Search

Start Over Date range 1932 Subjects Slaves and slavery.

Allen Family Papers 31 Linear Feet 31 ft. (72 document cases, 5 in. each); (8 unboxed ledgers, 12 in.)

Allen family
Personal and business correspondence, legal papers, ledgers, family records, and other papers of the Allen family of Moorefield, Hardy County, West Virginia. Also includes papers of members of the Barr, Weibley, Taylor, and Gamble families. The majority of the collection includes personal and business correspondence, legal papers, and financial records of Judge James W.F. Allen (1813/12/03 - 1875/07/16), a Hardy County lawyer, Jacksonian Democrat, and Circuit Court Judge in Hardy and Grant Counties (active ca. 1852-1865, 1872-1875). Also includes the papers of Allen's second wife, Caroline Williams Allen (d. 1907), several of Allen's children, and other related people, and a large group of 19th century advertising memorabilia. See Scope and Content Note for more information.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Bradford Laidley Papers 0.25 Linear Feet Summary: 3 in. (1 small flat storage box)

Laidley, Bradford
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).
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Ellison Family Papers 3.3 Linear Feet Summary: 3 ft. 4 in. (8 document cases, 5 in. each)

Ellison family

The correspondence, wills, deeds, receipts, recipes, remedies, and genealogy, of the Ellison-Dunlap Petrie families of Monroe County. The letters discuss family and business matters, enslaved Africans, the Civil War, and settlement of some family members in Kansas. There are papers about land and farming, including surveys, deeds, memos, and accounts as well as correspondence and printed material about the WVU Agricultural Extension Service. There are ledgers for Han Creek Mill and an account book of William Petrie. There is also an 1831 journal of William Petrie with entries about his travels to England, Cuba, New Orleans, and along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. There are separations from this collection of photographs, pamphlets, newspapers, and broadsides.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Frances Packette Todd Papers 20.67 Linear Feet Summary: 20 ft. 8 in. (44 document cases, 5 in. each); (4 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.); (3 large flat storage boxes, 3 in. each); (1 large box, 6 in.)

Todd, Frances Packette, 1901-1987
Correspondence, photographs, post cards, newspapers, pamphlets (regarding typical antebellum and postbellum topics such as slavery, states rights, etc.), official records including the 1793 marriage license for Lund Washington (George Washington's cousin) and Susanna Grayson, a 1732 shipping order for items, including gold and silver, to be transported from Delaware to London, a 1837 document authorizing payment of a navy pension to the children of Lt. John Packette, and memorabilia of a prominent Jefferson County family, the Davenport-Gibson-Packette-Todds. The bulk of the correspondence is that of Mrs. Frances Packette Todd, Braxton Davenport (Port) Gibson, Susan G. (Zan) Gibson and Mrs. Anne Gibson Packette. Mrs. Todd was an heiress who travelled much in her youth and she was married to a distant cousin, Augustine J. Todd, who, like her, also claimed descent from George Washington's family. Her aunt, Zan Gibson, was an active local historian and genealogist. Her uncle B. D. (Port) Gibson was a lawyer who was a state legislator at the turn of the century. There are letters and artifacts of his days as a student at the University of Virginia where he was quite popular and an esteemed member of the rowing team. There are also several letters of his sisters, Anne and Zan, from a private French school in Canada. There is a shell jacket of a Confederate uniform belonging to Mrs. Todd's grandfather, John Thomas Gibson. He was a non-commissioned officer serving in an engineering unit of the CSA Army which was stationed around Richmond near the end of the Civil War. Gibson also commanded militia units during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. There are letters of his concerning the hiring out of slaves before and during the war. After the war he once again became successful in business and built a mansion in Charles Town upon the site where John Brown was executed. One other prominent family member was Capt. James Gibson who served in a Virginia infantry regiment stationed at Norfolk during the War of 1812. Subjects covered include family matters, politics, land, slavery, education and warfare.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Frederick B. Lambert, Collector and Compiler, Papers 1.76 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 9 in. (9 items in 1 folder, 0.1 in.); (12 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Lambert, Fred B., 1873-1967

Historical and genealogical notebooks, notes on census reports, cemetery readings, newspaper history, copies of church and school records, notes on slavery, newspaper clipping scrapbooks, and correspondence.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Hays Family of Gilmer County, West Virginia Papers 0.4 Linear Feet Summary: 5 in. (1 document case, 5 in.)

