Collections

Materials from several political campaigns are among the papers, including those of Rosalinda Flint's 1978 campaign for the U.S. Senate; Brian Williams' 1978 campaign for West Virginia House of Delegates, 27th District; Tom Moriarty's 1980 campaign for West Virginia Governor; and the 1980 campaign to elect Andrew Pulley and Mathilde Zimmermann as President and Vice-President, respectively, of the United States. The campaign papers address such issues as occupational health and safety, especially in coal mining; the 1978 suit by Flint and Williams protesting the restrictive election laws of West Virginia; the dangers of nuclear power; women's rights, especially the Equal Rights Amendment and freedom to obtain abortions; and the reinstitution of registration for the draft.

The ledger of a Clarksburg hotel kept by its proprietor W. W. Boggess. It includes names of those registered and their town or city of home residence. Also there are accounts of travel expenses, groceries and construction costs. Part of this ledger was used as a scrapbook of election statistics from news clippings of the 1890's for Harrison County.

Mainly papers of Samuel T. Tolbert, a onetime constable of Lewis County and postmaster at Frenchton, who operated a general store and acted as agent and surveyor for out-of-state landowners. Included are the papers of Zadock Lanham, J.S. Wilson, John L. Jacob, and W.C. Tolbert. There are surveys, legal papers, correspondence, and lottery certificates from Ohio and Delaware, and Democratic state and county election tickets. Correspondents include Lewis Maxwell, J.M. Bennett, and F.H. Pierpont.

A scrapbook and personal diary of Volney Andrews, one-time president of Local 175, covering the years 1938-1949. There is material on disputes over the legitimacy of the AFL and the CIO especially as it was reflected in state regional labor councils and jurisdictional struggles in West Virginia between the United Mine Workers of America and the Progressive Mine Workers of America. Also mentioned are political concerns such as elections, congressional investigations of labor and foreign trade bills, state labor legislative proposals and charges of corruption in West Virginia's handling of the WPA. There is mention of the 1940 Charleston construction trades strike and also of that city's segregated neighborhood housing projects as well as material reflecting the predominant racist attitudes of that era. Places mentioned are Bluefield, Charleston, Fairmont, Grafton, Logan, Morgantown, and Wheeling. People mentioned are Van A. Bittner, Tom Cairnes, F.J. Dillon, William Green, Rush D. Holt, John L. Lewis, Joe Ozanic, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Frank W. Snyder.

Publicity file of T.C. Townsend covering his primary race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and his subsequent race against the Democratic nominee, H. Guy Kump, in 1932. The scrapbook also contains some loose clippings pertaining to Townsend's support of the Dewey-Bricker presidential ticket in 1944.

Circuit and county court papers including minute books, order books, witness books, rule books, execution books, and trial dockets. There are poll books for state and federal elections (1816-52).

Letters written by various members of the Varner family in Gilmer County and Baltimore, Maryland, and a number of letters of S.W. Varner, a physician in Kingwood, relating to his medical practice. Included is a letter from M.O. Dawson who is running for governor soliciting names of Republican voters. Subjects covered include death, illness, and news in the family, and West Virginia state politics.

Correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and printed material of the Republican national committeeman, state political leader, and president of the Plymouth Oil Company. Subjects include Republican national conventions, 1928-1960; state and local politics, 1919-1961; National Petroleum Council; Plymouth and related oil companies; Republican rejection of the League of Nations; and Hallanan's role as temporary chairman of the 1952 Republican National Convention. Correspondents include Michael L. Benedum, John W. Bricker, John J. Cornwell, John W. Davis, Thomas E. Dewey, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Leonard W. Hall, Warren G. Harding, Henry D. Hatfield, Will H. Hays, Herbert Hoover, Herbert Hoover, Jr., Arthur Krock, Alfred M. Landon, Louis Johnson, William E. Jenner, Henry R. Luce, Theodore R. McKeldin, William C. Marland, Richard Nixon, Chapman Revercomb, Harold E. Stassen, Harold E. Talbot, Earl Warren, and Sinclair Weeks. Subjects include the controversy over the review policies and contents of the West Virginia GUIDE; dispute with the Surplus Commodities Corporation over the distribution of food to striking miners in the southern coalfields, 1939; the H.G. Kump - M.M. Neely primary contest, 1942; support for Rush D. Holt's isolationist policies; the gubernatorial race, 1940; the contest between the Steel Workers' Organizing Committee and the Weirton Steel Employees' Security League, 1937; Holt's opposition to the "Little Hatch Bill"; the establishment of a merit council in the Department of Public Assistance, 1939-1940; and Holt's presidential address before the West Virginia Bar Association, 1944. Correspondents include John J. Cornwell, John W. Davis, Rush D. Holt, George W. Johnson, Paul V. McNutt, Matthew M. Neely, Milo Perkins, Lee Pressman, Jennings Randolph, Chapman Revercomb, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William H. Vanderbilt.