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Start Over Date range 1898 Subjects Frontier and pioneer life

H. B. Heiskell Travel Diary, 1847/1954 0.15 Linear Feet Summary: 1 3/4 in. (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

Heiskell, H. B.
A diary of an overland frontier journey to the California gold fields by H. B. Heiskell. The account is about traveling from the Rockies to the Sierras. As part of a wagon train, Heiskell mentions fellow passengers and the daily events of the journey. He notes in detail the scenery, particularly the character of the soil and streams. Mention is made of Native Americans/First Nations Peoples, namely the Paiutes, Shoshonees and Utes. Rumors are related about prices in California, the death of President Polk, and the Mormon settlement at Salt Lake City. The volume also contains a scrapbook portion composed of newspaper clippings about various members of the Heiskell family of Tennessee and related families such as Wallace, Roberts, Frierson and Witzmann.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

James Anderson Terrell Reminiscences, 1837/1921 1 Box

Terrell, James Anderson

The collection consists of the autobiographical memoirs of James Anderson Terrell, a Confederate soldier, settler, cowboy, and politician. Written when Terrell was in his late seventies, the bulk of the material centers on his experiences during the American Civil War and his later time spent pioneering in Kansas. Additional topics include his beginnings in Georgia, life during Reconstruction, and his return to Georgia at the end of his life.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

J.C. Sanders, Collector, Papers, 1700/1950 0.48 Linear Feet Summary: 5 3/4 in. (1 folder, 1/2 in.); (3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Sanders, John C.
A collection of court records, genealogies, historical sketches and other materials relating to Hampshire and Mineral counties in West Virginia and surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland. Subjects include a naturalist description of the area and an early history of the region including Indians, white settlement, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. There is material on the Civil War and World War I and World War II veterans.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

John P. Clarke (1825-1900) Papers, 1851/1900 0.44 Linear Feet Summary: 5 1/4 in. (3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Clarke, John P. (1825-1900)
Correspondence, business and legal papers, surveys, account books, and a diary of a Burning Springs surveyor, oil developer, rural entrepreneur, horticulturalist, and captain of the Little Kanawha River steamer GENERAL JACKSON. Collection includes a brief journal of a trip from Des Moines, Iowa, to the Forks of the Platte in 1860; papers of Clarke's venture in quartz mining and milling in the Colorado Territory, 1861-1863; surveys of the Burning Springs oil region; letters from James C. Clarke, president of the Wirt Oil and Mining Company of which Clarke was superintendent; papers on the National Grange, the West Virginia Grange (Patrons of Husbandry), cooperatives, and the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Wool Growers Association; a diary of farming operations at Burning Springs; letters from Clarke's brother, James C., while a member of the Pennsylvania senate, 1875-1880; letterheads from Little Kanawha and Ohio Valley mercantile firms and steamboat companies; and family letters. Other subjects covered include: the Allegheny Valley Railroad; early history of Bethalto, Illinois; the speculative spirit and western expansion, 1860; freighting on the Great Plains during the Civil War; construction of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad near Council Bluffs in 1868; and the effect of the German crisis of 1866 on American oil prices.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Lloyd B. Ganoe, Collector, Papers, 1836/1925 0.8 Linear Feet Summary: 10 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each)

Ganoe, Lloyd B.
The collection consists of correspondence, business and legal papers, family photographs, clippings, and account books of Zebulon and Eli Musgrave and Daniel and William L. Turney of Fairmont, West Virginia. Aside from family and business affairs and estate settlements, subjects include Missouri frontier life and society in 1836; strife at Lecompton, Kansas School Territory, in 1857; local history of the Fairmont area; and Fairmont Normal School. About 2 ins. of material concerns coal mining, including account books showing coal prices for the Monongahela Gas and Coal Co. of West Virginia and papers concerning production of gas from coal.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Marion County, White Day Creek History, 1820/1997 0.25 Linear Feet Summary: 2 1/2 in. (1 document case)

