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West Virginia and Regional History Center

Bessie Rowland James Papers, 1800/1972

3.75 Linear Feet 3 ft. 9 in. (9 document cases, 5 in. each)

Research notes, news clippings, photographs, and other materials gathered by James for her book, ANNE ROYALL'S USA, published by Rutgers University Press in 1972.

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Bessie Rowland James Papers, 1800/1972 3.75 Linear Feet 3 ft. 9 in. (9 document cases, 5 in. each)

James, Bessie Rowland, 1895-

Research notes, news clippings, photographs, and other materials gathered by James for her book, ANNE ROYALL'S USA, published by Rutgers University Press in 1972.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Charles Carpenter, Collector, Papers, 1829/1963

1.7 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 8 in. (4 document cases, 5 in. each)

Scrapbooks maintained by Charles Carpenter, Grafton, between 1939-1963. Subjects include descriptions of libraries, book and manuscript collections, museums, rare and unusual books, magazines, book reviews, newspapers, and advertisements for books. There are items as early as 1838, 1875, 1898, 1905, 1917, but the mass of the collection is in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Recurrent topics include book auctions, book burnings, the dime novel, the Freedom Train, the Gutenberg Bible, Hyde Park Library, Incunabula, the Library of Congress, "London Times Notes on Sales," The Morgan Library, New York Times magazine and book review, New York Times columnists (Philip Brooks, Edward Larocque Tinker, and Herbert W. Horwill), and stamps. There are also letters concerning books from Charles Carpenter's son. For more detailed description, see inventory sheet.

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Charles Carpenter, Collector, Papers, 1829/1963 1.7 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 8 in. (4 document cases, 5 in. each)

Carpenter, Charles, 1889-1975

Scrapbooks maintained by Charles Carpenter, Grafton, between 1939-1963. Subjects include descriptions of libraries, book and manuscript collections, museums, rare and unusual books, magazines, book reviews, newspapers, and advertisements for books. There are items as early as 1838, 1875, 1898, 1905, 1917, but the mass of the collection is in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Recurrent topics include book auctions, book burnings, the dime novel, the Freedom Train, the Gutenberg Bible, Hyde Park Library, Incunabula, the Library of Congress, "London Times Notes on Sales," The Morgan Library, New York Times magazine and book review, New York Times columnists (Philip Brooks, Edward Larocque Tinker, and Herbert W. Horwill), and stamps. There are also letters concerning books from Charles Carpenter's son. For more detailed description, see inventory sheet.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Charles Carpenter, Collector, Papers, 1847/1965

0.5 Linear Feet Summary: 6 in. (2 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each)

One notebook used by Mr. Carpenter while he was writing "History of American Schoolbooks." Collection also includes 4 notebooks and 14 small scrapbooks containing notes and clippings about William McGuffey and the McGuffey readers. Also included is a small tabloid newspaper and a letter to Reverend Ira Sherman from William McGuffey, November 5, 1847.

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Charles Carpenter, Collector, Papers, 1847/1965 0.5 Linear Feet Summary: 6 in. (2 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each)

Carpenter, Charles, 1889-1975

One notebook used by Mr. Carpenter while he was writing "History of American Schoolbooks." Collection also includes 4 notebooks and 14 small scrapbooks containing notes and clippings about William McGuffey and the McGuffey readers. Also included is a small tabloid newspaper and a letter to Reverend Ira Sherman from William McGuffey, November 5, 1847.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

David Hunter Strother, Artist, Artwork and Papers, 1744/1996, bulk 1833/1887

15.50 Linear Feet Summary: 15 ft. 6 in. (3 document cases, 2.5 in. each); (9 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3.5 in. each); (11 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (23 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (5 large flat storage boxes, 2.5 in. each); (3 flat storage boxes, 1.5 in. each); (4 folders, 0.5 in.); (4 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each); 3 framed paintings 0.1 Gigabytes 1 .pdf file
Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, memorabilia, photographs, journals, drawings, and sketchbooks of David Hunter Strother (1816-1888), a nineteenth century illustrator and writer for Harpers Magazine whose pseudonym, "Porte Crayon", was a household word. Other highlights of his career, all of which are reflected in this collection, are authorship of Virginia Illustrated (1857) and Charleston and its Resources (1878), his work as illustrator for Blackwater Chronicle (1853), service during the Civil War as a Union officer, stint as a newspaper editor, and Consul-Generalship to Mexico (1879-1885). According to Strother's biographer, Cecil D. Eby Jr., his writings linked the two traditions of literature in the south, "the genteel romanticism of the sentimental novelists and the earthy realism of the frontier humorists." In 1872-1875 Strother wrote The Mountains, which Eby considers the first important presentation of West Virginia in literature. The collection includes roughly 590 drawings and sketches, 44 volumes of journals, and several boxes of correspondence. An addendum of 2015/06/13 includes one drawing. An addendum of 2007/02/08 includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, announcements, and photographs regarding Strother and related families of the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia. An addendum of 2021/06/04 contains an abridged transcription by Cecil D. Eby Jr., of Strother's diary, 1879-1880, when Strother was General Consul to Mexico. For contents of the addenda and link to the digital collection: Drawings of David Hunter Strother, please see the Scope and Content Note.
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David Hunter Strother, Artist, Artwork and Papers, 1744/1996, bulk 1833/1887 15.50 Linear Feet Summary: 15 ft. 6 in. (3 document cases, 2.5 in. each); (9 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3.5 in. each); (11 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (23 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (5 large flat storage boxes, 2.5 in. each); (3 flat storage boxes, 1.5 in. each); (4 folders, 0.5 in.); (4 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each); 3 framed paintings 0.1 Gigabytes 1 .pdf file

Strother, David Hunter, 1816-1888
Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, memorabilia, photographs, journals, drawings, and sketchbooks of David Hunter Strother (1816-1888), a nineteenth century illustrator and writer for Harpers Magazine whose pseudonym, "Porte Crayon", was a household word. Other highlights of his career, all of which are reflected in this collection, are authorship of Virginia Illustrated (1857) and Charleston and its Resources (1878), his work as illustrator for Blackwater Chronicle (1853), service during the Civil War as a Union officer, stint as a newspaper editor, and Consul-Generalship to Mexico (1879-1885). According to Strother's biographer, Cecil D. Eby Jr., his writings linked the two traditions of literature in the south, "the genteel romanticism of the sentimental novelists and the earthy realism of the frontier humorists." In 1872-1875 Strother wrote The Mountains, which Eby considers the first important presentation of West Virginia in literature. The collection includes roughly 590 drawings and sketches, 44 volumes of journals, and several boxes of correspondence. An addendum of 2015/06/13 includes one drawing. An addendum of 2007/02/08 includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, announcements, and photographs regarding Strother and related families of the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia. An addendum of 2021/06/04 contains an abridged transcription by Cecil D. Eby Jr., of Strother's diary, 1879-1880, when Strother was General Consul to Mexico. For contents of the addenda and link to the digital collection: Drawings of David Hunter Strother, please see the Scope and Content Note.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Edward E. Meredith Papers, 1817/1954

0.20 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/4 in. (1 folder, 1/2 in.); (1 item in 1 oversize folder, 0.1 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)
Clippings, letters, broadsides, and articles written or collected by E.E. Meredith, author of the newspaper column, "Do You Remember," which appeared in the Fairmont TIMES-WEST VIRGINIAN. There are: copies of theatre programs, 1917-1919; electoral tickets, 1860, 1864; a proclamation by George B. McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, 1861; and an open letter, "Monongahela River Bridge Underwriting Syndicate Managers," concerning the construction of the million-dollar bridge in Fairmont. Subjects include: Marion County, West Virginia; Augusta County, Virginia; farming account books, ca.1853, 1888; Barnsville; Barrackville Covered Bridge; banks and banking in Marion County, 1842-1892; blacksmith shops; buffalo; Marion County Historical Society; coal industry in the Fairmont region; a West Virginia Gold Mining and Milling Company certificate; Grafton and Greenbrier Railroad Company stock certificate; stock of Weston and Fairmont Turnpike Company; school teaching, 1819, 1824, 1850, and 1858. Correspondents or persons mentioned include Charles H. Ambler, Edgar B. Sims, Lemuel Chenoweth, Eli Chenoweth, Paul M. Angle, J.M. Callahan, Ken McClain, William Haymond, Francis H. Pierpont, Ira E. Robinson, and Clem Shaver.
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Edward E. Meredith Papers, 1817/1954 0.20 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/4 in. (1 folder, 1/2 in.); (1 item in 1 oversize folder, 0.1 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Meredith, Edward E.
Clippings, letters, broadsides, and articles written or collected by E.E. Meredith, author of the newspaper column, "Do You Remember," which appeared in the Fairmont TIMES-WEST VIRGINIAN. There are: copies of theatre programs, 1917-1919; electoral tickets, 1860, 1864; a proclamation by George B. McClellan, commanding the Department of the Ohio, 1861; and an open letter, "Monongahela River Bridge Underwriting Syndicate Managers," concerning the construction of the million-dollar bridge in Fairmont. Subjects include: Marion County, West Virginia; Augusta County, Virginia; farming account books, ca.1853, 1888; Barnsville; Barrackville Covered Bridge; banks and banking in Marion County, 1842-1892; blacksmith shops; buffalo; Marion County Historical Society; coal industry in the Fairmont region; a West Virginia Gold Mining and Milling Company certificate; Grafton and Greenbrier Railroad Company stock certificate; stock of Weston and Fairmont Turnpike Company; school teaching, 1819, 1824, 1850, and 1858. Correspondents or persons mentioned include Charles H. Ambler, Edgar B. Sims, Lemuel Chenoweth, Eli Chenoweth, Paul M. Angle, J.M. Callahan, Ken McClain, William Haymond, Francis H. Pierpont, Ira E. Robinson, and Clem Shaver.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Henry Ruffner (1790-1861) and William Henry (1824-1908) Papers, 1829/1913

0.15 Linear Feet Summary: 1 3/4 in. (1 reel of microfilm (310 items), 1.75 in.)
Pamphlets include Henry Ruffner's antislavery pamphlet, 1847, and his Union speech, 1856. Subjects of the manuscripts and correspondence include family history; travel; Kanawha Salt Works; schools in Virginia and Kanawha County; Lane Seminary Library; Presbyterian Church; slavery, coal, gas, iron, and timber; Johns Hopkins, Washington and Lee, Harvard, Hobart, Cornell, and Hampden-Sydney colleges; Greenbrier County; Alabama; election of 1904; University of Virginia; Kanawha Valley floods; Venezuela; American Colonization Society; and the Philippine Islands. Persons mentioned or commented on include Philip Doddridge, John Letcher, Hugh Mercer, and Nelson A. Miles. Correspondents include Charles H. Ambler, John Eaton, John P. Hale, H.R. Helper, W.S. Laidley, David L. Ruffner, John W. Wayland, and William L. Wilson.
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Henry Ruffner (1790-1861) and William Henry (1824-1908) Papers, 1829/1913 0.15 Linear Feet Summary: 1 3/4 in. (1 reel of microfilm (310 items), 1.75 in.)

Pamphlets include Henry Ruffner's antislavery pamphlet, 1847, and his Union speech, 1856. Subjects of the manuscripts and correspondence include family history; travel; Kanawha Salt Works; schools in Virginia and Kanawha County; Lane Seminary Library; Presbyterian Church; slavery, coal, gas, iron, and timber; Johns Hopkins, Washington and Lee, Harvard, Hobart, Cornell, and Hampden-Sydney colleges; Greenbrier County; Alabama; election of 1904; University of Virginia; Kanawha Valley floods; Venezuela; American Colonization Society; and the Philippine Islands. Persons mentioned or commented on include Philip Doddridge, John Letcher, Hugh Mercer, and Nelson A. Miles. Correspondents include Charles H. Ambler, John Eaton, John P. Hale, H.R. Helper, W.S. Laidley, David L. Ruffner, John W. Wayland, and William L. Wilson.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Oren F. Morton (1857-1926) Papers, 1799/1926

