Isaac W. Taylor VFW Post No. 2443 Records, 1932-1999

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: 131

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the contents of two scrapbooks related to the VFW Isaac W. Taylor Post #2443. The first scrapbook was compiled around 1932 or 1933, recording the events of the year 1932, the first year of the post’s existence. It includes officer lists, voting processes and results, details of post-sponsored events, obituaries, correspondence, and photographs of officers. Also included in the scrapbook were loose pages added at a later date, including a history written around 1945, with an addition about then-commander Clifton Merriman. A letter from Merriman to an unknown recipient, Merriman’s obituary from 1989, a list of commanders from 1932-1985, minutes from three meetings in 1952, a news clipping about a post program, several photographs, and a certificate presented to 1980s commander Ulysses H. Gore are also present.

The second scrapbook was put together by the post’s women’s auxiliary and includes that group’s history from 1932-1946. The contents are similar to that of the post’s scrapbook: officer lists, details of events, listings of member deaths, correspondence, and news clippings. There are several photos as well as a list of presidents from 1932-1986.

Dates

1932-1999
Majority of material found within 1932 - 1948

Creator

Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Isaac W. Taylor Post 2443. (Cambridge, Mass.) (Creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

The Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections does not hold copyright on the materials in the collection. It is the responsibility of the user to understand and observe copyright law and obtain copyright from the original creator.

The copyright law of the United States, Title 17, U.S. Code, governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of the specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction of copyrighted material is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research" (17 U.S.C. § 108). If a user makes a request for or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable to prosecution for copyright infringement. The Cambridge Public Library Archives and Special Collections reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Biographical / Historical

The Veterans of Foreign Wars is an American veterans’ organization established on September 29, 1899 with the purpose of aiding rehabilitation of veterans upon their return home from combat, specifically those who became disabled or who are in special need, as well as aiding widows and orphans of deceased soldiers, and general promotion of patriotism.

The Isaac W. Taylor Post # 2443 was an African-American post conceived in 1932 and named after a Cambridge native who died while serving overseas. Cambridge citizen and veteran Louis B. Caution, who had been deputized by the State Dept. VFW with the power to organize posts in Middlesex County, began motions to open the post. Cambridge already had one post, the Russell Hoyt Post #299, and general sentiment was that no city or town could support more than one post of the same organization. Post #299 originally protested the opening of Post #2443, but eventually gave its support. Caution enlisted William S. Elliot, who opened his home for meetings until they received enough names to petition for charter. In March 1932 officers were installed, with Elliot as the post’s first commander.

The Isaac W. Taylor Auxiliary was instituted on June 22, 1932. Commander Elliot’s wife, Marie, and Isaac Taylor’s wife, Grace, played a large role in gathering enough funds and members to open the auxiliary. Mrs. Elliot was named first president of the auxiliary, and Mrs. Taylor the first senior vice president.

Both organizations originally met at the Cambridge Community Center, then located at 49 Howard Street. It later moved to the Inman Square Firehouse Building, sometime before 1939.

According to the VFW website, this post is no longer active, but no exact information was found.

Extent

0.42 Linear Feet

1 box

2 Items (2 scrapbooks (deconstructed))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

2 scrapbooks (deconstructed)

Arrangement: scrapbooks were kept in original order, with the exception of removing loose photographs and papers. Loose pages were organized by topic or form, then chronologically.