Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar Records

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 not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. The authors retain the copyrights on their papers. The user is responsible to obtain clearance from the copyright holder for permission to use any materials in excess of fair use.For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar Records, 1990-2009, SC 0205, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
1.65 cubic feet 5 boxes
Creator:
Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar
Abstract:
This collection consists of administrative records and papers by scholars from colleges, libraries and other institutions for the monthly presentations of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar (SVRSS). The collection contains financial records, announcements, correspondence, information about presenters, and academic papers.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar Records, 1990-2009, SC 0205, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The Shenandoah Valley Regional Studies Seminar Records, 1990-2009, includes administrative records and scholarly papers organized by academic year. Some years represented in the collection have limited contents. The bulk of the collection consists of material that was distributed to a select group, likely previous SVRSS attendees and other interested persons, before a presentation. These materials generally include a copy of an academic paper with information on the presenter. The collection includes files for most of the presentations from 1995 to 2009. Additional SVRSS papers were collected prior to 1995 (and prior to the donation) by the then Special Collections Librarian. These papers were added to the collection.

Describes the history of Virginia's mineral springs and their impact on early road construction and wagon design. Discusses road travel conditions in Virginia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Mentions construction of the Cumberland Road, also known as the Old National Road, one of the first improved interstate highways, built by the U.S. government between 1811 and 1839. Traces the evolution of transportation from the earliest wagons to the Concord Coach.

With "Political Moderation as an Anglo-American Ideology"

Short description of project only

With CV

Describes the difficulties encountered by early German settlers to the Shenandoah Valley in the 18th and 19th centuries. German immigrant groups, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, were often located on scattered, isolated farms, without the means to form or maintain their traditional religious institutions. Protestant sects, such as the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites, and Pietists, often lacked the numbers or financial ability to support churches or clergy. Describes the problem of itinerant, unordained preachers taking advantage of isolated communities. Comments on those immigrants who, through their increasing contact with English-speaking Scots-Irish neighbors, left the German sects for the better established English churches.

With published copy in "Pennsylvania History" 2001.

Socio-economic research on the Swift Run Gap (Va.) community during the 1920s-1930s, whose boundaries bordered those of the Shenandoah National Park. Includes study of the economic conditions in the area that later became park land and the reactions of local people to the prospect of the park, the selling of their land, and concerns once the park was established. This paper appears to be part of on-going research on the topic, and provides preliminary data supporting the theory that the people, their prosperity, and farming techniques were more diverse and of a higher standard than previously indicated.

Several chapters from her dissertation only

Thesis chapter only

This paper presents the view that slavery played a more active and important role in the historical development of the central Shenandoah Valley than previously perceived and recorded by such historians as John Wayland and Harry M. Strickler. Records recent research which documents the active role of African-Americans in such areas as iron-making (ex: the Shenandoah Iron Works), grain farming and other related occupations, using 1850 census figures. Mentions names of prominent wealthy slave-owning families and the impact of Mennonite and Dunker anti-slavery influences. Cites from the memoirs of Bethany Veney, a slave women who lived in antebellum Page County, Virginia.

With CV

With CV

Video script with abstract and 2 CVs

Includes timeline and pictures

With CV

With CV

With CV

With CV

With CV statement

Describes a number of cookbooks, handbooks, and home economics guides produced in the South between 1850 and 1865 directed primarily at housewives. With the onset of shortages caused by the Civil War, these books focused on conservation and substitutes for common foods and medicines. Discusses a botanical field manual, commissioned by Surgeon General of the Confederacy, which describes edible and medicinal plants found growing wild throughout the South. Describes the economic and social aspects of life in several Virginia communities as the war brought increased shortages and hardship.

Discusses the growth of the Baptist movement in colonial America and regional differences between Baptists in Virginia that still exist to this day. Includes references to the Separatists and Regulars; a chart showing Baptist origins; a list of regional 18th century Baptist churches in and near the Valley; and an annotated list of "important Baptist clergy during the formative period."

