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Papers, photographs and maps of a wealthy Morgantown family with interests in real estate and coal mining. Most of the business papers are those of J. M. G. Brown, a West Virginia University law school alumnus, who was president of Scotts Run Fuel Corporation. Brown was also a housing developer whose company, Suburban Real Estate of Morgantown, was a competitive concern not only locally but throughout north central West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania. There are papers indicating his attempts to open Morgantown to airline service. His sister, Mary Virginia Brown was a genealogist and local historian noted for A History of the Negroes of Monongalia County. Among her papers are genealogies of the Bannister, Brown, Bushey, Dorsey, Suter and Williams families. There are also original documents of Colonel William McCleary, an early settler of Morgantown. There is also a manuscript "List of Taxable Property for 1786, Monongalia County," including five pages listing residents and their "tithables," horses, and cattle.

Includes records from several generations of the Deakins family of Montgomery County, Maryland and north central West Virginia. William (1742-1798) and Francis (1739-1804) Deakins, among the first generation, were active as land speculators after the American Revolution, applying their skills as surveyors to leverage acquisition of western lands. From 1778 their activities are documented through deeds, agreements, surveys, plats, surveyors' field books, court papers, and letters related to land purchased in Harrison, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Tucker, and Upshur counties. Other papers concern Leonard M. Deakins (1747-1824) and his descendants. Of special significance in the collection is the compass used by Francis Deakins to survey the "Deakins Line" in 1787-1788, a north-south line separating western Maryland from (West) Virginia.

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.

Correspondence of the Varner and Darrah families. Folder 1 includes original manuscript letters to and from members of the two families (1870-1884). Folder 2 includes manuscript genealogical information from the Varner family bible, and typed transcripts of the papers of the Varner family of Monongalia County, West Virginia, dating from 1775 to 1918, which includes correspondence with the Darrahs. The two families were related. For additional materials related to the Varner family, please see A&M 3543.

Dr. Barbara Howe worked at West Virginia University in a variety of different positions between 1980 and her retirement in 2009, including as associate professor of history, head of the public history program, and director of the Center for Women's Studies. Prevalent subjects present in the collection include historical preservation, environmental activism, and politics in the Morgantown and broader West Virginia area.

A scrapbook compiled by E.L. Mathers and Max Mathers, dealing with Morgantown and Monongalia County. There are photographs and newspaper clippings concerning civic, military, and social organizations; taverns and hotels; churches and schools; marriages and deaths; historic houses, early buildings, business places, and river navigation; and biographical sketches.

Papers of the Fairfax and Warman families of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Morgantown, and Kingwood. There are letters (1811-1874) to Elizabeth Fairfax from family members and friends; papers (1840-1851) of William Warman; papers on the settlement of the John Fairfax estate; a manuscript census book of Preston County for 1830; and an account book (1857-1872) of F.B.F. Fairfax. A few advertising circulars, 1866-1931, are included, as well as clippings on Morgantown and Monongalia County, 1868-1933.