Patricia Turner Ritchie collection on Brocks Gap

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, SC 0145, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
1.4 cubic feet 2 boxes
Creator:
Ritchie, Patricia Turner
Abstract:
The Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, is comprised exclusively of photocopies of deeds, wills, surveys, patents, road agreements, accounts, letters and a wide variety of other documents relevant to the Brocks Gap area of northwestern Rockingham County, Virginia.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, SC 0145, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, is comprised exclusively of photocopies of deeds, wills, surveys, patents, road agreements, accounts, letters and a wide variety of other documents relevant to the Brocks Gap area of northwestern Rockingham County, Virginia. The materials document many aspects of rural life. Family names mentioned most frequently are Fawley, Fulk, Turner, and Ruddle, but many others also occur. The "C" series are papers from the Ransom Hess estate; he was the son of Richard and Lydia Shoemaker Hess, grandson of Abraham and Amanda Custer Hess, great grandson of Richard Custer Jr. and Elizabeth Trumbo Custer, and lived on the Custer homestead on Little Dry River Road in Fulks Run.

Biographical / historical:

Brocks Gap is an area of approximately 200 square miles in northwestern Rockingham County formed by the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.

Acquisition information:
This collection, comprised exclusively of photocopies, was purchased from Pat Turner Ritchie beginning in May 1991 through 2002.
Custodial history:

Many of the original documents photocopied in this collection were brought by local residents to the Turner Hams Store on Route 259 in Fulks Run, or the nearby Mt. Carmel Church, for the "Brocks Gap Heritage Day" events first held by compiler Patricia Turner Ritchie in the spring of 1991, where they were copied. Other materials were located by Ritchie through her own research. Ritchie created an annotated index for some of the materials, and notes that some of the documents are not recorded in the Rockingham County Court House.

Processing information:

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 3088.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into informal series or groupings of documents: Brocks Gap (BG), Fulks Run (F), Custer (C), and Turner (T). This arrangement was imposed by the donor. Each document or set of documents was also assigned a numeric identifier by the donor. Corresponding indices are included for the Brocks Gap and Fulks Run documents.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard