Search

This collection primarily contains Civil War-era letters from William Hogan to his wife, Lucinda, from 1862 to 1864. In addition to the letters, there is a single, undated, photograph of three family members, Lucinda James and Mollie Hogan. Letters between William and Lucinda discuss Confederate camp life, operations on the Hogan family's farm in McDowell County, North Carolina, William's participation in the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg, observations of Virginia and North Carolina, and the couple's children. Several letters were written from Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, where William recovered after being injured in battle. Most of the letters in the collection are addressed to Lucinda from William, often prefaced with "Dear Wife" and sometimes "Dear Wife and children." Letters from William are written in multiple hands, suggesting he often dictated his letters to other soldiers in camp. Letters from Lucinda are prefaced with "Dear Husband" and are placed marked with McDowell County. William's letters often express his discontentment with the war, his hatred of "the yankes," and his longing to be back home with his family in McDowell.

The papers of William "Bill" Archer, newspaper journalist for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and historian, document Archer's research and reporting of events in Southern West Virginia, predominantly Mercer and McDowell Counties. In addition to his reporting, Archer wrote a number of local history books as well as articles for publications other than the Bluefield paper.

The collection consists of 5 items.

This is a collection of correspondence between William B. Pettit and his wife Arabella ('Bell') with scattered letters from other friends and relatives. The letters that date from 1850 to March 1862 include correspondence between husband and wife while Pettit was away on business. The war letters begin in March 1862 and end with Pettit's last war letter to his wife on March 3, 1864. After that date there are letters from Pembroke, the Pettit's son, while he attended school at Ashland, Va. The turn of the century correspondence concerns Confederate Veterans' activities and post-war business correspondence. Also included are newspaper clippings, one photograph, and the obituary of William B. Pettit (1905). The collection also includes Pettit's Civil War manuscript diary, 1862-1864, and account book. These two books are bound together.

Three sheets of written vocabulary and phrases of the Dakota Native American language. These were notes taken by Reed while stationed with the Army at Fort Rice in the Dakota Territory. Phrases include "I am sick", "something to eat", and "I love you". There are many phrases which are left blank which may indicate that all of the phrases compiled by Reed were ones in which he desired to learn from the Native American tribes with which he interacted and communicated. There are also sections of his pages that are devoted entirely to conjugations of the verb to be (Yanka) as well as sections that break down pronouns, possessive cases, and plurals of words and phrases. Included with the Dakota phrases is a carte de visite of Reed taken in Philadelphia by Wenderoth, Taylor, and Brown.

Papers, 1811-1954, of William Booth Taliaferro and his family of Gloucester County, Va. Taliaferro's papers consist of diaries, letterbook (while at Harpers Ferry), correspondence, speeches, memoirs and accounts. The collection also includes papers of his wife, Sally Nivison Lyons Taliaferro (including diaries), his ancestors, siblings and descendants, as well as photographs, genealogical notes and artifacts of the Taliaferro family.