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David W. Peel, Jr., Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MC 585

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains letters, photographs, and other materials pertaining to David W. Peel, Jr. The letters were written during Peel's military service in France. Peel participated in the Battle of St. Mihiel and the Meusse-Argonne campaign, and his correspondence describes "going over the top," an artillery barrage, his battle wounds, the fighting on the morning of the armistice, the reaction of American and German soldiers to the cease-fire, and other matters. The scrapbook contains Peel's postcards, photographs, clippings, mementos and seventeen loose magazine and newspaper clippings. The material concerns primarily Peel's experiences in France during World War I. Other material relates to Peel's tenure as Mayor of Bentonville, to his role in helping found the Arkansas State Workers' Compensation Commission, and to his father, David W. Peel, Sr.

Dates

  • ca 1880-1977
  • Majority of material found within 1918-1919

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials.

Use Information

No Use Restrictions Apply.

No Interlibrary Loan.

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).

Biographical Note

David W. Peel, Jr. (January 4, 1891 - December 19, 1979), attorney, was born in Bentonville, Arkansas. After graduating from Bentonville High School in 1907, Peel attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for one year. He then returned to Bentonville to read law and was admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 1912. In 1917 he joined the Allied Expeditionary Force and served in France from August, 1918 through June, 1919 as a First Lieutenant, Adjutant First Battery, Thirty-Fourth U.S. Infantry. After the war, Peel returned to Bentonville and resumed the practice of law. He remained in Bentonville the rest of his life except for a four-year period during which he lived in Little Rock organizing and serving on what is now the Worker's Compensation Commission. While living in Little Rock, Peel in 1932 was elected to the first of two terms as mayor of Bentonville, as well as simultaneously winning election to chairman of the school board.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged by format. Correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Acquisition Information

The David W. Peel, Jr. Papers were donated to Special Collections by Mary B. Peel of Bentonville, Arkansas on April 14, 1986. Additional materials (Box 2, Folders 14-15) were donated to the collection by Mary B. Peel and David W. Peel, Jr.'s daughter, Mary Coe Peel Marquess of Bentonville, Arkansas, in December 1997.

Related Material

See also the following collections:

MS R13, Martin O. Raley Letters

Processing Information

Processed by Leon C. Miller, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in May 1986. Updated by Katrina Windon in March 2017.

Creator

Source

Title
David W. Peel, Jr., Papers, ca 1880-1977
Status
Completed
Author
Leon C. Miller
Date
May 1986
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Department Repository

Contact:
University of Arkansas Libraries
365 N. McIlroy Avenue
Fayetteville AR 72701 United States
(479) 575-8444