Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

West Virginia and Regional History Center

West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Primary Collecting Areas:
West Virginia and Appalachia History and Culture
Description:
The West Virginia & Regional History Center preserves and provides access to the records that document the history and culture of the state and the central Appalachian region. The Center is part of West Virginia University Libraries.
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Start Over Repository West Virginia and Regional History Center Subjects Photography

Patrick Ward Gainer (1904-1981), Collector, Papers and Folk Music Recordings, 1890/1981 18.08 Linear Feet 39 document cases, 5 in. each; 1 records carton, 15 in.; 4 microfilm boxes, 1.75 in. each 25.4 Gigabytes 203 .wav files and 28 .mp3 files

Gainer, Patrick W.

Archives of an eminent folklorist and professor of English at West Virginia University. Manuscripts include field folklore collections, lecture notes, book manuscripts, correspondence, student papers, and folksong arrangements. There are also materials regarding Gainer's position as director of South Atlantic USO activities during World War II and a journal of a folksong collecting trip to Ireland in 1961. Also two hundred and ninety-three audio tapes containing vocal and instrumental folk music, folklore and oral history, recorded in West Virginia and in Scotland and Ireland. Nearly half of the material is performed by Gainer himself. The collection also includes news clippings relating to folklore and Gainer's career, as well as a variety of photographs, film clips, and personal awards and memorabilia.

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Phyllis Temple Stealey Williams Scrapbooks, 1925/1962 0.7 Linear Feet 8 in. (4 unboxed scrapbooks)

Williams, Phyllis Temple Stealey
Four scrapbooks of Phyllis Temple Williams nee Stealey of Clarksburg who was an administrative assistant and secretary to nine term U.S. Congressman Cleveland M. Bailey (Democrat, West Virginia) from 1955 to 1963. Includes photographs, postcards, programs, invitations, news clippings and newspapers about: political conventions; elections; inaugurations; World War II; the Stealey family; charitable and campaign fundraisers; and a trip to Italy, Switzerland, France and Great Britain. Three of the scrapbooks are of the years she worked for Rep. Bailey and the other one is of years prior to her employment with him. In the earliest scrapbook are newspapers and mementos of World War II such as ration books and coupons.
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Rainelle COVID Community Documentation Project Photographs, 2020/2021 0.235 Gigabytes 31 files, formats include .jpg and .doc

Shinn, Jamie

30 digital photographs created by participants in a project to capture life in Rainelle, WV during the COVID-19 pandemic and display how the 2016 flood recovery efforts intesected with the COVID-19 pandemic. Project was organized by Jamie Shinn, an Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of Geology & Geography at West Virginia University. The .docx file includes captions/titles and photographer information for the 30 .jpg files.

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Seneca Glass Company Records, 1840/1985 31.63 Linear Feet 11 document cases, 5 in. each; 15 records cartons, 15 in. each; 5 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 flat storage box, 1 1/2 in.; 2 rolled storage tubes, 6 in.; 16 ledgers, 6 ft. 5 in.

Seneca Crystal

Catalogs, reports, contracts, correspondence, blueprints, drawings, certificates, deeds, and photographs of Seneca Glass Company, a Morgantown glass manufacturer noted for its production of handmade lead crystal glassware. The materials of this collection give insight into some of the daily activities of the company and its union such as determination of wages, settling of labor grievances, plans for expansion and modernization, productivity statistics, and stock inventories. Specifically noteworthy are the earliest certificate of incorporation in West Virginia, original construction blueprints by Elmer F. Jacobs, and early catalogs of the company's product line. There are also extensive addenda of Seneca Glass records that were acquired in 2005, 2019, and 2021; a contents list for the 2005 addendum can be found in the control folder onsite.

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Stiles Family Oil and Mining Company Records, 1837/1951 1.46 Linear Feet 1 ft. 5.5 in. (3 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2.5 in.)

