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Records of land grants made by the Secretary of the Colony of Virginia from 1748 to 1778, by the Virginia Land Office of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1779 until 1863, and by the State of West Virginia from its formation until 1912. These records were held by the Office of the West Virginia State Auditor at the time the Sims Index to Land Grants in West Virginia was published by State Auditor Edgar B. Sims in 1952. The land grants were microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and are now held by the West Virginia State Archives.

Series 1 of this collection primarily covers the period from 1763 through Samuel McDowell Reid's death in 1869. There are also a few later items dealing chiefly with his estate. The bulk of the papers deals with business matters. Documents concern such matters as the James River and Kanawha Company, the North River Navigation Company, Washington College's relationship with the Society of the Cincinnati, slavery, and the financial dealings of John Robinson and the Hare family. Series 2 is comprised of a second set of materials received at a later date. The correspondence supplements that found in Series 1. The other materials consist chiefly of court and other legal records during the 74-year period (1778-1852) in which Andrew and his son, Samuel McDowell Reid, were clerks of the court of Rockbridge County: tavern licenses, taxation lists, apprenticeship deeds, voter lists, militia rolls, invoices, etc. There are also some Washington College papers.

Reverend C. Shirley Donnelly, a Baptist minister and local historian, collected these materials for his own research and interest in West Virginia history. The collection contains various materials pertaining to coal mining and West Virginia history, especially in the New River area and Fayette County. It includes correspondence, land grant and deed records, pamphlets, journals, local histories, records, photographs, and art relating to mining and life in the New River area. One set of correspondence includes recollections, a yearbook, and newspaper clippings by a World War II sailor from the USS West Virginia. Another series of correspondence includes the antebellum, wartime, and postwar letters and personal receipts of Charles Dequasie, a Confederate soldier from Fayette County, West Virginia, and Robert Edward Dequasie's personal and business correspondence. Other ephemera includes West Virginia and mining journals and certificates belonging to Donnelly and others. A scrapbook and notebook of newspaper clippings pertain to early court hangings and executions in West Virginia. Political posters include those for West Virginia Governor William C. Marland and West Virginia Senators Harley Kilgore and Robert Byrd.

Richard G. Joynt's collection of British manuscripts, from the 15th to the 20th century, of 88 letters and documents, 41 cut signatures, and many book engravings. The authors and signatures include kings, queens, prime ministers, nobles, military officers, authors, and other dignitaries. Personal matters, military orders and letters, religion, treaties, politics, intrique, and much more are covered in these letters, often interwoven with current events.

This collection contains approximately 300 rare printed maps, unique manuscript maps, and published texts collected by Richard H. Brown, which pertain to the American Revolutionary War era.

This ledger (16.5" x 14" x 2") contains hand-written recipes for elixers, tonics, medicines, and other cures. Many pages are blank or have been taken out; it is not clear if there was writing on those pages.

Pleasants' ledger kept in Henrico County, Virginia covers 1769-1777. The volume includes a few accounts kept during 1823-1824 by an unidentified individual and a short story, "The Unlucky Man." Physical Description: Letter bound book with the name of John G. Mosby on the cover. 167 pages. 24 1/2 inches.