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Papers of the Brown, Parsons, and other West Virginia families and residents. Includes correspondence sent to J. Slidell Brown, a Democratic state senator from Elkins (1916-1935); announcements and programs for reunions of the Brown family of Preston County (1913-1930); a deed and copies of maps of land in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania (1846-1893, undated); financial documents, mainly tax receipts, of the Lilley family of Mercer County (1873-1910); correspondence sent to members of the Reckart family of Preston County (1910-1928); financial documents of W. G. Cambric of Harrison County (1895-1921); wedding announcements and other event invitations (ca. 1890-1920); holiday cards (ca. 1900); and other material.

Records and photographs documenting the history of southeastern West Virginia compiled by Summers County residents Fred Long and Stephen Trail. Many of the items were collected by a local newspaper, the Hinton Daily News (later the Hinton News). The collection focuses on the history of Summers County and Hinton from the mid-1700s to 2012, as well as the history of other areas in southeastern Virginia and western Virginia. Subjects include the town of Hinton, Hinton High School and Summers County schools, genealogy and family history, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, archaeological and geographical features, other Summers County communities, wars, and other topics. Materials include a large quantity of photographs and negatives along with clippings, printed materials, ephemera, oral histories, maps, motion pictures, sound recordings, typescripts, manuscripts, and other types of materials. Many items are facsimiles of photos, documents, and newspapers.

Business correspondence and papers, including land grants and deeds, 1761-1881, surveys, wills, and account books of William McCoy, Sr. and Jr., of Pendleton County. There are papers on the administration of estates; management of property in Mercer, Pendleton, and Randolph counties, and in Augusta and Highland counties, Virginia, for absentee owners; and on farm operations. There is material on the Central Bank of Virginia at Staunton; the Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike Company; and on military units in the eastern parts of West Virginia during the Civil War, including letters, orders, and requisitions. Also includes record of land transaction between Levi Hollingsworth and Robert McCulloh regarding 11,435 acres in Pendleton County (1803).

An unpublished history of Mercer County, WV, prepared as part of the WPA Writers Project. Subjects include: the economy, geography, early life, and customs, religion, commerce and industry, transportation, education, government and public administration, cultural and social advances and historic sites.

Raleigh and Mercer County photographs, both original and copied. (Copied material does not include original source.) Includes: a Confederate soldiers' reunion in Beckley in 1905; a still raid exhibited at the courthouse (ca. 1930-1934); a 1920 political rally and parade in Beckley featuring U.S. Presidential race between Governor J.M. Cox and Warren G. Harding; parade in Beckley (ca. 1920-1930). Woodrow Wilson High School marching band (1942); Raleigh General Hospital (ca. 1950-1970); aerial of Crab Orchard (1957); Hearses at site of Eckles mine explosion (1926); town of Lester (1978); Raleigh House Hotel (1882); the mansion of E.E. White, a Raleigh County coal baron (1909); portrait of Alfred Beckley, founder of Beckley, W. Va. (ca. 1870-1888); photograph of portrait painting of Maria Prince Beckley, mother of Alfred Beckley; Wildwood, home of Alfred Beckley (n.d.); Fitzpatrick, West Virginia, a lumber mill town (ca. 1925-1935); the American Legion Cemetery (ca. 1980-2000); tombstone for Kenneth Shadrick, first U.S. soldier killed in Korea (ca. 1980-2000); and churches of Raleigh County (ca. 1980-2000; 3 items; includes Baptist, Catholic, and Jewish temple). Mercer County subjects include: a Mercer County baseball team in Matoaka, W.Va. (ca.1910); a train collision near Princeton (1927; includes narrative information on back of photograph); a historical marker regarding Mitchell Clay in Mercer County; and a photograph of the Imperial Smokeless Coal Company in Quinwood, Greenbrier County (ca. 1910-1920).

Indentures, deeds, court papers, land grants, letters, church notices, tax and other receipts, bills, notes and other materials concerning the Bluestone River area in Summers County, West Virginia, especially the Josiah Meadows and Robert Lilly families. Includes a Church of Christ minute book kept by Thomas Lilly, 1802-1817; a land grant to Jesiah Meador signed by Governor James P. Preston, 1809; and a letter from William Sellergrit Lilly from upper Louisiana Territory telling of earth tremors, sickness, and expected Indian trouble. Places mentioned include Mercer, Raleigh, Montgomery, and Giles counties, and Sinking Creek.