Dabney Lancaster and Lancaster Family Records

Access and use

Location of collection:
Longwood University
Archives and Special Collections
Greenwood Library
Longwood University
401 Redford Street
Farmville, VA 23909
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (434) 395-2432
Fax: (434) 395-2453
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions to access or use for research purposes.

Summary

Extent:
5.9 Linear Feet 6 legal-sized Hollinger boxes, 1 flat box and 17 Photographic Prints 1 archival photograph binder
Language:
English .

Background

Scope and content:

The materials in this collection date from 1848-1974 and are arranged in three main categories: 1: Materials related to Dr. Lancaster's father, Robert Alexander Lancaster, 2: Materials related to General George Doherty Johnston and his wife Stella Johnston. 3: Materials related to Dr. Dabney S. Lancaster.

The bulk of each of these categories consists of correspondence but also includes personal and biographical materials, business papers and receipts, writings, and speeches.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Dabney S. Lancaster (1889-1975) was a graduate of the University of Virginia where he studied Mathematics, French, and Latin. After graduating in 1910 he taught briefly at the Chamberlayne School for Boys (now St. Christopher's) in Richmond, VA where he also coached football. In 1913 he attended graduate school at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) where he studied animal sciences and taught French. Dr. Lancaster graduated from Virginia Polytechnic in 1915 and shortly thereafter began another graduate studies program at the University of Missouri. He completed this program in 1917 and soon after returned to Virginia Polytechnic as an Associate Professor in the Agricultural College.

In 1923, Dr. Lancaster joined the Virginia State Board of Education and in 1925 he was named Secretary of the State Board of Board of Education and Assistant Superintendent. In 1929 Lancaster took a job as Dean of Men at the University of Alabama and would stay in that position for just over eight years. In the spring of 1937, however, he returned to Virginia and took a position at Sweet Briar College.

Dabney S. Lancaster was appointed by Virginia Governor James H. Price to serve as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1941. As superintendent, Dr. Lancaster pushed to reform education and in 1945 fought and won in the General Assembly for more funding to be allotted for public schools.

In 1946, Dr. Lancaster was appointed President of the State Teachers College at Farmville, Virginia. During his time at the institution a graduate program was added, several major buildings were built, and he oversaw the change in name to Longwood College.

In 1956 Dr. Lancaster was asked to chair the newly formed State Council for Higher Education and would continue in this role for eight years. In addition to several state board appointments, Dr. Lancaster served on the Board of Visitors for Madison College, the Medical School of Virginia, and the Virginia Military Institute.

Dr. Lancaster passed away at the age of 85 on March 11, 1975.

Custodial history:

The bulk of the materials in this collection were given to the Greenwood Library Archives in the fall of 2011 by Dr. Lancaster's granddaughter, Mary Tabb Schubert. Additional materials were added to the collection in September 2018 again by Ms. Schubert.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard