Collections

This collection consists of an oral history interview transcript of Leroy Reece who served as a Private First Class in the United States Army during World War II in the all-black unit, Company B, 317th Engineer Battalion which served in the European Theater.

The collection consists of correspondence, financial and legal documents, including land indentures, Seminole War affidavits and real estate records.  Also included are papers from such organizations as the Sons & Daughters of the Territory of Florida, the Florida Indian War Claim Commission, and the United Confederate Veterans.  Assorted collection items include receipts, postcards, histories, journals, and scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings of the column Pioneer Florida.

This collection relates to Captain Leslie Hiscox served who served as a British officer in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC). He was stationed in Damascus and Palestine. He participated in the invasion force of Sicily, with the British 8th Army commanded by General Sir Bernard Montogomery. He was also part of the invasion of Italy. This collection consists of Leslie Hiscox's two diaries from his time posted in Damascus and Palestine from 1942-1943.

Major Lester S. Fought, Jr., was a U.S. Marine and the commanding officer of the E company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division during the landing on Iwo Jima on 22 February 1945. He had previously participated in three other invasions in the Pacific Theater: Roi-Namur (Kwajalein), Saipan, and Tinian on 21 February 1944. Fought was killed leading his company up the volcanic soil of Iwo Jima. The collection consists of a manuscript written by Lester Fought's nephew, Jeffrey R. Fought, about his uncle's wartime experience. The manuscript, "Major Lester S. Fought, Jr., 23rd Marines, World War II," includes maps, letters, and photographs.

Letter to the owner of an orange grove in Lake Charles, Louisiana, encouraging him not to sell the land as there may be an oil deposit under the orange grove. The sender of the letter is identified as Hig and the land owner as Jim.

1926 Letter written in French and 5 postcards.

Letter from Buckingham Smith to W. P. Fessenden, Maine Senator and soon to be Secretary of the Treasury, May 10, 1864 sent from New York during the Civil War. 3 pages, 8vo, New York. With a copy written by Smith of his letter to Secretary of War Stanton, reporting to the government on Florida affairs. Smith refers to the mission of Lincoln's Assistant Secretary John Hay, who failed in his attempt to bring Florida back into the Union. 6 1/2 pages, 8vo (New York, April 18, 1864). Includes transcript.

The three-page letter from F. S. Barrick of Fort Lauderdale to his son Edwin L. Barrick of Wellington, Ohio is dated March 24, 1912. The letter describes Barrick's life in Fort Lauderdale, such as the weather, crop-growing conditions, the wages he is getting for his work building a house, alligators, and his plans to plant tomatoes. The end of the letter describes the Riverside addition of Fort Lauderdale as the most thriving part of town that will soon have a store, a school, and a club house. The envelope is included.

Letter sent two days prior to South Carolina's declaration of independence from the Union, offering Florida's assistance in obtaining possession of the forts in Charleston Harbor. A significant document indicating Florida's intent to join South Carolina in what would become the American Civil War (Florida became the third state to secede from the Union on January 10, 1861). Includes transcript.