The Gorham Letters Collection is comprised of two hundred forty-two complete and incomplete letters all of which were either sent or received by a Gorham family member. One hundred seventy-eight of the letters were transcribed by Karen Wynn and presently reside in the Old Greer County Museum and Hall of Fame in Mangum, Oklahoma. Fifty-one of the letters are from the files of Bill and Carol Ward, twelve of the letters were found in the Gorham Family Tree Book, and one letter was collected by George P. Taylor.

The Collection’s first letter is dated January 22, 1875, from Taylor Mills Strawberry, Lawrence County, Arkansas, when the 23-year-old Franklin Pierce Gorham requested the honor of escorting 15-year-old Sarah Ann Taylor to church. Her 16th birthday followed soon on January 31, 1875. The Collection concludes in 1980, when Cousin Clara, in Reno, Nevada, is seeking to get more information on her Gorham ancestors.

The letters contribute to understanding what life was like for members of the Gorham family prior to emigration to Chamal, as pioneering colonists caught in the Mexican Revolution, as refugees dispersing to numerous places in the United States, and as returning landowners after the revolution trying to reclaim their property and livelihood. One can learn where they lived, what work they found, and get a sense of the pulse of their daily lives.

The letters are presented in chronological order. Most letters contain a complete date, address, name of the author and recipient, but a few do not. An effort was made to uncover the missing data by a detailed analysis of the text. Eight of the letters contained no address information. In place of the year 9999 was used and 00 was used for a missing month and/or day.

The collection will continue to be updated. When available, a scan of the original is located under the Orig column. Please notify us of any errors or omissions.

Included with this collection is the Gorham Letters Collection Names which includes the names and relationships for almost five hundred people mentioned in the letters. It is recommended that the letters be read in chronological order to more completely understand the flow of these peoples’ lives.