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This collection contains letters, photographs, scrapbooks and other material related to the Person, Hickman, and Walton families. The bulk of the collection contains material related to Charles and William Person. Included are photographs of family members and the trips they took including to the York River, scrapbooks of the Person-Walton family and scenes from the Newport News Naval Yards, and an oral history conducted with William Person describing Williamsburg, Virginia in the first half of the 20th century.

These papers contain correspondence, photographs, business papers, artifacts, certificates, and other materials related to Charles Edward Gary, Jr. Mr. Gary was a prominent African American business owner in Williamsburg, operating for decades the West End Valet Shop off Prince George Street. The collection comprises business ledgers and other West End Valet Shop records over several years, as well as legal documents pertaining to the Valet Shop and Gary family estates such as leases and deeds. Personal materials pertain especially to Mr. Gary's schooling, his miltiary service during World War II, family photographs, and some of Mrs. Zelda Gary's personal papers. An active member of the Williamsburg community, Mr. Gary served in several civic, fraternal, and religious organizations. Centering on his involvement in local baptist churches and in the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World - Old Capitol Lodge, Mr. Gary's papers include speeches he prepared for religious and I.B.P.O.E.W. meeting touching on religion, family, and race issues in America. The collection thus contains materials relevant to the study of twentieth-century Williamsburg history and African American history.

This collection includes memorabilia, resolutions, early William and Mary campus photographs, clippings, and correspondence of Charles J. Duke, Jr. Correspondence, reports and photographs relate to Charles Duke's position as the Bursar of the College of William and Mary. Of particular importance is the material on the Norfolk and Richmond Divisions which later became Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University, especially the correspondence of Director William T. Hodges. Includes correspondence and reports of the "Virginia Reorganization of the Agencies of State Government," committee formed by Governor William M. Tuck where Duke served as Chief of Staff.