Today I would like to introduce Luke Sprague to our audience. Luke Sprague operates HistoryMint.com, a private historical research firm specializing in military history. Luke Sprague donates time each week to the Latah County Historical Society to assist in reference requests and acquisition appraisals. This is one such acquisition appraisal which Luke Sprague took the reigns on to determine if LCHS should acquire this photograph.
When a member of the community
brings in any type of object into the Latah County Historical Society, there is
an investigation to determine how that object fits into the
collection. Without the right information, those deciding which objects to
add to the collection would face an insurmountable task. Therefore, it is
crucial to understand the facts, the history, and historical opinions
surrounding each object in order to access its historical value to the
collection. In this post, we are going to follow the investigation into a
photograph donated by a community member. Here are the five steps I use to
research an object—often moving back and forth between the steps.
This is the image donated by a
community member.
Step 1: Ask questions
This may seem like an obvious thing
to do, but not everyone does it. When a member of community walks in, ask them
what is this thing? Where did you find it? Who found it? When did you discover
it? What would you like done with it? What research have you already completed
on the object and may we have a copy of it? Often, this series of questions
reveals important details that help with later research. In this example,
by following up with a phone call, I determined that this framed photograph had
been found in a garage wall during a remodel. The community member told me he
was not related to anyone in the photograph, nor did he know much beyond what
he had told me already.
Step 2: Focus your analysis
Key to success in any research is
clearly defining the question you are asking. Write down or at least know
in your head what question you are trying to answer prior to starting
any historical research. Focusing on the question you are trying to answer
will determine the speed with that you arrive at the answer. I use the
“five Ws” to zoom in on a particular topic: who, what, when, where, and
why. In this First World War photograph example the question we are trying
to answer is, “Do the men in this picture have any particular relationship with
Latah County? Or does the image offer a compelling historic narrative that will
improve the Latah County Historical Society collection?” Please note, this
does not mean you cannot change your question or revise it, but this technique
will tend to focus your efforts and prevent drifting into irrelevant topics.
Step 3: Examine the object carefully
Carefully look at the object and see
what details it exhibits. In the case of the above photograph, a closer look
provides a wealth of information that makes clear its origin. Look at the below
close-up photograph and look at the men’s boots in the front row, notice how
they are the same except for one?
If you look carefully at the center
of the photograph with a magnifying glass, you will find a man sitting down in
the center of the first row with black boots, he has bright-gold acorns on his
hatband, and no one else has them; this is likely their commanding officer.
As a standard practice, the
commanding and/or senior non-commissioned officer would sit in the center of a
photo such as this. The officer also wears rank insignia on his shoulders
and the “U.S.” brass on his collar, whereas the enlisted soldiers wear circular
brass “U.S.” emblems on their collars.
The branch insignia on this officer
is compelling evidence. The branch insignia designates what a particular
officer specializes in, and in this case, you can just make out the aviation
propeller supported by two wings.
The branch insignia of the officer
combined with where he is sitting indicates that this is some type of aviation
unit.
Next, note the text in the lower
left, “Section H, A.S.M.S. Kelly Field, Tex 12-7-18.” This text alone
reveals the photographer likely took the photo at Kelly Field, Texas on
December 7, 1918 with men wearing First World War United States Army
uniforms. For now, set aside the text “Section H, A.S.M.S.,” we will come
back to that later.
The lower right corner of the
photograph shows that this is a “Photo by Stead,” likely an Army photographer
or as it turns out in this case, a photographer under contract to the Army.
Color enhanced image of the back of
photograph
The back of the photograph shows
that, “From Chas A. Stead [illegible] Kampann BLDG San Antonio, Texas, Phone
Travis 2028” likely took this photograph.
Also on the back of the photo are a
negative number, date, price, and significantly, what appears to be someone’s
surname, “Zinsser.” There is also something written underneath “Zinsser”
but it is not clear what it is, looks like “Cui…mnd.”
Step 4: Use research to learn more about the object
After examining the object itself,
it is time to use research to discover more about the object. Research on
each object often is exhaustive in nature to where you reach a point of
diminishing returns, limited by budget and available labor. The depth of
historical research can potentially be unlimited; however, at some subjective
point, you (as the researcher) will know that you have found as much detail as
is relevant. In my opinion, the researcher is looking to “paint a picture”
of the past that often is only 75 to 85 percent accurate and beyond this return
on effort can drop off significantly. This is the art of historical
research, finding that “sweet spot,” where a somewhat accurate image of the
past is created at a reasonable cost.
I recommend less experienced
researchers start with a structured search plan that leads your research
through specific search tools and known resources. After more experience,
I think you will find that you will develop a sixth sense or instinct about
where specific objects and details can be found. This “gut” instinct can
be extremely valuable as it grows over time—listen to it! Organization is
fundamental to successful historical research; I strongly suggest a note taking
system, a filing system, and a formal documentation system.
