Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley Collection of World War II Letters

Collection — Box: 4562

Identifier: 2017.002

Scope and Contents

The Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley Collection consists of 26 letters sent to Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley of Hornersville, Missouri, from former classmates of hers serving in the military during World War II. All of the men were writing from training locations within the United States. Some of the men later served overseas where Bland Seabaugh was killed in action. The letters discuss the men’s daily schedules, types of guns, and memories of home, and also request information about family and friends back home. One letter, from Pete Edmonston, includes a drawn depiction of a sub-machine gun and a .30-caliber machine gun.

Dates

Creation: 1942-1943

Conditions Governing Use

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Biographical / Historical

Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley graduated from high school in Hornersville, Missouri, in 1940, as salutatorian of her class. John Noell, who was valedictorian, and Rowland Jackson were in the same class. Ashley resided in Hornersville, Missouri and worked at a drug store during 1942 and 1943, when she received the letters in the collection.

Full Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Letters sent to Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley of Hornersville, Missouri, from the former classmates of Ashley serving in the military during World War II.

Provenance

Donated by Jo Ann Rosenberg Ashley, April 2017.

Ashley initially offered to donate the letters to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in December 2016. The Veterans Museum offered the letters to the Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center, which in January 2017 offered the letters to Special Collections and Archives. The donation was then finalized with Ashley.