Bernice and Bertha Downing Collection of World War I Letters
Finding aid created by History San Jose Research Library staff using RecordEXPRESS
History San Jose Research Library
2018
1661 Senter Road
San Jose, California 95112
(408) 287-2290
research@historysanjose.org
http://www.historysanjose.org/
Title: Bernice and Bertha Downing Collection of World War I Letters
Dates: 1917-1919
Collection Number: 1979-855
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 5 folders (.25 linear feet)
Repository:
History San Jose Research Library
San Jose, California 95112
Abstract: Letters from World War I servicemen to Santa Clara Journal owners and editors Bernice C. Downing and twin sister Bertha G.
Downing
Language of Material: English
The collection is available to the public for research by appointment with the Curator of Research Library & Archives
Contact the Curator of Research Library & Archives for reproduction and publication information
Bernice and Bertha Downing Collection of World War I Letters. History San Jose Research Library
The donor of these letters is unknown. They are part of the original San Jose Historical Museum collection.
Biography/Administrative History
Bernice C. Downing (d. 1940) and her twin sister Bertha G. Downing (d. 1925) are noted as being the first women in California
to own, edit, and publish their own newspaper, the Santa Clara Journal, which they inherited from their father Nathan Hall
Downing. Under their direction, the paper developed into a thriving semi-weekly newspaper. Bernice was appointed Santa Clara
postmaster by President Warren Harding, and was also editor of the California Postmaster.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains handwritten and typed letters from servicemen, and possibly Red Cross volunteers, sent to twin sisters
Bernice and Bertha Downing, who owned and operated the Santa Clara Journal. Letters were sent between 1917-1919, from both
the U.S. and overseas, and are casual and familiar in nature, conveying personal news and operational news from the front.