MGJ Postal History

Nice early letter to B. Brown in Cuttingsville, VT, regarding apology for not paying debt, Samuel Guile is the writer.  Guile was a contractor and borrowed the money to buy supplies for a construction job.  His client, in turn, has not paid him.  He is sending $50 for a smaller note Brown holds and a deposit on a larger, undisclosed, amount. Clean SFL.

The Osgood family name is prominent in New Hampshire history. This is an interesting letter that appears to be from a law firm (G.H & H. Stearns) to Osgood regarding items belonging to a Mrs. G. White which Osgood may or may not have sold to satisify a debt.  Seems Mrs. White now has the means to pay and would like to get her goods back.  "She is to work in the mill here and is a trying to earn money to settle it up. She is sious (sic) to pay it and save some things that she has there. I think the prospect is favorable at this time that she will do it."   Clean and easy to read. Good postmark PAID and numeral 3 all in red.

Neat cover (no contents). Note enbossing on backflap. Condition very good. Benjamin Marshall married in Bridgewater, December 29, 1768, Mary Hayward, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Gannet) Hayward, and a descendant of Thomas Hayward, who came from England and settled in Duxbury before 1638 and became an original proprietor of Bridgewater. Hayward Marshall, son of Benjamin and Mary (Hayward) Marshall, was born April 6, 1771. Hayward Marshall was a prosperous farmer in that part of the Bridgewater known as Marshall's Corner, where he also conducted a tavern for a number of years.

Very nice cover with four Win the War stamps. Missing box signed by Lt. John A. Harbaugh.  Army Return to Sender marks also on face of cover. Reverse has Army Control Section postmark. Cover was originally mailed from San Jose, CA, March 1, 1944. Peter J. Abell shot down by flak and fighters and crashed near Fulda, GR on a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24J #42-100335. Prisoner of War (POW).  The 703d Bombardment Squadron was activated 1 April 1943 at Gowen Field, Idaho. And shifted to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah on 8 June 1943, where initial training with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator took place. The squadron moved to Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa in July 1943 to complete training. At Sioux City, Iowa, actor Jimmy Stewart was assigned as the squadron's operations officer and became the squadron commander.  The 703d entered combat on 13 December 1943 attacking U-boat installations at Kiel. The unit operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until the war ended, striking such targets as industries in Osnabrück, synthetic oil plants in Lutzendorf, chemical works in Ludwigshafen, marshalling yards at Hamm, an airfield at Munich, an ammunition plant at Duneberg, underground oil storage facilities at Ehmen, and factories at Münster. The squadron participated in the Allied campaign against the German aircraft industry attacking a Me 110 aircraft assembly plant at Gotha. This was the longest running continuous air battle of World War II - some two and a half hours of fighter attacks and flak en route and leaving the target area. Bomb damage assessment photographs showed that the plant was knocked out of production indefinitely. The unit helped to prepare for the invasion of Normandy by bombing airfields, V-1 and V-2 launch sites, and other targets. It attacked shore installations on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and supported ground forces at Saint-Lô by striking enemy defenses in July 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, between December 1944 and January 1945 it bombed German communications. Early on 24 March 1945 the 703d dropped food, medical supplies, and ammunition to troops that landed near Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine and that afternoon flew a bombing mission to the same area, hitting a landing ground at Stormede.