Letters of the McCormick Family

In the days before email telephone and ready travel -- and before computer games, television and Internet cocooned us into our homes -- Americans were a social bunch, who wrote constantly, in order to keep in touch with their family and friends. The McCormick family was no exception. From hastily scribbled notes to heirloom-worthy letters on rich, thick paper, and in beautiful script, the McCormick family kept each other abreast on their lives -- from the mundane to the sublime.

The letters on this site offer a window into the thoughts and minds of the McCormicks -- their gossip, their everyday concerns, their foibles, and their dreams.

We have included letters that were transcribed by students and scholars at Penn State University, as well as some sample images of original documents, evidencing handwriting samples, to give a feel of the lost art of letter-writing.

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Transcribed Letters:
	Vance McCormick:   Correspondence with President Woodrow Wilson Personal Correspondence Correspondence with Governmental Officials Correspondence, Other Eliza McCormick James McCormick William McCormick Clara Alricks Herman Alricks Hamilton Alricks Martha Alricks Martha Alricks McCormick Mary Alricks McCormick Jennie Boas (friend of the family)
Pictures of Letters:
You will also find scanned images of letters throughout the site. For example:
			From JPM McCormick to Vance McCormick, 1902
Click on a name to the left to see letters relating to that family member. Examples include: Clara Alricks, Herman Alricks, Vance McCormick. Letters and documents are updated frequently.

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See our History Page for a brief overview of the family.

This online project is a joint venture between Penn State University and The Historical Society of Dauphin County, where the McCormick Family Papers are kept.

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McCormick Family Home Page
Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies Home Page