Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Genay Family Correspondence.
- Dates:
- 1917-1935.
- Creators:
- Genay family
- Abstract:
- Correspondence, photographs, greetings, and published ephemera, 1917-1935, primarily illustrating the World War I Era narrative of the French Genay family and their involvement with the charitable organization, Fatherless Children of France [Fraternite Franco-Americaine].
- Extent:
- 1 box
- Language:
- Unless otherwise noted the materials are written in French , with a very small amount of materials in English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Genay Family Correspondence, Collection D19xx.999, Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The materials that constitute the Genay Family Correspondence describe and illustrate the family’s involvement in events surrounding World War I and the subsequent years. The collection consists primarily of correspondence between Camille Genay and Mildred Veitch, with a few letters from Madame L. Genay, Camille's mother. These letters, postcards, and greeting cards contain descriptions of the local war efforts and conditions in France as well as the personal narrative of the Genay family. The postcards themselves depict contemporary war events and scenes. Photographs originally included with the correspondence depict both the Genay family and the French landscape during the war years. The remaining published item in the collection relates to the Genay women’s involvement with the organization Fatherless Children of France [Fraternite Franco-Americaine]. This wartime charitable organization matched French orphans with support systems and benefactors in the United States and worked to publicize the role of cooperation between the Allied Nations.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Genay Family Correspondence is composed almost entirely of the correspondence of Madame L. Genay, widow of Captain Eugene Genay, and her elder daughter, Camille (1901-circa 1925), with an American friend, Miss Mildred Veitch (later Mrs. R. K. West). The family, which included a younger daughter, Marie Louise, resided in Versailles, and maintained a country home in the village of Saint-Sauveur. Captain Genay was killed in April 1915, fighting for the Allies in Belgium. Miss Veitch acted as a benefactor to the family through an organization with which all of the women were involved, the Fatherless Children of France [Fraternite Franco-Americaine]. Because of Madame Genay’s work as a teacher and the family’s involvement in charitable war efforts, the women were connected to the events around them and are able to provide unique insights into life in wartime France, women’s war roles, American aid to foreign families, and many others. The bulk of the material focuses on the war years.
- Acquisition information:
- Method and date of acquisition unknown.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Hilary E. Gordon for Archival Studies 311, Claremont Graduate University, Spring 2010; revised by Michael P. Palmer, MLIS, April 2011.
- Arrangement:
-
The Genay Family Collection is arranged into four series:
- Series 1: Correspondence
- Series 2: Postcards and Greeting Cards
- Series 3: Published Materials
- Series 4: Photographs
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- Spring 2010
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2011-04-09T15:59-0700
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is available for research.
- Terms of access:
-
For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact Ella Strong Denison Library staff.
- Preferred citation:
-
Genay Family Correspondence, Collection D19xx.999, Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1030 Columbia Avenue, #2031Claremont, CA 91711, US
- Contact:
- (909) 607-3941