Search

Papers of a land surveyor from Hardy County include family and business correspondence, 1888-1926; letters from George Benson Kuykendall on family genealogy, 1911-1914; Kuykendall's correspondence as a member of the county board of education, 1908-1915; account books, diaries, surveying notes, Sunday school class book, 1876-1923; and plats, surveys, and deeds of land in the Hardy-Grant County area.

Journal of John Smith, Methodist circuit rider, concerning his work on the Greenbrier Circuit in West Virginia, 1787 and 1788; the Redstone Circuit in western Pennsylvania and western Virginia, 1786-1787; and the Holston Circuit in 1787. Smith preached Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election, reprobation, and perseverance. There is a typescript, "Greenbrier Circuit - Its First Year; 1787-1788," by the Reverend Lawrence Sherwood, based on the Smith journal.

A ledger and financial records of Logan Osborne (1836-39) also containing the will of Balamm Osborne. The ledger contains accounts of an assortment of general store goods from perishables such as food and candles to durable goods such as tools and carriages. There are Osborne family deeds, land contracts and letters about family matters and debt (1808-89). There are early nineteenth century state bank script from Louisiana, Virginia, and North Carolina. There are land indentures and legal papers from eighteenth century Virginia, mainly of Matthew Rankin and Thomas Rutherford who contended for property in Ohio County. There is the thirty-eight page diary of Cleon Moore, a Confederate soldier from Charles Town. As a volunteer regiment member he was eyewitness and participant in the siege and capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry. His unit was again called out prior to Virginia's secession resolution. He recounts their early maneuvering, stationing and being consolidated in the Virginia Second Cavalry which served at the First Battle of Bull Run. The account ends with the early 1862 campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley of General "Stonewall" Jackson. There is Civil War related material of Logan Osborne including records of loans to the Confederate government, letters to family and friends recounting and justifying the events and cause of the Confederacy and an 1861 January 28 broadside, entitled: "To The People of Jefferson County...", of Logan Osborne as a Unionist candidate to the Virginia Secession Convention. Also there are early West Virginia political papers pertaining to Jefferson County such as an attempt to move the county seat to Sheperdstown. Also included are George Shutt business letters and certificates as a geologist; certificates from the United Daughters of the Confederacy to Mary M. Shutt; and Osborne family history, genealogy and obituaries of descendents.

Diary of Luke Wilcox, a Kanawha County farmer, merchant, salt well and furnace owner and operator, written in memorandum form except for scattered entries giving more information on specific subjects, such as the weather, churches and ministers, farm operation, travel, salt wells and furnaces, slaves, names of personal and business correspondents, coal, and land purchases. There is also an addendum regarding the Wilcox family bible. See "Scope and Contents" for additional information.

Papers relating to the early development of Marietta and the Ohio Valley include the journal, 1784-1790, and correspondence, 1776-1824 (3 vols.), of a Revolutionary War officer and organizer of the Ohio Company, General Rufus Putnam; papers of Samuel Prescott Hildreth entitled: "Early Events in the Valley of Ohio, 1787 to 1847" (2 vols.); letter from Nathan Goodale to Rufus Putnam, 15 March 1788; journal of Joseph Buell, 1785-1789; and a journal of John Mathews, 1786 (holograph copy).

Papers of a pioneer Monroe County family, including a manuscript ciphering book, 1790, a diary of a journey to southwestern Ohio, 1810, a manuscript militia manual and company roster, and various business, church, and legal papers of county militia captain, Peter Larew. The papers of his son, John M., include a general merchandise account book, the estate papers, and various business and legal documents. The collection also contains a series of letters, 1876-1892, from John Larew's sons in California commenting upon school teaching, agriculture, and travel in the Far West.

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 the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence, newspaper clippings, maps, and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil War. The Tavenner family was sympathetic to the Confederate cause. One member of the family, William Cabell Tavenner, served in the Confederate army; his letters are part of the collection. This collection also contains material related to families allied to the Tavenner family by marriage, particularly the Withers family, including material regarding Alexander Scott Withers and his book Chronicles of Border Warfare . The collection is organized into six series, including: 1. Genealogy (1868-1952); 2. Correspondence (1778-1953); 3. Maps (1863, 1939, undated); 4. Miscellaneous (1822-1950, undated); 5. Newspaper Clippings (1829-1931); and 6. Oversize Materials (1829-1861). Please see "Scope and Content Note" and "Historical Note" for further information.

Receipts and land records of two generations of the Weltons in Hampshire and Hardy counties, West Virginia, including papers of Job, Aaron, Archibald, and A. Archibald Welton. There is a Fairfax deed for eighty-four acres in Hampshire County in 1770, and a pocket diary of A.A. Welton, for 1880-1881, which records daily farm chores, livestock sales, and the like.