Scope and Content Note
The papers of Edward John Dorn (1854-1937) span the years 1868-1936, with the bulk of the material dating from 1875 to 1922. The collection consists of personal diaries, extracts from diaries, letterbooks, orders to duty, general correspondence, addresses and lectures, notes on Guam and Samoa, newspaper clippings, photographs, printed matter, and memorabilia.
In his personal diaries Dorn writes on his overseas duties and on naval cruises to Brazil, South Africa, Samoa, Guam, and Japan. He also describes those events in letters to his mother, Carolina Dorn, to his sisters, Olga and Clara Dorn, to his wife, Syble Halpine Dorn, and to his nephew, Thomas E. Mayhew. Much of the material is concerned with his governorships of Samoa and Guam. The correspondence relates to such problems as missionaries, schools, water supply, and immigrants. Among the correspondents are Josephus Daniels, George Leland Dyer, Lloyd S. Shapley, Benjamin Franklin Tilley, and Beekman Winthrop.