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Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70052878
Collection material in English, with some French
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Roger Welles, naval officer, were deposited in the Library of Congress in 1948 and 1950 by the Naval Historical Foundation and converted to a gift in 1998.
The Welles Papers were processed in 1970. The finding aid was revised in 2011.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Roger Welles is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Roger Welles are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Roger Welle Papers, Naval Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Roger Welles (1862-1932) span the years 1884-1926, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1891-1926. The collection consists of journals, correspondence, orders to duty, an article and speech file, a diary written by his wife, Harriet Welles, newspaper clippings, printed matter, and miscellaneous material. The papers are organized in four series: Journals, Books, and Diaries; Correspondence; Article and Speech File; and Miscellany.
Welles’s naval career is detailed in journals, orders to duty, and most specifically in his correspondence. The letters he wrote to his mother, Mercy D. A. Welles, 1885-1908, tell of his early cruises and duties. Letters exchanged with William Eleroy Curtis reveal his assignment to explore the Orinoco River, to make ethnological collections during his travels, especially among the Indians in the interior of Venezuela, and later to assist in arranging the exhibits for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Other correspondents in the period were James Nicholls Allison, William I. Buchanan, and William Lindsay Scruggs.
During the Spanish-American War, Welles served as executive officer on the Wasp. Following this service he attended the United States Naval War College, served with the Asiatic Fleet, was appointed director of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, commanded successively the First Division of the Atlantic Fleet and the Eleventh and Fifth Naval Districts. His correspondence file provides insights into his duties for this period, 1898-1925. Prominent among his correspondents were Victor Blue, Josephus Daniels, Robert E. Coontz, Albert P. Niblack, Joseph W. Sefton, Jr., Charles West Stewart, C. Symon, and Ovington Eugene Weller.
Welles’s last duty, 1925-1926, was as commander of the American naval forces in Europe. Letters during this tour reflect his visits to various heads of state and include mention of some of the political problems of the period such as the general strike in Great Britain and the rise of fascism in Italy. Among his correspondents at this time were Philip Andrews, the marquis de Balincourt, Mark L. Bristol, Arthur Philip Fairfield, Ogden H. Hammond, Eugene F. McDonald, Jr., and Alexander Pollack Moore.
This collection is arranged in four series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70052878
Journals, lesson and signal record books, muster roll, battalion drill book, and diary of Welles’s wife, Harriet Wells, while in China.
Arranged chronologically and therein by type of account.
Family correspondence, general correspondence, and orders to duty.
Arranged by type of material and therein chronologically.
Articles, a lecture, speeches, a radio talk and related notes.
Arranged chronologically and therein by type of presentation.
Calling cards, invitations, photographs, programs, newspaper clippings and printed matter, and other miscellaneous material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.