Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

West Virginia and Regional History Center

West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Primary Collecting Areas:
West Virginia and Appalachia History and Culture
Description:
The West Virginia & Regional History Center preserves and provides access to the records that document the history and culture of the state and the central Appalachian region. The Center is part of West Virginia University Libraries.
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Start Over Repository West Virginia and Regional History Center Date range 1856
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Morgan County Court Records, 1820/1880

24.4 Linear Feet Summary: 24 ft. 4 1/2 in. (58 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.)

Original court case papers, land surveys, deeds, and jury lists. Court case papers are mainly in regards to debts owed by individuals, and include: summons, warrants, bonds, bills of complaint, promissory notes, court transcripts, and affidavits related to the cases. Various other records include suits over assault and battery, inheritances, property, and child support. Contain a corresponding index, arranged alphabetically by persons named in the suits.

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West Virginia and Regional History Center

David Hunter Strother, Artist, Artwork and Papers, 1744/1996, bulk 1833/1887

15.50 Linear Feet Summary: 15 ft. 6 in. (3 document cases, 2.5 in. each); (9 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3.5 in. each); (11 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (23 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (5 large flat storage boxes, 2.5 in. each); (3 flat storage boxes, 1.5 in. each); (4 folders, 0.5 in.); (4 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each); 3 framed paintings 0.1 Gigabytes 1 .pdf file
Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, memorabilia, photographs, journals, drawings, and sketchbooks of David Hunter Strother (1816-1888), a nineteenth century illustrator and writer for Harpers Magazine whose pseudonym, "Porte Crayon", was a household word. Other highlights of his career, all of which are reflected in this collection, are authorship of Virginia Illustrated (1857) and Charleston and its Resources (1878), his work as illustrator for Blackwater Chronicle (1853), service during the Civil War as a Union officer, stint as a newspaper editor, and Consul-Generalship to Mexico (1879-1885). According to Strother's biographer, Cecil D. Eby Jr., his writings linked the two traditions of literature in the south, "the genteel romanticism of the sentimental novelists and the earthy realism of the frontier humorists." In 1872-1875 Strother wrote The Mountains, which Eby considers the first important presentation of West Virginia in literature. The collection includes roughly 590 drawings and sketches, 44 volumes of journals, and several boxes of correspondence. An addendum of 2015/06/13 includes one drawing. An addendum of 2007/02/08 includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, announcements, and photographs regarding Strother and related families of the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia. An addendum of 2021/06/04 contains an abridged transcription by Cecil D. Eby Jr., of Strother's diary, 1879-1880, when Strother was General Consul to Mexico. For contents of the addenda and link to the digital collection: Drawings of David Hunter Strother, please see the Scope and Content Note.
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West Virginia and Regional History Center

James Wooddell, Compiler, Genealogy Research Papers, 1970/2000

16.5 Linear Feet 16 ft. 6 in. (13 record cartons, 15 in. each); (part of 1 flat storage box, 3 in.)

Genealogy research papers of James Wooddell regarding familes of primarily Pendleton, Pocahontas, and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. This collection also includes lists of veterans of various wars from Pocahontas County; deeds and surveys from Pocahontas County; papers regarding various towns and communities; and other related material.

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West Virginia and Regional History Center

Deeds Family of Summers County Papers, 1837/1966, bulk 1850/1949

18.4 Gigabytes 424 files, formats include .jpg, .tif, and .docx

Digital copies of papers of the Deeds Family of Jumping Branch, Summers County. Includes a genealogical chart, pre-Civil War land deeds, wills, legal correspondence regarding a property line dispute and other matters, and other material. Also includes postcards from various locations in West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, and other places; and photographs and postcards of various family members (most identified on the reverse).

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Deeds Family of Summers County Papers, 1837/1966, bulk 1850/1949 18.4 Gigabytes 424 files, formats include .jpg, .tif, and .docx

Deeds family

Digital copies of papers of the Deeds Family of Jumping Branch, Summers County. Includes a genealogical chart, pre-Civil War land deeds, wills, legal correspondence regarding a property line dispute and other matters, and other material. Also includes postcards from various locations in West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, and other places; and photographs and postcards of various family members (most identified on the reverse).

