George Thomas Tunnicliff [RG3772.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3772.AM:  George Thomas Tunnicliff, 1886-1962

Papers, etc.:  1918-1919

Burwell, Garfield County, Nebraska:  World War I Soldiers, 318^th Field Signal Battalion; Postmaster; Garfield County Treasurer

Size:  3 folders

BACKGROUND NOTE

George Thomas Tunnicliff was born near Harvard, Clay County, Nebraska, in 1886 to Edward M. and Jessie (Oliver) Tunnicliff.  When he was 9, his family moved to Holt County, Nebraska, living there for a year before settling in Burwell, Garfield County, Nebraska.  After completing school in Burwell, Tunnicliff enrolled in business school at Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1904.  Around 1912, he went to Chicago where he attended the training school of the Burroughs Adding Machine Company.  He ended up working for a different adding machine company, covering the Augusta, Georgia area.

With the coming of World War I and the closing of the cotton market, Tunnicliff returned to Burwell to await his induction orders.  He entered the army, February 1918, and spent basic training at Camp Jackson, South Carolina.  His unit left for France in July 1918.  He returned in March 1919 and was discharged the following month.  In 1929, Tunnicliff married Ada Ellen Ward.  The following year he was appointed Postmaster of Burwell, Nebraska.  In 1939, he was appointed Garfield County Treasurer, a position he retained until his resignation in 1959.  He died in 1962.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of three folders of material dating from 1918 to 1919.  The materials relate to George T. Tunnicliff’s military service during World War I.  The first folder contains postcards and typescripts of letters written by George T. Tunnicliff to his parents in Burwell, Nebraska.  These letters describe Tunnicliff’s army experiences, detailing particularly his service while stationed in France, 1918-1919.  The second folder holds two publications.  Item 1 is a Who’s Who of ‘Signals’ of the American Expeditionary Forces, 1918.  Item 2 is a copy of Yank Talk: A Review of American Expeditionary Force Humor.  The last folder of miscellaneous items includes biographical information about George T. Tunnicliff, his soldier’s pay record book, enlistment record, and discharge papers.

INVENTORY

Folder

1. 1. Correspondence, 1918-1919

1. 1. Publications, 1918

1. 1. Miscellaneous

Subject headings:

Solders — Nebraska

Tunnicliff, George Thomas, 1886-1962

World War, 1914-1918

AIF   12-12-1979