Dickson Family Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Dickson Family Papers, 1769-1924, Ms1988-094, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
2.8 Cubic Feet 2 boxes
Creator:
Dickson family (Greenbrier County, W. Va.)
Abstract:
The papers consist largely of land, property, and goods transaction receipts and documents of each of the four generations of the Dickson Family, who originally settled in what is now Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in the 1770s.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Dickson Family Papers, 1769-1924, Ms1988-094, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers consist largely of land, property, and goods transaction receipts and documents of each of the four generations of the Dickson Family. Certificates, oaths, correspondence, deeds, and a diary are included in Joseph Dickson's papers, along with several sale documents for enslaved people from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Much of the land and goods, and many of the enslaved people were exchanged with neighbors and others in the area. Most of Joseph Dickson's documents are individually described in this inventory. The papers of John Dickson (1737-1809, brother of Joseph Dickson), Robert Dickson, Robert Renick Dickson and Henry Frazier Dickson, and Geraldine Dickson Burrow (1879-1943, daughter of Henry Frazier Dickson), are grouped by type of material (for example, financial accounts, correspondence, and land deeds). Within Robert Dickson's correspondence are a few references to the American Civil War, including a letter from a Confederate tax collector demanding payment of his 1863 Confederate taxes. Other interesting documents include the transcript (1916) of the trial of Sallie Dickson (wife of Robert Renick Dickson) who was sued by Henry Frazier Dickson, for payment of rent due to him. The papers also include genealogy charts of the family.

Biographical / historical:

The Dicksons were pioneer settlers of Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Joseph Dickson (1749-1822) settled in what is now Greenbrier County, West Virginia, from Ireland by way of Pennsylvania in the 1770s. He received land grants originally from the King's land office in 1769, and later from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1785, 1789, and 1795 for property on Howard's Creek. His son, Robert Dickson (1795-1869?), inherited the land and built Locust Hill in 1833, now called Mountain Home. Robert Renick Dickson (1827-1888) and Henry Frazier Dickson (1841-1909), Robert Dickson's sons, inherited the land and in turn left it to their heirs. The Dicksons turned Mountain Home near White Sulphur Springs into a resort in the 1800s and early 1900s. The property and home were owned by the family until they were sold in 1968.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1988.
Arrangement:

The papers are arranged by family member and then by type of material.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard