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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.

Manuscript surveys and plats of land in Monongalia and Preston counties, West Virginia, by Samuel Hanway, county surveyor. There are papers showing acreage and owners; an early plat of Morgantown showing streets, lots and numbers; plat of courses of the Monongalia and Preston County boundary; maps of Monongalia and Preston counties, including a map of eleven tracts of land on Prichard and Whiteday Creek, Monongalia County, which notes the Morgantown-Clarksburg Road, Cratzer's Tavern, and the Van Swearing(en) Walnut Tavern and Mill.

Eighteen diaries, 1890-1934, of Samuel R. Jenkins, a civil engineer from Grafton. There are lengthy entries for the period, 1890-1892, when Jenkins was a student at West Virginia University. He did surveys and supervised construction work in various parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, read widely, and commented on works of Henry George, John W. Draper, and John Fiske. There are photographs of Jenkins and of an engineering job done by him for the American Bridge Company at Ambridge, Pennsylvania, in 1902. There is also a student laboratory manual containing direction for a course of experiments in chemistry.

The day book and papers of Dr. Squire Bosworth and family. Squire Bosworth was one of the earliest physicians of Randolph County, and his day book records details of his medical practice indicating common procedures and remedies as well as charges and costs during the early nineteenth century. Bosworth was also a deputy and county clerk of Randolph County, and included among the papers are court documents. Along with his son, Squire Newton Bosworth, the family acquired interests in landholding which is reflected in deeds, surveys, correspondence and tax receipts from Texas and West Virginia. Among the correspondence is an 1885 letter from William L. Wilson surveying his Congressional re-election possibilities.

Survey maps. Jos. Davisson's survey of 1785 for 200 and 142 acres and James Anderson's survey of 1786 for 356 acres, all three plots on Simpson's Creek in Harrison County, (West) Virginia.

Surveyor's equipment, including compass, two rulers or protractors, and metal cable, owned by Samuel Jackson, a successful entrepreneur of western Pennsylvania. One of the rulers, bearing engravings of the initials "GW" and the year "1781", is thought to be a gift from George Washington to Samuel Jackson. The survey cable could be from the middle 19th century. For additional biographical information regarding Samuel Jackson, consult the historical note for this collection; for provenance information regarding the compass, see the Newsletter of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, Volume 25, No. 2, Spring 2010 (a copy is filed in the control folder for this collection).

Surveys of land in several Virginia counties, including Frederick, Rockingham, and Shenandoah, some of which are now in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Surveys of 1753 and 1760-1761 were conducted by Thomas Rutherford.

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.