urn:taro:utexas.cah.01019 A Guide to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy Letter Collection, 1810-1934 Original EAD encoding by Amy E. Armstrong according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. June 2008 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary U.S. Secretary of the Navy U.S. Secretary of the Navy Letter Collection, 1810-1934 Materials are written in English. 2008-131 3 inches Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin The bulk of the collection contains letters written by citizens or prominent officials to the residing US Secretary of the Navy between 1810 and 1919 requesting or recommending commissions in the Navy or Marine Corps. Historical Note

Elwyn Charles Johnston worked as a personal aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and was associated with Roosevelt when he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1913-1920. Due to his interest in history, these letters were given to Johnston by then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt during a purge of the department’s office files.

Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection contains letters written by citizens or prominent officials to the residing US Secretary of the Navy between 1810 and 1919 requesting or recommending commissions in the Navy or Marine Corps. The remainder of the collection contains constituent mail written to state representatives on a variety of matters. Collection also contains one broadside regarding Walter R. Benjamin.

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Preferred Citation

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Letter Collection, 1810-1934, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2.325/M85 Letters (3 folders), 1810-1934, undated