Frederick DeCoste Collection, 1920-1977
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 9 Hollinger Boxes
- Language:
- English Spanish; Castilian
- Preferred citation:
Frederick DeCoste Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
The Frederick DeCoste Collection contains papers produced or gathered by Frederick DeCoste concerning his career and activities such as writings, correspondence, photographs, publications, and research files on Florida and Saint Augustine history.
- Biographical / historical:
Frederick DeCoste (1910-1977) [1] was an American specialist in Cultural Affairs and International Relations between the United States and Latin America. When he retired in the 1960s, he settled in Saint Augustine, Florida, where he became a freelance writer.
Frederick DeCoste was born in 1910 in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended school in Massachusetts and Connecticut. After high school, he traveled to South America becoming a "merchant marine cadet with the Munson Steamship Line" [2]. He then attended college for one year at the University of Transylvania, Kentucky, where he studied English. The Great Depression in 1929 forced him to try different jobs until 1936. That year, he had the opportunity to live in Peru where he studied for one year at the University of San Marcos. Additionally, Frederick DeCoste published articles for the West Coast Leader, an English language magazine edited in Lima. He was also Director of Public Relations for the Condor Peruana de Aviación, S. A.
In 1939, Frederick DeCoste returned to the United States and lived in Putney, Vermont. He worked as Assistant Director for Experiment in International Living, a company specializing in exchange programs. DeCoste was a "counselor-guide" in charge of Latin American programs, sending American students to Peru and Colombia.
In 1941, Frederick DeCoste became the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs in Washington D.C. He was sent to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to manage the war information program. In 1944, he moved to Balboa, Panama, where he stayed for two years for the Public Relations Office.
Between 1946 and 1947, Frederick DeCoste lived in Mexico and worked for the United States International Book Association to set up an exhibit of 7000 books. When the association dissolved in 1947, he decided to move back to the United States to be Assistant Director for the Council for Inter-American Cooperation Inc. in New York. Concomitantly, he was also Assistant Director for the National Foreign Trade Council, Inc., in charge of the Western Hemisphere Division. There, he edited Noticias, an internal weekly digest for the Council members, providing news and reports about the Hemisphere.
Around 1959, Frederick DeCoste retired and moved to Saint Augustine, Florida, to become a freelance writer and local historian about Florida and Saint Augustine's history. During this time, he wrote and published books and articles.
Frederick DeCoste died in Quincy [3], Massachusetts, in 1977. He was buried in Plymouth [4].
Notes: [1] This biography is a synthesis of the information found in different sources: Fredrick DeCoste's Personal Papers (resume); the newspaper article "Miracle of the hangman's rope" in The Florida Times Union Sunday Magazine (August 7, 1966); and the following book reference: Peters, Williams, Passport to friendship. The story of the experiment and international living, J. B. Lipincott Company, Philadelphia and New York, First Edition, 1957, p. 79. [2] Peters, Williams, Passport to friendship. The story of the experiment and international living, op. cit. [3] Fredrick W. Decoste, U.S. Death Index, 1970-2003. [4] Frederick DeCoste, Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current.
- Processing information:
The Frederick DeCoste collection received file level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.
- Arrangement:
Frederick DeCoste Collection is organized in five series: Series I: Personal papers, Series II. Correspondence, Series III. Professional papers, Series IV. Writings, Series V. Publications.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The Frederick DeCoste Collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
Frederick DeCoste Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library100 S. Andrews AvenueFort LauderdaleFL33301USA
