WWII Red Cross Uniform?

[Intern]

I'm an intern at a museum in northeastern North Carolina. I'm currently trying to catalog the museum's militaria collection. According to an old catalog, this uniform belonged to a Mrs. Harold B. Mays of General Forbes Drive, Ligonier, PA. She gave the items to the museum in 1970. The old catalog claims that the item is World War I, but I have my doubts. It looks more like a World War II example. From the same donation, we have another Red Cross summer uniform just like this one, an overcoat, an overcoat liner and belt. Any help on this is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[Intern]

Other images of the same uniform.

[37thguy]

Patch tells me its WW2

[Bugme]

Patch tells me its WW2

Agreed, this looks to be a WWII set up.

[Brian Keith]

I agree the cloth insignia is WW II era, but from the length and cut of the dress it looks more like WW I era. It was common for red cross volunteer women to wear the same uniform for a very long time if they were only actively volunteering during war time. I would like to see the other uniforms parts and a close up of front and back of any pin on insignia. The book, "Dressed for Duty" would be helpful, but my copy is on the other side of the world from me right now. In 1970, a WW I era veteran would be about 70, or so, ready to down size or move to a retirement home. A WW II vet would be typically in the early 50's age wise. You might want to try to find an obit for the lady. I lools like a very nice uniform, and might be a two-war uniform. The vast majority of women who were in the Red Cross worked locally in their home towns.

BKW

[uplandmod]

Since you have put up a couple of items to evaluate, I will suggest you write an introduction in our new member section.

 

I am sure many of us would like to know about the museum/collection you are interning at.

 

You've shown some great items, looking forward to seeing more!

Leonardo

[Jeeper704]

You might want to check this site; http://www.blitzkriegbaby.de/homepage.htm

 

Erwin

[jpgrl]

I agree the cloth insignia is WW II era, but from the length and cut of the dress it looks more like WW I era. It was common for red cross volunteer women to wear the same uniform for a very long time if they were only actively volunteering during war time. I would like to see the other uniforms parts and a close up of front and back of any pin on insignia. The book, "Dressed for Duty" would be helpful, but my copy is on the other side of the world from me right now. In 1970, a WW I era veteran would be about 70, or so, ready to down size or move to a retirement home. A WW II vet would be typically in the early 50's age wise. You might want to try to find an obit for the lady. I lools like a very nice uniform, and might be a two-war uniform. The vast majority of women who were in the Red Cross worked locally in their home towns.

BKW

 

 

Agree with Brian. With rationing and shortages, commercially garment manufacturers were legally limited in skirt lengths, hem lengths, facing, linings, etc... This may be leftover from WW1 or the interwar period but the style, fit, and skirt length does not say WW2 to me.

 

Stephanie

[Intern]

Here are the other items in the collection. Still not having luck tracking down "Mrs. Harold B. Mays," although I think she and her husband also lived in Kill Devil Hills, NC and Hailey, ID. Her maiden name might possibly be Shirley Leary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian Keith]

The uniform with the green collar tabs is WW I era. And it is a nice item!

I still lean to the donor was a Red Cross Volunteer during WW I and WW II, using many of the same uniforms. The overcoat looks more WW II vintage.

MSG BKW

[Intern]

Well, I've ruled out the donor as the possible wearer of the garment. I believe that Shirley Leary Mays, also known as Mrs. Harold Belvin Mays, was born around 1935 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. So the garment either belonged to someone else in her family or her husband's family. The overcoat has a label from a clothing store in Johnstown, PA. Her family lived mostly in northeastern North Carolina, so I think it might belong to the husband's family. I have not yet found any current contact information for the husband. Shirley L. Mays lived in Camden, NC until sometime late last year or early this year. I think she now lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, but her current address is a PO box. No telephone number listed on White Pages. I do have a e-mail address, though. I sent her a message asking for more information. As of right now, I've not heard anything.

 

As a piece of totally random trivia, I think she is Joe Namath's ex-mother-in-law.

[Brian Keith]

Not as easy as it first looked to ID these. People outside of the museum field usually don't realize how much work it is to properly document museum artifacts. It is very labor intensive and the vast majority of historical museums are run by volunteers. It is very common for things to sometimes just "pile up" with little paper trail. Looks like your working hard to docuent these really nice uniforms. Hope the original wearer can be traced.

Good Luck,

MSG BKW

[fraukriegbaum]

Very nice WWII uniforms and topcoat (1941-1942) of ARC Motor Corps.

 

I can send you pdf of WWII ARC uniforms if you want. I also have WWI ARC. Let me know.

 

)

[Intern]

Not as easy as it first looked to ID these. People outside of the museum field usually don't realize how much work it is to properly document museum artifacts. It is very labor intensive and the vast majority of historical museums are run by volunteers. It is very common for things to sometimes just "pile up" with little paper trail. Looks like your working hard to docuent these really nice uniforms. Hope the original wearer can be traced.

Good Luck,

MSG BKW

 

So True. Last month, I spent the better part of two weeks tracking down the owner of a trunk possibly used during the Civil War. I did not even have the donor's first name, just "Mrs. P.C. Cohoon." I eventually deduced that the trunk belonged to a Benjamin F. White, but the exact details of his military career still remain mysterious. The records reveal one thing, his gravestone another. The museum's catalog from before state ownership in 1981 vary for bare to nonexistence. Just the nature of the beast.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Red Cross Ranch, I finally have the maiden name for Shirley Leary Mays' mother: Fannie Louise Seymour. She appeared to live and work as a rural housewife in Camden County, North Carolina. Still looking for a possible connection to the Red Cross. I continue to feel that the uniforms come from the husband's family, the Mayses, but I need to completely rule out the wife's family first.

[Intern]

Still no luck finding the owner, but I found some additional items that belong with this collection: a hat & a purse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian Keith]

The hat looks to be th WW II style.

MSG BKW

[Intern]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I finally know the wearer of the uniforms! My supervisor, Wanda Stiles, decided to look through some old paperwork hoping to find the deed of gift for the items. Sure enough, a deed of gift, pictured below, existed for the uniforms. More importantly, the deed states the uniforms' original owner: Mrs. George Moorsom, Johnstown, PA. A quick search of Ancestry revealed that Mrs. George Moorsom, also known as Zona L. Moorsom, was born on August 5, 1892 in Pennsylvania and lived the majority of her life in Johnstown. She died there in October 1987. Her husband worked as a draftsman for Bethlehem Steel. I found no familial connection to either the artifacts' donors or North Carolina. Since there is no local connection, we've decided to try and find a museum in western PA interested in the items. In fact, I'm waiting to hear back from a local musuem in Johnstown.

 

On a related note, I found some additional pieces from this collection. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

 

[Brian Keith]

Very Good Work! Now the original owner is ID! Old enought to be a WW I volunteer.

Nice!

MSG BKW

[Heatherleannek]

So did you still need to talk to Shirley mays?

[Noelle]

On 8/20/2023 at 5:32 AM, Heatherleannek said:

So did you still need to talk to Shirley mays?

 

It’s been 11 years. 😂