Collections

The Armstead L. Robinson papers(1848-2001; 43 cubic feet) consist of audiotapes; book reviews; census material; computer printouts; conference papers; correspondence; biographical information; instructional material; lectures and speeches; manuscripts and original writings by Robinson, his colleagues and students; maps; memorabilia; microfilm; organizational and professional files; photographs; printed items, and research and topical files. Most of the nineteenth century material is in the form of photocopies.

This collection includes programs, correspondence, audiovisual and other material related to Charles Burgess' involvement with the theater scene in Norfolk, Virginia. The bulk of the correspondence involves the Little Theatre and Norfolk Theatre. The collection also contains photographs and audiovisual material of various productions by the Masquers Group, a student theater organization at Old Dominion University. Theater programs related to productions on Broadway in the 1920s are also present in the collection. Oral history interviews with Dr. Burgess can be found on the Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections website.

This collection is comprised of letters written by Elizabeth N. Tompkins, the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law, during and immediately after her years of law study, and diplomas, certificates, and awards she received.

The Fernande Gontier papers (1787-2005; 8.6 cubic feet) document Dr. Gontier's scholarship on Simone de Beauvoir; Colette; Etienne Cabet and his followers in Nauvoo, Illinois; Mathilde de Morny; and Comtesse Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy. The collection includes manuscript drafts, research files, correspondence, and books representing Dr. Gontier's work. Materials also include manuscripts for cookbooks co-written by Dr. Gontier. The papers are arranged into six series.

The Francis Burton Harrison papers (1921-1945; 0.5 cubic feet) consist of personal and family papers of (1873-1957), United States Senator and Governor-General of the Philippines. Most of the correspondence is from the World War II era, and the Harrisons had just escaped the Biarritz and San Jean de Luz region of the German Occupied zone of France in [April?] and made their way to the United States in 1941.

The Francis H. Fife papers (1947-2015; 168.4 cubic feet) document the personal and professional life of Mr. Fife with an emphasis on his civic and community interests. Types of materials include reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, memoranda, journals, and some family documents. The collection is organized into three series: Oak Lawn 1, Oak Lawn 2, and Westview.

The collection contains more than 450 letters written between Lieutenant Frank Owen Wilson from Wilson, Arkansas, who was a University of Virginia graduate and his Charlottesville girlfriend, Susan Smith Rinehart (1925-1995), whose family lived on an estate called "Boxwood." There are 276 letters from Wilson and 180 letters from Rinehart. Wilson's early letters are from Saint Elmo Hall at the Univeristy of Virginia. His letters while in military service were not subject to censorship, yet describe his training in detail. Frank's letters are usually hand-written but many of the letters are typewritten and some are accompanied by printed ephemera. The letters describe their courtship, his military service, their families, and her pregnancy, among other topics. Susan was from a wealthy family and her letters reflect how she and her family lived through the war without seemingly any financial concern. Letters describe Albemarle County horse rides and related activities. Her letter of June 6, 1994, regarding D-Day, is of historical interest.

The George Washington Lewis papers consists chiefly of correspondence to and from George Washington Lewis and between other family members, but also includes a few photographs of the Lewis family and the homes of "Claymont", "Shellfield" and "Marmion"; a plat of "Claymont"; newsclippings; notes on Lewis family history and genealogy; and a few financial and legal documents.

Goodykoontz family papers (1895-1960,bulk 1912-1930) focus on Robert Goodykoontz (1884-1970), and his wife "Sara" Nelle Neal Goodykoontz (1926-1930; 0.03 cubic feet).There are 80 or more letters including 13 to Robert Goodykoontz from his sister-in-law Irene; 39 letters from his mother Lucinda Kathering Woolwine Goodykoontz; letters from family at Virginia College for Women, Harris Military Institute, Roanoke, Va., and a few letters from family members in Kansas City, Mo. Also included are several telegrams, and one V-Mail, Dec.5, 1944 from a nephew in the line of duty,and an original deed signed in 1895 by S. W. Jamison, George E. Keene and the Roanoke Stock Yards Company in Roanoke, Virgina. It also contains three report cards, two commencement announcements, invitations,and tuition statements. There are also four hand-written letters from Laura Lee Dorsey, principal of St. Anne's school.