White Day Creek Watershed Association

Records regarding the history of the White Day Creek region of Marion County, WV. There are also photocopies of primary sources of information supplementary to the White Day Creek book, including: letters and financial ledger of the Watson family (1820-1890); essay titled "Smithtown Local History" (1922); business ledger of George Washington Stevens, a cobbler (1890s); deeds and estate sale documents of William Morris (1854); grist mill business ledger of Sam Smith (1894); financial ledger and "folk wisdom" of Levi Devault (ca. 1875-1900); and the history of the Weaver family, including estate sale information (1854). The history of education in Marion County is documented in the photocopied "1992 Dedication of the Snodgrass One-Room Schoolhouse Museum; October 30, 1992." (Original in Printed Ephemera Collection.) This dedication program also features a reminiscence of Ethel Ferrell (b. 1898), a Marion County school teacher.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Roy Bird Cook (1886-1961), Collector, Papers, 1774/1943 5.5 Linear Feet 5 ft. 6 in. (10 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 3 in.); (3 oversize folders, 1 in.)

Cook, Roy Bird, 1886-1961
Includes genealogy and Civil War records collected by Roy Bird Cook of Lewis County, West Virginia. Series 1 through 5 were compiled by Marcellus W. Zimmerman. They include correspondence, church records, academic records, genealogical records, research manuscripts, and clippings regarding primarily the genealogy and history of Lewisburg and Greenbrier County, and the life and career of Confederate Brigadier General Alexander W. Reynolds. Series 6 through 8 were collected by Roy Bird Cook. They include military records and clippings regarding West Virginia units, the Confederate 31st Virginia Infantry, and other Confederate units from Virginia; there are also business and miscellaneous records, including ledgers, clippings, research notes, etc. Series 9 includes oversized material from earlier series.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Virgil Anson Lewis, Historian, Papers, 1895/1912 1.75 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 8 1/2 in. (3 document cases, 5 in.); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.)

Lewis, Virgil Anson, 1848-1912
Published and unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, and speeches of Virgil A. Lewis (1848-1912), the first state historian and archivist and a former state superintendent of schools. Subjects include the exploration, Indian wars, and settlement of Western Virginia; the Tory insurrection in the Valley of Lost River, 1781; the West Virginia new state movement; Masonry in West Virginia; Andrew S. Rowan; and various West Virginia authors. Correspondents include: George W. Atkinson, Waitman Barbe, Danske Dandridge, William M.O. Dawson, Granville D. Hall, Hu Maxwell, Mrs. Alexander McVeigh Miller, and Melville D. Post. See Scope and Content Note for contents list.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Watson Family Papers, 1869/1953 0.8 Linear Feet Summary: 10 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each)

Watson family

Personal papers of the Watson family in Marion County, including a genealogy of the Watson and Haymond families, newspaper clippings of weddings, obituaries, social and business activities, and European travel. Mention is made of coal mining development in Marion County, strikes, labor meetings, conservation, and improvement of farming practices. There is material on politics, industrial development, early iron mining, Marion county history, the Barrickville covered bridge, Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike, and the Presbyterian Church in Fairmont.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

William A. Moreland, Political Papers, World War II Records, and Other Material, 1824/2008 27.2 Linear Feet Summary: (22 document cases, 5 in. each); (4 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (4 records cartons, 15 in. each); (6 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (4 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (3 small flat storage boxes, 1 1/2 in. each); (1 newspaper box, 3 in.); (1 card index box 4 1/2 in.); (1 flag box, 23 in.); (2 roll storage box, 5 in.) (2 roll storage box, 4 in.); (1 roll storage box, 6 in.); (1 steamer trunk, 30 in.); (1 large wooden clothes pin, 27 in.); (2 oversized folders 0.1 in.)

Moreland, William A., 1916-1986
Papers of a Morgantown lawyer and state legislator. Includes political correspondence of William Moreland addressing issues ranging from abortion to coal mining with a majority of the papers regarding the operation of state bureaucracy and the importance of organized labor in West Virginia. Addendum of 2010/10/29 includes Moreland's World War II (WWII) service records, family genealogy, and family photographs. Addenda of 2011/03/21 and 2011/06/20 include papers of William Moreland, and papers of his father and grandfather, James R. Moreland and Joseph Moreland. Addendum of 2014/06/12 includes some papers and many artifacts. Addendum of 2016/07/27 includes drawings of properties in Monongalia County and political campaign and other material. See "Scope and Content Note" for details. Addendum of 2017/05/22 contains two scrapbooks of clippings documenting Moreland from 1933-1970. There are additional addenda.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

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