Thurow Family Records (Plano)

The Thurow Family Collection contains materials collected by Walter M. Thurow tracing three generations of family history in Plano, Illinois from the late 1800s to 1965. Box 1 consists of fifteen folders of typescript World War I records, letters, diaries, and local histories of the American Legion in Kendall County, Illinois. Contained in box 2 are legal documents including deeds, certificates, land leases, contracts, and ten envelopes of family and geographic photographs. Of special interest in folder 4 are two letters/agreements written in German. Family and geographical photographs are contained in box 3 and part of box 4. Also included in box 4 are four photograph albums containing family photographs, WWI photographs, foreign and domestic postcards, and an American Legion Post Memorial Book. Thirty-one tapes discussing World War I veteran reminiscences, songs, and Bible readings are found in Box 5. The black and white photographic prints in this collection depict World War I action and illustrate family lifestyles during the first part of the 20th Century. Two panoramas of a soldier/sailor homecoming and a Kansas City Convention are in drawer 3, folder 3 of the oversize manuscript cabinet. The addendum includes correspondence and printed material. The handwritten letters found in box 6, folders 1 and 2 are the same as the typescript diary found in box 1, folder 3. Researchers should compare both the handwritten and typescript letters because they may not be exact duplicates. Also there are letters that are not available in both forms.