Descriptive Summary and Abstract
Cushing Memorial Library
College Station, TX 77843-5000
Easterwood, Jesse
L.
Inventory of the Jesse L.
Easterwood Notebook:
26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909
.25 linear ft.
Jesse Lawrence
Easterwood (1888-1919), known as Red,a
veteran World War I aviator, and pioneer in military aviation, was born 5 Dec.
1888 in Wills Point, Tex. In 1905, he enrolled in Texas A & M College, now
Texas A & M University. Easterwood left college in 1909 to become a
businessman in Mexia, Tex. In 1917, with war declared on Germany, Easterwood
immediately volunteered as an aviator. He received his early training at
Pensacola, Fla., and was one of the very first Americans to qualify as a naval
aviator. He served as an instructor at Pensacola briefly, then was transferred
to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for engineering training. On 12
March 1918 Easterwood set sail for Europe with the first group of American
pilots going overseas to serve in World War I. During his tour with the Royal
Flying Service, Easterwood completed 16 missions deep behind German lines. He
also served with the French air force and the Italian air force, ferrying the
first Caprioni bomber from Italy to France. Surviving World War I, Easterwood
remained with the U. S. Navy, flying experimental airmail flights. By 1919,
Easterwood was transferred to Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone. Preferring
to fly the planes in his unit which had the worst mechanical problems himself,
Easterwood was killed 16 May 1919 while attempting the emergency landing of
such a plane with severe engine trouble. Easterwood was awarded the Navy Cross
posthumously, for his heroism during World War I. Texas A & M University
also sponsored a tribute paid to Easterwood's memory. At the urging of
Easterwood's high school friend from Wills, Tex., Gibb Gilchrist, who had
established a Department of Aeronautical Engineering during his first year
(1937) as dean of the School of Engineering at the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas, the new college flying field in College Station, Tex. was
dedicated as the Jesse L. Easterwood Airport
22 May 1941. Developed first as a facility for insituting a flight-training
program at Texas A & M University, the airport was later expanded to serve
major carriers to and from Dallas/Fort Worth, Tex. and Houston, Tex. airports.
The Jesse L. Easterwood Notebook (26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909) consists of one
notebook, measuring ca. 10 x 8 inches, containing 49 leaves of machine ruled
paper, in cloth over cardboard covers, which was manufactured with two-hole
punched metal fasteners. Most of the notebook's leaves are filled with class
notes taken from lectures, dated 26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909. One exception is the
beginnings of a draft letter, dated 25 Jan. [19]08, to his father, noting that
Easterwood has been recently ill for a protracted period of time. Lecture notes in roughly
the first half of the notebook pertain to Animal Husbandry, especially causes,
symptoms and treatment of conditions such as colic, heaves, constipation,
dysentery, catarrh of stomach and bowels in livestock, while the latter half
are concerned with a class labeled Horticulture
4, particularly the cultivating of fruit trees and the marketing of
their produce. Some of the scrawled asides give a quite colorful glimpse into
the mind of a restless and enterprising cadet straying from the lecture in
progress.
TAMU MSS 00139
English.
Biographical Note
Jesse Lawrence Easterwood (1888-1919), known as
Red, a veteran
World War I aviator, and pioneer in
military aviation, was born 5 Dec. 1888 in
Wills Point, Tex. In 1905, he enrolled in
Texas A & M College, now
Texas A & M University, as a member of
B Company Infantry. Very popular with the other
cadets, Easterwood also played second base on the
college
baseball team.
Easterwood left college in 1909 to become a businessman in
Mexia, Tex. In 1917, however, on the day the
United States
declared war on Germany, Easterwood sold his
business and volunteered as an
aviator. He received his early training at
Pensacola, Fla., and was one of the very first
Americans to qualify as a
naval aviator. He served as an instructor at
Pensacola briefly, then was transferred to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology for
engineering training.
On 12 March 1918 Easterwood set sail for
Europe with the first group of
American pilots going overseas to serve in
World War I. During his tour with the
Royal Flying Service, flying one of the first ten
Handley-Page bombers, Easterwood completed 16
missions deep behind German lines. He also served with the
French air force and the
Italian air force, ferrying the first
Caprioni bomber from Italy to France.
Surviving
World War I, after many perilous missions,
Easterwood remained with the
U. S. Navy, flying experimental
airmail flights. By 1919, having achieved the rank
of lieutenant, Easterwood was transferred to
Coco Solo, in the
Panama Canal Zone. Preferring to fly the planes in
his unit which had the worst mechanical problems himself, Easterwood was killed
16 May 1919 while attempting the emergency landing of such a plane with severe
engine trouble.
