Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

Burial flag, cord, pictures, and correspondence, 1963-1964, concerning disposition of these items. There is a resume of Rowan's life after 1922 and information on his military service, which included a mission in Cuba prior to the Spanish-American War, which was glorified in Elbert Hubbard's A Message to Garcia. There is a resume of Rowan's life, most notably his U.S. Army career, 1881-1909. An 1881 graduate of West Point, he served on the frontier against Indians and on the International Railway Survey in Central and South America before being appointed military attache to Chile, where he co-authored The Island of Cuba in 1897. This book established him as an expert on Cuba, which led to his assignment as a courier to the rebel general Garcia prior to America's war with Spain in 1898. The successful fulfillment of this mission made him famous and, along with gallantry in the subsequent Philippine campaign, was the basis for his being given the Distinguished Service Cross and other rewards.

Papers of Thomas Tavenner and the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence; memoirs; journals; financial and legal documents; pamphlets; newspapers; and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil War. The Tavenner family were Confederate sympathizers.

Published and unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, and speeches of Virgil A. Lewis (1848-1912), the first state historian and archivist and a former state superintendent of schools. Subjects include the exploration, Indian wars, and settlement of Western Virginia; the Tory insurrection in the Valley of Lost River, 1781; the West Virginia new state movement; Masonry in West Virginia; Andrew S. Rowan; and various West Virginia authors. Correspondents include: George W. Atkinson, Waitman Barbe, Danske Dandridge, William M.O. Dawson, Granville D. Hall, Hu Maxwell, Mrs. Alexander McVeigh Miller, and Melville D. Post. See Scope and Content Note for contents list.