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Finlay, Edward G. (First World War correspondence)
2017.203.w.r
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Edward G. Finlay First World War correspondence
Creator:
Finlay, Edward Grant, Private, 1896-1984
source:
Lancaster, Bonnie
Identifier/Call Number: 2017.203.w.r
Physical Description:
.4 Linear feet
(9 folders)
Date (inclusive): June 19, 1918 - June 3, 1919
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence to and from Private Edward Grant Finlay during the First World War. There are also
two photos, a small notebook, identification cards, and ephemera.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWI 14
Container: 12-14
Container: WWI 16
Container: 1-6
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Bonnie Lancaster
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Private Edward Grant Finlay, United States Army (1896 - 1984) was born in Westfield, NY. He was with Company D of 211 Engineers
until September of 2018; the 116 Engineers until November of 2018; and then Company A 122 Engineers until discharge in July
of 1919. He attended the American Expeditionary Forces University in Beaune from March 1919 to June 1919, where he studied
agriculture before returning to the United States. He married Mary Elizabeth Macer of Westfield on June 3, 1925. The couple
did not have any children. Finlay worked as a trimmer in an auto factory in Detroit, as a machinist at Allegheny Ludlum Steel
Corporation in Dunkirk, and as a carpenter in Westfield. He was a member of the Westfield Fish and Game club and the National
Rifle Association, for which he served as a junior hunter's instructor. He is buried in Westfield Cemetery alongside his wife,
who died in 1992.
The gift paperwork that accompanied this collection includes part of an oral history of Edward Grant Lindley that was conducted
and transcribed in 1979.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Edward Grant Finlay First World War correspondence (2017.203.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.
The bulk of this collection is comprised of correspondence (52 correspondence) from Pvt. Edward Grant Finlay, USA of Co A,
122 Engineers to his parents and youngest sister, Alice, at their home in Westfield, NY. There is also correspondence (19
correspondence) to Finlay from his family, neighbors, and friends. One letter from his father, Asa ("Ace") Finlay, is written
on the verso of a letter from Edward. There is also one letter that was sent to Mrs. Asa (Nellie) Finlay from Elizabeth ("Lizzie"
and "El"), Pvt. Finlay's oldest sister who worked a clerical job in Washington D.C. during the war.
Finlay's correspondence describe his camp experiences in France. He worked near Le Mans doing construction before moving to
Beaune to study agriculture at an AEF university. The correspondence includes commentary, positive and derogatory, about African
American and Italian American soldiers. Much of the correspondence concerns family and local gossip, including wages at fruit
canneries and railroads in and near Westfield. The influenza epidemic, which affected Asa and Alice Finlay, was also a regular
topic. The collection includes reproductions of two photos of Edward Finlay, originally taken in 1912 and 1918. There is also
one small notebook in which Finlay recorded the addresses of soldiers, and provided a brief account of his journey home and
subsequent efforts to find work. Lastly, there are identification cards and souvenir French currency.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence -- World War, 1914-1918
Influenza Epidemic (1918-1919)
Lancaster, Bonnie