MsC 449

 

Manuscript Register

 

PAPERS OF THE FOX FAMILY

 

Collection Dates: 1880 -- 1966

(Bulk Dates: 1918 to 1947)
1.75 linear ft.

 

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Posted to Internet: August 2002

 

 

Acquisition Note: The Fox family papers were donated to the University of Iowa Libraries in 1985 by Mrs. Helen Fox Angell.

 

Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

 

Photographs: Boxes 1, 2, 4

 

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

 

Copyright:  Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials"

 

Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

 

Biographical Note

Walter H. Fox (1882 -- 1919) was born in West Union, Iowa. He lived and studied there until 1901 when he entered medical school at the State University of Iowa in Iowa City. After graduating in 1905, he became a lecturer and later an assistant professor in anatomy at SUI. Dr. Fox married Bess Peebles (1882 -- 1970) on June 12, 1907 in their hometown of West Union. The following year they moved to Waucoma, Iowa where he began a medical practice. It was there that their only child, Helen, was born in 1911. Dr. Fox enlisted in the Army in 1917 and was called to active duty in April 1918. During World War I he served in hospitals around Paris and Angiers, France. Following the Armistice, Captain Fox helped the Italian Red Cross combat a typhus epidemic in Serbia. On February 22, 1919 in Semendria, Serbia, Walter H. Fox died of septic pneumonia.

Bess Peebles Fox received her B.A. from Upper Iowa University in 1904 and later did graduate work at the State University of Iowa. As a doctor's wife, Bess Fox was an active leader in community affairs. After moving to the Iowa City area, she chose to devote herself to gardening, reading, and friends. Mrs. Fox died suddenly on November 2, 1970.

Helen Fox Angell graduated from Waucoma High School in 1928. Later that year, she and her mother moved to University Heights facilitating her attendance at the State University of Iowa. In 1932, after receiving a degree in Romance Languages, she became a high school French and English teacher. Helen joined the American Red Cross in 1943 and was trained as a hospital recreation worker. She was then stationed overseas in England and Belgium. After the war, she was assigned club work in the Panama Canal Zone. It was there, in 1947, that Helen Fox met and married Charles Angell, a career soldier. The Angells have lived in University Heights since 1954, when he retired on combat disability.

Scope and Contents

 

The Fox family papers date from 1880 -- 1966 and occupy 1.75 linear feet of shelf space. The collection is divided into four major series. The first series is the Fox family history, containing genealogical data and photographs concerning the entire Fox family. The second series relates specifically to Dr. Walter H. Fox. Included here are correspondence, medals, memorials, newspaper clippings, military orders, photographs, etc., dating primarily from Dr. Fox's tour of duty during WWI. Bess Peebles Fox, herself a tireless writer, was the primary recipient of all of this collection's correspondence. The Bess Peebles Fox series itself is small, and contains primarily academic records and membership certificates. The correspondence that she wrote to her husband is included within the Walter H. Fox series. Correspondence with her daughter is included in the Helen Fox Angell series. The Helen Fox Angell series consists of correspondence, photographs, orders, and memorabilia from her service with the American Red Cross during WWII and the following years. Each division is arranged chronologically within an alphabetical sequence.

 

Box List

 

Box 1

Fox family history by Helen Fox Angell

Photographs, 1880 -- 1930. (2 folders)

Walter H. Fox:

Box 2

Walter H. Fox , continued:

Bess Peebles Fox:

Helen Fox Angell:

Box 3

Helen Fox Angell , continued:

Box 4

Helen Fox Angell , continued:

Walter H. Fox. Portrait, 1918 (oversize)