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Papers of a Morgantown resident who practiced medicine and operated a pension claim office in Mt. Morris, Greene County, Pennsylvania, ca.1847-1859, and who later conducted his claim business in Morgantown while serving with the U.S. Internal Revenue Bureau as collector for the second district of West Virginia. The collection contains letters, accounts, and business papers of Morgantown residents, 1790-1855, including a private account book of Hugh McNeely, 1790-1800. The internal revenue returns and tax statements give the occupations of many persons in northern West Virginia, ca.1861-1886. There are also photographs; genealogical compilations on the Statler, Morgan, and Wendell Brown families; and typescripts of Monongalia County history.

Correspondence, legal papers, photographs, and printed materials of John W. Mason (1842-1917). Mason was a circuit court and state Supreme Court judge, member of the Virginia State Debt Commission, and commissioner of Internal Revenue. The general correspondence contains personal and business letters, as well as manuscript speeches, notebooks, and reports. The period while Mason was circuit judge is particularly sparse. Also includes Internal Revenue correspondence consisting of about 8,500 pages in letter press copy books. Roughly half of the collection is devoted to his legal papers and printed materials concerning law in general. Subjects include early development of the Republican Party in West Virginia; political campaigns in West Virginia from 1870-1916; Monongalia Academy; industrial development; Internal Revenue Service (1889-1893); the Virginia Debt question; early banking development in Grafton; and the development of coal companies, particularly around Fairmont. Correspondents include Arthur I. Boreman, A.W. Campbell, Stephen B. Elkins, Benjamin Harrison, Francis H. Pierpont, and others.

Papers of Alexander Smith and George W. Brown. The Smith papers are letters and receipts, 1794-1814, and include a letter from N. Suter commenting on a naval battle of the War of 1812, current prices, government, and business conditions and receipts for the payment for slaves. The Brown letters, 1870-1886, concern a gift to West Virginia University, marriage, and payment of land taxes. Correspondents or persons mentioned include Alexander Martin and John W. Mason. Receipts, 1881-1894, are for taxes paid by the Brown, Miller and Co. Also included are certificates of appointment and commissions, 1858-1921, for Virginia Militia, Quartermaster General and Adjutant General of the state of West Virginia, the Collector of Internal Revenue, the U.S. Army Officers' Reserve Corps, the National Guard, and a membership certificate for the Society of the Army of West Virginia.