Edward Lynch Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440

Summary

Extent:
1.50 Linear Feet
Creator:
Lynch, Edward, 1923-2001

Background

Scope and content:

This collection includes letters, photographs, greeting cards, printed religious ephemera, artifacts, and other material pertaining to Edward Lynch of Bayonne, New Jersey while serving in Europe during World War II. The letters were written to him by family and friends. Other correspondence from Lynch's brothers, Joseph and Michael, to their parents, Elizabeth and Michael.

Some of the artifacts include parts of Edward's uniform, a military issued razor and mirror, and pieces of two Japanese planes that belonged to Edward's brother Joseph while serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

Biographical / historical:

Edward F. Lynch was born on January 1, 1923, in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1940, according to that year's federal census, he was living with his parents (Michael and Elizabeth, both Irish immigrants), his sisters (Elizabeth, Catherine and Margaret), and a brother (Michael). When he was 20 years old, he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. Edward died on March 20, 2001. According to a published death notice, he worked as a laboratory supervisor for Exxon Corporation in Bayonne, New Jersey, for 45 years.

These papers mainly consist of correspondence sent to him by family and friends, most dating from 1943 to 1945. Also preserved are letters sent to other members of the Lynch family, notably to his mother Elizabeth in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard