John D. Eriksen letters to home from France during World War I LINK
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John D. Eriksen (1889 - 1961), a native of Norway, immigrated to the United States in 1906 at the age of sixteen. In 1916, he became an American citizen and married Esther Dosher. Eriksen spent much of his working career captaining menhaden boats for the Brunswick Navigation Company. He also served as mayor of Southport from 1935 to 1949..
During World War I, Eriksen served as a member of the American Expeditionary Force arriving in France in March, 1918 and returning to the United States on March 11, 1919. Eriksen wrote these letters and cards to his wife and others while serving in G Company, 56 Engineering Corps.
Many thanks to Trudy Young for providing the Eriksen Collection of WW I era letters.
Lucy Watts White Shelton letters from her friends (1921 - 1922) LINK
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The letters in this collection were written to Lucy Watts by her friends in 1921 and 1922. Lucy Tharp Watts (White) Shelton was born in 1906. Her parents were Samuel William Watts (Jr.) and Elizabeth Tharp Watts. Her father was a marine engineer and later became the Postmaster of Southport. Her paternal grandfather was Samuel William Watts Sr. In the late 1870s he moved to Smithville in Brunswick County. Watts was a judge and very active in state and local Republican party activities during the Reconstruction period. The 1940 U. S. Census indicates that Lucy (White) was a widow living with her 3 year old son, William Watts White, her parents, and her younger sister, Mercedes, at the family home on Lord Street. Lucy graduated from Southport High School in 1939. After graduation, she worked as a stenographer. Later she married John Carlie Shelton (1902 – 1984). John Shelton worked for river pilots driving them to and from Wilmington. John Shelton and Lucy also had one child, a son named, John, after his father. Lucy Watts White Shelton died in 1989.
Frank R. Hutton, Jr. World War II
During World War II, Frank R. Hutton, Jr. (1921 - 2009) was a member of the U.S. Army Air force. Corporal Hutton served with the 797th Air Material Squadron of the 547th Air Services Corps.
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Letters to home LINK
Letters from home LINK
Images of artifacts LINK
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