Papers of the Hays family of Gilmer County, West Virginia, centering on Peregrine Hays and his son Samuel Hays. The collection includes Civil War related material; correspondence; financial, business, and legal records; and other material. The Civil War material includes a receipt for the sale of enslaved Africans, military orders, and records of financial transactions made in Confederate currency. The correspondence within the collection includes personal letters between members of the Hays family as well as correspondence with friends and acquaintances. The financial, business, and legal records within the collection include material regarding Peregrine Hay's postbellum financial difficulties. See "Historical Note" for further information.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

John W. Davis, Lawyer, Papers 3.54 Linear Feet 3 ft. 6.5 in. (4 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.); (1 large flat storage box, 3 in.); (1 large flat storage box, 3.5 in.); (1 box, 4 in.); (2 boxes, 4 1/2 in. each); (5 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each)

Davis, John W. (John William), 1873-1955

Scrapbooks, diaries, correspondence and papers of the noted lawyer and 1924 presidential aspirant for the Democrats, John W. Davis, kept by his daughter, a famous author, Julia (McDonald) Davis Adams. Noteworthy is a 1948 official publication in tribute to Davis' career as Solicitor General of the United States (1913-1918). There is a typescript copy of his diary recounting his wartime and post-war tenure (1918-1921) as the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. His letters include some of his candid feelings about the political events of his day such as the New Deal and tributes to his scholarly approach to practicing law from Supreme Court Justices Robert H. Jackson and Felix Frankfurter.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Kanawha County (W. Va.) Court Records and Miscellaneous Papers 274.85 Linear Feet Summary: 274 ft. 10 in. (541 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 records carton, 15 in.); (2 ledgers, 1.5 in.); (2 oversize folders, 4 items); (2 folders, .5 in.); (290 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each); (83 reels of microfilm, .75 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.); (1 record storage box, 3.5 in.)

Kanawha County Court (Kanawha County, W. Va.)
County court records consisting primarily of court case papers, related court record books (dockets, execution books, fee books, witness books, etc.), and public records concerning a variety of topics including land records, schools, and marriages. There are also a few private account books relating to various local industries, including salt, mining, sawmills, steamboats, and general stores.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Lewis Family Papers 6.9 Linear Feet Summary: 6 ft. 10 3/4 in. (14 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 oversize folder, 1/2 in.); (4 boxes, 12 in.)

Lewis family
Personal and business papers of the Lewis family, mainly of John D. (1800-1882), Charles C., Sr. (b.1839), and Charles C., Jr. (b.1865), of Kanawha County. For the period 1825-1875 there are papers of various members of the Ruffner, Dickinson, and Wilson families of West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, and other states. The business papers relate to farming operations, the purchase and sale of slaves, salt manufacturing and trade, the Old Sweet Springs Company, coal, iron, oil, lumbering, railroads, and real estate in Kanawha, Clay, Boone, Fayette, and Nicholas counties. There are newspaper clippings, speeches, and other papers reflecting the Lewis' interests in the Democratic Party in the period 1914-1920. Settlement papers and correspondence regarding the estates of John D. Lewis, and Joel, Daniel, and Andrew Ruffner are in the collection. The personal papers include diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, and letters. Travel accounts in the United States, South America, and Europe are given in the correspondence, as well as comments on schools in West Virginia and Virginia; the building of a church in Kanawha County in 1834; missionary work in Colombia, South America, 1874-1875; Civil War and postwar conditions in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri; conditions at Camp Chase, in the Civil War; and material relating to World War I.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Mary E. Heironimus, Collector, Records regarding George Washington and Other Material 0.25 Linear Feet 2 3/4 in. (1 document case, 2 1/2 in.); (1 oversize folder, 1/4 in.)

Heironimus, Mary
Contains material regarding George Washington and the Washington family, including the order book of the 8th U.S. Regiment stationed at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (1799-1800); typescript regarding Harewood, residence of Washington's brother (undated); New York Times article regarding observation of Washington's birthday (1862); and material regarding the genealogy of the Washington family (1891-1931). Also contains receipt for purchase of slave (1864); genealogy regarding the Forrest family and other families (undated); and a deed for a cemetery plot (1884). Please see "Scope and Content Note" for further information as well as information regarding an addendum to this collection.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.