The Secret Lives of Letters
It goes without saying that a letter does not stay with the person who wrote it. Prolific letter writers, such as David Crockett Graham and Alicia Morey Graham in particular, scattered their thoughts and observations far and wide, sending greetings, missives, and sometimes lengthy descriptions to family, friends, professional colleagues and acquaintances around the world. During their early years in China, letters traveled by boat down the Yangtze and then by steamer across the Pacific Ocean. During the war of resistance against Japan, letters sometimes went through Russia by train, then through Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean. During World War II, they went by plane over “the hump” (the Himalayas) to India, then to North Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean.
An interesting group of letters written by the Grahams during their years in China.
Family members kept those letters as precious connections to their far away relatives whom they would see only a few times over the course of 37 years from 1911 to 1948. The Grahams also sent letters to the editor of the local newspaper in Fairport, New York, which were published to keep the local community and church members informed of their activities in Southwest China. In later years (1932 through 1948), when their older daughters were left in the United States, they wrote frequently and at length to their daughters. They also wrote to each other when D.C.Graham was on field trips, with letters sometimes being carried on foot by coolies, “postage” paid on receipt to guarantee delivery.
Of that multitude of letters, a minority still survive, although that is still many hundreds of letters, predominantly those among their immediate family. When the Grahams passed away, the letters they had were divided among their five daughters, who already had their own letters from their parents. When those five daughters passed away, the letters were divided among their children. The storage and treatment of these letters varied widely. One daughter lost hers in a house fire in the early 1950s. One daughter’s letters were stored for nearly 30 years in a backyard shed, subject to water and rodent damage until 2015 when a group of 10 cousins gathered to sort and salvage the contents of the shed. Some appear to have been tossed out as clutter lacking any value. Others were valued and cared for, though not by professional archival standards. Some are still in boxes stored in garages waiting to be looked at by the current generation. Yet others may be scattered among the archives and collections of the descendants of the Graham’s correspondents, one here, a few there, unrecognized as anything that might be valued.
Letters that D.C.Graham wrote to the Smithsonian regarding his collecting trips and accounts are preserved in the Smithsonian Archives. They span the years from 1925 to 1949 and provide details on his trips and shipments of specimens to the Smithsonian. They are not fully itemized or digitized, but are in proper archival storage and referenced by finding aids.
One can see that many letters appear to have been lost to history. However, it is likely that there are still letters out there that may have information and provide insights that could be added to the life stories of the Grahams as well as to the history of the turbulent period in China from the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 to the defeat of the Kuomintangby the Communists in 1948.
The David Crockett Graham Archive Trust, a separate but parallel entity to the David Crockett Graham Historical Fund, was created to ensure the preservation of as many of the records of the Grahams’ life and work as possible. At present, this collection consists of letters, documents, photographs, and a few diaries from the estates of three of the Graham’s daughters – Harriet-Jane Graham Hoogendyk, Dorothy Graham Edson, and Margaret Graham. These are bulk archives consisting of about 40 boxes that have only partially been sorted. As items of value are identified and catalogued, they will be transferred to the nonprofit David Crockett Graham Historical Fund and digitized. Ultimately, the physical items will be transferred to public archives for long term preservation.
Some of the boxes of letters in the David Crockett Graham Archive Trust.
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Anyone who may have any letters written by David Crtockett Graham or Alicia Morey Graham, please contact Chris Hoogendyk, Trustee of the David Crockett Graham Archive Trust and Executive Director of the David Crockett Graham Historical Fund, Inc. You may use the contact page on the David Crockett Graham Historical Fund website to get in touch.