History of Hospital Train no. 52 and its personnel : American Expeditionary Forces, France, 1917-1919 (Pennsylvania, From 1917 to 1919)
A locally produced history of one hospital train and its crew, and its origins in Pennsylvania. Contains many photographs.
Continue reading State Library of Pennsylvania: History of Hospital Train no. 52 and its personnel
Frederick J. Sorber pocket diary while serving as Sergeant, then Captain, in Company E, 29th Pennsylvania Infantry. Sorber’s service brought him throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Tennessee. He includes recollections of the Battles of Harper’s Ferry (September 12-15, 1862), Chancellorsville (April 30-May 6, 1863), and Lookout Mountain (November 24, 1863). He frequently tracks the miles he marched with his troop. He also notes two instances when he witnessed executions of deserters; the first on June 19, 1863, involving three men, William Grover (Gruver), William McKee, and Christopher Krubert; the second on September 18, involving two men, William Smith and another man. The diary entries are not all Sorber’s; there are frequent entry in another hand. Transcription available. Provenance given in cover letter to transcription.
William Estes, Jr. was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Moravian Parochial School, Lehigh University (1905), Johns Hopkins Medical School (1909), and was a resident in surgery at the Mayo Clinic (1909-1912). Estes served as an Army surgeon in France (1918-1919); was a respected surgeon in Bethlehem, and was the chief surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital from 1929-1950. He was also President of the State Medical Society, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Association of the Surgery of Trauma. Estes was a leader in community activities. He was President of the Bach Choir from 1942-1961, an active Episcopal churchman, and an avid fisherman. This six-volume diary traces Estes’ time in Europe as an Army surgeon during WWI. The first volume of the diary begins on July 3, 1918, when Estes reports for duty in Allentown, Pennsylvania and ends on August 4, 1918 in France. Although the diary contains printed dates, Estes did not generally follow them. In addition, in much of first volume, Estes has written his entries on sheets of paper and pasted them directly over the original diary pages.
Joshua Sharples documented his 48-day journey through Pennsylvania and New York in his journal titled “Visit to Upper Canada and Parts Adjacent”. Sharples and his fellow Quakers Jacob Lindley, James Wilson, Oliver Paxton, and James Langstaff left on October 12, 1797 and returned to Chester County on December 1, 1797. They spend most of their trip meeting with other Quakers and former Friends, but did pass through a Seneca village on Tonawanda Creek.
Journal of John Peirce, Quaker of Darby, Pennsylvania. John Peirce documented his 61-day journey through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York in his journal titled “Notes, On a Visit to Several Tribes of Indians, 1796”. Peirce and his fellow Friends James Cooper, Joseph Sansom, Isaiah Rowland, Enoch Walker, and Henry Simmons left on May 30, 1796 for the Oneida reservation. Their goal was to meet with various Native American groups and establish agricultural programs. After passing through New Jersey and up the Hudson River to Schenectady, they followed the Mohawk River to the Stockbridge, Brotherton, Tuscarora and Oneida Villages. After meeting with the members of the various groups at the Oneida reservation, the party made their way further west to the Onondaga and Cayuga settlements. Their journey home took them through central New York and Pennsylvania through Bath and Painted Post, New York as well as Muncy, Catawissa, and Reading Pennsylvania. Peirce arrived home in Darby, Pennsylvania, on July 29, 1796.
James Cooper documented his 62-day journey through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York in his journal titled “Journal of a Visit to the Seneca Indians, 1796”. Cooper and his fellow Friends John Peirce, Joseph Sansom, Isaiah Rowland, Enoch Walker, and Henry Simmons left on May 30, 1797 for the Oneida reservation. Their goal was to meet with various Native American groups and establish agricultural programs. After passing through New Jersey and up the Hudson River to Schenectady, they followed the Mohawk River to the Stockbridge, Brothertown, Tuscarora and Oneida Villages. After meeting with the members of the various groups at the Oneida reservation, the party made their way further west to the Onondagas and Cayuga settlements. Their journey home took them through central New York and Pennsylvania through Bath and Painted Post, New York as well as Muncy, Catawissa, and Reading Pennsylvania. Cooper arrived home in Woodbury, New Jersey, on July 30, 1796.