Harry Baker Cawley Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Harry Baker Cawley Collection, 1918-1922, 1926, undated, Ms2023-062, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.8 Cubic Feet 2 boxes
Creator:
Cawley, Harry Baker, 1900-1946
Abstract:
This collection contains letters, cards, and envelopes, dated 1918-1926, to Harry B. Cawley from his parents Mary and Robert Cawley, his brothers Marvin and Raymond, and friends, including Eugenia Rea and Kathleen A. Turner. The collection also includes school notes, two writings by Cawley, and two undated photographs - one each of Paul Guthrie Jones and of Lyn Bunting, possibly schoolmates in the 1920s. Cawley (1900-1946) served in the U.S. Navy in the 1910s and attended Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1920s.
Language:
The material in this collection is in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Harry Baker Cawley Collection, 1918-1922, 1926, undated, Ms2023-062, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains letters, cards, and envelopes, dated 1918-1926, to Harry B. Cawley from his parents Mary and Robert Cawley, his brothers Marvin and Raymond, and friends, including Eugenia Rea and Kathleen A. Turner. The collection also includes school notes, two writings by Cawley, and two undated photographs - one each of Paul Guthrie Jones and of Lyn Bunting, possibly schoolmates in the 1920s.

Biographical / historical:

Harry Baker Cawley was born on July 14, 1900, to Robert Lee and Mary Lynn Callahan Cawley in Lexington, Kentucky. He served in the United States Navy from 1918-1920. Cawley then studied at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI) from 1920-1921. While at VPI, he was a member of the Episcopal Club. After school, he worked as a salesman. Cawley married Martha Lucille McDonald on April 7, 1942, in Duval, Florida, divorcing two years later. Cawley died on March 23, 1946, in Roanoke, and is buried alongside his family in Evergreen Burial Park in Roanoke.

External sources:

U. S. Census, 1910-1920

"Harry Baker Cawley", findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83829087/harry-baker-cawley/, accessed on June 28, 2023.

"Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014", ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1934208:9278?tid=&pid=&queryId=49bd69b1853ecd14b66ef313ac9280b0&_phsrc=KIa72&_phstart=successSource, accessed on June 28, 2023.

"Harry B Cawley" in the Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/264476:61369, accessed on March 18, 2024.

"Harry Baker Cawley" in the Florida, U.S., Divorce Index, 1927-2001, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/406948:8837, accessed on March 18, 2024.

Acquisition information:
The Harry Baker Cawley Collection was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in November 2018.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Harry Baker Cawley Collection was completed in June 2023. Additional processing, arrangement, and description was completed in March 2024.

Arrangement:

The material in this collection is arranged by material type into two series:

Series I: Correspondence, 1918-1926, undated, which is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A: Letters to Harry B. Cawley, 1918-1921, undated, which is arranged by correspondent and chronologically.

Subseries B: Other Correspondence, 1926, undated

Series II: Ephemera, 1918-1922, undated, which is arranged by material type.