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Start Over Date range 1973 Places Berkeley County (W. Va.)
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Jim Comstock, Newspaper Editor and Collector, Papers, 1650/2003, bulk 1850/1995

65.25 Linear Feet Summary: 65 ft. 3 1/4 in. (102 document cases, 5 in. each); (7 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (5 record cartons, 15 in. each); (2 record cartons, 17 in. each); (6 large flat storage boxes, 1 1/2 in. each); (2 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (8 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (8 flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (11 medium flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (10 large flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 5 in.); (6 oversize folders, 1 1/4 in. total)
Papers of James ("Jim") Franklin Comstock of Richwood, West Virginia, whose position as editor of the West Virginia Hillbilly and avocation as collector and advocate of all things West Virginia led to the preservation of much of the state's physical, visual, and textual history. The collection includes materials Comstock collected about West Virginia history as well as his own personal and professional papers. Materials include: general series of historical documents such as letters, deeds, and county court cases pertaining to a diverse range of subjects (1717, 1754-1988, undated [includes facsimiles]); letters of Lucy Prichard, former instructor at Marshall College (now Marshall University) (1925-1927, undated); clippings and typescripts of Wirt County resident and Atlantic Monthly writer Louis Eckert Reed (ca. 1960-1975, undated); account books concerning economic development and commercial activities in the northern part of the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1830-1938); printed material about West Virginia schools, businesses, and events as well as non-West Virginia books and pamphlets (1829-1995, undated); Comstock's personal and professional correspondence (1882-1995, undated); a wide variety of photographs, including images of West Virginia cities and towns, among many others (ca. 1850s-1995, undated); microfilmed records of the Civil War and Dunmore's War (undated); glass lantern slides, which include views of scenery and buildings in Wheeling and various other locations in Ohio County, WV (1871-1897, undated); Grand Army of the Republic and U.S. military history scrapbooks (1883-1918); broadsides, including advertisements for a circus in Moundsville (ca. 1827-1960 [includes facsimiles]); and maps and atlases of pre- and post-statehood West Virginia, counties, colonial North America, and other topics (1730-1976, undated [includes facsimiles]). An addendum of 2013/05 includes additional personal and professional correspondence, publications, newspaper morgue files, photographs, audio-visual material, artifacts, scrapbooks, account books, and maps. For more information on Jim Comstock, see the Historical Note.
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Jim Comstock, Newspaper Editor and Collector, Papers, 1650/2003, bulk 1850/1995 65.25 Linear Feet Summary: 65 ft. 3 1/4 in. (102 document cases, 5 in. each); (7 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (5 record cartons, 15 in. each); (2 record cartons, 17 in. each); (6 large flat storage boxes, 1 1/2 in. each); (2 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (8 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (8 flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (11 medium flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (10 large flat storage boxes, 3 1/2 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 5 in.); (6 oversize folders, 1 1/4 in. total)

Comstock, Jim (James Franklin), 1911-1996
Papers of James ("Jim") Franklin Comstock of Richwood, West Virginia, whose position as editor of the West Virginia Hillbilly and avocation as collector and advocate of all things West Virginia led to the preservation of much of the state's physical, visual, and textual history. The collection includes materials Comstock collected about West Virginia history as well as his own personal and professional papers. Materials include: general series of historical documents such as letters, deeds, and county court cases pertaining to a diverse range of subjects (1717, 1754-1988, undated [includes facsimiles]); letters of Lucy Prichard, former instructor at Marshall College (now Marshall University) (1925-1927, undated); clippings and typescripts of Wirt County resident and Atlantic Monthly writer Louis Eckert Reed (ca. 1960-1975, undated); account books concerning economic development and commercial activities in the northern part of the state in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1830-1938); printed material about West Virginia schools, businesses, and events as well as non-West Virginia books and pamphlets (1829-1995, undated); Comstock's personal and professional correspondence (1882-1995, undated); a wide variety of photographs, including images of West Virginia cities and towns, among many others (ca. 1850s-1995, undated); microfilmed records of the Civil War and Dunmore's War (undated); glass lantern slides, which include views of scenery and buildings in Wheeling and various other locations in Ohio County, WV (1871-1897, undated); Grand Army of the Republic and U.S. military history scrapbooks (1883-1918); broadsides, including advertisements for a circus in Moundsville (ca. 1827-1960 [includes facsimiles]); and maps and atlases of pre- and post-statehood West Virginia, counties, colonial North America, and other topics (1730-1976, undated [includes facsimiles]). An addendum of 2013/05 includes additional personal and professional correspondence, publications, newspaper morgue files, photographs, audio-visual material, artifacts, scrapbooks, account books, and maps. For more information on Jim Comstock, see the Historical Note.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

