Lorraine McElroy was born in September 1869 in Pennsylvania, the daughter of James and Emily McElroy. James was from New Jersey, Emily from Pennsylvania. He became an engineer on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. In 1893 the family was listed in the city directory as residing at 616 W. Locust St. in Bloomington. Lorraine married Harry Kingsley, born 1869, August 14, 1894, at her parents’ home. At the time of this correspondence, Lorraine lived with her parents, while Kingsley traveled with a theater company.
The collection is mostly correspondence from Harry Kingsley to Lorraine McElroy. The letters and other items were discovered in the attic floorboards of 616 W. Locust St., Bloomington. They were donated in January 2024 by Orman Jones of the same address. Included are photographs and a letter from Loraine’s father, as well as supporting research completed during the processing of this collection. Note that in the early correspondence, Kingsley refers to McElroy as his wife and himself as her husband, though the announcement of their marriage occurs later.