2.5 Linear Feet Summary: 2 ft. 6 in. (6 document cases, 5 in. each)

Correspondence, diaries, sketch books, published and unpublished manuscripts, literary notes, business records, and printed material of a schoolteacher, newspaper writer, county historian, novelist and essayist from Kingwood, whose fiction and nonfiction writings deal primarily with the Virginia-West Virginia Allegheny highlands. His best known works are WINNING OR LOSING?: A STORY OF THE WEST VIRGINIA HILLS (1901); LAND OF THE LAUREL: A STORY OF THE ALLEGHANIES (1903); UNDER THE COTTONWOODS: A SKETCH OF LIFE ON A PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD (1900); and histories of Preston, Pendleton, and Monroe counties. The collection also includes a manuscript temperance paper, "The Meridian Temperance Banner," 1880; and a list of marriage bonds for Monroe County, 1799-1846.

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Oren F. Morton (1857-1926) Papers, 1799/1926 2.5 Linear Feet Summary: 2 ft. 6 in. (6 document cases, 5 in. each)

Morton, Oren F., 1857-1926

Correspondence, diaries, sketch books, published and unpublished manuscripts, literary notes, business records, and printed material of a schoolteacher, newspaper writer, county historian, novelist and essayist from Kingwood, whose fiction and nonfiction writings deal primarily with the Virginia-West Virginia Allegheny highlands. His best known works are WINNING OR LOSING?: A STORY OF THE WEST VIRGINIA HILLS (1901); LAND OF THE LAUREL: A STORY OF THE ALLEGHANIES (1903); UNDER THE COTTONWOODS: A SKETCH OF LIFE ON A PRAIRIE HOMESTEAD (1900); and histories of Preston, Pendleton, and Monroe counties. The collection also includes a manuscript temperance paper, "The Meridian Temperance Banner," 1880; and a list of marriage bonds for Monroe County, 1799-1846.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Thomas Dunn English, Author, Manuscript and Letter, 1854/1954

0 Linear Feet Summary: 5 pages
Autograph manuscript with signature at the end of a poem entitled "Logan Grazier". English was an opponent of Edgar Allen Poe and wrote in a style imitative of his immediate literary predecessors. This poem is his celebration of the simple, hardworking herdsmen of Logan County. The author hopes that he, the poem and its subject will be long remembered. Also there is a TLS from the author Davis Grubb (dated: 11 September 1954) requesting that he be excused from meeting a deadline on A Dream of Kings. Talks about how writers have a habit of avoiding what they should be doing.
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Thomas Dunn English, Author, Manuscript and Letter, 1854/1954 0 Linear Feet Summary: 5 pages

English, Thomas Dunn, 1819-1902
Autograph manuscript with signature at the end of a poem entitled "Logan Grazier". English was an opponent of Edgar Allen Poe and wrote in a style imitative of his immediate literary predecessors. This poem is his celebration of the simple, hardworking herdsmen of Logan County. The author hopes that he, the poem and its subject will be long remembered. Also there is a TLS from the author Davis Grubb (dated: 11 September 1954) requesting that he be excused from meeting a deadline on A Dream of Kings. Talks about how writers have a habit of avoiding what they should be doing.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

William Henry Edwards (1822-1909) Papers, 1822/1909

0.54 Linear Feet Summary: 6 1/2 in. (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.); (2 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Typescript copy of William Henry Edwards' Autobiographical Notes. Edwards was a naturalist from Coalburgh, W. Va. And is best known for his three volume "The Butterflies of North America" (1879-1897). Earlier he had published "Voyage up the Amazon" (1847).

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William Henry Edwards (1822-1909) Papers, 1822/1909 0.54 Linear Feet Summary: 6 1/2 in. (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.); (2 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Edwards, William Henry, 1822-1909

Typescript copy of William Henry Edwards' Autobiographical Notes. Edwards was a naturalist from Coalburgh, W. Va. And is best known for his three volume "The Butterflies of North America" (1879-1897). Earlier he had published "Voyage up the Amazon" (1847).

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