Katherine M. Hunter, Compiler, Local Histories and Genealogies, 1948/1974

3.3 Linear Feet Summary: 3 ft. 4 in. (8 document cases, 5 in. each)

Local historians and genealogies from West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle (Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan counties), compiled by researcher Katy Hunter. Most of the papers consist of Hunter's notes made from sources in courthouses, libraries and historical societies. Also included is correspondence between Hunter and clients seeking historical information. The correspondence and notes are bound into fifty-eight notebooks, for which there is an index in the inventory folder. In addition to the notebooks, there is one folder of naturalization records.

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Katherine M. Hunter, Compiler, Local Histories and Genealogies, 1948/1974 3.3 Linear Feet Summary: 3 ft. 4 in. (8 document cases, 5 in. each)

Hunter, Katherine M.

Local historians and genealogies from West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle (Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan counties), compiled by researcher Katy Hunter. Most of the papers consist of Hunter's notes made from sources in courthouses, libraries and historical societies. Also included is correspondence between Hunter and clients seeking historical information. The correspondence and notes are bound into fifty-eight notebooks, for which there is an index in the inventory folder. In addition to the notebooks, there is one folder of naturalization records.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Sommerville Family of Berkeley County, Family History, 1852/2013

0.3 Linear Feet Summary: 3 1/2 in. (4 folders in 1 flat storage box)
Material regarding the Sommerville family of Berkeley County, mainly concerning Robert A. Sommerville and his son Obed W. Somerville. Includes a family history narrative (folder 1), transcript of a journal (folder 1), copies of legal documents (folder 2), and colored copies of photographs and portraits of Sommerville family members and of artifacts associated with the family (folders 3 and 4). Material regarding Robert A. Sommerville includes a transcription of family and personal memoranda he recorded in 1852; the transcript contains an account of the emigration of his father William from Ireland to the American Colonies in the 1770s, and excerpts from a journal kept by William Sommerville in 1794. Material regarding Obed W. Sommerville includes documents regarding his Civil War service, pension records, copies of legal testimony regarding his placement in a mental asylum, and his death certificate. All items in this collection are reproductions.
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Sommerville Family of Berkeley County, Family History, 1852/2013 0.3 Linear Feet Summary: 3 1/2 in. (4 folders in 1 flat storage box)

Material regarding the Sommerville family of Berkeley County, mainly concerning Robert A. Sommerville and his son Obed W. Somerville. Includes a family history narrative (folder 1), transcript of a journal (folder 1), copies of legal documents (folder 2), and colored copies of photographs and portraits of Sommerville family members and of artifacts associated with the family (folders 3 and 4). Material regarding Robert A. Sommerville includes a transcription of family and personal memoranda he recorded in 1852; the transcript contains an account of the emigration of his father William from Ireland to the American Colonies in the 1770s, and excerpts from a journal kept by William Sommerville in 1794. Material regarding Obed W. Sommerville includes documents regarding his Civil War service, pension records, copies of legal testimony regarding his placement in a mental asylum, and his death certificate. All items in this collection are reproductions.
West Virginia and Regional History Center

West Virginia University, Extension Service, Publications, Reports, and Other Material, 1910/1980

6.7 Linear Feet 6 ft. 8 in. (5 record cartons, 15 in. each); (1 document case, 5 in. each)

Records of the WVU Extension Service. Collection includes instructional booklets on cooking, decorating, and sewing from the 1910s to the 1960s, materials on rural electrification in West Virginia in the 1930s, annual conference programs, and materials on incomes and family budgets. Also includes materials relating to the Farm Woman's Club in West Virginia, studies of school children during the 1940s, and studies of cost of living in rural areas during World War II. There are historical sketches of various county extension programs in the state of West Virginia, most of which describe their establishment and growth.

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West Virginia University, Extension Service, Publications, Reports, and Other Material, 1910/1980 6.7 Linear Feet 6 ft. 8 in. (5 record cartons, 15 in. each); (1 document case, 5 in. each)

West Virginia University. Extension Program

Records of the WVU Extension Service. Collection includes instructional booklets on cooking, decorating, and sewing from the 1910s to the 1960s, materials on rural electrification in West Virginia in the 1930s, annual conference programs, and materials on incomes and family budgets. Also includes materials relating to the Farm Woman's Club in West Virginia, studies of school children during the 1940s, and studies of cost of living in rural areas during World War II. There are historical sketches of various county extension programs in the state of West Virginia, most of which describe their establishment and growth.

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