Contents


Collection Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Selected Search Terms

Container List

Allen, Charles Julius

Allen, Grace Elizabeth

Formerly restricted

Charles Julius Allen and Grace Elizabeth Allen Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff

2009

Collection Summary

CreatorAllen, Charles Julius, 1840-1915
CreatorAllen, Grace Elizabeth, 1886-1976
TitleCharles Julius Allen and Grace Elizabeth Allen Papers
Span Dates1865-1976
Abstract: Correspondence, diaries, family history, personal reminiscences, notes, clippings, and printed material chiefly of Charles Julius Allen and his daughter, Grace Elizabeth Allen, relating largely to his life as a cadet at the United States Military Academy and during the Civil War, and to her life as recorded in her diaries.
Extent: 500 items9 containers3.6 linear feet
Language: Collection material in English
Identification: MSS51540

Biographical Note

Charles Julius Allen (1840-1915) graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1864. He served in the army corps of engineers until 1904, including in the Military Division of West Mississippi and Department of Louisiana, 1864-1866, during the Civil War period. Allen was in charge of defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Spanish-American War. He was promoted to brigadier-general in 1904 and retired at his request that same year. He died in 1915.Grace Elizabeth Allen, his daughter (1886-1976), was educated at Columbia Hospital in Washington, D.C., the New York School of Social Work, and Columbia University. She engaged in welfare work in North Carolina and for the United States government and served on behalf of the American Red Cross.

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Scope and Content Note

The papers of Charles Julius Allen (1840-1915) and Grace Elizabeth Allen (1886-1976), father and daughter, span the years 1865-1976 and consist of correspondence, diaries, family histories, personal reminiscences, notes, clippings, and printed matter.

Charles Allen, a brigadier general on his retirement, spent much of his life in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. His papers contain correspondence and other items from his Civil War service, plus later material that he retained and collected as part of an unpublished Allen family history. Included are personal reminiscences of Allen’s life in the military, especially as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, as an engineer in the army corps of engineers, and during the Civil War at Mobile Bay, Alabama, August 1864, and in the Mobile Campaign, March-April 1865.

The papers of Grace Allen consist mainly of diaries started by her parents in her infancy and kept throughout her life. They include references to her service with the American Red Cross, to Washington, D.C., and New York social life, including observations about Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, to her world travels, and to various world, national, and local affairs. Also included are letters from George S. Patton (1885-1945), with whom the Allen family had a long association, written during World War II.

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Selected Search Terms

People

  • Allen family.
  • Allen, Charles Julius, 1840-1915. Charles Julius Allen papers.
  • Allen, Grace Elizabeth, 1886-1976. Grace Elizabeth Allen papers.
  • Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945--Correspondence.

Organizations

  • American Association of the Red Cross.
  • United States Military Academy.
  • United States. Army.Corps of Engineers.

Subjects

  • Voyages and travels.
  • World War, 1939-1945.

Places

  • Alabama--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
  • Mobile Bay (Ala.)--History.
  • New York (N.Y.)--Social life and customs.
  • United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
  • Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs.

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Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged according to name of family member and therein by type of material.

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Container List

Allen, Charles Julius

Brief sketch of the Allen family, 1909

History of the family, personal reminiscences, and memorabilia

Vol. 1 (1865-1921), 1910

Vol. 2 (1865-1956), 1911

Vol. 3 (1865-1968), 1911

Memory book of correspondence, notes, and miscellany, 1866-1914

Partial memoir, typewritten, 1973

Maps, 1865, undated

Miscellaneous printed matter

Allen, Grace Elizabeth

Correspondence

General, 1882-1960

Patton, George S. (1885-1945), 1943-1959 See Container 9, Formerly restricted

Last will

Miscellaneous writings, notes, jottings, prescriptions, and clippings

Diaries

1888-1916 (23 vols.)

1917-1931 (15 vols.)

1932-1945 (14 vols.)

1946-1958 (13 vols.)

1959-1971 (13 vols.)

1972-1976 (5 vols.)

Formerly restricted

Allen, Grace Elizabeth

Correspondence, George S. Patton (1885-1945), (Container 2) 1943-1959

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