Newton McCracken letters

Collection

Identifier: MS M262

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This collection contains 27 letters sent by Newton McCracken to his parents during 1942, 1943, and 1945, while he was living in Hawaii, as well as their original envelopes. The letters cover two main time periods, October 1942 to November 1943, and April to May 1945. The collection also contains a letter from Newton's mother Nellie, dated November 20, 1945, which was returned to the sender. Aside from this, no correspondence from Newton's parents remains in the collection. His letters primarily discuss finance, such as paying income taxes and paying back debts, and the state of his parent's farm. Newton frequently sent money back to his parents, and specific amounts are mentioned in his letters, as well as what the money is to be used for. Newton's letters are challenging to read due to poor grammar and misspelled words. It is difficult to determine if Newton had a learning disability, and the level of education he completed is also unknown. Also included in this collection are a series of five blank postcards. Two are from San Marino, circa 1959. Two are American, circa 1970's, and one is from the Dominican Republic. They include uncanceled stamps.

Dates

Creation: 1942-1945

Creator

McCracken, Newton, 1916-1975 (Person)

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open for research use.

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research use.

Biography of Newton McCracken

Newton McCracken (February 5, 1916-September 13, 1975) was born in Hudson, Ohio and lived in Honolulu, Hawaii during the Second World War. Before the war, Newton worked for National Rubber. He moved to Hawaii in 1942, where he worked as a civilian in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. He lived in an apartment in Civilian Housing Area 3, which housed 12,000 workers during its peak. He wrote a series of letters to his parents, Clinton C. and Nellie McCracken, while living in Hawaii. It is known that Newton travelled aboard the passenger ship Mexico, from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Seattle, Washington, on June 23, 1944, and then returned to Hawaii before April 17, 1945. Newton apparently stayed in Richmond, California during November, 1945 before boarding a train back to Ohio. Newton McCracken later moved to Hollywood, Florida where he died in 1975 at the age of 59.