Collection inventory

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Stephen John Boland Family Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives at Syracuse University.


Finding aid created by: Cara A. Howe
Date: 2014



Biography

Boland, Stephen

Stephen John Boland (1968-1988) was among the 270 victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. He was returning home to New Hampshire where he had graduated from Bishop Guertin High School in 1986. Steve was the recipient of the All-Guertin Award for the student who exemplifies the academic, athletic and spiritual ideals of the school. He was enrolled in the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications as an advertising major at Syracuse University and was a brother of Delta Tau Delta. Steve, born September 28, 1968, was survived by his parents, John and Jane, his sister Kelly, his paternal grandfather, and his friend Pamela Seager. His parents remembered him as "God's personal envoy of peace and brotherhood." His fraternity brother's remembered, "...his love of the Beatles...Few people who met him weren't attracted to his love of life, something which was an inspiration to us all."


Scope and Content Note

The Stephen John Boland Family Papers contain Clippings, Correspondence, Photographs, Printed materials, Scrapbooks, Subject files and Writings. The Scrapbooks pertain to the life of Stephen Boland while the rest of the series deal mainly with the aftermath of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

The Clippings series contains only 1 folder that spans 1988-2001. It covers most aspects of the Pan Am 103 tragedy, investigation and the trial at Camp van Zeist in the Netherlands.

The Correspondence series includes letters from former President George H.W. Bush, condolence letters sent to the Boland family, and correspondence from Syracuse University among others.

The Photographs series contains mainly photographs taken of the memorials in Lockerbie, Scotland.

The Printed materials series contains programs from memorial events held at Bishop Guertin High School and at the Catholic Community of the Resurrection Church.

The Scrapbooks series contains three items. The first scrapbook contains mainly articles, poems and remembrances of Steve; the second contains photographs of Steve and the Boland family as well as letters; and the third, which is oversize, contains photographs, articles, a death certificate for Steve, information on the location of his body as well as some correspondence and memorial information. These are the best materials for information on Steve himself.

The Subject files series contains a variety of information, the most important of which is information regarding the return of personal effects to the family by Scottish Police and the information on scholarships established in Steve's memory.

The Writings series contains only one item, a poem, dedicated to Steve by his friend Michael Wade and titled "The Darkest Day".


Alternative Formats

Selected materials from this collection have been digitized. Please contact the archivist for further information on accessing the materials.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions for this collection.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Pan Am Flight 103 Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Related Material

The Pan Am Flight 103 Archives contains additional materials and information related to the Stephen John Boland Family Papers. Related collections include:

On Eagles' Wings Collection

Matthew Cox Papers

Pan Am 103 Individuals Collection

London 1988 Image Collection

Remembrance Quilt Collection


Selected Search Terms

Names

Boland family
Boland, Stephen John
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Subjects

Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing Incident, 1988.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- Case Studies.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States -- History.
Terrorism -- Government Policy -- United States.
Terrorism -- History -- 20th Century.
Lockerbie (Scotland)

Types of Material

Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Photographs.
Programs (documents)
Scrapbooks.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Stephen John Boland Family Papers,
Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The Stephen John Boland Family Papers were donated by John and Jane Boland. An article was contributed by Amy Tucker, Steve's friend.

Processing Information

The Stephen John Boland Family Papers are processed. When possible, scrapbooks have been removed from non-archival pages and placed in acid free folders.


Arrangement

The Stephen John Boland Family Papers are arranged alphabetically by and within each series.


Table of Contents

Clippings

Correspondence

Photographs

Printed materials

Scrapbooks

Subject files

Writings


Inventory