16 Cubic Feet, 472.9 GB
The papers of Geoffrey Wade Donnan contain correspondence, family histories, photographs, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings relating to Geoffrey Wade Donnan’s research on the Donnan, Wessel, Schaefer, and Coe families. Throughout his research, Donnan collected and maintained his relative’s papers, including his parent’s, Dwight and Gloria Donnan, correspondence, which constitutes the bulk of the collection. Materials of interest include Dwight’s letters to Gloria during World War II, in which he served as a staff sergeant in the 255th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. Dwight recounts to Gloria crossing the Rhine River into Germany, as well as encountering German prisoners of war. The collection also contains a digital component, approximately 473 gigabytes of digitized family photographs, census records, and death certificates. Included in the digital materials are oral history interviews Geoffrey Donnan conducted with Dwight Donnan on the history of the Donnan family. The materials in this collection date from 1854 to 2015.
This collection can be requested to view at State Historical Society of Missouri research centers. Appointments are strongly encouraged to ensure that requested materials are available at the time of your visit. Make an appointment using the research request form.
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