Stiles family (Volcano, WV)
Papers, maps, and photos of William C. Stiles and Samuel B. Stiles, developers associated with J.C. Rathbone and J.N. Camden in the oil industry of Wood County, in particular of the oil boom town of Volcano. Most of the papers are business correspondence, receipts and oil drilling records dealing with family owned business in Parkersburg and Volcano, namely the Zero Oil Company, the Power Oil Company, and the Jackson Land and Mining Company. There are family photographs, and records and correspondence about Volcano in which the Stiles had substantial holdings. On August 4, 1879, there was a fire in Volcano which nearly destroyed the whole town and which was presumed to be due to arson with the intent to hurt the family's financial fortune. The history of Volcano is reflected in subsequent Pinkerton reports, news clippings, and correspondence between S.B. Stiles and local historian H.E. Metheny.
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Thomas Zinn, Collector, Papers and Collectibles, 1900/2005 2.1 Linear Feet 2 ft. 0.5 in. (2 flat storage boxes, 2 index card boxes, 2 document cases, 2 loose items)

Zinn, Thomas E.
Pictures and genealogical information on the Zinn and allied families, namely the Shafers, from France and Germany who eventually settled in West Virginia, particularly the line of George Zinn, a Revolutionary War veteran of Preston County. There are also two postcards of Williamstown, Wood County, West Virginia, and 108 photos of Morgantown, West Virginia, especially of the Farmers and Merchants Bank while C. Glenn Zinn was an executive, ca. 1742-1974. Addenda to the collection include: 1) Sixty-one glass lantern slides of a WWI flight squadron's activities, ca. 1917-1918; 2) postcards and travel memorabilia, ca. 1940s; 3) artifacts and illustrations featuring General Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson of the Confederacy during the Civil War, 1994-2002; 4) collectible liberty bell bank issued by the Second National Bank of Morgantown, undated (3 3/4 in. wide, 4 in. tall); 5) State of West Virginia Certificate for Edward W. Dering appointing him a member of the West Virginia Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, 1969; and 6) aerial view (11 in. x 16 in.) of Cheat Lake in the vicinity of the "old" bridge before the Interstate 68 bridge was built. Material covers the years 1742-2005.
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Victorian Photo Album Photographs, 1890/2019 0.4 Linear Feet Summary: 9 in. x 12 in. x 4.5 in. 0.74 Gigabytes 8 .mts files

Martin, Alfred E.
Victorian photo album (with exterior of faded dark burgundy cloth and tarnished gold-toned bas-relief ornaments) with built-in music box containing cartes-de-visites, cabinet cards, postcards, tintypes, and two negatives. Includes individual and family group portraits. Subjects of photographs are unidentified, except for postcard portrait of Pastor J.O. Patterson of Main Street Church of Christ in Elkins, West Virginia. Photographers are identified on some of the card mounts, including Loar and Company of Grafton; Von Allmen of Elkins; Nestor of Elkins; Arcade Studio of Akron, Ohio; Fad Foto Company of Gallipolis, Ohio; and Stanton Photo Company of Springfield, Ohio. The collection also includes the calling card of Jackson J. Triplett and two gift tags illustrated with roses and doves. Digital material includes recordings of the music box.
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White Day Glades Tannery Records, 1855/1977 0.1 Linear Feet Summary: 1 in.

White Day Glades Tannery
A ledger of customers, prices, dates and worked completed by a Taylor County tannery, mill and store owned and operated by the Corrothers family. The mill turned out a variety of leather products ranging from boots to book bindings. Included are entries on repair work particularly shoe repairs. There are also receipts of this mill with an address at McConkey, WV, especially tax receipts. Also included are photos of William A. C. Corrothers and a genealogy of his family.
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William Earle Rumsey, Entomologist and Photographer, Papers, 1806/1961, bulk 1880/1937 7.75 Linear Feet (10 document cases, 5 in. each; 2 document cases, 2.5 in. each; 1 records carton, 15 in.; 5 card file boxes, 4.5 in. each; 2 oversize folders)

Rumsey, William Earle, 1865-1938

Papers of William Rumsey, WVU Agricultural Experiment Station entomologist and photographer. Initial acquisition includes correspondence from a friend at Cornell University, Rumsey's student essays and diaries (1880-1925) and family photographs. There are also glass plate negatives, and lantern slides of West Virginia University subjects, and other subjects as well.

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W.R. Loar and Son, Photographer, Records, 1918/1968 14.3 Linear Feet 14 ft. 4 in. (22 document cases, 5 in. each; 3 records cartons, 15 in. each; 1 small flat storage box, 3 in.; 16 unboxed ledgers, 14 in.)

Loar, W. R. and Son
Studio registers and business records of W.R. Loar and Son, photographers of Grafton, West Virginia. The 25 volumes of studio registers cover the period 1918 to 1965. The 20 volumes of business records include cash books, 1940-1958; inventories, 1949-1955; invoices, 1939-1947; bank books, 1939-1940; and business expense accounts, 1943-1965.
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