Register of the Lulu Ryan Rolston papers
Finding aid prepared by Danielle Lopez
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2009, 2015
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Lulu Ryan Rolston papers
Date (bulk): 1914-1918
Collection Number: 2006C7
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2 manuscript boxes, 7 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 framed caricature
(5.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Personal documents, newspaper issues, scrapbooks, photographs, and postcards relating to Allied nursing in France during World
War I.
Creator:
Rolston, Lulu Ryan, 1890-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2006.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Lulu Ryan Rolston papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
April 23, 1889 Born, Rouses Point, New York
1914 Graduated from the New York Hospital
1915-1916 Nurse at American Ambulance Hospital of Paris
1916 Taught the Carrell-Dakin Method in the United States
1917 Worked at Ellis Island, New York
1917-1919 Nurse at New York Hospital, Base #9 A.E.F. Hospital in France
1918 Decorated with the Medaille des Epidemies
1919 Discharged and sailed for the U.S. on the George Washington
1920-1930 Public Health Nurse for the City of Los Angeles
1940 Served as WWII nurse
1980 Honored by President Jimmy Carter in recognition of services to the U.S. Armed Forces
1980 Died
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains a series of mementos from Lulu Rolston's time at the American Ambulance Hospital of Paris the and
New York Base #9 Hospital in France. Assigned to the New York Base #9 Hospital, Rolston worked as an Allied nurse during World
War I. Rolston treated soldiers wounded in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which was one of the largest battles in U.S. military
history. The collection highlights her time as an Allied nurse with a series of personal documents, newspapers, scrapbooks,
photographs, and postcards. A number of her husbands, Howard Rolston's, photographs and documents are also included in the
collection. Howard Rolston was an enlisted soldier in France while Lulu Rolston worked at the New York Base #9 Hospital. The
bulk of the collection involves Lulu Rolston's work in and around France. The collection contains documents written in French.
Box one includes an inventory of the collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918 -- Medical care
Nursing -- France
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces
Personal documents file
1914-1926
Scope and Contents
Materials include documents from both the American Ambulance and New York Base #9 Hospitals, spanning the years 1914 to 1916.
Items include poems, a small diary, bulletins, certificates, and a book about the New York Base #9 Hospital.
The New York Hospital in France Base Hospital No. 9 A.E.F. contains handwritten notes by Lulu Rolston. The items include documents written in French. Documents correspond with No.
3 on the inventory list.
box 1, folder 1
American Ambulance Hospital
1914-1916
box 1, folder 2
New York Hospital
1914-1926
box 1, folder 3
The New York Hospital in France, Base Hospital No. 9 A.E.F.,
1920
box 1, folder 4
The Night was Cold and the Wind Did Blow,
1920
Photographs and postcards
1915-1919, 1954
Scope and Contents
Includes photographs from the New York Base #9 Hospital and postcards from the American Ambulance Hospital. Photographs and
postcards feature nurses, doctors, soldiers, hospital grounds, living quarters, burial sites, and social events within the
two hospitals from 1915 to 1919. Postcards contain personal messages written to Lulu Rolston in 1954. Photographs and postcards
correspond with No. 3 on the inventory list.
box 1, folder 5
New York Hospital, Cornell Medical College
1954
box 1, folder 6
American Ambulance Hospital
1915
box 1, folder 7-8
The New York Hospital in France, Base #9 A.E.F
1917-1919
box 2
Album of patient letters
1916-1919
Scope and Contents
Album contains letters, drawings, notebooks, and maps sent to Lulu Rolston in France from 1916 to 1919. Maps include East
France/Germany and Luxembourg and "IV Armee" TAHURE (Marne), second battle of 1918. The album corresponds with No. 1 on the
inventory list.
box 5
Lulu Rolston scrapbook
1915-1919
Scope and Contents
Scrapbook contains photographs, certificates, assignment letters, and service documents relating to Lulu and Howard Rolston
from 1915 to 1919. Locations include both the American Ambulance and New York Base #9 Hospitals. Many of the photographs include
enlisted soldiers and their camps. The scrapbook was assembled by Lauren Rolston Petterson. The scrapbook corresponds with
No. 2 on the inventory list.
box 9
New York Base Hospital #9
1915-1919
Scope and Contents
Album contains newspapers articles, maps, service documents, postcards, and handwritten notes from 1915 to 1919. The service
documents pertain to Lulu and Howard Rolston. Throughout the album, Lulu Rolston wrote brief descriptions and notes alongside
the photographs, which include her personal connection to the photograph and memories about the location. The album corresponds
with No. 4 on the inventory list.
box 3
American Ambulance Hospital album
1915-1916
Scope and Contents
Album details Lulu Rolston's time at the American Ambulance Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine through a series of photographs
from 1915 to 1916. Photographs within the album include trips across France, time spent on the ship she traveled on, and soldiers
within the hospital. The album corresponds with No. 5 on the inventory list.
box 8
New York Base #9 Hospital album
1918
Scope and Contents
Album contains photographs of the nurses and doctors Lulu Rolston lived with while working at the New York Base #9 Hospital
in 1918. The album corresponds with No. 6 on the inventory list.
box 4
Lulu and Howard Rolston's postcards
1914-1918
Scope and Contents
Includes an album of postcards Lulu and Howard Rolston collected while in France from 1914 to 1918. The postcards include
a series of images of monuments, landmarks, churches, statues, and graves in France. Many of the images include locations
within the American Ambulance Hospital grounds. One postcard series includes La Grande Guerre. The album corresponds with
No. 7 on the inventory list.
box 7
Howard Rolston's photographs and postcards
1916-1918
Scope and Contents
Album contains a series of photographs and postcards from 1916 to 1918. Photographs include images of Howard Rolston while
stationed in France. Postcards include images of monuments, churches, hotels, and a series of Paris locations. One postcard
series within the album include F. Chapeau, Nantes. The album corresponds with No. 9 on the inventory list.
box 8
World War I Photographs album
1912-1918
Scope and Contents
Album contains a series of photographs from 1912 to 1918. Photographs include images of various locations Rolston traveled
to in France and the United States. Photographs taken in the United States include family photographs. Photographs taken in
France highlight locations traveled as a nurse while working at the New York Base #9 Hospital. The album corresponds with
No. 11 on the inventory list.
box 6
Newspapers
1916-1919
Scope and Contents
Newspapers include
The Sewanee Purple,
Qu'est-ce Ques C'est, and
The Stars and Stripes. All three newspapers were published during World War I, between the years 1916 to 1919. Two Emprunt de la defense nationale
posters can be found within the materials.
The Sewanee Purple was published by Sewanee, the University of the South in Tennessee. The majority of the newspapers are issues of
The Stars and Stripes , the official newsletter of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in France. The
Qu'est-ce Que C'est newspaper was published by American students of the University of Toulouse. The series of newspapers corresponds with No.
8 on the inventory list.
art rack
Framed Caricature
1939
Scope and Contents
Drawn by George Shellhas, the cartoon caricature titled "Base Hospital 9" was given to Lulu Rolston at a World War I reunion
in 1939. The drawing depicts a Base Hospital #9 soldier wielding a knife at a man holding a Peace Pact document and a soldier
yelling "Kamerad!" The caricature corresponds with No. 10 on the inventory list.
