Finding Aid for the Richard W. Burgemeister correspondence 2017.110.w.r
Rob Strauss
Center for American War Letters Archives
08/03/2017
Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
Orange, CA 92866
speccoll@chapman.edu
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Richard W. Burgemeister Philippine-American War Era correspondence
source:
Burgemeister, Richard W.
Identifier/Call Number: 2017.110.w.r
Physical Description:
.16 Linear feet
(3 folders)
Date (inclusive): 1895 June 12 - 1912 December 20
Abstract: This collection was donated by Richard W. Burgemeister and contains Spanish American War-era correspondence and correspondence
from the Philippine-American War in 1899. The letters were written by James G. Miller, whom the donor notes was part of Company
G of the Second South Carolina Volunteers during the time of the Spanish-American war, and Lynton E. Athey, a bugler with
Company H. of the Idaho Volunteer Infantry who was stationed in the Philippines at the start of the Philippine-American war.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: Philippine American War 1
Container: 1-3
Container: 1-3
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Richard W. Burgemeister.
This collection is arranged by material type, author, and date.
- Series 1, Correspondence from Lynton E. Athey
- Series 2, Correspondence to Lynton E. Athey
- Series 3, Other materials
Lynton Athey was a bugler with Company H. of the Idaho Volunteer Infantry. His birth and death date are not known but records
suggest he may have been born in Oregon on July 28, 1878. A World War II draft card from a Lynton E. Athey appears to contain
the same signature as on the letters.
[Item title, Box number, Folder number], Richard W. Burgemeister Spanish-American War correspondence (2017.110.w.r), Center
for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
This collection contains 27 letters, including Spanish American War-era correspondence and correspondence from the Philippine-American
War in 1899. The letters were a gift from Richard Burgemeister, who purchased them. There are some orphan pages of letters
and blank envelopes in the collection.
One of the letters was written by James G. Miller at Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia. The donor notes that there was a James
G. Miller who was part of Company G of the Second South Carolina Volunteers. The rest of the collection was written by Lynton
E. Athey and his family. Athey was a bugler with Company H. of the Idaho Volunteer Infantry and was stationed in Manila in
the Philippines at the start of the Philippine-American war. Athey was also stationed at Camp Merritt in San Francisco.
The letters from Athey mention the Philippines and the letters to Athey from family members mention life at home in Idaho.
One item of interest is an orphan page from a letter in which the sender is unclear. The sender writes: "How I wish I could
hear from you, and how you came out at Santa Ana." The letter also mentions how Governors were petitioning the President
to send home the volunteers.
There are also some materials that date to the early 1900s.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Philippines -- History -- Philippine American War, 1899-1902
Spanish-American War, 1898
Athey, Lynton E.
Burgemeister, Richard W.
document-box Philippine American War 1, folder 1, folder 1
Series 1, Correspondence from Lynton E. Athey 1898-1899
Physical Description: .025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Physical Description: Some of the letters are fragile and enclosed in polyester covers.
Language of Material: English.
This series contains five letters written by Lynton E. Athey, a bugler with Company H. of the Idaho Volunteer Infantry. Athey
wrote the letters while at Camp Merritt in San Francisco and while stationed in the Philippines before the Philippine-American
War.
In one letter from June 4, 1898, Athey refers to camp songs at Camp Merritt. One is "Hang Gen. W. on Sour Apple Tree." It
may refer to General Weyler of Spain. A search retrieved a few references in books to Weyler's name being mentioned in the
song in the late 1890s.
In other letters, Athey writes about being in the Philippines. One letter from January 22, 1899 mentions a sentry shooting
and killing an insurgent captain. In another letter from October 21, 1898, Athey writes that "Idaho has lost two men since
arriving here."
The October 21, 1898 letter contains an original poem.
document-box Philippine American War 1, folder 2, folder 2
Series 2, Correspondence to Lynton E. Athey 1895-1912 1895-1899
Physical Description: .07 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Physical Description: Some of the letters are fragile and enclosed in polyester covers.
Language of Material: English.
This series contains 20 pieces of correspondence, including some partial correspondence, to Lynton Athey from family members
and friends. Some orphan pages of letters are in the back of the folder. There are also several blank envelopes assorted
by postmark date.
In the letters, the family members describe life at home in Idaho. In one letter in which the sender is unclear, the person
writes: "How I wish I could hear from you, and how you came out at Santa Ana." The letter also mentions how Governors were
petitioning the President to send home the volunteers.
document-box Philippine American War 1, folder 3, folder 3
Series 3, Other materials 1898-1910
Physical Description: .025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.
This series contains two letters and other items. One of the letters was written by James G. Miller, who was stationed at
Camp George H. Thomas in Georgia. It was written during the Spanish-American war. The letter appears to be unrelated to the
correspondence to and from Lynton Athey.
The other letter is from Athey's sister to her mom.
Other items in this series include a blank envelope from D.W. Figgins to the Atheys' address in Boise, a paper filled with
writing and drawings. The date of the item is unclear and it is also unclear if this was related to the Athey correspondence.
The paper mentions purchasing a grafonola, an early 20th century music device from Columbia.
There is also a paper containing an apparent script for a performance. The paper has the template date "191_." The author
is not clear. Finally, there is a small, undated paper with one side listing time zones and currency values on the other side.