Frederick Augustus Rickly [RG1177.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG1177.AM:  Frederick Augustus Rickly, 1890-1958

Papers:  1882-1959

Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska:  Postal inspector; Balloon Corps officer in World War I

Size:  0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Born June 24, 1890 in Rushville, Nebraska, Frederick A. Rickly was the son of Charles and Amelia Rickly.  He attended school in Omaha and graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Agriculture in 1908.  Rickly worked for several years at his uncle Albert Rickly’s implement store in Hobart, Oklahoma.  He returned to Omaha took a job in 1912 as a railway postal clerk.  He worked in the post office until World War I when he served as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the balloon corps of the U.S. Army Signal Corps.  He was stationed at Fort Omaha, Nebraska; Ohio State University; Arcadia Balloon Field, Arcadia, California; and Camp John Wise, San Antonio, Texas, where he was discharged.  After the war he returned to postal work, first in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and later at the Burlington Terminal in Omaha, Nebraska. 

In 1920 Rickly became a U.S. Postal Inspector.  He was assigned to Atlanta and then Augusta, Georgia.  He married Ada Musselman on December 27, 1921.  In 1922 the Ricklys moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he served as postal inspector.  He retired in September of 1948.  Rickly was killed July 23, 1958 in Charleston, South Carolina, when he was struck by an automobile.  He is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville, Oklahoma (former home of Ada (Musselman) Rickly).

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of one box of papers and publications relating to Frederick Rickly’s training in the U.S. Balloon Corps during World War I.  Materials include notebooks, coursework and handouts, and various reference publications and manuals.

INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. Notebook, Class Section 30- artillery observation, history and structure of the captive balloon, cordage, gases, map reading and meteorology.

1. 1. Notebook on panoramic drawing, class exercises

1. 1. Coursework, handouts

1. 1. Publications, including:
      
      Work of the Observer, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      General Notions of Organization and Tactical Suggestions Indispensable to the Balloon Observer, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Construction of Balloons, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Balloon Observation and Instructions on the subject of Work in the Basket, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Topography, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Panoramic Drawing: One-Point and Cylindrical Perspective, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Notes on the Interpretation of Aeroplane Photographs, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      Theory of Ballooning: A Course of Four Lectures on the Theory of Ballooning, delivered before officers at the Royal Naval Air Station, Roehampton.  Obtained from practice by Griffith Brewer, 1918
      
      Notes on Artillery: For the Use of Balloon Observers. Including Translations of the Lectures Delivered at the French Army Balloon School, August 1918
      
      Methods of Obtaining and Transmitting Information by Balloon Service, U.S. Army Division of Military Aeronautics, 1918
      
      The Weekly Bulletin of the School of Instruction, Army Balloon School, Arcadia, California, vol. 1, no. 5, Oct. 24, 1918
      
      The Weekly Bulletin of the School of Instruction, Army Balloon School, Arcadia, California, vol. 1, no. 6, Oct. 31, 1918

1. 1. Manuals, including:
      
      Officer’s Manual, By Major J.A. Moss, 1917
      
      Manual of Military Training, by Major James A. Moss, 1917
      
      Engineer Training Manual, U.S. Army, 1918
      
      Infantry Drill Regulations, U.S. Army, 1911
      
      Field Service Regulations, U.S. Army, 1914
      
      Manual of Interior Guard Duty, U.S. Army, 1914
      
      Infantry Tactics Double and Single Rank, by Emory Upton, 1882

1. 1. Miscellaneous, including:
      
      Menu, Xmas Luncheon, 1918, Officers Mess, Camp John Wise, Texas
      
      Biographical sketch and clippings, 1948, 1958

Subject headings:

Rickly, Frederick Augustus, 1890-1958

United States. Army. Balloon Section

World War, 1914-1918 — Balloons

HK/cs                     06-01-1965

Revised TMM        03-17-2017