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Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger Papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0842

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Scope and Contents

The Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger papers date from 1807 to 2000 and measure 3.5 linear feet. The papers are arranged in six series: Biographical, Community Activities, Newspaper Clippings, Correspondence, Harold and Frances Shrauger, and Photographs. While most of the collection is concerned with Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger, the papers contain a large amount of correspondence and biographical material about her son Harold and his wife Frances Shrauger.

The Biographical series contains Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger's Baby Book but also concerns her education at the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), her marriage to Harold Shrauger, and her death. In her 1938 diary she writes about her daily life and responsibilities, clubs she belonged to, and health issues. The series also contains information about her husband Harold Shrauger, Sr.

The Community activities series includes a play that Cornelia Shrauger wrote on the topic of the Revolutionary War from the perspective of the women at home in the colonies. The Newspaper Clippings series contains articles about writer Marquis Childs as well as other family members.

The Harold and Frances Shrauger series includes a speech Harold Shrauger, Jr., gave at a high school class reunion, as well as correspondence with family members. There are five journals of Fran Shrauger, documenting a 1984 European trip, a 1992 trip to West Virginia, travels to France and to New Orleans, and including notes on Marquis Childs' "Sweden, the Middle Way" and Christmas 1992-93.

The Photographs series includes items dating as far back as 1807, a portrait and some paintings by Lillian Prentiss Schwarz, and many photographs of Dr. Henry J. Prentiss and has family. Also included are The Family Ancestral Album started by Lue (pronounced lou-ee) Bradley Prentiss, continued by Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger, and finished by Virginia Jones, and a family photo album created by Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger dating from the 1890s to the 1940s.

Dates

  • Creation: 1807-2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

During the donor's lifetime, permission to publish from these papers or to quote from the papers for publication must be obtained from the donor, Virginia S. Jones.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been retained by the donor.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger was born on January 24, 1896, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Daughter of Dr. Henry J. Prentiss (1867-1931), head of the anatomy department at the University of Iowa, and Lue Bradley Prentiss (1868-1922), Cornelia Shrauger was an active member of her community and participated in the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She married Harold Francis Shrauger of Atlantic, Iowa, in 1915. Their wedding was a secret elopement that surprised and amused their friends and families. Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger graduated from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) with the first graduating class of the Department of Home Economics in 1916. She was vice president of the Senior Council in the College of Liberal Arts and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Cornelia and Harold Shrauger settled in Atlantic, Iowa, where Harold Shrauger operated a home and office appliance store. In addition to raising their three children Harold Shrauger Jr. (1916-2004), Cornelia Shrauger Day (1919-2004), and Virginia Shrauger Jones (b. 1921), Cornelia Shrauger was active in the Browning Literary Society, the Atlantic Carnegie Library, and the United Presbyterian Church, where she served as organist for twenty-one years.

Cornelia and Harold Shrauger's son Harold Shrauger, Jr. married Frances Kephart in 1943. They lived in Le Mars, Iowa, where Harold Shrauger, Jr., worked as a sales representative for Allied Mills, manufacturers of poultry and livestock feed. Fran graduated from the State University of Iowa in 1936, where she was a member of the Phi Gamma Nu fraternity. She became a notary public in 1981. Fran and Harold loved to travel in their later lives; they toured Europe in 1984 and went to New Orleans in 1994. Fran kept detailed journals of their travels.

Cornelia Shrauger loved to travel and to do crossword puzzles. She spent the last twelve years of her life at Halcyon House, a retirement community in Washington, Iowa. She died on February 9, 1985.

Extent

3.50 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

A 1916 graduate of the Home Economics Department at the State University of Iowa, after her marriage Cornelia Prentiss was active in literary societies and church organizations.

Method of Acquisition

The papers were donated by Virginia Shrauger Jones (donor no. 112) in 2002-2010.

Related Materials

In University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections Department: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow letters to Cornelia Fitch. In 1965, Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger donated eight letters written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Cornelia Fitch.

In IWA: Virginia Shrauger Jones Papers, Bradley Family Papers, Prentiss Family Papers, and Cornelia Shrauger Day Papers.

Author
Megan Blaue, 2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)