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Correspondence and business papers of Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916), a successful businessman and politician from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. The collection largely documents his business and political career, although there are personal papers in the collection as well. His business interests were largely concerned with coal mining, timber, and railroads. Types of documents include letters, reports, account books, and maps, among other material. Much of the correspondence is arranged alphabetically. The scope and content note of each record series provides substantial detail regarding content.

Production statistics and extracts from the historical files of the Smokeless Operators Association (until 1958 the Pocahontas Operators Association) showing the history of coal mining in the Pocahontas field and production, sales, and distribution statistics for the years 1930 and 1933-1961. There are weekly, monthly, and yearly reports on net tons produced, hours, worked, and tonnage lost because of labor problems, mine disability, or lack of market. There are lists of the coal companies operating in the Pocahontas district during these years. Some files include reports on net production by grade.

The collection includes manuscript materials (correspondence, land warrant, accounts, receipts, petition and will) and printed and typescript materials (invitations, broadside, newspaper and magazine clippings). Subjects of the various items include sale and survey of land; schools, churches, estates, comment on and description of agriculture, social and economic conditions in Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, California, Morgantown, Fairmont, and Wheeling, WV, and Ireland; westward migration [1849]; gold mining, enslaved Africans; and business and family affairs.