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The University of Iowa Libraries

Guide to the Cornelia Shrauger Day papers

Collection Overview
Date Span:1912-1995
Creator:Day, Cornelia (1919-)
Extent:6.00 linear feet.
Collection Number:IWA0328
Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Summary:Educated in journalism and law. Washington, Iowa, resident active in YWCA, Planned Parenthood and UNICEF.

Cornelia Shrauger Day was born on May 7, 1919, the daughter of Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger and Harold Shrauger, Sr. of Atlantic, Iowa. Her grandfather was Dr. H. J. Prentiss (1867-1931), head of the anatomy department at the University of Iowa; her grandmother, Lue Bradley Prentiss (1868-1922). Day's brother was Harold Shrauger, Jr. (1916-2004) and her sister, Virginia S. Jones (1921- ). Cornelia Shrauger attended Atlantic High School and graduated from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) in 1940 with a degree in journalism. In 1940 she and (John) Robert Day, a law student at the university, were married. Cornelia Day attended law school at the University of Georgia and Iowa. Following her husband's service in World War II, the Days moved to Washington, Iowa, where she lives now. Their two children, Dennis and Edward, were adopted in 1954 and 1957, respectively.

Cornelia Day worked as a journalist for the Washington Evening Journal from 1948 until 1951, when she began her illustrious career as a devoted community activist. She was active, locally and nationally, in the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Planned Parenthood, and UNICEF. She was deeply committed to numerous programs for social reform and was officially recognized for her outstanding contributions. She was recognized as the YWCA Friend of the Child (1990) and was elected to the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame (1990). In 1995 the Days received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the University of Iowa.

The Days hosted more than one hundred foreign visitors through the Experiment in International Living, a national program with headquarters in Vermont; the Foreign Leader Exchange Program of the U.S. State Department; the Rotary Club Foreign Student Exchange Program and the American Field Service Student Program.

Cornelia Day and her husband were inveterate travelers, having visited all fifty states and more than fifty countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America.

The Cornelia Day papers date from 1912 to 1995 and measure 4.5 linear feet. The papers are arranged in seven series: Biographical information, Family, Civic activities, Correspondence, Foreign visitors, Foreign trips, and Photographs. The papers consist of correspondence, memorabilia, and photographs of the Shrauger and Day families as well as materials highlighting Day's commitment to the local, national, and international community.

The Biographical information series (1919-1990) includes background data about the donor, Cornelia Shrauger Day, and her husband, primarily from two bound pamphlets, one written on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary (1990), the other celebrating fifty years of Robert Day's law practice (1992).

Correspondence, newspaper clippings and memorabilia of Cornelia Day's mother, Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger, and other family members comprise the Family series (1906-1980s). Many of the clippings and much of the memorabilia were originally included in the two scrapbooks which were disbound for inclusion in the collection.

Cornelia Day's social commitment is documented in the Community activities series (1962-1995) comprising information primarily about her involvement in the YWCA and Planned Parenthood of Southeast Iowa. Materials from other organizations to which Day belonged, and histories she wrote of the Presbyterian church in Washington, Iowa, and the YWCA in that community complete the series.

The bulk of the Correspondence series (1936-1994) is devoted to letters written by Cornelia Day to her parents, Cornelia and Harold Shrauger, Sr., from 1936 to 1973. Letters from her husband, Robert Day, before their marriage in 1940 and many written during World War II from the Pacific, where he served as an officer in the United States Navy, are part of this series. Also included are letters to Cornelia Day's father-in-law, Wilbur Day, and from her children, Dennis and Ed. The entire set of the Christmas letters from Cornelia and Robert Day to their friends and family (1945-1994) completes the series.

The Days' involvement with the international community is revealed in the Foreign visitors series (1963-1980) which documents, mostly in the form of correspondence, their participation in the Experiment in International Living and the Governmental Affairs Institute, a private cultural exchange organization in Washington, D. C. Completing the series are individual folders for each of the more than sixty foreign visitors the Days hosted. They are arranged alphabetically.

Itineraries, correspondence, brochures and diaries of their foreign visits form the Foreign travel series (1956-1993).

The Photographs series (1913-1990) includes photographs of most of the Prentiss and Shrauger families, particularly of Cornelia Day's mother, Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger. Many of the photographs were taken from the scrapbooks that were disbound to preserve them for the collection.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 218) were donated by Cornelia Day in 1994 and succeeding years.

Preferred Citation: Cornelia Shrauger Day papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:Iowa Women's Archives
Address:100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:319-335-5068
Curator:Kären Mason
Email:lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

Browse by Series:
Series 1: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Series 2: FAMILY
Series 3: COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Series 4: CORRESPONDENCE
Series 5: FOREIGN VISITORS
Series 6: FOREIGN TRAVEL
Series 7: PHOTOGRAPHS

  • Series 1: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
  • Box 1:
  • Cornelia and Robert Day - 1919-2004
  • Cedar Rapids Gazette profile, December 14 - 1994
    [shelved in map case]
  • Series 2: FAMILY
  • Box 1:
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Correspondence - 1912-1979
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia (folder 1) - 1912-1916
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia (folder 2) - 1912-1916
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia - 1922-1965
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia, Harold and Cornelia Shrauger European trip - 1953
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia - 1970-1989
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Newspaper clippings and memorabilia - 1970-1989
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Condolences on her death (folder 1) - 1985
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Condolences on her death (folder 2) - 1985
  • Lue Bradley Prentiss - 1906-1917
  • Henry Prentiss - 1931
  • Prentiss and Shrauger family newspaper clippings and memorabilia - 1912-1992
  • Series 3: COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
  • Box 2:
  • YWCA: General - 1964-1995
  • YWCA: The First Seventy Years: The 'Incomplete' Complete History of the Washington, Iowa YWCA - 1995
  • Planned Parenthood of Southeast Iowa - 1983-1992
  • Presbyterian Church History, Washington county - 1841-1989
  • Other local organizations - 1969-1995
  • Series 4: CORRESPONDENCE
  • Box 2:
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 1) - 1936-1939
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 2) - 1940-1943
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 3) - 1944
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 4) - 1945
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 5) - 1946
  • Box 3:
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 6) - 1947
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 7) - 1948
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 8) - 1949
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 9) - 1950
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 10) - 1951
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 11) - 1952
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 12) - 1953
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 13) - 1954
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 14) - 1955
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 15) - 1956
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 16) - 1957
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 17) - 1950-1959
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 18) - 1960
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 19) - 1961
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 20) - 1962
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 21) - 1963
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 22) - 1964
  • Box 4:
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 23) - 1965
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 24) - 1966
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 25) - 1967
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 26) - 1968
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 27) - 1969
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 28) - 1970
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 29) - 1971
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 30) - 1973
  • Cornelia Day to parents (folder 31) - 1984
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 1) - 1938-1939
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 2) - 1939
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 3) - 1945
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 4) - 1945
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 5) - 1945
  • Box 5:
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 6) - 1945
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 7) - 1945
  • Robert Day to Cornelia Day (folder 8) - 1946
  • Christmas newsletters: General - 1945-1994
  • Christmas newsletters: Dennis and Diane Day to parents and grandparents - 1980-1982
  • Ed Day to parents - 1967-1982
  • Cornelia Day to the Wilbur Days (folder 1) - 1942-1943
  • Cornelia Day to the Wilbur Days (folder 2) - 1944-1945
  • Other family and friends - 1927-1993
  • Series 5: FOREIGN VISITORS
  • Box 5:
  • Experiment in International Living: Correspondence (folder 1) - 1965-1967
  • Experiment in International Living: Correspondence (folder 2) - 1968-1969
  • Experiment in International Living: Correspondence (folder 3) - 1970-1971
  • Experiment in International Living: Correspondence (folder 4) - 1972-1974
  • Governmental Affairs Institute - 1962-1970
  • Other programs - 1972-1989
  • Box 6:
  • Individuals A-M (folder 1) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 2) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 3) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 4) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 5) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 6) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 7) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 8) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 9) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 10) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 11) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 12) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 13) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 14) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 15) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 16) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 17) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 18) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 19) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 20) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 21) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 22) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 23) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 24) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 25) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 26) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 27) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 28) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 29) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 30) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 31) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 32) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals A-M (folder 33) - 1963-1980
  • Box 7:
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 1) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 2) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 3) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 4) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 5) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 6) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 7) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 8) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 9) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 10) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 11) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 12) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 13) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 14) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 15) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 16) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 17) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 18) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 19) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 20) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 21) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 22) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 23) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 24) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 25) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 26) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 27) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 28) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 29) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 30) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 31) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 32) - 1963-1980
  • Individuals N-Z (folder 33) - 1963-1980
  • Series 6: FOREIGN TRAVEL
  • Box 8:
  • Europe - 1956
  • Brussels World's Fair - 1958
  • Orient: Correspondence - 1968
  • Orient: Itinerary - 1968
  • Europe (folder 1) - 1971
  • Europe (folder 2) - 1971
  • Europe (folder 3) - 1971
  • Mediterranean (folder 1) - 1971
  • Mediterranean (folder 2) - 1971
  • Box 9:
  • Africa (folder 1) - 1970
  • Africa (folder 2) - 1970
  • Africa (folder 3) - 1970
  • South Pacific (folder 1) - 1973
  • South Pacific (folder 2) - 1973
  • Around the World (folder 1) - 1974
  • Around the World (folder 2) - 1974
  • Around the World (folder 3) - 1974
  • Russia and Eastern Europe (folder 1) - 1975
  • Russia and Eastern Europe (folder 2) - 1975
  • Box 10:
  • France (folder 1) - 1976
  • France (folder 2) - 1976
  • England and Wales - 1977
  • Portugal and Spain - 1978
  • Asia (folder 1) - 1979
  • Asia (folder 2) - 1979
  • Various - 1981-1993
  • Series 7: PHOTOGRAPHS
  • Box 11:
  • Henry Prentiss, his parents and sister, undated
  • Lue Bradley Prentiss and parents - 1883-1894, 1915
  • Lue Prentiss Childs and family - 1946, 1952
  • Robert Prentiss and Henry J. Prentiss, Jr. - 1919
  • Lilian Prentiss Schwarz, undated
  • Harold Shrauger, Sr. and Harold Shrauger, Jr. - 1927, 1857, 1962
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Trips: Iowa, Illinois - 1915
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Trips: Eastern U.S. and Canada, undated
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: General - 1913
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: General - 1914
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: General - 1915
  • Cornelia, Virginia and Harold Shrauger childhood - 1920-1929
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: General - 1940-1989
  • Cornelia Prentiss Shrauger: Friends, relatives and unidentified - 1913-1973

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.


Personal Names:
Day, Cornelia, 1919-

Dates:
20th century

Topics:
Women in community organization
Voyages and travels

Occupations:
Community activists

Geographic Names:
Washington (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Personal papers
Archives