Collections

Start Over Date range 1890 Places Parkersburg (W. Va.) Level Collection

Charles H. Ambler (1876-1957) Papers 5 Linear Feet Summary: 5 ft. (12 document cases, 5 in. each)

Ambler, Charles Henry, 1876-1957

Collection includes original copies of correspondence relating to Virginia and West Virginia, as well as newspaper clippings, photographs, and research notes. Events pertaining to the Civil War and the formation of West Virginia are covered. Among the most important items are the private correspondence of Waitman T. Willey (1835-1861 and 1866-1868); data pertaining to education in Mason County, West Virginia (1861-1875); typescript copies of letters of Samuel Woods (see also A&M 1445); typescript copies of diary of Lieutenant Fabricius Augustus Cather (for originals, see A&M 3633); private correspondence (1939-1941); Mercer County records; Marion County records; McDowell County records; and Jackson, Mineral, Raleigh, Taylor, Pendleton, Pleasants, Greenbrier, and Wood County items. Also includes information relating to Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown, and Parkersburg. Other matters of interest are contained in letters written by John Brown, Wills DeHass, and Alexander Boetler, and references to Stonewall Jackson, James Rumsey, genealogy of the Robertson family, and battles of the Civil War.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Civil War Soldier's Letter, Menu, and Campaign Ribbon 0 Linear Feet Summary: 3 items

A Civil War soldier's letter to his brother from Camp Hill, Harper's Ferry, (West) Virginia, 1863 February 28; a Christmas menu from Hill's Central Hotel, Parkersburg, West Virginia, ca. 1879; and a campaign ribbon from the West Virginia Democratic State Convention, Parkersburg, West Virginia 1892 July 27, the printing on the ribbon reads "Sweeney for State Supt. of Free Schools".
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

First Baptist Church of Parkersburg Records 0.15 Linear Feet Summary: 1 3/4 in. (1 reel of microfilm, 1.75 in.)

First Baptist Church, Parkersburg
Minutes of the church, 1817-1910, and of the Parkersburg Baptist Association, 1819-1869. Lists and reports of member churches, including Hughes River, Marietta, Bethesda, Sampson Creek, Mount Zion, Reedy Creek, and Elizabeth. Lists of early members (white and black) of the First Baptist Church 1817-1844. An historical sketch of the Parkersburg Baptist Association written by Rev. J.W. Carter in 1869, with a statistical report on member churches 1818-1869.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Gordon B. Gibbens Papers 0.4 Linear Feet 5 in. (1 document case)

Gibbens, Gordon B.

Correspondence of Gordon B. Gibbens of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Subjects discussed include personal and family business, West Virginia Republican Party affairs, and Gibbens' political appointments. Correspondents include Senators Stephen B. Elkins, Nathan B. Scott, and James A. Hughes, as well as numerous Ohio Valley politicians. One letter (1896 December 21) is an endorsement by a group of "colored" voters of Wood County for Gibbens' appointment to political office, and another letter (1898 January 17) is a similar endorsement by a group of Wood County Union veterans.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Hugh Sayre, Collector, Papers 1.1 Linear Feet Summary: 1 ft. 1 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 small flat storage box, 3 in.)

Sayre, Hugh

Correspondence, miscellaneous family papers, nineteenth century school records, ledgers, bank books, and memorabilia of Hugh F. Sayre and family of Parkersburg, Reedy, St. Marys and West Creek, West Virginia. Some material relates to oil and gas leases on the Sayre family farm and Sayre's invention of a scientific alphabet called EBDECORD.

  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Peter Godwin Van Winkle (1808-1872) Papers 0.8 Linear Feet Summary: 10 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each)

Van Winkle, P. G. (Peter Godwin), 1808-1872
Personal papers and scrapbooks of Peter G. Van Winkle (1808-1872), a Parkersburg attorney, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851, member of the Second Wheeling Convention of 1861, delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1861-1862, legislator from Wood County in 1863, U.S. Senator from 1863-1869, and participant in West Virginia railroad and business enterprises. Includes manuscripts speeches, essays, correspondence, and three scrapbooks of newspaper clippings. Highlights include a manuscript speech on the American Colonization Society, which helped found the colony of Liberia (undated); a letter to the president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company (March 18, 1836); a draft of "Address of the Delegates composing the New State Constitutional Convention to their Constituents" (1863). Other subjects of Van Winkle's writings include the U.S. Constitution, philosophical and religious writings (including the rights and nature of mankind), and Virginia and West Virginia politics. The scrapbooks are mostly full of clippings, with subjects including the Northwestern Turnpike, politics, and the development of Parkersburg (1827-1902, undated). One of the scrapbooks also includes journal entries (1834-1844).
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Roy Bird Cook (1886-1961), Collector, Tavenner Family Papers and Other Material 1.1 Linear Feet 1 ft. 1 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 3 in.)

Cook, Roy Bird, 1886-1961
Papers of Thomas Tavenner and the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence; memoirs; journals; financial and legal documents; pamphlets; newspapers; and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil War. The Tavenner family were Confederate sympathizers.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

Stiles Family Oil and Mining Company Records 1.46 Linear Feet 1 ft. 5.5 in. (3 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 document case, 2.5 in.)

Stiles family (Volcano, WV)
Papers, maps, and photos of William C. Stiles and Samuel B. Stiles, developers associated with J.C. Rathbone and J.N. Camden in the oil industry of Wood County, in particular of the oil boom town of Volcano. Most of the papers are business correspondence, receipts and oil drilling records dealing with family owned business in Parkersburg and Volcano, namely the Zero Oil Company, the Power Oil Company, and the Jackson Land and Mining Company. There are family photographs, and records and correspondence about Volcano in which the Stiles had substantial holdings. On August 4, 1879, there was a fire in Volcano which nearly destroyed the whole town and which was presumed to be due to arson with the intent to hurt the family's financial fortune. The history of Volcano is reflected in subsequent Pinkerton reports, news clippings, and correspondence between S.B. Stiles and local historian H.E. Metheny.
  1. West Virginia and Regional History Center

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