From Fort McHenry, MD, 1875 June

The James Cheston Worthington Collection contains 37 letters written to his friend, Edward Shriver, between 1870 and 1877. The bulk are written from Fort Whipple, Arizona Territory. Worthington is one of 7 single men on the post, where there are only 2 ladies of marriageable age. One is the coquettish daughter of Lt. Col. John D. Wilkins, with whom Worthington imagines himself in love. He describes social activities revolving around croquet, Kino, billiards, ice cream socials, dances, plays, and German lessons with Mrs. August V. Kautz, wife of the commanding officer.

His letters are full of gossip about local people, the commanding officer (August V. Kautz) and his wife, Major Charles Porter, Adjutant of the Arizona Department, Paymaster Charles A. Reynolds, and more. We also learn about a dispute with a female doctor from Prescott, Mrs. Murray, which ended when Worthington was transferred to Camp Grant.

The collection is divided into two series: Original Letters and Facsimile. Series 1 contains the original letters (Box 1), while series 2 contains photocopies of the originals and typed transcripts (Box 2).