Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Subjects World War (1914-1918)
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

John Alexander Graham Papers, 1910/1947, bulk 1915/1947

8 Linear Feet

This collection includes Graham's compositions, World War I papers and correspondence, memorabilia of Washington and Lee University activities, scores, sheet music, notebooks, and other correspondence.

Top 3 results view all 5

John Alexander Graham Papers, 1910/1947, bulk 1915/1947 8 Linear Feet

Graham, John Alexander

This collection includes Graham's compositions, World War I papers and correspondence, memorabilia of Washington and Lee University activities, scores, sheet music, notebooks, and other correspondence.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Coray S. Brown family photograph collection, 1910/1960

1 Cubic Feet

The Coray S. Brown family photograph collection ranges in date from 1875 to about 1960. The collection includes studio portraits and outdoor imagery of the Brown family, friends and acquaintances, groups and outdoor scenery from in and around the Lexington, Collierstown, Murat, North Buffalo, and Oxford Presbyterian Church communities in Rockbridge County. One of the highlights of the collection is Coray S. Brown's photo album which includes images from his time as a student at Washington and Lee University n 1910-1911. Outdoor scenes include the Collierstown Presbyterian Church, the Palmer High School, Virginia Military Institute cadets marching in Lexington, East Lexington and Jordan's Point. The album also documents his experience as medical staff in the 323rd Field Hospital unit of the U.S. Army's 81st Division during the First World War. Coray Swink Brown was the son of James Henry Brown and grandson of Andrew Jackson Brown both blacksmiths. His mother was Ellen H. Brown and his wife was Dorothy Reid Brown. Coray and Dorothy Brown's son, Thomas Deaver Brown, died in 1944 while serving in the 88th Division of the U.S. Army in Italy during WWII. The collection consists of a large assortment of photographic formats and sizes as well as photographic postcards. A majority of the loose images are not identified.

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Coray S. Brown family photograph collection, 1910/1960 1 Cubic Feet

The Coray S. Brown family photograph collection ranges in date from 1875 to about 1960. The collection includes studio portraits and outdoor imagery of the Brown family, friends and acquaintances, groups and outdoor scenery from in and around the Lexington, Collierstown, Murat, North Buffalo, and Oxford Presbyterian Church communities in Rockbridge County. One of the highlights of the collection is Coray S. Brown's photo album which includes images from his time as a student at Washington and Lee University n 1910-1911. Outdoor scenes include the Collierstown Presbyterian Church, the Palmer High School, Virginia Military Institute cadets marching in Lexington, East Lexington and Jordan's Point. The album also documents his experience as medical staff in the 323rd Field Hospital unit of the U.S. Army's 81st Division during the First World War. Coray Swink Brown was the son of James Henry Brown and grandson of Andrew Jackson Brown both blacksmiths. His mother was Ellen H. Brown and his wife was Dorothy Reid Brown. Coray and Dorothy Brown's son, Thomas Deaver Brown, died in 1944 while serving in the 88th Division of the U.S. Army in Italy during WWII. The collection consists of a large assortment of photographic formats and sizes as well as photographic postcards. A majority of the loose images are not identified.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Freeman Hansford Hart Collection, 1910/1965

1 Linear Feet
Top 3 results view all 13

Correspondence 1910-1919 Box 1, Folder 2

Contains correspondence with Henry St. George Tucker regarding the maintenance of Lexington, Virginia's Col Alto estate, where Hart was residing prior to World War I. Also contains correspondane concerning WWI, including notices of military protocol. The U.S.S. Mongolia and 317th Infantry at Sea, and the medical detachment of which Hart was a part, are topics of interest.

  1. Correspondence 1910-1965
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Dale L. Walker Research Collection, 1914/1985

4 Linear Feet

The series contains primary and secondary resources on the Rockwell brothers, Paul Ayres and Kiffin Yates, and World War I aviation history utilized by author and historian Dale L. Walker in his research. Walker has written, among others, Only the Clouds Remain: Ted Parsons of the Lafayette Escadrille, Amsterdam, NY: Alandale Press, 1980.

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Dale L. Walker Research Collection, 1914/1985 4 Linear Feet

Walker, Dale L.

The series contains primary and secondary resources on the Rockwell brothers, Paul Ayres and Kiffin Yates, and World War I aviation history utilized by author and historian Dale L. Walker in his research. Walker has written, among others, Only the Clouds Remain: Ted Parsons of the Lafayette Escadrille, Amsterdam, NY: Alandale Press, 1980.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

G. Raymond Womeldorf Papers, 1917/1919

5 Files

George (G.) Raymond Womeldorf was born in Lexington, Virginia in 1893 and raised on the family farm near east Lexington (Va.). He attended Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1917. During that year Womeldorf volunteered to join Washington and Lee University's ambulance unit, which would become U.S. Army Ambulance Service Section 534 and serve with distinction in France. During his deployment, Womeldorf was wounded in the right leg and gassed. He subsequently lost the leg just above the knee and would suffer from lung damage for the rest of his life. Both Womeldorf and his unit received the French Croix de Guerre medals in honor of their service in France. This collection contains a letter from Isabel D. Hunter, a Red Cross Aide, to Raymond G. Womeldorf dated Nov. 30, 1919. Hunter writes Womeldorf during his stateside convalescence. The collection also includes a postcard album compiled by Womeldorf's sisters in Lexington, Virginia. Many of the postcards are written by Womeldorf from France during his deployment and include diary-like entries. Lastly, more than fifty photographs, including multiple images of G. Raymond Womeldorf, are included documenting members of his unit and his experiences in France. Womeldorf went on to become a Presbyterian missionary to China upon returning to the U.S. was a career Presbyterian minister. He died in 1983.

