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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.

Correspondence, legal papers, and business papers of John J.D. Preston, his ancestors, and his relatives. The correspondence is primarily between members of the Preston family with topics being discussed, such as living conditions, business conditions, military training camps, Civil War battles, politics and campaigns, political personalities, education, schools, and the World Wars. Correspondents include John Preston, Rev. David Preston, John J. Davis, and John W. Davis.

A notebook of genealogical forms compiled by the donor tracing the descent of the Robert Young & Lydia Gould family who settled at French Creek, Upshur County. Some mention is made of military service, occupation, and character of some of the individuals. Especially important is mention of individuals who served in the Civil War and World War I.

The Turner Family Papers consists of multiple sets of correspondence to members of generations of the extended Turner family written between 1830 and 1944. The bulk of the collection is letters between Lexie Fox and his wife, Bessie, written during World War I.

West Virginia Adjutant General burial and cemetery records including cemetery maps. The records consists of forms containing name; residence at death (city, county, state); cemetery name and location including town and county; date of burial; type of grave marker; information on grave marker including additional identification; date and place of birth; date, place, and cause of death; next of kin and their address; dates enlisted and discharged; serial number; rank; race; service branch; war of service; and a summary of their war record. Most records are of those who served in the Civil War or World War I. There are very few records of those who served in other wars. There are also cemetery maps with cemetery name and county which include name listings of those veterans interred and plot location sketch diagrams.

The personal business papers of William Hereford McGinnis (1855-1930), a Beckley lawyer who was prosecuting attorney of Raleigh County, 1892-1896, a senator in 1902, judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, 1922-1924, chairman for a number of years of the executive committee of the Democratic Party in Raleigh County, and delegate to the national convention in 1920. There are case papers, correspondence and other records of the Hatcher-McGinnis Law Firm, 1834-1930; family photographs; and materials relating to the Methodist Church and World War I.