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TABLE OF CONTENTSDetailed Description of the Collection Series 1: Correspondence and Related Papers 1900(1917-1919)1972 Series 2: Publications 1918-1919, n.d. |
Robert Lincoln O'ConnellAn Inventory of Robert Lincoln O'Connell papers at The American Catholic History Research Center and University ArchivesContact Information: Mailing Address: The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064 Telephone: 202-319-5065 Email: archives@mail.lib.cua.edu URL: http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/index.html
Biographical NoteRobert Lincoln O'Connell, a solder who served for two and half years in the U.S. army in World War I, was born 24 August 1888 in Wareham, Massachusetts, the eldest son of Daniel and Mary O'Connell. According to federal census records as well as family sources, Daniel O'Connell was born 1855 in Nova Scotia, Canada, to Irish born parents who later settled in Wales. Daniel immigrated to America in 1881 while wife Mary McNamara was born 1856 in Wales to an Irish father and Welsh mother and arrived in America in 1879. In addition to Robert, the Daniel O'Connells had four more children: Mary (b. 1890), Sarah (b. 1892), Ellen (b. 1895), and Daniel, Jr. (b. 1898). Eventually this family settled in Southington, Connecticut. According to his 1919 discharge papers, Robert entered service at Fort Slocum, New York, on 14 April 1917 and received training as a Machinist in Company C, 1st Battalion of the 1st Engineers, at Washington Barracks, D.C.(now known as Fort Lesley McNair) and along the Potomac on the grounds of the Belvoir Estate (now known as Fort Belvoir), until 6 August 1917. As part of the First Division, the vanguard of the developing American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.), the 1st Engineers, including Robert, embarked from Hobokken, New Jersey, on 7 August 1917, arriving at St. Nazaire, France, on 20 August 1917, but not before surviving a German U-Boat attack that same day near Belle Isle that was repulsed by the U.S. Navy's destroyer escorts. After a brief respite, Robert and his unit arrived on 4 September at Gondrecourt where they were trained by French engineers in the construction of trenches, dugouts, command posts, emplacements for heavy weapons, observation posts, wire entanglements, and other obstacles. They were also instructed to destroy the enemy's wire fences by cutting or using explosives and drilled as regular infantry in the use of rifles, hand grenades, and gas masks. The final phase of training for the First Division was also a baptism of fire resulting in their first combat deaths as they were posted to the Sommerviller Sector on the Lorraine Front, located between Nancy and Lunesville. Robert served near the latter location from 13 December 1917 to 5 January 1918. He next served near Toul, part of the Ansauville Sector, from 15 January 1918 to 3 April 1918, where the 1st Engineers worked at constructing dugouts, command posts, and wire entanglements as well as quarrying rock and repairing roads, often while being shelled and gassed. Next came service from 25 April 1918 to 7 July 1918 in the Cantigny area of the Montdidier-Noyon Sector where the American efforts to better organize and strengthen the positions aided the French in stopping a German offensive in June. To contain yet another German offensive, the First Division was shifted to the Aisne-Marne sector, with the 1st Engineers deployed to the Compiegne forest area. Robert was wounded on 18 July 1918 during the first day of the Allied counterattack at Soissons. After recovering, he returned to service in the Meuse-Argonne in October and was serving there when the war ended on 11 November 1918. Robert served as part of the Army of Occupation in postwar Germany, with the First Division crossing the Moselle River into Germany on 1 December 1918 and arriving at Coblenz on 12 December 1918. During the occupation, which lasted until 15 August 1919, the 1st Engineers worked to construct shelters, build pontoon bridges, and repair roads. There was also time for sports and recreation with Robert engaging in hiking and other sightseeing tours where he collected many of his colorful postcards. Embarking with the main elements of the First Division at Brest on 18 August 1919, Robert arrived at Camp Mills, New York, on 30 August 1919. He took part in the victory parade in New York on 10 September 1919 as well as the one in Washington, DC, on 17 September 1919, and was discharged as a Private First Class at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, on 27 September 1919. His decorations and awards are listed in his service record as WWI Victory Medal with Defensive Sector Battle Clasp, Montdidier-Noyon Battle Clasp, Aisne-Marne Battle Clasp, Meuse-Argonne Battle Clasp, WWI Victory Button (Silver), and a Purple Heart. After the war, Robert settled in New York City where, according to the 1930 federal census, he worked as a laborer in an auto garage. His wife, Susan, who worked as a chambermaid in a hotel, was a New Jersey native born about 1886 to Dutch immigrant parents. Robert's 1942 draft registration card states that he was 5'7' tall, weighed 120 pounds, lived at 316 East 93rd Street, and was employed by the Parker-Kalon Corporation. Robert and Susan did not have any children and, she apparently predeceased him, as she was not mentioned in his 1972 obituary. Robert died 17 February 1972 in New York City at Metropolitan Hospital and was buried at St. Thomas Cemetery. He was survived by his sisters Mary French, Sara Georgii, and Ellen O'Connell. Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentsThe Robert Lincoln O'Connell papers document the service of an Irish-American, born in Massachusetts, but raised in Connecticut, who served as a combat engineer in the First Division of the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) in the First World War, 1917-1919. The papers include correspondence he wrote home to his mother and sisters at home throughout his training and active duty service. Also included are military odds and ends, such as passes and orders, in addition to publications, postcards, and photographs associated with his time in the U.S. Army. There are also some items gathered recently by his family members and/or Archives staff, such as copies of federal census forms and his obituary, to supplement the collection. The postcards have a special circumstance in that Robert tended to divide them into two parts. There were very basic ones, usually with little or no illustration, that he used for correspondence purposes. These have been treated as such and inter-filed chronologically with the letters in the first series. The other type of postcards were the photo and color print ones that he apparently considered as collectibles, either sending them home with his correspondence, or bringing home himself after the war. These have been placed with the photographs in the third series. The first series, Correspondence and Related Papers, consists primarily of the correspondence, mostly letters but also some of the aforementioned postcards, written by Robert to various family members, especially to his mother Mary and sisters Ellen and Sarah. The correspondence spans the time of his initial training at the Washington Barracks in D.C., April to August 1917, through his arrival in France and service in the field, August 1917 until the war's end in November 1918, and subsequent operations as part of the Allied occupation force in the Rhineland of Germany until return to the United States in August 1919 and demobilization in September 1919. The letters are often amusing, especially Robert's 6 October 1917 letter from France to his sister Sara when he observes there is little sickness in camp "except the ordinary aches and pains and the French wine and chocolate accounts for most of those. There are only half a dozen girls in the village and three of them are waitresses in a wineshop. I don't remember the other three." Another light moment was recorded in his 18 March 1918 missive to his mother when he noted that "Patrick's day but only one man had any green and that was a scrap of weed in his buttonhole, that he had brought back from the trenches. He seemed to be the only good Irisher in sight." In the same letter he makes a very interesting statement about his enlistment and service with "it was Apr. 10, when I went up to Hartford to see if they would pass me. It has been a short but lively year" and "I'm glad I got in early because the drafted crowd certainly didn't have places like Washington Barracks to train in or warm weather, either, but they will have the laugh on us when they get over here and find things cleaned up." There are also occasional racial epithets used that are rather typical of the time and should be understood in that context. The 'related papers' materials that rounds out this series includes ephemera like his pay book, orders, passes, and discharge papers associated with his military service and other materials, such as copies of federal census forms and his 1972 obituary, that provide information about his family background and post-war life. The second series, Publications, has three printed works honoring the service of the soldiers who served in the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) in France and a German language guide probably used as a reference tool for soldiers serving in the postwar occupation of the Rhineland. The printed works includes a book of sketches and verse with good exhibit quality. The third series, Photographs and Postcards, is a lively assemblage of mostly print copies of photographs depicting the O'Connell family and Robert's military service, including contemporary shots of Robert posing in his uniform and a recent one of his uniform on display, as well as original photo and color print postcards showing scenes of war-time death and devastation in France and more serene depictions, especially the color prints, of the post-war occupation in the Rhineland of Germany. The fourth series, Memorabilia, has a miscellaneous assortment of coins, lapel pins, and that ubiquitous necessity, a military bottle opener. Return to the Table of Contents ArrangementThe Robert Lincoln O'Connell papers consists of 4 series: Return to the Table of Contents RestrictionsNone.
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationAcquisition InformationDavid Georgii, nephew of Robert Lincoln O'Connell, offered to donate the papers, primarily correspondence and postcards, in his letter of 14 December 2005. William J. Shepherd, Associate Archivist, accepted the offer in his letter of 26 January 2006 and Mr. Georgii returned the Deed of Gift form, signed 8 March 2006. The inaugural deposit of material was received February 27, 2006, with two later deposits in 2006 and two more in 2008. Processing Information
Processing and EAD markup completed in 2008-2009 by William John Shepherd, with additional contributions by Lauren Kanne and Jane Stoeffler. Return to the Table of Contents Related MaterialNational Catholic War Council Papers Return to the Table of Contents Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms. Persons:Sara O'Connell Georgii
Persons:Daniel O'Connell, Jr.
Persons:Ellen O'Connell
Persons:Robert Lincoln O'Connell
Organizations:American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
Places:Southington, Connecticut
Places:Camp Mills, New York
Places:Washington, D.C.
Places:Paris, France
Places:Coblenz, Germany
Places:Ebernhahn, Germany
Subjects:World War I
Return to the Table of Contents Select BibliographyCoffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1968, 1986.Messier, Michael. Robert Lincoln O'Connell family history web site at http://www.messierfamily.info/RobertOConnell.htm Society of the First Division. History of the First Division During the World War, 1917-1919. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The John C. Winston Company, 1922. Votaw, John F. Battle Orders: The American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Northants, UK: Osprey, 2005.
Return to the Table of Contents Detailed Description of the Collection
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