Love Letters: Wartime Letters

Before the convenience of e-mail and satellite telephones, couples stayed in contact during times of war by writing letters. They came to terms with being separated and got to know each other better while sharing news of home and military life.

[These letters] remind us that greatness is borne on the shoulders of the ordinary men and women who love their country and each other.
- Tom Brokaw

Mary and Thomas Cope

Sarah and Jasper Yeates

Credits

Separated by War,
Together in Thought and Spirit

Robert Coleman (1748–1825) emigrated from Ireland in 1764 and later became one of Pennsylvania’s first millionaires. Through friends, he was connected with powerful men in Philadelphia. He found employment first as a scrivener and clerk, and then became a bookkeeper for the Grubbs at Hopewell Furnace and learned the iron business.
In 1770, Robert took a position with James Old at Quittapohila Forge. Three years later he began his career as an ironmaster by marrying Mr. Old’s daughter, Ann (1756-1844). When he leased Elizabeth Furnace in northern Lancaster County in 1776, the
Revolutionary War had started and Robert provided munitions and war supplies to the Continental Army.
The success of Elizabeth Furnace encouraged the growth of an empire. Robert purchased shares in Elizabeth and other furnaces, expanding his wealth and power. By 1783, he was active in politics
and later became an associate judge in Lancaster County. His descendants continued his iron empire into the twentieth century. Elizabeth Furnace is still owned by the Coleman family.

I shall take every particular care of in your absence wich I pray god may not be long I conclude with my Love to you & I remane your ever loving wife…I waite impationt for your return Ann was managing operations at one of the family's iron furnaces while her husband was in New Jersey on business.


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Letter from Ann (Nancy) Coleman to Robert Coleman
September 1776

COURTESY OF WILLIAM COLEMAN, MG-275 SERIES 1 COLEMAN PAPERS COLLECTION


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In this letter, Louise wrote at length about her “favorites” and preferences for clothing, music, jewelry, and other subjects. She had very strong opinions, but also wanted Robert’s input. They got to know each other through letters, as they were unable to spend much time together in North Carolina.

Letter to Robert Zartman from Louise Upchurch
No date

LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES, MG-290 ROBERT ZARTMAN COLLECTION

Received your most wonderful letter to-day, and it was the best I had ever had…Good night my love and dream pleasant dreams. I shall be thinking of you always and loving you more every day.

Robert Zartman (1922–2000) grew up in Lititz, graduated from Lititz High School in 1940, and helped run his parents’ dry goods
and grocery store. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during WWII and was stationed at Camp Mackall, NC for some of his basic training. It was in Abemarle, NC that Robert met Louise Upchurch. Robert served in the Army 1943–1945; he was stationed in England, France, and Germany. A survivor of the Battle of the Bulge, he returned home to Lititz after the war.
Louise Upchurch (1923–2002) was born in Mt. Gilead, NC and was a graduate of Appalachian State College in Boone, NC. She corresponded with Robert while he served overseas. She later became a physical education teacher at ELCO and Warwick High Schools.
Robert and Louise married in June 1947 and raised two sons in northern Lancaster County. They owned and operated the Spring Lake Resort and Pretzel Hut, both in Elizabeth Twp.

Louise wrote about her college classes and that her girlfriends were still talking about
meeting Robert’s friends. She knew him well enough to tease him about being so
attractive.

Good evening sir! It’s a nasty raw windy night and I wish that you were here. We’d have a big blazing fire in the living room,
and you’d throw yourself down on the davenport, and I’d curl up beside you with my “head tucked under your wing.”

Robert Everts Miller (1891–1974) was the son of Blanche Lichty and Charles F.
Miller, president of Hamilton Watch Co. Robert graduated from Haverford
College in 1912 and became the advertising manager at Hamilton Watch in 1915.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army Aviation Signal Corps in 1918 and served during
World War I.
Elizabeth Keller Miller (1894-1987) was the daughter of Anna Dickey and William
H. Keller, deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania. She attended Vassar College and was active in social organizations in the communities in which she lived.
Robert and Elizabeth married in December 1916 and honeymooned in China.
They raised five sons; four served in World War II. The eldest son, Charles, was
born in January 1918 and is mentioned in his father’s letter.
When Robert returned home in 1919, he anonymously penned the first eighty-seven columns of “The Scribbler” in the Lancaster New Era. He was employed by
Hamilton Watch Co. until 1928, when he moved his family to Springfield, Illinois,
to become president and general manager of the Illinois Watch Factory. During
World War II, he left the corporate world a second time to join the Army Air Corps
in 1942. He retired in 1961 as president of National Airlines Terminal Corporation.


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Elizabeth began a long distance conversation by telling Robert
about the Liberty Loan parade and the local gossip.

Letter from Elizabeth Miller to Robert Miller
20 April 1918
(letter is incomplete)

LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
MG-209 DANIEL K. MILLER COLLECTION

Below:
Letter from Elizabeth Miller to Robert Miller
21 September 1918
(letter is incomplete)

LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
MG-209 DANIEL K. MILLER COLLECTION


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…there must be many things in

your daily life which are

annoying and difficult. I wish

that I could in some way help.

And I write this to tell you

never to keep from writing me

anything thinking—“Will

Elizabeth understand? Will this

bother and worry her?”

Elizabeth, like many others, reminded her husband that she could share some of his emotional burden.


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Above:
Letter from Robert Miller to Elizabeth Miller
22 September 1918

LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVES
MG-209 DANIEL K. MILLER COLLECTION

I am so anxious to get some more photos of darling little Charles & his sweetest of mothers
…Darling I know you are with me in thought and spirit this morning and it helps me a lot.—Would to heaven we could be together &
have our boy with us this glorious day.

Robert described his apartment in Paris, gave the location, and told Elizabeth about his roommates. He shared details of his life outside of work—entertainment, meals, and long walks. It was difficult to be separated from his wife and infant son.

Separated by War, Together in Thought and Spirit

I shall take every particular care of in your absence wich I pray god may not be long I conclude with my Love to you & I remane your ever loving wife…I waite impationt for your return Ann was managing operations at one of the family's iron furnaces while her husband was in New Jersey on business.

Louise wrote about her college classes and that her girlfriends were still talking about meeting Robert’s friends. She knew him well enough to tease him about being so attractive.

Good evening sir! It’s a nasty raw windy night and I wish that you were here. We’d have a big blazing fire in the living room, and you’d throw yourself down on the davenport, and I’d curl up beside you with my “head tucked under your wing.”