Easterwood was awarded the
Navy Cross posthumously, for his heroism during
World War I.
Texas A & M University also sponsored a
tribute paid to Easterwood's memory. At the urging
of Easterwood's high school friend from
Wills, Tex.,
Gibb Gilchrist, who had established a
Department of Aeronautical Engineering during his
first year (1937) as dean of the
School of Engineering at the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas, the new college flying field in
College Station, Tex. was dedicated as the
Jesse L. Easterwood
Airport 22 May 1941. Developed first as a facility for
insituting a
flight-training program at
Texas A & M University, the
airport was later expanded to serve major carriers
to and from
Dallas/Fort Worth, Tex. and
Houston, Tex. airports.
- Bibliography
-
Chapman, David.
Jesse Easterwood '09:
WWI Hero and Pioneer in Naval Aviation! Reprint article from
Texas Aggie.
College Station, Tex.:
Association of Former Students,
Texas A & M University (June 1994).
http://library.tamu.edu/cushing/collectn/univarch/texag/articles/94/june.html
[Last viewed: 02/05/2003]
-
Gilchrist,
Gibb.
The Handbook of Texas
Online.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/GG/fgi14.html[Accessed
Wed Feb 5 15:49:41 US/Central 2003 ]
Scope and Content Note
The Jesse L. Easterwood Notebook (26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909) consists
of one notebook, measuring ca. 10 x 8 inches, containing 49 leaves of machine
ruled paper, in cloth over cardboard covers, which was manufactured with
two-hole punched metal fasteners.
The front cover design shows: at top
…A. & M. COLLEGE…, COLLEGE
STATION, TEXAS ; in center, a black and white picture
depicting the Old Main building on the
Texas A & M College campus, measuring 4 ½ x 4
inches; below picture, Department of with a
ruled space filled in by hand with ink the word
Horticulture,
and Name with a ruled space filled in by hand
in ink with the name Jess Easterwood.; at
center bottom,
PUBLISHED BY, W. M. WELCH MFG.
COMPANY, 100 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, WELCH'S PATENT AUTOMATIC FASTENER.
The name EASTERWOOD and other
initials, etc. are scrawled in ink or pencil on the front cover as well.
Most of the notebook's leaves are filled in on the recto page only
with class notes written by hand in either pencil or ink, labeled as taken from
lectures, dated 26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909. A few pages are filled with scrawled
names and phrases, repeated over and over, the phrases usually in some way
related to the lecture notes, but often just variations on Easterwood's name or
initials.
One exception found on leaf 19 is the beginnings of a draft letter,
dated 25 Jan. [19]08, to his
father, noting that Easterwood has been recently ill
for a protracted period of time. Lecture
notes in roughly the first half of the notebook pertain to
Animal Husbandry [l. 1-14; l. 15-18 & 20 are
blank], especially causes, symptoms and treatment of conditions such as
colic,
heaves,
constipation,
dysentery,
catarrh of stomach and bowels in
livestock, while the latter half are concerned with
a class labeled
Horticulture 4
[l. 21-49; top half of l. 45 is torn out], particularly the cultivating of
fruit trees and the marketing of their produce.
Aside from presenting an interesting taste of
curriculum offerings at
Texas Agriculural and Mechanical College in the
early twentieth-century, some of the notebook's scrawled
asides give a quite colorful glimpse into the mind
of a restless and enterprising cadet straying from the lecture in progress.
Organization of the Papers
This collection is organized into 1 item.
- Item 1. Notebook, 26 Jan. 1908-6 Feb. 1909.
Access
No restrictions.
Usage Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Online Catalog Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online
catalog of Cushing Memorial Library. Researchers wishing to find related
materials should search the catalog under these index terms.
Names
Easterwood, Jesse
L.--Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
Organizations
Texas A & M
University--History.
Texas A & M
University-Alumni and alumnae.
Easterwood
Airport--History.
Subjects
Airports--Texas--College
Station--History.
Horticulture--Texas--College Station.
Livestock--Texas--College
Station.
Military
cadets--Texas--College Station.
Places
College Station
(Tex.)--History.
Related Collection
Easterwood Airport Exhibit [Labels used in an exhibit about Easterwood
Airport] Held in Cushing Memorial Library and Archives in TAMU Collection. 1
box (.5 linear ft.).
Provenance
Source unknown.
Processing Information
Processed by Aletha Andrew in
February 2003
Detailed Description of the Notebook
Item 1. Notebook,
26 Jan.
1908-6 Feb. 1909
Housed in a phase box.