This account of the family of Charles Lee Anderson and Frances Behnes is an interesting story. Both of them were born in Columbus, Georgia but did not meet each other until they both lived in New York in 1932.They met at a cocktail party. She had come to New York with her family three years earlier, having spent her teenage years in Bremen, Germany. Her father, Franz Behnes, arrived in America in 1902, was a cotton merchant who met her mother in Columbus. The family moved to Germany in 1920 and returned in 1929 to New York.

Charles Lee Anderson was born in 1903 in Columbus, Georgia. His father, Jesse M. Anderson, was a physician. He attended the University of Georgia and graduated with a medical degree from Emory University in 1928. He established a practice in internal medicine in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. Lee was an only child. His father died in 1930. His mother Laurie then married Edward W. Swift of Columbus in 1933.

Frances and Lee married in December of 1934 in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY. Their daughter Gail was born there in 1937. By 1941 Lee had a successful private practice when he decided to join the Army Air Corps in World War II as a Medical Officer. Their twin boys, Bruce and Gordon, were born in 1942. During the next few years, Lee was stationed at various locations and schools. Most of the letters in this collection date from that time of separation from his family.

After the war, the family finally settled San Jose, California. Frances’ parents and sister Lucinda also moved out to California in 1946. There he set up his practice in cardiology and internal medicine until declining health and disability confined him to a wheelchair. Lee died in 1958.

Frances was born in Columbus in1908, the daughter of Franz Behnes and Lucie McDonald. She had two siblings, Lucinda and Alexander. The family moved to Germany during her teen years, then returned to America in 1929 where they settled in New York. After marrying Lee in December of 1934, she devoted her life to her family. After his death, she created a new life for herself. She wrote a society column for the newspaper, sold real estate and in 1962, bought a tea house called The Plumed Horse in Saratoga, California which flourished. She sold the restaurant in 1976 and died in 1978. See the story of Frances and Lee’s life together written by their son Bruce, for more information on their lives.