Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence

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:

Permission to publish material from the Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence, Ms2019-019, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.2 Cubic Feet 1 box
Creator:
Conway, Julia Ellen Thomas, 1848-1916 and Luster, Mary Black Thomas, 1834-1914
Abstract:
The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence consists of letters written to Conway by her sisters, Mary Black Thomas Luster and Ann Elizabeth Thomas (1830-1903) from March 29, 1895 to December 27, 1898.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence, Ms2019-019, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence consists of letters written to Conway by her sisters, Mary Black Thomas Luster and Ann Elizabeth Thomas (1830-1903) from March 29, 1895 to December 27, 1898. Most of the letters are undated, but are assumed to be written around the time of the dated letters. Topics in the letters include family matters, particularly relating to her daughter, Daisy Conway who seemed to have lived with Julia's sister Mary.

Biographical / historical:

Julia Ellen Thomas was born in 1848 in Blacksburg, VA, the daughter of Colonel William Thomas and the fifth of five children. Julia and William Buchanan Conway were married in 1870 and settled for a time in Blacksburg where William became a surgeon for the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). They had five children: Daisy, Alfred, William, Archie, and Mary. Julia died in 1916.

Mary Black Thomas Luster was born on August 22, 1834 in Blacksburg, VA, the daughter of Colonel William Thomas and the third of five children. Mary married Archiles W. Luster, who was a farmer in Blacksburg, VA. She was a housewife and had no children. Mary died on June 1, 1914.

Acquisition information:
The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence was donated to Special Collections in 2017.
Processing information:

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence was completed in May 2019.

Arrangement:

The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence is arranged in chronological order. Most of these have the month and day noted, but do not have the year. We assume they were written within the three year period of 1895-1898.