Collections

Logbooks and accounts, 1768-1787, of Captain Phillip Hamman of Ipswich, Mass., master of the schooner, Hopewell, and other vessels. Includes logbook, 20 March - 17 April 1768, of a voyage from St. Eustatius, Leeward Islands, West Indies to Ipswich; logbook Feb. 1768; ledger, 1768-1787, of labor and fish trade; logbook, 1769, with memorandum of crew and cargo; logbook, 1787, tallying cargo of corn; and accounts, 1771.

This inventory, chiefly 1786-1815, represents three generations of the Preston family, and likewise can be divided into the following:

Prints and engravings removed from 18th century but mostly 19th century books or periodicals. Most prints cannot be matched with the book from which it came or the date. The location of the subject matter of each print or engraving is the primary criterion used in the organization of the collection.

The larger collection consists of the original materials and 7 additions including the most recent one represented in this finding aid.

This Collection contains a number of items all from the original Ramsay Family papers which were donated to the Smithsonian Institute: an account book from Andrew and William Ramsay dated 1798-1801, photocopies of Ramsay letters, history of Ramsay house, genealogical notes on the Ramsay family, Rebecca Ramsay Reese papers and diaries.

Typescript copies from records of the Kingwood Methodist Church; articles on the Judy, Cuppy, Cuppett, and Guseman families; a copy of John Fairfax's will, 1843; minutes of a meeting of the board of education, Reno School District, Preston County, 1880; a letter from Senator J.P. Dolliver; letter from John Scott to James H. Carroll, Richmond, 20 February 1840, concerning a bill to permit construction of a road from German Settlement through Kingwood to Morgantown; and an account book, 1862-1871, of Samson W. Smalley, a carpenter and contractor from Oakland, Maryland.

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.

This collection contains original records and photocopied documentation that was compiled in the early 1990s to provide necessary assistance for the preparation of the Historic Structures Report. Original materials include correspondence of Mount Vernon Superintendents, employees, and Vice Regents, accounts and financial documents, reports, photographs, and architectural drawings. Photocopied or printed documents were taken from ledgers, accounts, and correspondence of George Washington and his staff, published primary and secondary sources, and MVLA reports. The dates of original materials range from the 1860s to 2005, however, the date range of information from the files is from the 1750s to 2005.