West Virginia and Regional History Center
Maxwell Family Papers
Maxwell family
A&M 0311
Archival Resource Key
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/repositories/2/resources/2607
0.2 Linear Feet
2 in. (4 folders)
1851-1929, undated
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
English
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Biographical / Historical
Hu Maxwell (September 22, 1860-August 20, 1927), local and state historian and forester, was born in St. George, Virginia, now Tucker County, West Virginia. He was educated at home by his mother, Sarah Bonnifield Maxwell, until he was 15. He later graduated from Weston Academy (1880) and won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, but he did not complete the course.
Maxwell returned to West Virginia, where he taught school and learned the timbering business. He became editor and part owner of the
Tucker County Pioneer newspaper and devoted much of the rest of his life to writing and publishing.His histories include those for the counties of Barbour (1899), Hampshire (1897), Randolph (1898), and Tucker (1884). He contributed two short articles to
History of the Mingo Indians (1921). With Richard E. Fast, he wrote The History and Government of West Virginia (1906), and he co-authored the three-volume classic, West Virginia and Its People (1913), with Thomas Condit Miller.Maxwell combined his knowledge of timbering with his passion for study and traveled throughout the country conducting surveys for the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to government bulletins, he wrote
Idyls of the Golden Shore (1889), a collection of poems about California. He also published A Tree History of the United States (1923).Adapted from the West Virginia Encyclopedia, accessed October 7, 2020.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Maxwell Family Papers, A&M 0311, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Related A&M Collections
10, 311
Scope and Contents
Papers of the Maxwell family, including correspondence, accounts, legal papers, pamphlets, and clippings. Correspondence (1863-1889) is comprised mostly of letters from Hu Maxwell, California, to Mrs. S.J. Maxwell. Subjects include mining, schools, size and social conditions of towns, ranches, weather and crop conditions, geographical oddities, Maxwell's personal living conditions, and his intentions concerning history publications. Other items include account book of Captain James L. White, showing military supplies issued for the Laurel Hill Encampment [Confederate Army], and the names and rank of officers (ca. 1861); guard report for the Laurel Hill Encampment with two lists of supplies issued (1861); a patent for an improved towel rack, issued to Rufus Maxwell (1859); and pamphlets of political speeches and legal documents (ca. 1858-1884).
Separated Materials
Newspapers from 1849-1900 & magazines from 1856-1918 were separated--see control folder for inventory lists.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
California
Laurel Hill.
Tucker County (W. Va.)
Account books
Civil War -- Confederate Army
Politics and government.
Maxwell, G. Ralph.
Maxwell, H.
Maxwell, Mrs. S.J.
Maxwell, Rufus.
White, Capt. James L.
Maxwell family
Series 1. Correspondence, Box 1, Folder 1Archival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/1309011863-1889, 1929, undatedStephen Dumire, Esq.Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130903October 13, 186411Franklin MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130904October 5, 186311To MikiArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130905undated11ItemArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130906January 26, 188011BeadsteadArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130907July 29, 186311MiscellaneousArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130908December 2, 188311To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130909January 16, 188411To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130910August 14, 188111To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130911October 2, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130912October 23, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130913September 26, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130914September 4, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130921September 30, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130915November 13, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130916December 18, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130917November 20, 188711To Mrs. S. J. MaxwellArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130918December 18, 188711ItemArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130919November 188911Clock, Dareas A. (Maxwell) LowtherArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130920June 18, 192911Series 2. Subjects, Box 1, Folder 2-4, OversizeArchival Resource KeyPrevious Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/1309021851-1886, undatedCaptain White Account BookArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130922undated12Improved Bedstead DesignArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130923undated12Summons (Tucker County)Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130924186412Guard Report, Laurel HillArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130925186112Preston County Coal Mining Institute "Official" RibbonArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130926undated12Address of Honorable John C. BreckinridgeArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130927185913Speech of Honorable Albert G. JenkinsArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130928January 12, 185913Address by Honorable Thomas H. DudleyArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130929October 23, 188413Newspaper Clipping--Trusts & MonopoliesArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130930undated13Report of Honorable C.J. Faulkner of VirginiaArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130931185813Governor's Message and Annual ReportArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130932185113Frank Pierce and his Abolition AlliesArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130933undated13The Contrast (Whig and Democratic Platforms)Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130934undated13General Election LawArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130935March 30, 185813Militia LawArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130936March 2, 185813Ex. Doc. No. 54 (Patent Law)Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130937undated14Rules and Directions for Proceedings in Patent OfficeArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130938December 1, 185514The American Law ReviewArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/13093918861456th Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of PennsylvaniaArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130940September 12, 190614AccountsArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130941May 186114Paper from Jayne's Medical AlmanacArchival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130942undated14Statement by C.H. Maxwell, M.D.Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130943undated14Newspaper Clipping Poem "To Hu Maxwell"Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/130944undated14Patent (Improved Towel Rack)Archival Resource Key/repositories/2/archival_objects/1309451859Oversize1