Scope and Content Note
The papers of Ernest John Swift span the years 1908 to 2019, with the bulk of the material dating between 1920 and 1941. The collection documents Swift’s career as an administrator in the American Red Cross, as well as his personal life. The papers are primarily in English, with some material in French. The papers consist of eight series: Personal File, Correspondence, Clippings File, Publications, Travel File, Photographs and Negatives, Subject File, and Oversize.
The Personal File contains materials related to Swift’s personal life. It includes awards, certificates, and medals presented throughout his career, passports and other types of identification documents, calling cards and invitations, letters of condolence regarding Swift’s operation and death in 1941, and obituaries. This series also contains a scrapbook documenting Swift’s time as a student at Stanford University, as well as materials relating to Swift’s wedding and marriage to Helen Griffin Swift in 1927.
The Correspondence series includes both personal and business or Red Cross related materials.
The Clippings File contains copies of newspaper clippings regarding Swift’s personal life, career, accomplishments, and travels. It also includes some clippings regarding Helen Griffin Swift’s Red Cross volunteer work.
The Publications series consists of works and writings authored by Swift, publications produced by or relating to the Red Cross, and other miscellaneous publications.
The Travel File contains clippings, correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to Swift’s travels abroad, generally on Red Cross related business. Noteworthy materials include those relating to Swift’s 1934-1935 trip to Japan and India, for which he was vice president of the 1934 International Red Cross Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Additional materials in this series capture his relief and survey work for the Red Cross in Albania, Montenegro, the Dominican Republic, and China.
The Photographs and Negatives series features portraits of Swift, some Red Cross related images, and other miscellaneous or personal materials.
The Subject File documents some significant individuals or events in Swift’s life, including his brother, Percy Swift, as well as a series of letters from 1940-1941 detailing the efforts to get Mimi de Gielgud out of occupied France and to America in order to marry William van Doren Wright.