1944-1957
Co-Chairman, Caribbean Commission, 1948-1952
The papers of Ward Canaday consist of twenty-three letters from Harry S. Truman to his close friend, Canaday, between 1944 and 1957.
Size: 2.5 linear inches (about 25 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyrights in this material and in any other material received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Haley Petersen (2019) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
| 1885 (December 12) | Born Ward Murphey Canaday, New Castle, Indiana | |
| 1903-1905 | Student, University of Colorado | |
| 1907 | B.A., Harvard University | |
| 1907-1916 | Advertising Manager, Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet Company, New Castle, Indiana | |
| 1912 (June 15) | Married Mariam Louise Coffin | |
| 1916-1953 | Held various executive positions (including President and Chairman of the Board) with Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. | |
| 1933-1935 | Assistant Administrator and Director of Public Relations, Federal Housing Administration | |
| 1941-1945 | Helped develop and produce the military Jeep during World War II | |
| 1948-1952 | U.S. Co-Chairman, Caribbean Commission | |
| 1949 | Director, Virgin Islands Corporation | |
| 1976 (February 27) | Died, Toledo, Ohio |
The papers of Ward Canaday consist of twenty-three letters from Harry S. Truman to his close friend, Canaday, between 1944 and 1957. The collection is arranged in a single Subject File.
The collection contains letters ranging from Truman’s time as a U.S. Senator to his post-presidential years. Several letters refer to the Virgin Islands, where Canaday lived for some time. In the letters dated after Truman’s presidency, Canaday is often encouraged to visit the newly-founded Truman Library. In other letters, Truman discusses other islands in the Caribbean, aid to Europe, his education program, and the death of White House Press Secretary Joseph Short.
Canaday’s papers were originally opened for research as part of the Miscellaneous Historical Documents Collection (MHDC 326).
More information about Ward Canaday can be found in the papers of Harry S. Truman (President’s Personal File 367).
| Container Nos. | Series | |
| SUBJECT FILE, 1944-1957 Letters. Arranged chronologically. |
Box 1
- Truman, Harry S.