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Thornton Perry, Collector, Publications regarding West Virginia History, 1787/1934

.7 Linear Feet 8 in. (1 document case, 5 in.); (1 flat storage box, 3 in.); (1 loose map, 1/8 in.)
Publications and manuscript from the Thornton Perry Museum Collection, reflecting Perry's interest in the history of West Virginia and the immediate region. Subjects include various aspects of West Virginia history, such as the Civil War, statehood, Wheeling, John Brown, and other topics. Formats include broadsides, reports, pamphlets, almanacs, a manuscript account book, newspapers, maps, and others. See Scope and Content Note for details and contents list.
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West Virginia and Regional History Center

Roy Bird Cook (1886-1961), Collector, Papers, 1774/1943

5.5 Linear Feet 5 ft. 6 in. (10 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 3 in.); (3 oversize folders, 1 in.)
Includes genealogy and Civil War records collected by Roy Bird Cook of Lewis County, West Virginia. Series 1 through 5 were compiled by Marcellus W. Zimmerman. They include correspondence, church records, academic records, genealogical records, research manuscripts, and clippings regarding primarily the genealogy and history of Lewisburg and Greenbrier County, and the life and career of Confederate Brigadier General Alexander W. Reynolds. Series 6 through 8 were collected by Roy Bird Cook. They include military records and clippings regarding West Virginia units, the Confederate 31st Virginia Infantry, and other Confederate units from Virginia; there are also business and miscellaneous records, including ledgers, clippings, research notes, etc. Series 9 includes oversized material from earlier series.
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1856 April 13 -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Alexander Reynolds to sister Sally Patton, about taking care of business in Philadelphia, family affairs, and building a house in Greenbrier County., 1856 Box 1, Folder 11

  1. Series 1. Zimmerman Collection -- Correspondence, 1774/1943
  2. Series 1. Zimmerman Collection -- Correspondence -- Letters from Alexander W. Reynolds, 1835/1875
  3. Letters from Alexander Reynolds to his parents and sisters regarding his time as a cadet at West Point, service in Florida during the Seminole War, and duty stations in Texas, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, among others; 15 items., 1835/1861

1856 November 1 -- Santa Fe, New Mexico, Alexander Reynolds to sister regarding his trip home from Santa Fe and how he is looking forward to seeing family., 1856 Box 1, Folder 11

  1. Series 1. Zimmerman Collection -- Correspondence, 1774/1943
  2. Series 1. Zimmerman Collection -- Correspondence -- Letters from Alexander W. Reynolds, 1835/1875
  3. Letters from Alexander Reynolds to his parents and sisters regarding his time as a cadet at West Point, service in Florida during the Seminole War, and duty stations in Texas, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, among others; 15 items., 1835/1861
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Siler Family Papers, 1848/1968

66.6 Linear Feet Summary: 66 ft. 7 in. (149 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.); (1 small flat storage box, 3 1/2 in.); (2 oversize folders, 2 in.); (25 wrapped packages, 3 ft. 8 in.)

This is a collection of letters and documents tracing the personal and business life of an eastern panhandle West Virginia family. The papers concern a broad range of political, social, financial, and legal topics, particularly focusing on J. Hammond Siler, Jr., his parents, J. Hammond Siler, Sr. and Jessie Castleman Siler (residents of the Town of Bath better known as Berkeley Springs). Also includes correspondence and other papers from related families. Subjects include banking, the Civil War, the Episcopal church, secession of Virginia, Virginia Loyalty Oath, women's diaries, and women's letters and papers. A notable item in the collection is the diary of Anne Doyne Wolff Strother, wife of artist and writer David Hunter Strother, documenting a trip with husband and daughter Emily to New Orleans in 1857 (S2/Box 67, folder 1a).

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West Virginia and Regional History Center

Hugh Sayre, Collector, Papers, 1872/1953

1.1 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 1 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.)

Correspondence, miscellaneous family papers, nineteenth century school records, ledgers, bank books, and memorabilia of Hugh F. Sayre and family of Parkersburg, Reedy, St. Marys and West Creek, West Virginia. Some material relates to oil and gas leases on the Sayre family farm and Sayre's invention of a scientific alphabet called EBDECORD.