Specifically for this photograph,
with a little bit of research we learn that the Army used Kelly Field Texas as
a new Aero Squadron training facility for the First World War. In the
First World War, Aero Squadrons were still part of the Army Signal Corps and
had just begun to make the transition to a separate branch within the
Army. The Signal Corps linkage harkened back to the Army using balloons
for reconnaissance, observation, and signaling. Between 1917 and 1918, the
Army trained thousands of pilots, mechanics, and support personnel at Kelly
Field, Texas. Of particular interest to us, are the Mechanical Service
(M.S.) Squadrons that trained mechanics for wartime aircraft. These
“school house” units turned out thousands of students each month during the
First World War.
This is why in the photograph above you
see the “A.S.M.S.,” an acronym for Aero Squadron Mechanical Service. The
“Section H” stands for the new unit identifier created for the unit in
July 1918 replacing from the former unit identity, the 244th (II) Aero
Squadron. It is unclear why the photographer labelled this photo “Section
H,” though it is in all likelihood a mislabeling of “Squadron H,” given that a
United States Army section is much smaller (7 to 9 soldiers) than a squadron
(usually hundreds of soldiers). In addition, the United States Army does
not designate smaller size units, like sections, with letters, but instead uses
numbers.
Interestingly, this was also likely
the demobilization photograph for this unit as the First World War ended and
the majority of soldiers returned home. This newly designated Squadron “H”
at Kelly Field Texas of the Aero Squadron Mechanical Service remained in active
service from July 1918 to November 1918 with our photograph dated December 7,
1918. Squadron “H” at Kelly Field Texas never deployed to Europe but
instead served as a training unit stateside.
Concerning the surname “Zinsser” on
the back of the photograph, I had optimism that this would link us back to
Latah County, Idaho. In terms of general research techniques, I recommend
starting the name search with known and reliable indexes, and then moving on to
related organizations. With this photo, the card catalogue revealed a
small number of Zinsers in Latah County Idaho, but no Zinssers with two
“s.” The Past Perfect database indexing the collection closely mirrored
what I found in the card catalogue.
We also at one point had hopes that
the Zinsser name on the photograph might be an ancestor of Elizabeth Zinser,
the former first woman President of the University of Idaho, but unfortunately,
her ancestors were from Pennsylvania not Idaho. The birth and death
indexes for Latah County Idaho revealed for all practical purposes no Zinssers
with either one or two “s” in a lifespan. The obituary files showed no Zinser
or Zinsser that would have matched a soldier in the 1918 photograph.
The Latah County Historical Society
photo collection also showed no connections or linkages to this image. All
third-party online databases including the First World War draft records for
Idaho and Fold3HistoryMint.com show nothing for a various spellings of Zinsser in Latah or
surrounding counties. Also problematic, the address the community member
provided made no sense in terms of their explanation of the discovery;
therefore, a property deed search based on the street address made no sense.
Step 5: Explain your findings
This step is self-explanatory;
explain to your client or in this case Latah County Historical Society what you
have found. Often you will find nothing or not what you expect, and though
it may not seem like it, this is a result.
For today’s example, I find that at
this time the “Zinsser” First World War photograph has no linkages to Moscow or
Latah County. This is a photograph from an Army training or “school house”
unit at Kelly Field Texas. This unit, Squadron “H” existed for five months from
July 1918 to December 1918 and likely cycled through numerous trainees during
that time. Thousands of American men attended these types of training
units during the First World War and the majority of the units took photographs
like this one.
Soldiers who paid for this
photograph may have taken it with them as they moved throughout the country
during their lifetimes. The discovery of the photo in Moscow does not imply a
strong connection to Moscow or Latah County, Idaho. Therefore, I conclude
that other than an example of First World War uniforms, this object retains
limited value to the Latah County Historical Society.
References:
Center of Military History. Order
of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, Zone of the
Interior: Directory of Troops. Vol. 3, part 3. Washington: Center of
Military History, United States Army, 1988.
Latah County Historical Society,
Moscow, Idaho (hereafter LCHS) all photograph credits.
LCHS, Archives, Small Collections 92-62.
LCHS, Archives, Small Collections 02-40.
LCHS, Latah County Birth and Death Indexes.
LCHS, Obituary Files, “Z.”
LCHS, Photographs, Latah County 30-16.
LCHS, Photographs, Moscow 1-7-16.
LCHS, Photographs, Moscow 1-11-16.
“United States World War I Draft
Registration Cards, 1917–1918.” Index and images. FamilySearch.org: accessed
2014. Citing NARA microfilm M1509. Washington: National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d.
Author:
Luke Sprague, M.A., lives in Moscow,
Idaho and helps authors, screenwriters, and other creators with their United
States military content for HistoryMint.com. Luke is also a volunteer
researcher at the Latah County Historical Society in Moscow, Idaho.
