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Helen and Sydney Stringer Correspondence

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Stringer, Helen.
Title: Helen and Sydney Stringer Correspondence
Inclusive Dates: 1943-1989
Bulk Dates: 1943-1945
Quantity: 2.25 linear ft.
Abstract: World War II correspondence between Helen Stringer and her husband Sydney, a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, stationed in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Helen Dann Stringer (1909-2007) was a 1931 graduate of Syracuse University, and also graduated from Yale University School of Nursing in 1934. An active member of such organizations as Planned Parenthood and League of Women Voters among others, she also volunteered with her husband on medical relief operations in Malaysia, Vietnam, Tunisia, and Haiti. A published author later in life, she chronicled the life of her grandmother in Millie M.D.: The Story of a Nineteenth Century Woman, 1846-1927 (1992), and published her and her husband's World War II correspondence in Letters of Love and War: A World War II Correspondence (1998).

Dr. Sydney Walter Stringer (1908? - 1978) was a graduate of Cornell University (1929) and of Yale University School of Medicine (1933). During World War II, as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, he was stationed in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany between 1944 and 1945. After World War II, he returned to his gynecology practice which he had started in 1936, and continued there until 1973. He also further served the Army as a medical officer at the Army Reserve Hospital and the Army Reserve Training Center in Liverpool, NY. After retiring, he was known in his later years as a cello player and collector of rare orchids.

[Some information adapted from Helen Dann Stringer's obituary, Syracuse.com]

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Helen and Sydney Stringer Correspondence contains letters written between Helen Dann Stringer and Sydney W. Stringer during Sydney's deployment in Europe in World War II, as well as items written from their children to Sydney, and an edited transcription of the letters from March, 1944 - July, 1945.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Arranged alphabetically by type, with correspondence arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Stringer, Helen Dann.
Stringer, Sydney Walter.

Corporate Bodies

United States. -- Army. -- Medical Corps.

Subjects

Syracuse (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 1918-1945.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Africa, North.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Medical care.
World War, 1939-1945 -- New York -- Syracuse.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.
Pins (jewelry)
Transcriptions (documents)

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Helen and Sydney Stringer Correspondence,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Helen Stringer, 1990.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MRC
Date: 9 Jan 2017
Revision history: 2019 Jun 24 - processed (DSA)

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Inventory

Correspondence
Box 1 Children to Sydney 1944, undated
Box 1 Helen and Sydney 1943, Jun, Oct; 1944, Jan, Mar-Aug (14 folders)
Box 2 Helen and Sydney 1944, Sep-Dec (12 folders)
Box 3 Helen and Sydney 1944 - empty envelopes
Box 3 Helen and Sydney 1945, Jan 1-Apr 13 (10 folders)
Box 4 Helen and Sydney 1945, Apr 14-Jul 30 - includes empty envelopes (11 folders)
Box 4 Helen and Sydney undated - includes fragments (2 folders)
Memorabilia
Box 4 Miscellaneous undated - eagle insignia pin and later note by Helen
Printed Material
Box 5 Prisms 1989
This volume contains an abridged transcription by Helen Stringer of Helen and Sydney's correspondence, Mar 23, 1944 - Jul 12, 1945. The title page is inscribed "To the George Arents Research Library," and signed by Helen Stringer, Jan 23, 1990.

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