Edith Moore Sprouse Papers (MS313)

Access and use

Location of collection:
Alexandria Library
Alexandria Library
Local History/Special Collections
717 Queen Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Patricia Walker, Branch Manager
Phone: (703) 746-1719
Phone: (703) 838-4577
Fax: (703) 706-3912
Preferred citation:

Edith Moore Sprouse Papers, MS313, Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections, Alexandria, Va.

Summary

Extent:
4.10 Cubic Feet 17 boxes and 7.21 Linear Feet
Creator:
Sprouse, Edith Moore, 1923-2004
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Edith Moore Sprouse Papers, MS313, Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections, Alexandria, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of correspondence, research materials, including computer discs and card files, and printed local history publications written and collected by Mrs. Sprouse. Of particular interest are the card files, containing extensive information on Alexandria, Fairfax, and the surrounding areas extracted from newspapers and public records as well as collected through interviews and fieldwork.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Edith Moore Kynor Sprouse (1923-2004) was a local historian, author, and preservationist. A graduate of Wellesley College, she worked briefly for the Army Map Service before discovering her true love, Northern Virginia history. Beginning in 1961, Sprouse wrote numerous books and articles about local history and undertook what she regarded as her most important project, indexing and cataloging Fairfax County government records from the 1700s through 1979. Instrumental in founding the Fairfax County Historical Commission, Sprouse served on the board of the Franconia Museum and advised the Friends of Historic Huntley. She was a member of the Northern Virginia Association for History, the Alexandria Historical Society, the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Virginia, the Friends of Gunston Hall, Historic Dumfries, at the Alexandria Public Library.

Arrangement:

The correspondence and local history materials are organized chronologically; the computer discs alphabetically; the special projects and card files chronologically and by topic. The collection is divided into six series: Series I: Correspondence Series II: Special Projects Series III: Research Materials Series IV: Computer Discs Series V: Card Files Series VI: Local History

Rules or conventions:
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules