Collections

Personal and professional correspondence (1914-1956), typescripts, research notes, clippings, photographs, maps, drafts and manuscripts of published and unpublished historical studies. The correspondence includes a number of letters from historians in the 1920s and 1930s. Other subjects covered in the papers include the McNeill Rangers, the Civil War, Moravian Missionaries, floods in the South Branch Valley, and secondary education in West Virginia.

Historical and genealogical typescripts, clipping scrapbooks, copies of family and court records, and personal recollections of the Guyandotte Valley area of Cabell, Wayne, and Lincoln counties compiled by F.B. Lambert. Several typescripts deal with the religious institutions of the area, the development of road, river, and rail transportation, and the spread of education in the valley. Other materials deal with the frontier and Indian history of the Guyandotte country and the collection includes a school commissioner's book for 1819. Barbourville school record book, 1863, and a minute book of the Barboursville Common Council, 1950-1911.

Historical and genealogical notebooks, notes on census reports, cemetery readings, newspaper history, copies of church and school records, notes on slavery, newspaper clipping scrapbooks, and correspondence.

Correspondence, newsletters, financial reports and records of meetings. Subjects covered include missions, Christian education, mental health, world peace, and radio and television ministries.

This collection includes the records of the West Virginia Labor Federation (WVLF), AFL-CIO as a singular organization, established in 1957, and the records of its predecessor organizations prior to their merger, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO).

Series 1 comprises records related to the West Virginia State Labor Federation, AFL's internal operation and initiatives, including presidents' files, secretary-treasurers' files, general office files, Department of Education files, and financial materials.

Series 2 comprises the records related to the West Virginia State Industrial Union Council, CIO's internal operation and initiatives, including executive secretary-treasurers' files, central office mailings, and records of the Political Action Committee.

Series 3 is reflective of the organization's operations and initiatives after the AFL-CIO merger, including files of various presidents, various secretary-treasurers, central office files, convention files, political materials, legislative files, assorted programs, and financial materials.

Series 4 is a 1978 addendum to this collection that includes additional files of the WVFL, AFL-CIO after the merger, largely featuring records of initiatives like the Political Action Committee and Women's Activities Department.

Series 5 is a 1981 addendum including mostly internal materials, like the notebooks of former organization leaders, photo albums, and copies of AFL-CIO publications.

Organizers featured prominently in the collection include Tom Cairnes, E. A. Carter, and Volney Andrews (series 1); Miles Stanley (series 3 and 5); Ben Skeen (series 1 and 3); Glen Armstrong (series 1, 3, and 5); and Pat Sleeth (series 3). WVLF initiatives featured prominently in the collection include the Committee on Political Education (series 3 and 4) and the Women's Activities Department (series 3 and 4), the Appalachian Council (series 3), the Manpower Development and Training Act (series 3), and others. There is a small amount of audiovisual material in this collection in the form of audio recordings created by the WVLF and some photographs that have been digitized for remote access. However, much of this collection is comprised of paper records, ledgers, photographs, printed correspondence, and notebooks.