Pruden family papers

The Pruden family papers are composed of three diverse parts. The first consists of fourteen letters written to Joseph S. Pruden during the years 1865-1866. The letters deal with financial problems and debts owed to Pruden by D. B. Thompson of Columbus, Georgia. Some personal and family news is included in Thompson's letters.

Correspondence and other papers of Russell G. Pruden make up the second part. The letters are largely those of friends from Yale and from the 27th U.S. Aero Squadron, in which Pruden served as a captain during World War I, as well as several letters written by Pruden from Europe. The letters describe his friends' experiences before and during the war in training camps, at the front, in hospitals, and the feelings of those who remained in the U.S. during the war. One series of letters deals with attempts to identify the body of Lt. Ivan A. Roberts.

A particularly interesting item is Pruden's war diary, kept during his entire European tour of duty. Profusely illustrated with photographs, the diary also contains correspondence (removed and filed in Box 1, folder 11a), maps, general orders, a short history of the 27th Aero Squadron and rosters of itspersonnel, a circular letter from George V to American troops, and items such as French war-time currency, German camouflage fabric, propaganda leaflets, and so forth.

Also among Pruden's papers is a ledger with entries for a real estate account of Russell Pruden and his sister Daisy B. Prentis.

The third part of the Pruden family papers consists of a small manuscript collection. It contains documents and letters signed by John Quincy Adams, Horace Greeley, Andrew Jackson, Alfred Mahan, James Monroe, and kings Charles IX and Louis XVI of France. Also included are three travel journals, the first of which is an anonymous diary of a Frenchman's visit to London, describing his impressions of English social life, difficulties with the language, slang, and so forth. The next volume is a journal of three tours to France, the Netherlands, and Piedmont by Charles Abbot, first Baron Colchester. Abbot wastravelingafter the battle of Waterloo, and visited that and other battlefields. He also describes a visit with Wellington to a review of the troops by the King of Prussia. The last volume is a journal of a tour of France, Italy, and Holland by James Kendall, describing in detail, works of art and architecture.

The Pruden family papers were donated to Yale University by Russell G. Pruden between 1939 and 1946, and by Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Prentis from the estate of Russell G. Pruden in 1949. The ledger was transferred from Berkeley College in 1977.