Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

Family genealogies and correspondence for Ruth Woods and Arthur S. Dayton. Includes estate records and Photographs for the Jarvis, Stickler, Dayton, Bosworth, and Woods families. Personal correspondence with and/or pertaining to the Rare Book Room at West Virginia University, World Wars I and II, John W. Draper, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Dayton Park in Philippi, West Virginia. Also included are research and writings by both Ruth and Arthur Dayton. Newspaper headlines are stored unfolded in an oversize flat storage box; they include: 1. Charleston Gazette, 1944/06/06, D-Day invasion; 2. Charleston Gazette, 1945/05/07, surrender of Nazi Germany; 3. Charleston Gazzette, 1945/08/14, surrender of Japan. A detailed paper guide to this collection can be found in the control folder for A&M 0052. An electronic copy of the same guide is available through a curator at the History Center.

Correspondence, publications, printed material, research material, photographs, and clippings of former West Virginia University professor of journalism and Director of Development Donovan Bond (9 February 1921 - 12 June 1995) of Morgantown, West Virginia. Main topics include West Virginia University-related material, including Bond's involvement in Phi Sigma Kappa; genealogy on several early West Virginia families, including Bond, Dent, Core, McWhorter, Romine, Hiner, Scott, Maxson, and Cutright; materials relating to several West Virginia-specific projects, including the Hacker's Creek Descendants, the Henry McWhorter cabin at Jackson's Mill, and others; World War II memorabilia, including letters home from New Guinea and photographs; Morgantown history, particularly from ca. 1914-1970, including Morgantown High School (both 1914-1918 and 1934-1938) and plays produced at the high school in the late 1930s. Also includes papers of Helen Louise Dent Bond, Donovan's wife. Addendum of 2013/01/18 includes Phi Sigma Kappa records. Addendum of 2014/01/03 includes Phi Sigma Kappa jewelry and memorabilia, historical material, and framed photographs. This collection is minimally unprocessed. See Scope and Content note for box list.

Lecture notes, clippings, notes, and drafts for A History of European Civilization, Volume 1, and other miscellaneous papers of Jason C. Easton, former professor of history at West Virginia University (WVU). The collection also contains Dr. Easton's correspondence with several former students serving in the military during World War II dating from ca. 1942-1946. Other WWII items include ration books for food, gasoline, and liquor; and two unpublished sound recordings on disc of a radio discussion by J.C. Easton and Clark Ennis regarding the question of which nation the United States should support following World War II, Germany or Russia. There is also an album of photographs, some indentified, of members of the Young family of Charleston, West Virginia, dating from ca. 1860-1890. Addenda to the collection, in two document cases, include Lieutenant Clark Easton's World War I ledger containing class notes and instructional material from an Army Intelligence School, for period 30 September 1918 to 9 November 1918; and a listing of WVU students and graduates killed in World War II. Addenda also include items collected by Easton, including three Civil War documents: 1) payment voucher for Captain John D. Young for work on Bateau No. 16 on the Kanawha River (1962), 2)An eulogy/composition regarding "Stonewall Jackson" by Virginia Military Institute cadet, Samuel Francis Atwill (1863) who was mortally wounded at the Battle of New Market on 15 May 1864, and 3) a three-page narrative by unknown soldier regarding Shenandoah Valley campaign (January to July 1864). There is also a history of Charleston and Kanawha County published in 1911. For photographs related to this collection, go to wvhistoryonview.org and search for this collection's four digit call number (otherwise known as an a&m number).

A collection of the donor's father, George A. Shingleton (1905-85) of Taylor Co., WV containing letters, deeds, tax receipts and sheet music from the Johnson and Moats families of Barbour Co., WV which were his maternal grandparents families. Also included are genealogical notes on the family of Eli Firth; a book on an informal history of the 143rd. (Anti-aircraft) Gun Battalion during World War II; and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad rule books, seniority lists, letters, memos, note books and time tables.

Scrapbook of a Parkersburg postal clerk containing historical clippings on Wood County and World War II, and the scrapbook (1854-1921) of A.L. Collins which has statements from numerous Parkersburg mercantile houses, criminal reward notices, and a few legal papers.

Correspondence, financial papers, diaries, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and photographs relating to the Max Mathers family and Monongalia County, West Virginia. The activities of Anna DeGant Mathers, wife of Max Mathers, and Margaret Mathers Barrick, his daughter, as well as of Margaret's two sons, William Mathers Barrick and George Milton Barrick, Jr. are well represented in the family papers. Max Mather's own papers document his personal life, Republican party activities, genealogical and local history interests, and his participation in civil defense planning for Morgantown, as well as his service on the local selective service board. There are letters and financial records of earlier members of the Morgan family, mostly of the Civil War period and later, but including two early 19th century account books and some early letters. Some of the names of Morgan ancestors are Elijah Morgan, Elizabeth Morgan, H.M. Morgan, H.D. McGeorge, N.H. McGeorge, and John R. Morgan. Photographs are largely of the Mathers family, but there are a few of the 175th anniversary of Monongalia County, and the dedication of a monument to Col. Zackquill Morgan, ancestor of Mathers and founder of Morgantown. The newspaper clippings cover personal mentions of Max Mathers and his family as well as local history articles, local events, and the family's involvement in the search for missing soldiers after the Korean conflict. The scrapbook was put together by Eugene L. Mathers, Max Mathers' father, and documents Monongalia County events, 1838-1951. In addition, there is a collection of greeting cards covering the first half of the 20th century and a collection of broadsides going back to the 1850s.

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.

Papers of Rush Dew Holt, Sr. (1905-1955) relating to his personal and political activities. Types of material include publications, clippings, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera, among others. The collection is divided into six series: Personal and Political Papers (1840-2000 and undated), Artifacts (1939-1952 and undated), Legislative Records (1920-1955 and undated), Constituent Services (1923-1954 and undated), Press and Media Activity (1925-2003 and undated), and Administrative Files (1937-1940).