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Correspondence, diary, and farm account book of a Confederate officer and Pocahontas County cattleman and farmer. The correspondence deals primarily with Gatewood's activities as adjutant general and chief of staff of the West Virginia Division, United Confederate Veterans. The Civil War diary, 11 March-15 December 1865, covers action of Company F, Eleventh Virginia Cavalry, "Laurel Brigade," Rosser Cavalry Division, from Staunton to Appomattox. The farm account book, 1866-1869, also contains an account of Gatewood's Civil War experiences, including fighting in western Virginia and Jones' northwestern Virginia raid of 1863. The account book, 1801-1805, 1816, pertains to the John Rodgers estate. There are a few papers of Gatewood's father, Samuel V. Gatewood. Other subjects and topics covered are farming and stock raising in Pocahontas County, the Warm Springs of North Carolina, William and Mary College, Virginia Military Institute, Ann Smith Academy, Greenbrier Male Academy, Civil War in the Bath County, Virginia area, and cattle trade in the Kanawha Valley.

Four diaries and a nineteen-page memoir of Allen D. Frankenberry (1841-1909), who served chiefly as an orderly and signalman in the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry from August 1862 to September 1863 and the U.S. Signal Corps in the Department of the Cumberland from October 1863 to June 1865. Frankenberry's diaries are available only on microfilm and are divided into four volumes: Book I, August 20, 1862-September 10, 1863; Book II, September 9, 1864-February 15, 1865; Book III, February 16, 1865-March 8, 1865; and Book IV, January 1, 1868-September 30, 1870. Books I, II, and III document Frankenberry's Civil War service with almost daily entries that chiefly describe his movements (travel in Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1862, Tennessee and Kentucky in 1863, Georgia and North Carolina in 1864 and 1865), foraging for food, rations, camp and quarters, drill, and horses. There is very little information about battles, except for Frankenberry's Signal Corps duty at Kennesaw Mountain and during the battle of Allatoona Pass in October 1864. Topics from the fall of 1864 and early 1865 also include Gen. William T. Sherman, Maj. Gen. John Corse, and prisoners in North Carolina. Book IV tells of Frankenberry's life after the war, including the cutting, sawing, and selling of timber in Point Marion, Penn., and his daily life, including church, home, and marriage. Collection also includes a photocopy of Frankenberry's Civil War memoir. Most of this nineteen-page document, which was written circa 1905, focuses on the Signal Corps during the battle of Allatoona Pass and Frankenberry's return visit to the site of the battle in 1895. He describes the actions and messages of Gen. William T. Sherman and Maj. Gen. John Corse and the gospel song "Hold the Fort."

Civil War diaries authored by First Lieutenant (later Major) Fabricius A. Cather from Flemington, Taylor County, West Virginia, records his experiences in the military and political conflicts of the Civil War. The six diaries, and a transcribed copy of the original 1864 and 1865 diaries, contain entries for the years 1860 to 1865 regarding western Virginia's grassroots efforts to secede from the Confederacy and establish a new state, and of the first battles and skirmishes such as Rich Mountain and Corricks Ford. He describes campaigns involving his regiment, the First West Virginia Cavalry, including the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign under Sigel, Hunter, Sheridan, and Custer against Breckenridge, Early, and Mosby's Rangers; the last battles of Petersburg as Grant broke the Rebel lines; and the continuous fighting during Lee's retreat. Although most diary entries are one or two sentences in length, some entries in 1864 and 1865 are longer, perhaps due to his full involvement in combat. The collection also contains 18 items stored in pockets inside the covers of the diaries, including headquarters passes, business cards, and a complimentary pass for Lt. Cather to attend the June, 1861 "NorthWestern Virginia Convention" in Wheeling. An Addendum includes two scans of photos of Cather, two scans of Civil War military service papers, photocopies of an 1873 Kansas Land Grant, and genealogy material documenting the Cather family.

Diary kept by Corporal James M. Chidester, Co. A, 3rd Regiment, Virginia Volunteer Infantry, during his service in the Civil War, 1861-1864. Contains day by day accounts of the marches and battles in which he participated, descriptions of camp life and general conditions for Union soldiers. His company was active throughout West Virginia, Western Maryland and the Northern Virginia and District Columbia area. He participated in battles at Romney, Cedar Mountain, Manassas Junction, Janelew, Hedgesville, Martinsburg, Bull Run, and White Sulphur Springs. At White Sulphur Springs in 1863 he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Confederate Army and transferred to Richmond, Virginia. He remained in Richmond for about one month, then was traded for Confederate prisoners and sent to Annapolis Hospital at the U.S. Naval Academy, and later discharged, March 1, 1864. The final page of the diary are a memoir of Chidester's life after the war as a teacher and storekeeper in Preston County, West Virginia, where he served as assessor and deputy sheriff for many years. There are also some accounts, a record of letters sent and received while in the hospital in Annapolis, and lists of books read while in Annapolis.

Diaries, account books, and a surveyor's handbook belonging to John Morton, a farmer of Hollidays Cove, Brooke County, West Virginia. The surveyor's book includes lessons on logarithm, geometry, plane trigonometry, and surveying. The diaries and account books record Morton's life and significant events of the period. There is also an undated land deed, a property list of Morton's father, John Morton, and some genealogical information.

This collection includes the Flower Mission Book of the Fairmont W.C.T.U, 1904-1916, including pictures of the state and national officers; A visit to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, 1876 by W.T.W. Crow; and the Civil War diary of James Williams, Aug 31, 1864-Jun 8, 1865. Williams enlisted at Morgantown and served in the Clarksburg, Grafton, Philippi, Sutton area, apparently with Co. A., 6th Reg., Va. Inf. Vols.

Papers of Thomas Tavenner and the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence; memoirs; journals; financial and legal documents; pamphlets; newspapers; and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil War. The Tavenner family were Confederate sympathizers.

Papers of Jewett Palmer, a Union Army officer, Mayor of Marietta (Ohio), and Republican official of Washington County (Ohio). Includes correspondence, daily journals, clipping scrapbooks, military records, genealogical and autobiographical notes, and printed materials. The papers regard the activities of Company B of the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) and Company G of the 36th OVI. There are also papers of Palmer's wife, Saida Scott, who taught music. Addendum of 1996/09/23 contains a muster roll of Company G, 36th OVI, signed by Captain Jewett Palmer, for 10/31/1863 - 12/31/1863. See Scope and Content Note for more information.

This microfilm version of the Thornton Tayloe Perry Collection held by the Virginia Historical Society contains historical material collected by Perry over a 30 year period. It concentrates upon western Virginia and West Virginia with particular emphasis upon the lower Shenandoah Valley and Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties of West Virginia. The microfilm was placed in the West Virginia Collection by the Virginia Historical Society under provisions of a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant.