Sutton-Martin-Mason 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], Sutton-Martin-Mason Family Papers, Ms2003-013, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Cubic Feet 1 box
Creator:
Sutton family (Pulaski County, Va.), Mason family (Pulaski County, Va.), and Martin family (Pulaski County, Va.)
Abstract:
This collection consists of the papers of a Pulaski County, Virginia family, largely consisting of letters received by Rachel Louisa Sutton (later married to David H. Martin) from friends and family during the 1860s. Also contains deeds, family financial records, poetry, photographs and assorted ephemera. A small collection of materials belonging to the Martins' granddaughter, Elinor Mason, completes the collection.
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], Sutton-Martin-Mason Family Papers, Ms2003-013, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of the Sutton-Martin-Mason family consist largely of the personal correspondence of Rachel Louisa Sutton (familiarly known as Louisa or Lou), the greater majority of the letters being from family and friends in the years before she was married. The letters mostly comment upon personal and family matters but many also relate to the Civil War--including comments on military campaigns, conditions on the homefront, and news of local men serving in the war. A number of letters are written from Martha Washington College (Abingdon, Virginia) and discuss the school, its classes, and related activities. A few of the letters appear to be draft copies of letters written by Sutton to her friends but never mailed.

The collection also contains other papers of David and Louisa Martin, such as deeds, assorted financial records (including personal checks, account statements, receipts, and a notice for the sale of the John Sutton estate), poetry (most of which seems to have been copied from published sources, rather than being original compositions), and general materials (including grade reports for the Martins' children from various Southwest Virginia educational institutions) and assorted ephemera (including a dress pattern fragment cut from a Civil War-era newspaper); and photographs.

The papers of Elinor Mason, comprising one folder, include correspondence, photographs, postcards and assorted ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

Rachel Louisa Sutton, daughter of John and Eliza Glasgow Sutton, was born in Pulaski County, Virginia, in 1849. During the late 1860s, she attended nearby Martha Washington College. On December 14, 1870, she married Pulaski County farmer David H. Martin (born c.1849). The couple had 10 or 11 children, including Walter B. (VPI class of 1909) and Lilly, born probably in 1871, who attended Hollins Institute (now Hollins University) in the early 1890s. Lilly later married James Porterfield Mason, and they became the parents of six children, including Elinor.

Elinor Mason, daughter of James P. and Lilly Martin Mason, was born, probably in Pulaski County, in 1910. During the 1940s, she was a federal employee, living in Williamsburg, Virginia. She later retired to Glade Spring, Virginia, where she died in 1996.

Acquisition information:
The Sutton-Martin-Mason Family Papers were purchased by the Special Collections in 1993.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement and description of the Sutton-Martin-Mason Family Papers commenced in June 2003 and was completed the following month.

Arrangement:

The papers are arranged by document type, then chronologically. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard