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Burial flag, cord, pictures, and correspondence, 1963-1964, concerning disposition of these items. There is a resume of Rowan's life after 1922 and information on his military service, which included a mission in Cuba prior to the Spanish-American War, which was glorified in Elbert Hubbard's A Message to Garcia. There is a resume of Rowan's life, most notably his U.S. Army career, 1881-1909. An 1881 graduate of West Point, he served on the frontier against Indians and on the International Railway Survey in Central and South America before being appointed military attache to Chile, where he co-authored The Island of Cuba in 1897. This book established him as an expert on Cuba, which led to his assignment as a courier to the rebel general Garcia prior to America's war with Spain in 1898. The successful fulfillment of this mission made him famous and, along with gallantry in the subsequent Philippine campaign, was the basis for his being given the Distinguished Service Cross and other rewards.

Articles and charts of genealogy of the Bennett and allied families of Campbell, Dentzer, Dyer, Ellsworth, Fast, Forinash, Hinkle (Henkle/Henckel), Layman, McCally, Skidmore, Wagner and Weaver. Often mentioned names are John Bennett, Joseph Bennett, Levi Bennett, William Bennett, James Campbell, Moses Ellsworth, Anthonius Jacobus Henckel, John Justus Henckel, John Skidmore and Levi Skidmore. There are articles on the Bennett Coat of Arms, James Campbell, John Justus Henckel and Hinkle's Fort. The Hinkle articles mention the family as pioneers in what is now Pendleton County and the building of the fort that bears their name. Hinkle's Fort was an important patriotic outpost in this part of Virginia during the Revolutionary War. Material covers the years 1500-1991.

Papers and volumes collected by Bradford Laidley pertaining to him and his family. Includes records of the Morgantown Presbyterian and Protestant Episcopal Church, genealogical information on the Rogers and Laidleys, a pioneer school book of Anne McKinnon, and a personal letter book of L. Wilcox of Kanawha Salines. Also includes three receipts for slaves purchased in Richmond, Virginia by Major W.A. Bradford(e).

Various subjects discussed include Indian attacks, turnpikes and taverns, the first telegraph system, natural gas illumination, Civil War manufacture of saltpeter, schools and economy in post-Civil War Charleston, salt and chemical industries, carrier pigeons, steamboats on the Kanawha River, and the coming of the railroad to Charleston. Persons mentioned include M.F. Maury, Jr., J.P. Hale, and J.Q. Dickinson.

Family history papers consisting of a list of the descendants of Edmund Browning, Jr. and Jane Curry Browning, a typescript history of the Browning family, a Browning family tree chart, and a pedigree chart for Henry Hamilton Weaver of Barbour Co. There is also a typescript account of the experiences of the Daniel Weaver family during 1855 in the Kansas Territory and its return to Gilmer Co., including a description of dealings with Pottawatomie Indians, a cholera epidemic, and Kansas statehood politics.

Papers of a Monongalia County, West Virginia, farm family residing near Maidsville include: the farm account books of John and John J. Courtney, 1831-1877; family Bible records and photographs; college essays of Alpheus Courtney, a West Virginia University student; manuscript ciphering book, 1817; diary of Ulysses J. Courtney, 1878-1883 (7 vols.) pertaining to lumbering, farming, and livestock operations, and community religious and social life; correspondence; steamboat bills of lading, invoices of mercantile stores; Civil War bounty receipts; a record of lumbering operations, 1878; and records of the Bethel (Methodist) Church. Subjects include the construction of the Monongahela Valley Railroad; frontier conditions in Iowa; Morgantown Bridge Company; and Methodism within the Baltimore and West Virginia conferences. Correspondents include Alston G. Dayton.

This is a history, "Westward Down the Ohio," relating highlights of Ohio River history, ca.1750-1880, in West Virginia. Subjects include early exploration, settlement, and transportation, especially the steamboat era. Mention is often made of events occurring in Parkersburg and its vicinity as being typical examples of the history of the Ohio Valley.

The boyhood memoirs of an elderly Monongalia County resident, entitled, "Our Daily Bread" relating rural life in the early years of the twentieth century. There is mention of home remedies, farming, country stores, school, church, holidays, transportation and folkways. He describes in detail seeing the first automobile in the western part of the county. Also contains some genealogical notes on William White and family, White is the surveyor who named that portion of the county, Battelle District.

Typescript copy of the diary of Reverend Edward Evans Parrish, a native of Monongalia County, West Virginia, written during a journey to the Oregon territory from 1843 to 1845. The diary begins in October 1843 when Parrish and his group left Hoskinsville, Morgan County, Ohio, and ends in July 1845. Diary is twenty-seven pages and chiefly consists of brief entries. Parrish primarily describes their route west along the Oregon Trail, including the rivers they crossed and other geographical features along the way. Other topics include the weather and heavy rains impeding their journey; moving up cattle and horses; animals on the prairie, including antelopes and buffalo; hunting buffalo; encounters with Native Americans; the health of his family and others in the camp; activities in the camps; the organization of the camps; and their arrival in Oregon City in December 1844. Transcript was made from a copy of the diary printed in the Transactions of the Sixteenth Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association, 1888.