Collection #

M 0946

 

 

arthur gray
world war i materials, 1918–1934; 1977; 1982

 

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by

Paul Brockman
September 2007

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

 

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF
COLLECTION:

1 half size document case

COLLECTION
DATES:

1918–1934; 1977; 1982

PROVENANCE:

Wayne Sanford, Indianapolis, Indiana, December 2006

RESTRICTIONS:

None

COPYRIGHT:

 

REPRODUCTION
RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE
FORMATS:

 

RELATED
HOLDINGS:

Frank Dillman (M 0914); Perry Lesh (M 0926)

ACCESSION
NUMBER:

2006.0504

NOTES:

 

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

Arthur D. Gray was born in Henderson, Rush County, Indiana in 1894.  One year later he and his family moved to Hancock County where his father worked as a tenant farmer in Blue River Township.  In 1911 Arthur Gray graduated from Westland High School and attended Central Normal College in Danville. Indiana and Indiana State Normal College in Terre Haute, receiving an A.B. in 1925 and an A.M. from the University of Chicago in 1932.  Gray taught school from 1913–1968 (except for his two years in the military) at various places; the longest being 30 years in Cincinnati, Ohio.  After Gray retired from teaching in 1968, he moved to Wisconsin, living at the Methodist Retirement Center in Madison from 1976 until his death in 1991.

In 1917 Gray was drafted in the United States Army.  Gray was assigned to basic training at Camp Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky as part of the 334th Infantry, and Camp Sherman in Ohio where he was promoted to sergeant. In September 1918 Gray and his unit were shipped overseas and arrived in France on 8 September 1918.  Two days later he was transferred to the 16th Infantry, Company “M”, of the 1st Division and was part of the last phase of the Meuse Argonne Offensive.  After the armistice, Gray and his unit were sent to Germany as part of the occupation army, December 1918–July 1919.

Gray was twice married.  In 1916 he married Nina Harshberger who died in 1929.  In 1935 he married Gladys Wilson who died in 1981. 

 

Sources:

Information in Collection.
AncestryLibrary.com accessed 18 September 2007.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection contains a 196 page typed copy of Gray’s World War I reminiscences written in 1977 and edited by Wayne Sanford in 1982.  Information includes his being drafted, training camp experiences, serving with the 1st Division in France from September–November 1918 and his experiences in Luxembourg and Germany as part of the occupation army after the armistice.

There are several postcards and one letter containing information between Arthur Gray and family and friends in the United States and France, 1918–29.  The letter and postcard from France are written in French. Other items include Gray’s membership card in the Society of the First Division, A.E.F. and a small photo taken of him in Coblenz, Germany on 17 January 1919.

 

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Reminiscences, 1977; 1982, Folder 1

Box 1, Folder 1

Reminiscences, 1977; 1982, Folder 2

Box 1, Folder 2

Reminiscences, 1977; 1982,  Folder 3

Box 1, Folder 3

Postcards, 1918-19, Folder 1

Box 1, Folder 4

Postcards, 1918–19, Folder 2

Box 1, Folder 5

Postcards, 1918–19, Folder 3

Box 1, Folder 6

Post World War I Items, ca.1929–34

Box 1, Folder 7

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1.      Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog:  http://opac.indianahistory.org/

2.      Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3.      Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4.      Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0946).

5.      When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.