Barclay, Thomas Swain (1892-1993), Papers, 1912, 1915-1925, 1935 (C3938)
1 linear foot
INTRODUCTION
Papers of Thomas Swain Barclay, a professor of political science, member of the American Red Cross during World War I, and member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the University of Missouri. The papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, a wartime diary, overseas duty related papers, newsletters and programs, three dimensional items, photographs, oversized visual items, and miscellaneous material collected from his various associations.
DONOR INFORMATION
The Thomas Swain Barclay Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by George B. D'Arcy, Barclay's nephew, on March 18, 1994 (SHS Accession No. 3010).
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Thomas Swain Barclay was born on January 26, 1892 in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents, George Reppert Barclay (1854- ) and Lillie Swain Barclay also had two other children: Julia Barclay, who married John D'Arcy, and George F. Barclay. Thomas Swain Barclay's father, a native of Sacramento, California, rose through the ranks of the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis, starting his career as a clerk and ending it as vice-president of the credit department. His father also helped found the St. Louis Association of Credit Men and belonged to many other organizations. Barclay's parents were active in such organizations as St. George's Episcopal Church.
Barclay attended the University of Missouri in Columbia where he received both an undergraduate degree and a master's degree. He was very active in his fraternity, the Zeta Phi chapter of Beta Theta Pi. In 1918 Barclay joined the American Red Cross and served in France, helping in the administration of Base Hospital 51, at Neufchateau, France. After ending his service with the American Red Cross, he worked for a brief time with the American Commission to Negotiate Peace and met such diplomats as Henry White, Joseph Clark Grew, and General Tasker H. Bliss.
Returning to the United States in 1920, Barclay began his career as a college professor, teaching at such institutions as the University of Missouri, Stanford University, and Columbia University. He published a number of articles and books, including many on Missouri history and politics. Barclay died at the age of 101 on December 21, 1993.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Thomas Swain Barclay Papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, a wartime diary, overseas duty related papers, newsletters and programs, three dimensional items, photographs, oversized visual items, and miscellaneous material collected from his various associations. The papers are arranged into four series:
The Correspondence series is comprised of personal and professional correspondence arranged chronologically with undated correspondence at the end of the series. The correspondence includes letters from Barclay's father, mother, and sister, letters from various fraternity brothers and university friends and colleagues, letters from officials with the American Red Cross and the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, and with faculty members of various universities when Barclay was attempting to secure teaching positions before his wartime service came to an end.
Some points of interest may be the brief opinions voiced by various letter writers about world events such as the Versailles Conference and the creation of the League of Nations. Correspondence with fraternity brothers is quite extensive and reveals much about the internal politics of a fraternal organization. Letters from Professor Isidor Loeb are peppered with information on world affairs, the politics of the Missouri General Assembly, and the University of Missouri. Many references are made to the ravages of the influenza epidemic which struck the United States during the 1910's and 1920's. The correspondence is largely complete from early 1918 to the end of 1919, and then runs again briefly through mid-1921.
The World War I series consists of a wartime diary which covers Barclay's journey to France during the war and the first several months of his service in the American Red Cross. Other materials present are his identity papers and travel permits, requisitions and receipts, newsletters and programs such as "The Depth Bomb," a newsletter produced on board the ship carrying Barclay to Europe, and programs which encouraged those attending the Versailles Conference to support the independence of Korea. Also present are three dimensional items such as uniform patches and two small French and American flags. A large number of photographs of wartime France are also included. Most of the photographs have "American Red Cross: This photograph not to be reproduced or published without the permission of Bureau of Photography: 4, Place de la Concorde" stamped on the back of them. There are also a number of oversized visual items. These include a hand rendered sketch of Barclay by a French caricaturist, drawn print portraits of Allied leaders, two posters of American military insignias, a French war loan poster, and many French and English newspapers and magazines from around the time of the armistice of November 11, 1918.
The Fraternity and University series consists of such items as fraternity newsletters and procedural guidelines, commencement exercises programs, alumni gathering announcements, undated programs and cards, chronologically arranged. Photographs of Barclay's fraternity brothers, a Stanford football game, photographs of Barclay in his middle age, and unidentified photographs complete the series.
The Miscellaneous series consists of wedding announcements sent to Barclay, newspaper clippings about Barclay, pages of notes on historical topics such as the Algerian Conference, and miscellaneous programs such as a promotion for the construction of the Missouri Memorial Union Building on the campus of the University of Missouri, Columbia.
FOLDER LIST
| f. 1 | 1918 March -September |
| f. 2 | 1918 October |
| f. 3 | 1918 November-December 13 |
| f. 4 | 1918 December 16-1919 January |
| f. 5 | 1919 February 1-15 |
| f. 6 | 1919 February 21-March |
| f. 7 | 1919 April |
| f. 8 | 1919 May-July |
| f. 9 | 1919 September-December |
| f. 10 | 1921 April-June 13 |
| f. 11 | 1921 June 16-July |
| f. 12 | n.d. |
| f. 13 | Diary, 1918 October 20-1919 January 2 |
| f. 14 | Identification, travel permits, miscellaneous cards |
| f. 15 | Newsletters, programs |
| f. 16 | Requisitions, receipts |
| f. 17 | Badges, ribbons, tags |
| f. 18 | Photographs |
| f. 19 | Photographs |
| f. 20 | 1912-1920 |
| f. 21 | 1921-1924 March |
| f. 22 | 1924, 1925, 1935, n.d. |
| f. 23 | Photographs |
| f. 24 | Greetings and wedding announcements |
| f. 25 | Newspaper clippings |
| f. 26 | Miscellaneous |
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.
- American Commission to Negotiate Peace, 1918-1919
- American Red Cross
- Barclay, George Reppert (1854- )
- Barclay, Lillie Swain
- Barclay, Thomas Swain (1892-1993)
- Beta Theta Pi Zeta Phi Chapter, University of Missouri
- Christmas, 1918
- Clemenceau, Georges
- D'Arcy, Julia Barclay
- England, London, 1918
- Foch, Ferdinand (1851-1929)
- France, Neufchateau, 1910s
- France, Paris, 1918
- French--Attitudes toward, 1918
- Germany--Attitudes toward, 1918
- Influenza
- Korea--Congresses, conferences, etc., 1919
- League of Nations--Attitudes toward
- Lloyd George, David (1863-1945)
- Loeb, Isidor (1868-1954)
- Michigan, Battle Creek, 1918
- Missouri. General Assembly, 1910s
- Ocean travel, 1918
- Pershing, John J. (1860-1948)
- Submarines
- Thanksgiving, 1918
- Traffic accidents
- U.S. Army--Insignia
- University of Missouri
- Versailles Peace Conference
- White, Henry (1850-1927)
- Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924)
- Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924)--Attitudes toward
- World War, 1914-1918--Armistice
- World War, 1914-1918--Correspondence
- World War, 1914-1918--Loan and bond drives--French
- World War, 1914-1918--Periodicals
- World War, 1914-1918--Propaganda