Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

A framed lithograph of the James Barns residence in Cumberland Township, near Carmichaels, PA with an insert consisting of a drawing of the first successfully operating engine in Greene Co., ca. 1833, located in the Barns woolen factory on Muddy Creek, near Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. Included is an account by the donor about the Barns family of north central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. Mention is made of abolitionism, agricultural trends, James Barns, William Shinn Barns, George Brown, Madison College, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Protestant Church, Asa Shinn, Uniontown, PA, Waitman T. Willey, and the woolen industry.

Correspondence, clippings, biographical sketches, photographs, artifacts, and other items relating to the family of St. George Tucker Brooke (1844-1914), a professor at West Virginia University College of Law, 1878-1909. Correspondence includes business and personal letters to and from St. George Tucker Brooke and Charles Frederick Tucker Brooke, a Rhodes Scholar and Shakespearean authority at Yale; letters between Francis (Frank) Brooke to Mrs. Mary Brooke while he served in the U.S. and France during World War I (1918-1919); and letters from James Harold in Ireland to his son James in New York (ca. 1870). Other items include a surveyor's call book for Tucker County (1856-1857), which includes notes on the Tucker-Randolph County boundary; "A Narrative of My Life: for My Family," 1763-1849 by Judge Francis T. Brooke; a manuscript recipe book (1814); and microfilmed copy of typescript "Autobiography of St. George Tucker Brooke, Written for His Children" (reel 3). More detail about collection contents can be found in the control folder.

Correspondence, book reviews, certificates and pictures of Waddell, a pioneering black veterinarian and author. His books (People Are The Funniest Animals, The Black Man in Veterinary Medicine, Universal Veterinarianism, and Historical Facts of the Black Veterinarian) document the little known contributions of African-Americans from antebellum times to the present in the field of veterinary science. They also indicate his beliefs that the veterinarian profession can also help heal misunderstandings among mankind. After graduation in 1935 from the University of Pennsylvania, one of the first schools to admit blacks into its veterinarian program, he taught and worked at Tuskegee Institute where he co-founded the first program in veterinary science at a black American college. During World War II, he joined the Ninth Cavalry, a famed black unit of which he includes some of its history among his papers. After the war, he established a private practice in West Virginia eventually locating in Monongalia County where he also served on the board of the Monongalia County Mental Health Association. His home near Morgantown served as a social center for some of the first black students who attended West Virginia University. He was also instrumental in fostering integration of other institutions within the county. After 1963 he moved to North Dakota where he worked on the Chippewa reservations of Turtle Mountain and Fort Totten. Waddell offers his observations on the aspirations of Native Americans and how they are discriminated against and neglected.

Two maps and one description of the Fort Van Metre property; a copy of the will of Abraham Van Metre, 1780; sketch of Major Samuel McCulloch; and a picture of Shaw Hall, West Liberty College, thought to be the site of the fort.

Negatives and other material from the Gravely and Moore Studio of Charleston, West Virginia. The majority of items within the collection are cellulose acetate negatives; the collection also includes glass plate negatives, prints, two photograph albums, and other material, as well as a card catalog documenting business transactions with customers. The collection is organized into customer project files as established by the Studio; the contents of these files are stored in envelopes usually containing one or two negatives, but they can contain up to a dozen or more. There are approximately 3,500 customer project files containing an estimated 11,000 items, most of which are negatives. The majority of photographs within the collection are portraits of individual adults. Other subjects include portraits of children; group photographs; businesses and advertising; members of the military; civil servants; civic organizations; missionaries; and aerial photographs, among others.

Correspondence, staff minutes, trail notes, and other materials relating to the management of Harpers Ferry National Park. There is also a map of Harpers Ferry with historical information by the US National Park Service (published in 2010).

Well leases and records, geologic reports, maps, printed material, photographs, and other papers of McGinnis, an oil and gas operator who owned the Tri-State Oil & Gas Co. of West Virginia, and who, after graduating from Marshall University in 1910, became a leading figure in the oil and gas business. Some of his poetry is included in the collection.

Originals and copies of clippings and photographs concerning the life and career of Izetta Jewel Kenny Brown Miller. Her career included work in the theater, Women's Suffrage Movement, radio, agriculture, television, and politics. Her first husband was William Gay Brown, Sr., West Virginia Congressman from Kingwood, and her second marriage was to Dr. Hugh Miller of the faculties of George Washington University and Union College. In 1922 and 1924, Mrs. Brown ran for the nomination as the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from West Virginia. She twice seconded the nomination of John W. Davis at the Democratic National Convention.

The photographs and negatives of the Gerbrick Studio of Martinsburg whose most prominent proprietor was Jacob H. Gerbrick. There are group and individual portraits as well as pictures of business and industry, modes of transportation, schools, churches, residences, clubs and organizations, and social events. These photographs reflect life in Martinsburg and the extreme Eastern panhandle, including unique events such as strikes or floods, annual events such as festivals and parades, and everyday occurrences of the inhabitants. There are also images of the apple industry, Gerbrick family, Shepherd College, and Storer College.