The papers of Theodore Gordon "Spuds" Ellyson (1885-1928) span the years 1912-1951, with the bulk of the collection concentrated in the years 1913-1920. Encompassing biographical information and correspondence, the collection covers the period during which Ellyson was completing required sea duty. Letters from Ellyson to his wife, Helen Mildred Lewis (Glenn) Ellyson, comprise the largest portion of the collection.

The Biographical file includes a typed, four-page biography of Ellyson, 1951, apparently written as a tribute, as well as a photograph of the certificate presented to him in 1918, dated 1 January 1914, which designated him Naval Aviator Number One. Contained also in this series are a 1915 certificate for stock in the Army and Navy Cooperative Company and a wedding announcement for his marriage to Helen Mildred Lewis Glenn in 1912.

Helen Ellyson's correspondence contains letters of condolence written to her after her husband's death in 1928, a block of letters received from various family members between 1912 and 1928, and a group of letters written to her mother, Mrs. John T. Glenn, between 1915 and 1924. The latter correspondence reflects Helen's life as a naval officer's wife.

Ellyson's letters to his wife span the years 1912-1928 and are arranged in chronological order. His correspondence discussed his love for her and their children, Helen and Mildred, whom he called "Mutt" and "Midget," his longing to be home, and the family's constant financial problems. Ellyson also described his daily routine, the endless drills, problems with superiors, his duties and obligations as an officer, his feelings about aviation, naval scuttlebutt, foreign ports, people encountered, and entertainment aboard ship and ashore.

Ellyson's earliest letter to his wife in the collection dates from December 1912 when he was still attached to naval aviation in Washington, D.C. His letter of 28 December showed his chagrin that Lawrence Sperry was sent to San Diego, California, to work on automatic stabilizers for airplanes originally developed by the navy. In subsequent letters, Ellyson continued to discuss flying and inspecting airplanes, but for some reason he had lost his enthusiasm by 26 March 1913: "I have decided to quit flying for good and all, that is never to get in a machine again for any reason. Things have come to such a pass here that I had to decide, either to go to Annapolis and take charge of the camp or quit for good." He detached from naval aviation on 21 April 1913.

From May 1913 until June 1916, while Ellyson served aboard the battleship South Carolina, his letters reflected his participation in "gunboat duty" (the coercive tactic of placing ships off the coast of a country to effect political stability and prevent intervention by foreign powers) in the Caribbean at Tampico and Veracruz (Veracruz Llave), Mexico, and Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, during the Banana Wars. In Mexico, problems had arisen between the United States and the government of Gen. Victoriano Huerta. Haiti, on the other hand, was experiencing civil unrest as violence raged between the factions of its two presidential aspirants, Joseph Theodore and Oreste Zamor. In Ellyson's letter of 12 July 1914, he revealed confidential information about the United States government's plan to intervene in Haiti and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Only seven letters, from April to December, represent the correspondence for 1915.

Ellyson spent June 1918 until March 1919 at United States Naval Base Twenty-seven in Plymouth, England, in charge of submarine chasers. Because of wartime censorship during World War I, he commented only briefly in his letters about his duties and wrote mostly about the British way of life and the various forms of entertainment in which he participated. This group of letters provides insight into the life and social obligations of a naval officer.

Correspondence from July 1919 through May 1920 reflects Ellyson's command of the J. Fred Talbot in the area of the Adriatic Sea. Topics discussed during these months include the Dalmatian boundary dispute between Italy and Yugoslavia; the seizure of Fiume (Rijeka), Dalmatia, by seven thousand Italians under Gabriele D'Annunzio; the American rout of the Italians from Trau (Trogir), Dalmatia; and the evacuation of Americans from Odessa and Sevastopol, Russia, during the Russian civil war.

Although the bulk of Ellyson's letters end on 5 August 1920, his last letter to his wife was written while aboard the Lexington on 17 February 1928, ten days before his death. Miscellaneous correspondence to and from Ellyson's family members covers the years 1912-1923.