Guide to the William and Dorothy Houston letters and photograph MSS.2864
Houston, William and Dorothy
- Publication:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
Mary Harmon Bryant Hall
December 2010
500 Hackberry Lane
Box 870266
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487-0266
205.348.0500
archives@ua.edu
- Creation:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2010-12-15T09:43-0600
- Language Usage:
English
- Description Rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
William and Dorothy Houston letters and photograph
- Unit ID:
MSS.2864
- Repository:
W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Quantity:
0.05 Linear feet (15 letters, 8 envelopes, 1 postcard photograph)
- Dates:
1917-1920
- Abstract:
Letters written by William Penn Houston, Dorothy Carroll Houston, and various friends and relatives detail the couple's courtship and marriage. They lived in Cincinnati and California.
- creator
Houston, Dorothy Carroll
- creator
Houston, William Penn
Biographical/Historical note
William Penn Houston, an Army sergeant at Camp Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan, married Dorothy Carroll of Cincinnati, Ohio. After World War One ended, they had a daughter named Jane, and William moved to California, leaving Dorothy and Jane behind. They eventually joined him in Los Angeles.
Scope and Contents note
Contains fifteen letters written by William Penn Houston, Dorothy Carroll Houston, and assorted family and friends over the course of their courtship, marriage, and the birth of their daughter Jane. Five letters are from Dorothy's mother Anna Carroll. Also contains a postcard photograph of an unidentified soldier, possibly William Penn Houston. After courting Dorothy, marrying her, and fathering a child, William abruptly left for California, leaving Dorothy with little money. She wrote him three letters scolding him for his behavior, alluding to an episode of domestic violence that occurred while he was still in Ohio. The chronologically final letter, written by Anna Carroll, implies that Dorothy and Jane have joined William in Los Angeles.
- Acquisition Information:
Provenance
Gift of Wade Hall, 2006
- Access Restrictions:
Conditions Governing Access note
none
- Preferred Citation:
Preferred Citation note
William and Dorothy Houston letters and photograph, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
- Processing Information:
Processing Information note
Processed by Kendal Spires, 2010
William and Dorothy Houston Papers Box SC0040 Folder 2864.01