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West Virginia and Regional History Center

Emory L. Kemp Papers regarding Industrial History, 1735/2021

154.83 Linear Feet 152 document cases, 5 in. each; 92 document cases, 4 in. each; 68 document cases, 2.5 in. each; 32 record cartons, 15 in. each; 1 flat storage box, 1.5 in.; 7 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 4 flat storage boxes, 4 in. each; 1 small storage box, 6.5 in.; 1 index card box, 12 in.; 2 oversized items, 1.5 in. total; 2 microfilm reels, 1.75 in. each; 146 oversized folders, 18 in. 6.31 Gigabytes 678 files, formats include ASC, BK!, CAP, CHP, CIF, DOC, DOCX, ED, ELK, JPG, FRM, M4A, MON, MOV, MP4, PAP, PDF, PPT, PPTX, R2D, RTF, TIF, TRE, TXT, VGR, W51, WMA, WP, WPD, WPS, XLSX.

This collection includes materials from Dr. Emory L. Kemp's career of researching, documenting, and preserving historic structures. Kemp was a practicing civil engineer from 1952-1959, then taught civil engineering, historic preservation, and the history of technology from 1962-2003 at West Virginia University. He served as an expert consultant for the preservation of many historic engineering structures, including bridges, waterways, and mills. He also published regularly and remained active in several professional organizations.

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2014 Book Chapter Photographs and Suspension bridges, 1831/2014 Box 355

There are photographs from Chapters 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of Kemps book Essays on the History of Transportation and Technology including the Weston and Gauley bridge Turnpike; Pulaski Skyway, New Jersey; origins of the modern suspension bridge; Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and introduction of the French Needle Dam to the United States. Other photographs include United Kingdom suspension bridges, the Cincinnati Suspension Bridge and a variety of French Suspension Bridges.

  1. Series 8. Addendum of 2021/04/05, 1768/2014

"A History of Suspension bridge, 1801-1870" Grant Application, 1837/1993 Box 181

Kemp applied for an NEH grant to fund his publication, "A History of Suspension Bridge, 1801-1870." The box includes drafts of his grant application, grant application guidelines, clippings, engineering drawings, event programs, newsletters, facsimile book excerpts and lists of rivers, correspondence, comments from grant application reviewers, bibliographies, curriculum vitae and budgets. Subjects include suspension bridges in the Americas and Europe and iron beams. Highlights include a NRHP nomination for the Rehoboth Avenue Bridge.

  1. Series 1. Research Files, 1735/2017
  2. Series 1. Research Files -- Bridges, 1735/2016

Alexandria Canal, 1804/1990 Box 116

Kemp was a consulting engineer and industrial archaeologist for the restoration of the tide lock and basin to help with a revitalization project for Alexandria, Virginia. The box includes the Preliminary Archaeological Survey Report, field notes, pamphlets, photos, correspondence, clippings, and a consulting agreement. Additionally, it includes pamphlets on the history of the City of Alexandria. The box includes facsimile correspondence with the United States Department of Commerce regarding the Geodetic Survey maps and charts, facsimile newspapers, reports and reference lists regarding those facsimiles. Finally, the box includes original slides that show engineering drawings of the canal. The following oversize materials were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 4, Folder 8: 18 sheets of facsimile and original newspapers (1831-1845, 1976-1985, and undated), 10 maps (1838, 1877-1884, 1949-1973 and undated), 1 illustration (undated).

  1. Series 1. Research Files, 1735/2017
  2. Series 1. Research Files -- Waterways, 1804/2015
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Preston County (W. Va.) Court Records and Miscellaneous Papers, 1775/1918

4.15 Linear Feet Summary: 4 ft. 1.75 in. (5 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (1 Oversized record carton, 17 in.); (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)
Records of the Preston County court, consisting almost entirely of land records such as maps, surveys, plats, deeds, and indentures. There are also some personal papers and correspondence of Preston County residents, including Israel Baldwin and Julius K. Monroe, and the Fairfax family. Some photographs from this collection have been digitized.
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A-169-219, 1783/1901 Box 3

A-174 has it's own inventory available in the Control Folder

A-18-A-20; A-22; A-150-A-151; Unnumbered Items, 1795/1869 Box 1

Including: the Estate of Israel Baldwin (A-22); Commissioners Survey (A-150); List of Land Sales 1824-1877 (A-151); original plat of Kingwood; plan of Mt. Carmel; two photographs of a survey team (A-18 and A-20); and unnumbered items

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