Collections

Letters, speeches, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia of Dr. William O. Armstrong, principal of Dunbar School, Fairmont, and the first Black student to attend the graduate school at West Virginia University. Includes correspondence, articles, speech scripts, and other material regarding Armstrong's involvement with the Marion County Public Library, Marion County Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and other organizations. Also includes memorial articles, obituaries, and correspondence to Armstrong's family after his death in 1970.

Includes a photocopy of the will of William Parsons (1828); an accurate typescript of the will, prepared by donor; a less accurate transcript of the will, from a family history book; a transcript of an 1850s financial document from the Randolph County Courthouse about Buck, one of the slaves mentioned in Parsons' will who was apparently suing for freedom; and background information about William Parsons and his wife, Catherine/Catharine, as well as the names of Buck's children.

Much of the collection consists of personal and professional correspondences of William Robert Adam. There are also a number of programs from events that Adam coordinated or was invited to attend in Alexandria and Washington, DC. The collection also includes awards and certificates, newspaper clippings, bibliographical information, publications, and research papers. There is also a folder on the composer Richard Bales, who conducted orchestral performances at some of Adam's events. The collection includes a number of realia such as medals and medallions.

Five letters from William M. Rome to his wife, Said from Nashville, Tennessee. Rome has traveled from New York in order to find lucrative work in Nashville. He writes about missing his wife and the comforts of home.

Minutes, and monthly and annual reports of the Williamsburg Civic League, 1907-1936. The League was founded as the Village Improvement Society, later the Educational & Civic Association, then the Women's Club.

Chiefly records of the Williamsburg Garden Club including reports from committees and chairmen, reports of other Garden Club presidents, minutes from the Williamsburg Garden Club, Club years books, minutes and register from the Garden Club of Virginia, Garden Week records, various other Club records. Also included are club notebooks, scrapbooks, and a publication.

35 photographs of Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. The Williamsburg photographs show Duke of Gloucester Street before its renovation by Rockefeller. Included are pictures of the Wren Building of the College of William and Mary including a photo of the chapel guttet to show the crypt. There are also pictures of the Govenor's Mansion, Bruton Parish Church, the Magazine Building, Court House, and pictures of the downtown business buildings of Williamsburg busines. Jamestown pictures are mostly landscape photos as are the Yorktown photographs. There are two aerial photographs and one close up of the Yorktown monument.

Checkbook, 1927-1930, containing vouchers for funds paid by H. L. Bridges while treasurer of the Williamsburg Methodist Church, South, Williamsburg, Va. which includes a contract and correspondence concerning building the church's parsonage.

3 volumes of the Voter Registrar's office of the City of Williamsburg, Virginia, consisting of a "List of White Voters, 1896, 1904-1946," "Colored Registered Voters, 1902, 1904-1946, 1930-1953, 1964," and "White Registered Voters, 1904-1964, 1905-1953."

This collection covers the Greater Williamsburg Area, including Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown, James City County, York County and other nearby communities. It includes gifts and purchases whose contents are ephemeral in nature and not well-suited as stand-alone collections. The items are usually transient documents of everyday life and can include menus, flyers, advertisements, and programs but can also be postcards, games, ticket stubs, and the like.