- Creator
- Casey, Mamie
- Call number
- Sc MG 675
- Physical description
- .42 linear feet (1 box)
- Preferred Citation
- [Item], Mamie Casey and William Dye Smith letters, Sc MG 675, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply
- Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.
The Mamie Casey letters consist primarily of letters written by William Dye Smith to his cousin, Mamie Casey, during the period he served in the army. The letters principally discuss his romantic relationship with Casey. As there are no letters from Casey to Smith, it is not clear what her feelings were, although in Smith's letters he sometimes chided her for not writing more often, and being rather cold in her responses. Also, in the letters he indicates that he is married and, by 1914, had four children. At various times his family joined him in the Philippines. Smith's discussions of military life are very limited; however, there is a hand-drawn map of a section of the Philippines where the Battle of Castillejos took place. There is very little information about Casey in the collection.
Biographical/historical information
Mamie Casey of St. Louis, Missouri, was the cousin of William Dye Smith, a soldier in Company B, 25th Infantry of the United States Army from his enlistment in November 1898 until circa 1917. He served in various clerical posts and circa 1914 was promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant. Following the Spanish-American War, Smith served in the Philippines from approximately 1900 until 1908 and then again from 1912-1914, and in Mexico during the American expedition in 1916 to quell the raids by the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
Administrative information
Custodial history
The collection was salvaged from a dumpster after subject's death.
Source of acquisition
Donated by Marie Evans, 1991.
Processing information
Compiled by Janice Quinter, 2009.
Finding aid edited and adapted to digital form by Kay Menick in 2016.
Key terms
Names
- Smith, William Dye, 1881-1951 (creator)
Subjects
- African American families
- African American soldiers -- Mexico
- African American soldiers -- Philippines
- Love-letters
- Philippines -- Maps, Manuscript
- Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Participation, African American
- United States. Army -- African American troops
Material types
Using the collection
Location
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Conditions Governing Use
Information on copyright available from repository.
Access restrictions
All reproduction requests subject to limitations noted in divisional policies.