With CV

Discusses the efforts of Rufus W. Bailey, an agent for the African Colonization Society agent in Virginia (primarily in Augusta and Rockbridge counties) to resettle African Americans in Liberia, Africa, from 1847-1851. Records tactics used to convince families to leave, etc.

With abstract

With abstract

With update to Figure 11

With CV

With copy containing handwritten note and CV

With abstract

With abstract and envelope containing note and computer disk

With abstract

With emailed abstract

With abstract

With abstract

With CV and emailed abstract

With abstract

PowerPoint slides with CV

Describes the author's 2004 walking tour of Virginia, focusing on the section of the Shenandoah Valley from Harrisonburg to Natural Bridge. Includes historical notes on the earliest European explorers and settlers in the region.

With CV

Emailed abstract only

Published article with presentation abstract

University of New Hampshire thesis

PowerPoint slides, exhibit brochure, and CD

Describes daily life in the 19th century in a number of Virginia counties, including Rockingham, Augusta, and Rockbridge Counties, with a focus on how ordinary people spent their free time. Numerous references to community activities such as quilting bees, corn huskings, singings, sleigh rides, dances, weddings, and funerals. Also describes several anti-social behaviors, usually alcohol related, ranging from vagrancy to murder, which were reported in many towns throughout the region. Briefly mentions the growth of local temperance movements at mid-century. Draws heavily on diary entries by local citizens, especially that of Isaac Acker.

With abstract

Describes the social customs and attitudes surrounding the keeping of pets in eighteenth and early nineteenth century Virginia. Comments on the social status and gender role aspects attributed to keeping particular pets. Discusses a wide variety of animals, beyond common cats and dogs, that were kept as pets, such as squirrels, hummingbirds, mockingbirds, cranes, and deer. Includes pet-related anecdotes by and about such famous Virginians as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, William Byrd, Fannie Kemble, and Landon Carter.

With abstract

With emailed abstract

Project proposal only

Describes the history of Avtex Fibers, Inc., a major defense materials manufacturer, located in Front Royal, Virginia. Founded in 1937, by the American Viscose Corporation, (AVC), the plant produced numerous rayon-based products for the U.S. government during World War II. In the post-war years the company was sold to the Food Machines Corporation, (FMC), in 1963, which produced materials for the Space Program and the aerospace industry. The Avtex Fibers bought the company in 1976, but within a decade, highly toxic waste disposal problems landed the company on the federal Superfund cleanup list. Citing numerous violations of the federal Environmental Protection Act and Virginia Water Control legislation, the facility was summarily closed by state officials in 1989. Environmental clean up efforts over the following decade have rehabilitated the 300 acre site to the point where local and state authorities can contemplate the future of this controversial Virginia landmark.

With emailed abstract

With emailed abstract

Emailed abstract only

Abstract only

With book abstract

PowerPoint slides and 2 CDs

With abstract

With abstract

With ephemera (moved to Administrative Records 2007) and emailed biography

Thesis with abstract and emailed biography

With abstract

Describes the aftermath of John Brown's raid on the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859. Brown was later apprehended, tried, and sentenced to hang on December 2, 1859, at Charles Town, Virginia. Documents the life and theatrical career of John Wilkes Booth, who would assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Recounts Booth's journey to Charles Town in 1859, with several Richmond, Virginia militia companies comprising part of the security detail at Brown's execution. Discusses possible psychological effects the execution may have had on Booth, and similarities between Brown's actions at Harpers Ferry and Booth's assassination of Lincoln.

