Skip to main content

Virginia Jones papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0058

  • Staff Only
  • Please navigate to collection organization to place requests.

Scope and Contents

The Virginia Shrauger Jones papers date from 1937 to 2010 and measure 12.3 linear feet. The papers consist mainly of correspondence and are divided into the following series: Biographical, Journals, Strong Women Four Generations, Correspondence, and Photographs.The Biographical series includes legal deeds, mortgages, wills, and other legal documents. The Music subseries contains posters, photographs, and memorabilia concerning Joe Allen and Virginia Jones' vocal studies with Leonore Evans Lais. The West Virginia Flood subseries contains legal records, documents, and newspaper clippings concerning the 1985 flood that destroyed their home. This series includes Jones' Marine Corps memoir, an essay about her experience in the United States Marine Corps. She spent three years there and retired with Captain's bars on her uniform. The Journals series consists of Virginia Shrauger Jones's daily journals, travel logs, and dream journals. Some are bound. The Strong Women, Four Generations series contains research notes and other material concerning Jones's writing and publication of Strong Women, Four Generations: 1858-1982, a historical account of the women in her family. Also included are her mother Cornelia P. Shrauger's stories that were not included in the book. The Correspondence series (1937-2010) consists of correspondence between Virginia Jones and her relatives and friends. A few of the folders include biographical material about the correspondents. Included are letters of The Round Robins, a group of friends Virginia Shrauger met in college who lived with her in the co-op in Eastlawn at the University of Iowa. Some of the original Round Robins were Charlotte Wurl, Kay Tennes, Dorothy Schlichter, Jeanne Bellefeuille, and Lorena Davis. The Cornelia Shrauger Day miscellaneous folder contains some autobiographical writings and a will, as well as information from family and doctors about her and her husband's condition in the late 1990s. The Photographs Series contains photographs of Virginia Jones, her friends and relatives. The photo album consists of memorabilia items from her time in high school and college, 1934-1939. It includes pamphlets, awards, and event stubs from organizations such as Quill and Scroll, Atlantic High School, the State University of Iowa, and Dolphins Follies.

Dates

  • Creation: 1829-2010

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 has been retained by the donor, Virginia S. Jones, for the duration of her life; upon her death copyright will pass to the University of Iowa. 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. To protect the privacy of living members of the family whose letters are on the collection, correspondence between Virginia Jones and her children (Prentiss Mann Jones, Dennis Allen Jones, Angela Jones Sallerson, and Cornelia Jones-Koza) is closed until January 1, 2045 or until the deaths of the children, whichever comes first.

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

Virginia Shrauger Jones was born on January 22, 1921, the daughter of Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger and Harold Shrauger, Sr. of Atlantic, Iowa. Her grandfather was Dr. Henry J. Prentiss (1867-1931), head of the anatomy department at the University of Iowa; her grandmother was Lue Bradley Prentiss (1868-1922). Virginia Shrauger Jones had two siblings, a brother Harold Shrauger, Jr. (1916-2004) and a sister Cornelia Shrauger Day (1919-2004). Virginia Shrauger attended Atlantic High School and graduated from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) in 1942 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1943 the United States Marine Corps opened its doors to women and Virginia Shrauger joined. She rose to the rank of captain in three years before retiring. Virginia Shrauger married Joe Allen Jones, an attorney, in 1944. They had four children: Dennis (b. 1950), Prentiss (b. 1956), Cornelia (b. 1954), and Angela (b. 1946). In 1985 their West Virginia home flooded, and Virginia Jones pushed hard for community redevelopment with the Soil Conservation Service to return the community to its pre-flood condition; she received a letter from John D. Rockefeller praising her efforts. Virginia Jones was a prolific writer of letters. She also wrote one book about the women of her family, Strong Women, Four Generations: 1858-1982, published in 2007.

Extent

12.30 Linear Feet

Photographs located in boxes 31 and 32. boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Community activitst and writer Virginia Shrauger Jones grew up in Atlantic Iowa and served as a Captain in the U. S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Method of Acquisition

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

Related Materials

Bradley Family papers. Prentiss Family papers. Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger papers Cornelia Shrauger Day papers

Author
Megan Blaue
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)