[F5B-F]

https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/folder/F5B-F

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Part Of: Family Records Series -- Charles Edison Fund Collection -- Charles Edison Papers

[F5B-F] Correspondence (1908, 1912-1931)

These folders consist primarily of correspondence to and from Charles Edison. Many of the letters were written by his mother, Mina Miller Edison. The dated items cover the years 1912-1931, but there are also several undated letters including one that was probably written in 1908. The early correspondence relates to Charles's work at the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. of Boston, his association with the Upton Brothers in San Francisco, and his first years with Thomas A. Edison, Inc. The letters by Mina Edison discuss Thomas Edison's wartime experiments off the coast of Long Island and their extended stay in Washington, D.C.; Charles's involvement in his father's business enterprises; the economic, social, and political climate in the country after World War I; and her attitude toward communism and the Soviet Union. There are also numerous references to Mina's opinion of various Edison associates, including Miller Reese Hutchison and John F. Monnot, both of whom she disliked. Some of the letters contain remarks about Thomas Edison's work, travel, health, and diet. Of particular note is a letter of July 4, 1922, in which Mina expresses concern about the possible deterioration of her husband's mental health after he walked into a neighbor's cottage at Chautauqua thinking it was his own. "We must have father dear examined by some fine doctor," she informs Charles, "for he is changing so much. I am quite concerned. . . . Something is wrong."

Also included are letters from genealogist Viola Root Cameron, who met with Charles in 1920 to discuss an Edison and Miller family history. A series of telegrams from Charles to his wife, Carolyn Hawkins ("Pony") Edison, 1926-1928, pertain to business-related travel. A 1928 letter by Mina Edison comments on her husband's decision to enter the radio business. A 1931 letter from the Milan Cemetery Association, with marginal notations by Thomas Edison, contains records of family plots purchased by his father, Samuel O. Edison. Other items include a letter from war hero Alvin C. York regarding his participation in a radio broadcast; a communication from Charles's friend Robert Cox, who discusses his struggles to find work in San Francisco; and a proxy vote for the stockholders meeting of the Diamond Disc Shop, Inc., sent by family friend Elizabeth ("Bessie") H. Kunz, daughter of the eminent mineralogist George Frederick Kunz.

Approximately 60 percent of the letters from 1912-1931 have been selected. Numerous additional letters by Charles Edison can be found in the Charles Edison Fund Collection and in the David E. E. Sloane Collection.

Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

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