Contains email re: paper not to be copied/distributed until Dr. Alford's book publication

Describes common religious customs and traditions related to Easter and Holy Week observations that have their origins in Germanic culture. Defines the significance of the days of Holy Week, including Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, as well as the customs and folklore associated with each day. Traces the origins of various Easter symbols to pre-Christian Germanic folklore and post-Reformation religious edicts. Describes how German immigrant groups, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought these customs and beliefs to America in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

Describes the importance of roads and their affect on the architecture of farms and homes throughout the Shenandoah Valley in the 18th and 19th centuries. Discusses how improved roads allowed rural Virginians to transport their produce to centralized markets, such as Winchester, Virginia. Improved markets caused a transition from a barter-based system to a capitalist market economy. Describes how that transition affected archictecture, land use, and community life in the Shenandoah Valley; particularly in the Winchester and Frederick County regions.

Discusses the Evangelical movement and its consequences among various German religious groups in the Shenandoah Valley. Describes the discussions that took place concerning such issues as pluralism, democracy, salvation and the position of churches towards slavery. Many leading local pastors and ministers are mentioned.

Records the experiences of Emanuel Suter and his efforts to introduce innovations into his pottery business, local farms, and the Mennonite Church in the latter half of the 19th century. Discusses his introduction of new pottery firing techniques and farm machinery, as well as his attempts to reform church rules regarding the calling of ministers. Describes Suter's successful efforts toward instituting sunday schools in the Shenandoah Valley. Concludes with comments on Suter's progressive views, both secular and spiritual; many of which became commonplace in the 20th century.

Describes the history of freight wagons in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Compares the characteristics and construction techniques used on a number of Virginia-made wagons to those made in Pennsylvania, more commonly known as Conestoga wagons. Includes two charts and a glossary of technical terms.

Describes the founding and operation of the Mossy Creek Iron Works, in Augusta County, Virginia. The mill was built in the mid-1770s by Henry Miller and his partner, Mark Bird. Discusses the variety of iron products produced by the mill, as well as ancillary commodities produced by Miller on the property. In addition to pig and bar iron, Miller's facilities also produced specialty steel, charcoal, paper, flour, beef, and a variety of animal products. Describes financial transactions with customers, such as James Madison, then a colonel in the Orange County militia, and several lawsuits involving Miller and his neighbors. Mentions Millers use of slaves and indentured servants as laborers, and briefly mentions his father's and sons' involvement in the business.

Describes the history of the Mennonite Church in Virginia in the 19th century with a focus on schisms arising between traditionalists and progressives. Outlines the controversies surrounding Mennonite pacifist doctrine during the Civil War. Mentions internal church debates over adopting a standardized style of dress for its members. Discusses the careers of notable Mennonite leaders and evangelical preachers such as George R. Brunk, John F. Funk, L.J. Heatwole, and J.B. Smith. Describes the founding of Goshen College in Indiana, as one of the first Mennonite colleges, and the doctrinal controversies at the college that led to the founding of the Eastern Mennonite School, (later Eastern Mennonite University), in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Biographical / historical:

The Shenandoah Regional Studies Seminar (SVRSS) has been held during the academic year since 1988, usually at James Madison University. Papers presented have covered a wide range of historical and regional subjects from colonial developments to the details of rural life in the twentieth century. The primary goal of SVRSS has been to provide an informed and interested audience for scholars from a variety of fields such as history, archaeology, geography, folklore, and ethnography. SVRSS provides a regular forum for scholars and attendees at which to consider topics of regional interest, pertinent, but not restricted, to the Shenandoah Valley. SVRSS met monthly during the academic year, at least through the spring of 2017. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the schedule and location of SVRSS became less concrete with lectures occurring just once per semester at the Frontier Culture Museum in Stauton, Virginia.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated in 2008 by Joseph Whitehorne, one of the organizers of SVRSS and a faculty member at Lord Fairfax Community College. Several papers were added after the initial donation.
Processing information:

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in 2017-2018. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 5027.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series. Series 1 is arranged chronologically by academic year. Series 2 is arranged into subseries according to academic year and arranged further alphabetically by author's surname.

  1. Administrative Records, 1995-2009
  2. Papers, 1990-2009
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard