Sipherd, Arthur E. (First World War collection), 1918 - 1920 December 20

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Summary

Title:

Arthur E. Sipherd First World collection

Dates:

1918 - 1920 December 20

Creators:

Sipherd née Meadows, Mary Lou, Mrs. and Sipherd, Arthur Eiker, Private, 1901-1967

Abstract:

This collections contains a uniform, a diary, correspondence, and French postcards belonging to Pvt. Arthur E. Sipherd, USA during and after the First World War.

Containers:

box: WWI 5
folder: 30
folder: 1
box: WWI Uniforms 1

Extent:

3 Linear feet (1 oversize box, 1 folder)

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Arthur E. Sipherd First World War uniform, diary, correspondence and postcards (2018.138.w.r), Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains one uniform belonging to Pvt. Arthur E. Sipherd, USA during the First World War. The uniform includes jacket, pants and belt, ribbons and dog tags, as well as two bundles of green fabric and a bundle of white dressing fabric. The ribbons and dogtags are pinned to the jacket, as well as a large black "A" patch on the left arm signifying the 1st Army.

The ribbons on the jacket include: one World War I Victory Medal, with three bronze stars, one Interallied ribbon (the multi-colored ribbon with black in the middle), one Veterans of Foreign Wars ribbon, and one unidentified ribbon that resembles the French flag.

The collection also includes Pvt. Sipherd's diary, photocopied, which includes recipes, discharge papers, and copies of correspondence. The correspondence includes a letter to his mother, and one postcard from a fellow soldier two years after the war. The collection also contains a French postcard collection.

Biographical / historical:

Private Arthur E. Sipherd, United States Army (2/28/1901 - 5/1/1967) was born in Grand River, Iowa and enlisted in the Army on April 13, 1918 in Des Moines and served in France as an ambulance driver and a cook. He was honorably discharged on June 14, 1919.

He married Margaret Mills Sipherd on August 8, 1922 and had two sons; Arthur Jr. and Merrill Dean Sipherd. They moved to Long Beach, California around 1927 and then to Orange, CA in 1930 in a house that his father Webb Sipherd had built at 183 N. Waverly St. He began his own company, Sipherd and Son Insurance Agency and retired leaving the business to his son who ran it until 1965. He was an active member of the Orange community and his daughter-in-law, the donor of the collection Mary Lou Meadows Sipherd, attended Orange Union High School when its campus was in the location that Chapman University currently resides.

Arthur Sipherd passed away in May, 1967 in Hemet, CA.

Related resource note: Pvt. Sipherd was the uncle of Margaret Disbennett (2017-014-w-r).

Acquisition information:

Gift of Mary Lou Meadows Sipherd on behalf of the Arthur E. Sipherd family.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged by material type.

Physical description:

All buttons and buckles accounted for on the uniform. The ribbons and dog tags are pinned to the uniform.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Correspondence -- World War, 1914-1918
World War (1914-1918)
World War (1914-1918) -- France
Postcards.
Names:: Sipherd née Meadows, Mary Lou, Mrs.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:: Andrew Harman
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-05-12 15:50:24 -0400 .

Access and use

Restrictions:: This collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: 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.