Onderdonk, William A. (1864-1949) Papers, 1898

Held by the Filson Historical Society

Creator: William A. Onderdonk, 1864-1949

Title: Papers, 1898

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection: 0.33 cubic feet

Location Number: Mss./A/O58

Scope and Content Note

The William A. Onderdonk papers include a diary written in 1898, newspaper clippings, a letter to his mother and a French map of Puerto Rico (ca. 1890’s). Divided into roughly three equal sections, the diary recounts Onderdonk’s experiences as an employee of the Eastern Indiana Hospital for the Insane outside Richmond, Indiana; as a soldier mustered into Colonel John B. Castleman’s First Kentucky Volunteers at Camp Bradley and Chickamauga, Tennessee; and as a member of the US force occupying Puerto Rico during the period of its formal transfer to the US during the Spanish-American War. Transcript of diary included.

Biographical Note

Born July 2, 1864, William A. Onderdonk grew up Louisville, Kentucky. He eventually moved to Richmond, Indiana where he was employed by the Eastern Indiana Hospital for the Insane. In 1898, Onderdonk enlisted in the First Kentucky Volunteers led by Colonel John B. Castleman and traveled with the regiment to Puerto Rico as part of the Spanish American War effort. Onderdonk returned to Louisville, Kentucky and became a physician. He died on August 16, 1949.

Folder List

Folder 1: Diary, 1898

Folder 2: Miscellaneous, 1898; undated

Subject Headings

Castleman, John Breckinridge, 1841-1918

Mote, Marcus, 1817-1898

Onderdonk, William A., 1864-1949

Psychiatric hospitals

Psychiatric hospitals – Indiana

Puerto Rico – Description and travel

Spanish-American War, 1898 – Campaigns – Puerto Rico

United States. Army – Military life

United States. Army. Kentucky Infantry Regiment, 1st