Manuscripts
The Ford and Connelley family correspondence consists of letters primarily addressed to Jerome Chester Ford and his wife, Minnie Belle Ford. The letters from Ford's son, Clinton Ireton Brainerd, mostly concern his finances. In a letter dated February 28, 1938, Clinton's wife writes "I have blamed myself a thousand times over, not that I should have been so insistant [sic] about getting out of the stock market but I have been so late in doing it...However, I am convinced of one thing that something in human nature that makes you hang on when you are apparently making money to try and make a little more is hard to overcome." The letters from Margaret Jean and Janet Anne Connelley are addressed to relatives, primarily thanking them for cards and gifts received. Note: Margaret Jean is often referred to as "Peggy." Connelley's wife, Margaret, writes lengthy letters updating her parents on family and social life. The bulk of Connelley's letters are written from the United States Navy Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he teaches. In one letter, Connelley admits "I suppose I will stay here at the Naval Academ about a year and somebody has be here, but I feel funny not to be at sea fighting instead of being here teaching" (March 17, 1942). There are also several letters written on the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). Connelley blissfully writes "The wind is constant and the weather is perfect- a light blanket feels good at night. The white caps on the water are so very white against the blue of the water, it really is an intoxicating sight-diamonds against sapphires" (February 22, 1939). Additonal letters found in the collection are from other relatives.
mssFordConnelleycorrespondence
