Helen VanGuilder WWII WAAC
Shared by Sandy Chamberlain

The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was a group of women who served in the United States Army during World War II. The WAAC was created to free up men for combat by taking on administrative duties.

Formation

The WAAC was established in 1942 in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor

The WAAC was created as an auxiliary unit, but was later converted to an active duty branch of the Army in 1943

The WAAC's first training center was located at Fort Des Moines, Iowa

Roles

WAACs performed a variety of roles, including aircraft spotting, mail sorting, and printing V-mail cards

WAACs were deployed all over the world

Challenges

The WAAC faced opposition from some quarters, including the defense industry and those who thought women shouldn't serve in uniform

Black WACs faced additional challenges, including being given menial jobs and court-martialed

Legacy

The WAAC's contributions were recognized with the passage of legislation that established a lasting presence of women in the Armed Services

The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army before 1978. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Its first director was Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. The WAC was disbanded on 20 October 1978, and all WAC units were integrated with male units.

Tioga Point Museum has been gifted some letters written by Sgt. Helen Van Guilder while she served in the WAAC during WWII. Helen was from Sayre, Pennsylvania. She shared interesting thoughts and feelings as she served her country. From her excitement of entering training to her excitement about being able to come home to the U.S. again is palpable to the reader of her letters.

On March 23rd in 1943 she was “on her way”, leaving from Penn Station, NY. On March 24th her father received word that she had arrived safely at Fort Oglethorp, Georgia and would be undergoing processing for the next 2 days. After that she would be assigned to basic training and able to send her address for those 4 weeks.

In May of 1943, she wrote of having a large piece of chocolate cake but assured her mother that it was only “almost as good” as hers. She talked about celebrating her birthday and lamenting that her grades weren’t as good as she’d hoped. She said the WAAC’s couldn’t complain about food, that they ate well. She mentioned how much they enjoyed potatoes as they often had “substitutes” like rice or macaroni. She said they sure couldn’t complain because they were all putting on weight!

One letter of interest from June, 1944 shared that her boss was “in a peck of trouble.” She couldn’t elaborate but expressed her utmost sympathy for him! She also added a p.s. to this letter requesting some things from home, including Arrid, a garter belt, starch , soap and gum. She commented more than once about soap being hard to get.

By August of 1945 Helen was anxious to get home and mentioned the “red tape” of the military. A letter from September 29th, 1945 from England mentions not being sure when she would actually get to the U. S. but “will see you again. Loads of love to all. Helen”

More can be learned about Helen’s time in the WAAC by visiting Tioga Point Museum website. To view the letters on website scroll down to Virtual Collection then choose Archives and enter Helen Van Guilder.

The Tioga Point Museum is open Tuesday and Thursday all year but hours are seasonal so please check our web page or Facebook page for current hours or call at 570 888 7225.

General Henry Welles

3 days ago
3 min read

The Life of Henry Welles, 1781–1833

In the small Connecticut town of Glastonbury, Henry Welles — son of George and Prudence (Talcott) Welles — was born. In 1799, his family moved to Tioga Point, Pennsylvania — a rugged and promising frontier on the northern branch of the Susquehanna River. It was wild country, full of disputed land claims and opportunity in equal measure. For Henry, it would become home.

Tioga Point in those early years was not without hardship. Around 1813, a severe fever epidemic swept through the settlement, striking terror into families who had only recently put down roots. All were in fear; the disease generally abated in the summer but resumed its ravages through the winter. It was during this dark time that the Welles family suffered a grievous loss — George Welles, Henry's father and the patriarch of the family, succumbed to the illness and was buried on the 21st of July. The death of George was a serious blow to Henry, who, as the eldest, keenly felt the weight of responsibility now fully upon his shoulders.

Around 1810, Henry had purchased the "Welles Farm" at Tioga Point — a transaction that was anything but simple. The land in this corner of Pennsylvania was tangled in what locals called the "Connecticut Claim," a long-simmering dispute over titles held under old Connecticut charters. Henry, drawn deep into this legal thicket, did not shrink from it. Instead, he became one of the leading voices for reforming the land title process to benefit Pennsylvania's settlers.

Henry Welles was not Yale-educated like his father George, but he was a fluent and compelling orator, and those who heard him speak often remarked on a certain magical charm that won over rooms and legislatures alike.

His public life began in earnest in 1809, when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He returned to the House in 1812 and 1813, and from 1815 to 1819 he served in the state Senate. In the legislature, he proved himself both practical and principled. Among his notable acts, he authored the "Academy Bill" in 1813, working to expand education across the commonwealth.

It was during these years of service that Governor Simon Snyder appointed Henry as his aide, conferring upon him the honorary rank of General. For the rest of his life, Henry Welles was simply "the General" to the people of Tioga Point.

Henry's personal life held its own joys and sorrows. His first marriage, to Phoebe Patrick on February 20, 1809, was heartbreakingly brief. Phoebe passed away just two months later, on April 27, 1809, leaving Henry a young widower.

His second marriage was to Sarah Spalding, the daughter of Colonel John Spalding of Sheshequin, Pennsylvania — a family of good standing and character. They married on February 13, 1812. Sarah, known to friends and family as "Sally," would prove a steadfast partner — and eventually a widow who would outlive her husband by more than three decades, surviving until 1877.

Henry and Sarah had six children together: George Henry, born in 1813; Susan Phoebe, born in 1815; James Henry, born in 1819; Henry Spalding, born in 1821; Frances Maria, born in 1824; and a baby Sarah.

Henry Welles could not escape the land disputes that had defined his life since his earliest days at Tioga Point. The most dramatic of these involved the Carroll and Caton landowners from Baltimore, Maryland — wealthy and well-connected — and a local widow named Mathewson and her son Constant. The dispute centered on ownership of land on Tioga Point and sent ripples all the way to the Pennsylvania and Connecticut state legislatures — a legal saga of frontier America that mixed property law, colonial charters, and the hard realities of eviction. Those who knew Henry well believed this prolonged and bitter controversy wore on him deeply.

Henry Welles was, by all accounts, a man who embodied the contradictions of his era: a farmer who loved his fields yet could not stay out of the legislature; a man of magnetic warmth who made powerful enemies; a patriot who earned a general's title without firing a shot. He was one of the foremost makers of Athens, Pennsylvania — and the story of Tioga Point cannot be fully told without him.

Henry Welles (1781–1833) is buried at Tioga Point Cemetery, Athens, Pennsylvania. His wife Sarah Spalding Welles (1797–1877) survived him by 44 years. His six children lived lives that stretched from the frontier era through the Civil War and into the Gilded Age — a remarkable span for a family rooted in one of Pennsylvania's most storied river towns.