These 1942 Postcards can be found in the Henry M. Nevin Correspondence.
We are pleased to announce to the Henry M. Nevin Correspondence, 1942-1949 is open for research.
History
Henry Miller Nevin was born November 5, 1914 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to Franklin T., a lawyer, and Elizabeth B. Nevin. He had a sister, Margaret, who was eight years older than him, and an older brother, Franklin, Jr., died in 1920. His family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in the mid-1930s and lived at various addresses, including 43 Thorndike Street and 34 Ash Street.
Nevin received an A.B. from Williams College in 1936 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1938. After his father’s death, Nevin lived at 1 Waterhouse Street in Cambridge with his widowed mother. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 16, 1942. For most of his term of service, he was stationed in Darjeeling, India.
Nevin worked in finance when he returned to the United States after his military service. He was an analyst and wrote a weekly investment advice column for United Business Service until his retirement in 1984. He was also on the board of the Pax World Fund, a mutual fund with a mission to make socially responsible investments, in its early years.
Nevin was a deacon of the Cambridge Congregational Church and was involved with a number of charitable and human services organizations, including the Massachusetts Fair Housing Commission, the City Mission Society, the Margaret Fuller House, and Interfaith Housing, Inc. He also served on the City of Cambridge Civic Unity Committee. Nevin died on July 12, 1992.
Collection Overview
The Henry M. Nevin correspondence consists of letters, postcards, and V-mail written by or to Nevin while he was serving in the military during World War II. The largest portion of the collection consists of letters and V-mail written by Nevin to his mother, Elizabeth (Mrs. Frederick Nevin). Many of the letters are very detailed and provide interesting information about Nevin’s daily routines, activities, and surroundings. There are about 40 letters and V-mails written by Nevin’s mother to him which provide glimpses of life back in Cambridge. The other major correspondent is James Barraclough, a friend who also served in the military; there are about 10 pieces of correspondence from Barraclough, some from the years after the war’s conclusion. The collection also includes a small number of pieces of correspondence to or from other people, as well as Nevin’s Office of Dependency Benefits application approval card and some address lists and notes.
The Cambridge Room 