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The collection is open for research.
This collection is processed at the Basic Level (or collection level). There is no detailed inventory for this collection as it is not fully processed. To request that this collection be added to our priority list of collections to be fully processed as staffing and funding allow, please contact the Library and Archives staff.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Robert Lee Cooper was born ca. 1875 and married Elizabeth (Lily) Floride Green (born ca. 1874) of Dalton, Georgia, on 6 December 1899. Cooper, who may have been a relative of the founders of Cooperville (Screven Co., Georgia), was a claims clerk with the Central of Georgia Railway and Green was the granddaughter of Duff Green (1791-1875), a journalist, and politician, and the daughter of Col. Benjamin Green (1822-1907), a businessman and diplomat.
This collection contains letters written by Robert Lee Cooper primarily to Elizabeth (Lily) Floride Green dated 1898 and 1899, just before the couple was married. The letters primarily document their courtship and serve as a window into the manners and attitudes of white Georgians at the turn of the century. The letters also depict Cooper’s work as a railroad claims clerk in Savannah, Georgia, and include his expressions of frustration with the job and incessant complaints of overwork. Cooper also cautions his future wife against overexerting herself by sewing or handwriting letters. Cooper’s letters additionally provide interesting detail regarding President McKinley’s December 1898 visit to Savannah; colloquial expressions; local food ways; white response to racial tension in Darien, GA; local amusements, including Masonic and church social life as well as theater; and a July 4th visit to Tybee Island.
The letters are primarily sent from Savannah to Dalton, Georgia. Other correspondents include Carrie W. Green and Mrs. Ben E. Green. Two letters dated 1941, sent from San Francisco and Ft. McKinley, Manila, are addressed to "Mother and Father" from "devotedly brother" and discusses military life.
The collection was purchased in January 2009 and the following inventory of the letters and biographical information about the correspondents was prepared by the seller.