Encoded in EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2017086171
DACS was used as the primary description standard.
Collection material in English
The papers of Benjamin S. Custer were given to the Library of Congress by B. H. Custer, Benjamin Scott Custer Jr., and Elizabeth Carson Custer Taylor in 2017.
The papers of Benjamin S. Custer were arranged and described by Karen Linn Femia in 2022.
Two calendars, titled "Artist's Sketch Pad" for the Essex Machine Works with pin-ups by Earl MacPherson and K. Munson, and one bound set of pin-ups, "The Artist's Studio" by MacPherson, have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Benjamin S. Custer Papers. Patrons are encouraged to contact the Prints and Photographs Division in advance of a research visit.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin S. Custer in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for further information.
The papers of Benjamin S. Custer are open to research. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting.
Government regulations control the use of national security classified items in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified material.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Benjamin S. Custer Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Benjamin S. Custer (1905-2002) span the years 1912-2000, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1958. The collection documents Custer's career as a naval aviator, naval officer, commander of a seaplane tender during World War II, his postwar command of the U.S. Naval Air Station, Floyd Bennett Field, and his academic career that included earning a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and serving as commander of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Princeton University. The papers also include correspondence, photographs, and writings documenting his Georgia family and Custer's affinity with his Southern heritage. The collection is organized into seven series: Correspondence, Photographs, Speeches and Writings, Subject File, United States Navy, National Security Classified Information, and Oversize.
Custer graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1926 and became
an aviator after flight school training in Pensacola, Florida. As the section leader
of a dive bomber squadron, while flying a training exercise in 1936, Custer
sustained a back injury that, along with recurring ulcers, limited his subsequent
flying duties. The medical file in the United States Navy series provides additional
information. During World War II, Custer served as executive officer on the escort
carrier
The collection’s series are listed and briefly described below. A fuller description of each series and a list of its contents can be accessed in the series descriptions within the container list.
The Correspondence series is organized into family correspondence and general correspondence.
The Photographs series contains navy, family, and personal photographs, although it is heavily weighted toward the navy photographs.
The Speeches and Writings series primarily consists of writings by Custer.
The Subject File gathers together topical material that falls outside the purview of the other series.
The United States Navy series includes official navy correspondence and documents from Custer's time as a midshipman to his retirement as a rear admiral in 1957.
The remaining series contain National Security Classified Information and Oversize material.
This collection is arranged in seven series:
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.
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2017086171
The Correspondence series is organized into family correspondence and general correspondence. The family correspondence is primarily with Custer's brothers, sisters, wife Elizabeth ("Betts"), and son with a handful of letters from his father and mother. The general correspondence includes business and personal, sometimes with friends he made in the navy and may include information about his military service. Official navy correspondence, however, is in the United States Navy series.
Material types include correspondence, some with attachments.
Arranged in two groups, family correspondence and general correspondence, and chronologically therein.
The Photographs series contains navy, family, and personal photographs,
although it is heavily weighted toward the navy photographs. Particularly
strong are photographs of the
Material types include black and white photoprints, both large and small formats.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
The Speeches and Writings series primarily consists of writings by Custer: book reviews, speeches, and articles, both published and unpublished. Naval themes provide the most common subject matter. Also in the series is a collection of speeches by others, a file of story ideas, lecture notes, and a file of unidentified writings that may be Custer's.
Material types include published and unpublished articles and book reviews, speeches, lecture notes, story idea notes, and unidentified writings.
Arranged alphabetically by type of writing.
The Subject File gathers together topical material that falls outside the purview of the other series. Family papers and material from Custer's student days and youth form an important part of the subject file as do Custer's financial records. After leaving the navy, Custer ventured into the business world, taking a management job at the Drackett Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. He only stayed one year, apparently discovering he preferred academia to a career in business. In 1958, he took an administrative job at Columbia University. He had previously worked at Princeton University during his final years in the navy. Files for his teaching at Princeton and his graduate studies at Georgetown University are in the Subject File.Very little in the collection dates from after 1958 when he began working at Columbia. The series also includes topical material about naval aviation, including an unpublished memoir written by naval aviator E. F. Johnson covering the very beginnings of naval aviation.
Material types include correspondence, writings, financial records, clippings, scrapbooks, reports, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by topic.
The United States Navy series includes official navy correspondence and
documents from Custer's time as a midshipman to his retirement as a rear
admiral in 1957. Many of the files are organized by duty station, be it on
ships (
Material types include correspondence and memoranda, official navy orders, navy training material, regulations, manuals, United States Navy publications, aviator flight log books, scrapbooks, reports, navy awards, citations, medical records, and reprimands.
Arranged alphabetically by duty station, topic, or material type.
A United States Naval Intelligence Service manual.
Arranged and described according to the series, container, and folder from which the item was separated
The Oversize series consists of maps and photographs and one etching.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were separated.