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G. Raymond Womeldorf Papers, 1917/1919 5 Files

Womeldorf, G. Raymond (George Raymond), 1893 - 1983

George (G.) Raymond Womeldorf was born in Lexington, Virginia in 1893 and raised on the family farm near east Lexington (Va.). He attended Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1917. During that year Womeldorf volunteered to join Washington and Lee University's ambulance unit, which would become U.S. Army Ambulance Service Section 534 and serve with distinction in France. During his deployment, Womeldorf was wounded in the right leg and gassed. He subsequently lost the leg just above the knee and would suffer from lung damage for the rest of his life. Both Womeldorf and his unit received the French Croix de Guerre medals in honor of their service in France. This collection contains a letter from Isabel D. Hunter, a Red Cross Aide, to Raymond G. Womeldorf dated Nov. 30, 1919. Hunter writes Womeldorf during his stateside convalescence. The collection also includes a postcard album compiled by Womeldorf's sisters in Lexington, Virginia. Many of the postcards are written by Womeldorf from France during his deployment and include diary-like entries. Lastly, more than fifty photographs, including multiple images of G. Raymond Womeldorf, are included documenting members of his unit and his experiences in France. Womeldorf went on to become a Presbyterian missionary to China upon returning to the U.S. was a career Presbyterian minister. He died in 1983.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

John H. Tucker Papers, 1903/1981

3 Cubic Feet
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Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Leon Johenning World War I Map collection, 1918

2.0 Linear Feet 1 oversize folder

This collection consists of two World War I maps dated 1918. One map is of Commercy, France. The other map is of the Region of Stenay-Souilly in France and is of the "Enemy Order of Battle, 1918 October 30-31."

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Leon Johenning World War I Map collection, 1918 2.0 Linear Feet 1 oversize folder

Johenning, Leon

This collection consists of two World War I maps dated 1918. One map is of Commercy, France. The other map is of the Region of Stenay-Souilly in France and is of the "Enemy Order of Battle, 1918 October 30-31."

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Rockbridge Historical Society files on genealogy, 1700/1960

9 Box

This collection contains biographical and genealogical information on various people, primarily from in and around Rockbridge County.

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McClung Family Box 6, Folder 12

This folder contains handwritten notes on the family of Julian and Nora McClung, family photos, a notice of military selection, enlistment record, and discharge papers for Julian McClung in World War I.

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Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Newton D. Baker Jr. Collection, 1905/1925

9 Cubic Feet
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Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Paul Ayres Rockwell papers, 1914/1985, bulk 1915/1980

12 Linear Feet

The Paul Ayres Rockwell Papers consists primarily of Rockwell's personal archive and research collection on the history of the French and American volunteer air combat corps, the "Lafayette Escadrille," and the American volunteers of the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. Highlights of this collection include the war period letters to Paul Rockwell from various pilots and related officials of the Lafayette Escadrille, members of the French Foreign Legion and the letters of his brother, the famous American combat aviator Kiffin Yates Rockwell and his mother Loula Rockwell. Another important feature of this collection is the large assortment of related original photographs taken by Paul Rockwell during the war while documenting his and his brother's experiences in the field. The photographic holdings also include a substantial cache of collected imagery relative to the key subjects. After the First World War, as Lafayette Escadrille historian, Paul Rockwell continued to expand upon the archive to include content related to the lives of the veterans, unit reunions, memorials, reminiscences through about 1980. Lastly, the collection is rich with primary and secondary resources pertaining to Rockwell family genealogy, Paul Rockwell's biographical history, and general history of both world wars.

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Paul Ayres Rockwell papers, 1914/1985, bulk 1915/1980 12 Linear Feet

Rockwell, Kiffin Yates, 1892-1916

The Paul Ayres Rockwell Papers consists primarily of Rockwell's personal archive and research collection on the history of the French and American volunteer air combat corps, the "Lafayette Escadrille," and the American volunteers of the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. Highlights of this collection include the war period letters to Paul Rockwell from various pilots and related officials of the Lafayette Escadrille, members of the French Foreign Legion and the letters of his brother, the famous American combat aviator Kiffin Yates Rockwell and his mother Loula Rockwell. Another important feature of this collection is the large assortment of related original photographs taken by Paul Rockwell during the war while documenting his and his brother's experiences in the field. The photographic holdings also include a substantial cache of collected imagery relative to the key subjects. After the First World War, as Lafayette Escadrille historian, Paul Rockwell continued to expand upon the archive to include content related to the lives of the veterans, unit reunions, memorials, reminiscences through about 1980. Lastly, the collection is rich with primary and secondary resources pertaining to Rockwell family genealogy, Paul Rockwell's biographical history, and general history of both world wars.

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