Collections

Start Over Date range 1968 Creator Summers, Festus P. (Festus Paul), 1895-1971 Level Collection

Festus P. Summers (1895-1971), Historian, Papers 39 Linear Feet 39 ft. (93 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 index card box, 3 in.)

Summers, Festus P. (Festus Paul), 1895-1971
Correspondence, speeches, manuscripts, research notes, and other papers of a historian who served on the faculty of West Virginia University from 1932 to 1965 and as chairman of the history department from 1946 to 1962. Included are: his official as well as personal correspondence; notes for speeches; research notes, rough drafts and proofs for his published works on William L. Wilson and Johnson Newlon Camden; exams, outlines, and notes for classes he taught; material relating to the University Senate and committees on which he served; a scrapbook covering Monongalia County and other subjects (1850-1897); and papers relating to West Virginia University. Included is a manuscript history of West Virginia University which Summers worked on during his retirement and which William T. Doherty, Jr. finished and published in 1982 as WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY: SYMBOL OF UNITY IN A SECTIONALIZED STATE. There is also desk plaque given to Summers when he served on the West Virginia Centennial Commission; the plaque is fashioned of wood from the first capitol in Wheeling.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Festus P. Summers (1895-1971), Historian, Personal Diaries 2.5 Linear Feet 2 ft. 6 in. (3 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 record carton, 15 in.)

Summers, Festus P. (Festus Paul), 1895-1971

Personal diaries of Festus P. Summers, a historian who served on the faculty of West Virginia University from 1932 to 1965 and as chairman of the history department from 1946 to 1962. The diaries are in 19 volumes covering the period 1953-1971. They document in a thorough manner his experiences in the communities of West Virginia University and Morgantown. He comments on local and national events, including for example a visit of Harry Truman to Morgantown in 1956.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Festus P. Summers (1895-1971), Historian, Research Papers Regarding West Virginia History 1.6 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 6 1/2 in. (1 record carton, 15 in.); (1 flat storage box, 3 1/2 in.)

Summers, Festus P. (Festus Paul), 1895-1971
Research papers of Festus P. Summers (1895-1971), a historian who served on the faculty of West Virginia University from 1932 to 1965 and as chairman of the history department from 1946 to 1962. Collection includes photocopied correspondence, articles, and typescripts, as well as manuscript notes. Many of the photocopies appear to have been made from Archives and Manuscript collections at the West Virginia and Regional History Center, including A&M 873, A&M 1661, A&M 1824, and A&M 2141. Topics include the West Virginia coal mine wars (1912-1927); West Virginia tax reform and economy (1900s-1950s); and individuals related to coal mining, labor, and legislation (1902-1971). These individuals include Van A. Bittner, W.E. Chilton, Justus Collins (President of Winding Gulf Colliery Company), Walter S. Hallanan, Henry D. Hatfield, M.M. Neely, C.E. Smith, and Walter R. Thurmond. Also included is a copy of a dissertation titled "Rush Dew Holt: The Boy Senator, 1905-1942," by William Ellis Coffey of WVU (1970), and a typescript copy of a manuscript by Dr. James Morton Callahan titled "History of West Virginia University: Problems and Policies." The Callahan typescript also includes annotations by Summers (ca. 1966).
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

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