This collection contains 15 letters that Tom R. Hulings wrote to his stepmother Carrie between June 13, 1921, and March 20, 1927, while he worked for oil companies in Burma. Hulings described his work, social life, and aspects of the local culture, such as festivals and the Buddhist religion. Carrie Hulings also received one brief letter from one of Tom's acquaintances, then living in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Tom's letters, which are often as long as 8 pages, concern several aspects of his personal and professional life in Burma, where he worked for at least two oil companies. He wrote 8 letters from Yenangyaung (June 13, 1921-April 22, 1922, and January 5, 1925-September 1, 1825), 6 letters from Nyaunghla (December 10, 1925-January 25, 1927), and 1 letter while traveling from Yenangyaung to Rangoon on a steamboat (March 20, 1927). Hulings provided his initial impressions of Burma, his colleagues, and local customs, and mentioned his social life and leisure activities. On July 5, 1921, for example, he described local Fourth of July celebrations held by expatriate Americans. Two of his letters primarily concern family news, including his father's death (January 5, 1925) and his brief marriage (September 1, 1925). Hulings also commented on aspects of his work, such as his wages, the Burmese oil industry, and other oil companies. His letter of May 24, 1926, encloses a printed document pertaining to a bank draft he sent to his stepmother. Though he focused on his own life and experiences, Hulings also described local customs and discussed the Buddhist religion. In addition to her stepson's letters, Carrie Hulings received one letter from Willis Mong of Shippensville, Pennsylvania, a friend of Tom, who recently returned from Burma (March 27, 1925).
Thomas ("Tom") Roy Hulings was born in Elk City, Pennsylvania, on February 25, 1881, the son of William Hulings (d. 1924) and Emma Yost. William Hulings married Carrie Ione Moody (1870-1965) before 1900, and the family lived in Sistersville, West Virginia. Tom Hulings left for Burma in April 1921. He worked for the Yamah Oil Company in Yenangyaung until December 1926, when he moved to Nyaunghla, where he worked for the Yenangyaung Oilfield Southern Extension. He married Florence Hilda Parry, head nurse for the Rangoon Corporation General Hospital, on June 6, 1925, but she died of appendicitis soon afterward, on July 24, 1925. Hulings returned to Sistersville sometime after 1927, and he later lived in Dayton, Ohio, with his second wife, Blanche. Tom R. Hulings died on October 15, 1948.
