The collection is open for research.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Ingles Family Collection, Ms2002-021, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Ingles Family Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2002.
The processing, arrangement and description of the Ingles Family Collection was completed in Summer 2002.
Mary Draper Ingles, trans-Alleghany pioneer, was born in Philadelphia in 1732, the daughter of George and Elenor Hardin Draper. In 1748, she moved with her parents to Southwest Virginia, where Mary married William Ingles (born in London, 1729) in 1750. The Draper and Ingles families together established the first English-speaking settlement west of the Alleghanies at Draper's Meadow (predecessor to today's Blacksburg).
In July 1755, Mary Draper Ingles, her sons George and Thomas, her sister-in-law Betty Draper and others were captured during a Shawnee raid and were led up the New River and into present-day Kentucky. Eventually, Mary escaped, and her 850-mile trek back to her home has been documented in a number of published sources and a dramatic interpretation.
After her return, Mary and her husband William lived in Bedford County for several years but eventually returned to Montgomery County. At a location within the bounds of present-day Radford, Virginia, they established Ingles Ferry, which eventually grew to include a tavern, general store and blacksmith shop. Mary would give birth to four more children (John, Mary, Susan and Rhoda) before her husband died in 1782. Mary died in 1815.
The Ingles Family Collection contains a ledger from the Ferry Hill store with entries dated between 1797 and 1804, and three of six volumes of the Ingles family Bible (published by Samuel T. Armstrong in 1823).
The guide to the Ingles Family Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).