William LeMoyne Wills letters to Charlotte LeMoyne Wills, 1872-1900

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Summary

Creators:
Wills, Wm. LeMoyne (William LeMoyne), 1853-1933
Abstract:
A small collection of letters and ephemera related to William LeMoyne Wills, Los Angeles surgeon.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. William LeMoyne Wills letters to Charlotte LeMoyne Wills, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A small collection comprised of 30 letters by William LeMoyne Wills to his mother Charlotte LeMoyne Wills. The majority of them are from his time in Colorado (1875 to 1876), but there are several written from Los Angeles in the 1880s. There are also three letters by Wills to his sister Madeline F. Wills. Also included are three cabinet cards of William LeMoyne Wills, a Christmas card, photocopies of newspaper articles, and collection information. Twelve of the letters are typed copies; the Huntington does not have the originals.

Biographical / historical:

Surgeon and medical professor William Le Moyne Wills (1853-1933) was born on August 10, 1853, in Washington, Pennsylvania, the son of lawyer John A. Wills (1819-1891) and Charlotte LeMoyne Wills (1824-1908). Wills was educated at Washington and Jefferson College, Harvard University, and received an M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He moved west for his health and spent some time in Colorado before settling permanently in Los Angeles, California. Wills married Susan Glassell Patton, sister of George S. Patton, Sr., and uncle to George S. Patton, Jr. In Los Angeles, he was an early member of the University of Southern California Medical School faculty, teaching Anatomy and Surgical Anatomy for 18 years. He was then Professor of Clinical Surgery for 6 years. Wills was also one of the promoters of cremation in the West, a project which begun by parents, and served as director and secretary of the Cremation Society of Southern California, established in 1887. He was president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association in 1889, president of the Southern California District Medical Association, 1890 to 1891, and president of the California State Medical Society, 1895 to 1896; was one of the founders and chief surgeon, Children's Hospital, 1902 to 1905. Wills died on December 3, 1933, in San Marino, California.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Robert W. Poindexter, March 1996.
Processing information:

Processed by Brooke M. Black in November 1998; in 2024, Gayle M. Richardson created the finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. William LeMoyne Wills letters to Charlotte LeMoyne Wills, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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