letters and clipping [3 items], undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "Happy" to Frank Wilson
• Frank Wilson to mother
• Newspaper clipping, "FAREWELL PARTY / Mrs. Morris Wilson, of 214 [Warren] Square, was a given a delight[ful sur]prise farewell party . . ."
Marriage certificate [1 item], 1951 January 6
Scope and Contents
Certificate of Marriage, Frank Wilson and Lillian Weiler, Yonkers, Westchester County, New York. Weiler was Wilson's second wife; his first wife, Ethel Lewis, died in 1948.
Collection documentation [3 items], 2016, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Printed email correspondence between the donors of the collection, describing its contents and their significance, with a "Family Sketch" and a page of genealogical data on the "Damsey—Wilson Ancestry History."
Digital media [2 CDs] (RESTRICTED), [2016], inclusive
Restricted
Two discs of "Wilson Archives," containing digital images of the items in the collection. The contents of each are identical, except for the addition of a "Family Sketch" on the disc labeled "Wilson Archives (Final)." A paper copy of this sketch may be found in Box 2, Folder 9.
The digital files have been transferred off the discs to N-YHS servers, and can be made available online for viewing only. To arrange to receive a file manifest, or a link to the desired digital files, contact reference@nyhistory.org.
"Wilson Archives" [122 digital files]
Conditions Governing Access
122 digital files from two compact discs of "Wilson Archives," containing PDF versions of the paper items in the collection. Digital files can be made available online for viewing only. To arrange to receive a file manifest, or a link to the desired digital files, contact reference@nyhistory.org.