Search

Correspondence, legal papers, speeches, clippings, photographs, and printed material of a Randolph County prosecuting attorney, mayor of Elkins, judge of the Twenty-second Judicial Circuit, Democratic politician, and state governor, 1933-1937. Also features personal correspondence in Series 10.

Correspondence, messages, and state papers of West Virginia's twentieth governor, 1937-1941, and manuscript drafts of "West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State (1941)," the Works Project Administration's Federal Writer's Project's work on West Virginia. Also included are assorted speeches and addresses given by Holt, newspaper clippings and articles regarding Holt's successor as Governor of West Virginia, Matthew Neely, and other political figures, and correspondence with governors from other states regarding the Hatch Act of 1939.

The official papers of the 17th governor of West Virginia. Gore's career began in World War I when he was assistant food administrator in West Virginia; and in 1921 he went to Washington as a livestock appraiser and specialist in marketing livestock in the Department of Agriculture; he was appointed Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, and upon the Death of Henry C. Wallace, was made Secretary of Agriculture (November 22, 1924- March 4, 1925). In addition to his papers as Governor, other series show his activities in producers' co-ops, the Farm Bureau, the Federal Farm Board, the West Virginia Public Service Commission, the Weston and Union Livestock Sales companies, and West Virginia politics. The collection includes a 1925 scrapbook of photographs documenting the activities of the 4-H camp at Jackson's Mill near Weston, West Virginia.

Papers of the fifteenth governor of West Virginia who was a newspaper publisher in Romney, an orchardman, lawyer, and counsel for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. There are a few papers of W.B. Cornwell. The collection includes: personal and business correspondence, 1896-1953; correspondence as governor, 1916-1922; legal papers, ca.1843-1916; and material relating to "Cornwell Day," 1931; Baltimore and Ohio and other railroads; Romney Orchard Company, ca. 1916-1919; South Branch Development Company, ca.1913-1926; newspaper publishing; and other subjects. Box 100 includes papers regarding women's suffrage, including a proclamation by Governor Cornwell to extend the legislative session of 1920 in order to address the suffrage amendment, among other legislative concerns.

Papers of Matthew Neely, a politician who had a long career as senator, congressman, governor, and Democratic political boss. Collection includes speeches, business and personal correspondence, pamphlets, legal papers, photographs, and copies of the Congressional Record. There are also newspaper clipping scrapbooks covering the years 1928-1954 (on five reels of microfilm). Neely had a long career, including law student at West Virginia University, Marion County lawyer, mayor of Fairmont, United States Congressman (1913-1921, 1945-1947), United States Senator (1923-1929, 1931-1941, 1949-1958), and Governor of West Virginia (1941-1945).

County court records consisting primarily of records of court proceedings including dockets, executions, orders, and fees as well as case papers and public records consisting primarily of land and property records including deeds, land, and personal property books. There are also some records of private businesses, private organizations, Sheriff's records, and voting records. This collection consists of three series and an addendum.

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.