Williams, Cordelia Shelton (1889-1978) Dear Geri
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09587.313 Author/Creator: Williams, Cordelia Shelton (1889-1978) Place Written: Roanoke, Virginia Type: Autograph letter Date: 18 February 1974 Pagination: 1 p. ; 26.5 x 20.2 cm. Order a Copy
Cordelia writes to Geraldine, providing Henrietta's address. She tells a story of Eunice P. fainting in school and being sent to the hospital to be operated on for gall stones. She tells Geri not to worry about how things are going at home and to remember that if she needs help, Cordelia will come to see her. She tells her "God Bless each of you." There is no signature.
Cordelia Williams was the mother of all six of the Williams children. It is possible that she had a seventh child who died very soon after birth. She married Reverend James Thomas Williams Sr. who died in the mid-1930s and never remarried. She was born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 26th, 1889 as Cordelia Shelton. She was financially dependent on her son, Eugene W. Williams and also received assistance from many of her other children (GLC09587.146). Cordelia was a religious woman who attended church and was a member of her community. This is documented in the many letters she wrote to her children towards the end of her life (GLC09587.335 and .330) She received many letters from her sons while they were serving as pilots during WWII, showing the love and connection of their family (GLC09587.167). She wrote frequently about contemporary politics and expressed concern for the poor (GLC09587.339). She died in Roanoke, Virginia in 1978, outliving three of her children.
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