Lewis Family Papers6.9 Linear Feet Summary: 6 ft. 10 3/4 in. (14 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 folder, 1/4 in.); (1 oversize folder, 1/2 in.); (4 boxes, 12 in.)
Creator
Lewis family
Abstract Or Scope
Personal and business papers of the Lewis family, mainly of John D. (1800-1882), Charles C., Sr. (b.1839), and Charles C., Jr. (b.1865), of Kanawha County. For the period 1825-1875 there are papers of various members of the Ruffner, Dickinson, and Wilson families of West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, and other states. The business papers relate to farming operations, the purchase and sale of slaves, salt manufacturing and trade, the Old Sweet Springs Company, coal, iron, oil, lumbering, railroads, and real estate in Kanawha, Clay, Boone, Fayette, and Nicholas counties. There are newspaper clippings, speeches, and other papers reflecting the Lewis' interests in the Democratic Party in the period 1914-1920. Settlement papers and correspondence regarding the estates of John D. Lewis, and Joel, Daniel, and Andrew Ruffner are in the collection. The personal papers include diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, and letters. Travel accounts in the United States, South America, and Europe are given in the correspondence, as well as comments on schools in West Virginia and Virginia; the building of a church in Kanawha County in 1834; missionary work in Colombia, South America, 1874-1875; Civil War and postwar conditions in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri; conditions at Camp Chase, in the Civil War; and material relating to World War I.
Louis Watson Chappell (1890-1981), Folklorist, Research Papers, Sound Recordings, and Other Material29.71 Linear Feet 44 document cases, 5 in. each; 6 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 small collection file folder, 0.25 in.; 7 blue notebooks, 1.5 in. each; 3 ft. 2 in. of acetate discs; 4 pieces of disc recorder equipment, 66.5 in. total; 3 reels of microfilm, 1.75 in. each36.7 Gigabytes 160 .wav files
Creator
Chappell, Louis W. (Louis Watson)
Abstract Or Scope
Research papers and sound recordings compiled by Louis Watson Chappell, an English Professor and folklorist at West Virginia University who collected, documented, and preserved West Virginia's folk music and folk traditions. He was born in Belvidere, North Carolina and educated in English Language and Literature at Wake Forest University (B.A.), and the University of Virginia (M.A.). Receiving a faculty appointment at West Virginia University in 1922, Chappell embarked upon a career dedicated to documenting and preserving West Virginia's folk music, which proved to be highly significant.
Mann-Hutchinson Family Correspondence3.83 Linear Feet 2 document cases, 5 in. each; 2 record cartons, 15 in. each; 1 flat storage box, 4 in.; 1 wrapped ledger, 2 in.
Creator
Mann-Hutchinson Family
Abstract Or Scope
Correspondence of Elizabeth T. Mann, a farmer's widow of Ft. Spring, Greenbrier Co. The letters written to Mann describe family matters and farm home life during the late nineteenth century. The addendum of 2025 October 27 consists of assorted correspondence, estate papers, legal and financial paperwork, ledgers, and other material pertaining to the Mann and Hutchinson families, particularly James Mann, I.T. Mann, and Matthew Mann. Includes brochures, books, and other material related to tourism in and the history of Bramwell, WV, Bluefield, WV, and other West Virginia locations.
Minnie Kendall Lowther Papers5.9 Linear Feet Summary: 5 ft. 11 in. (14 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 scrapbook, 1 in.)
Creator
Lowther, Minnie Kendall, 1869-1947
Abstract Or Scope
M.K. Lowther (1869-1947) was a journalist and one of the first women newspaper editors in West Virginia. She was the author of the HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY; BLENNERHASSETT ISLAND IN ROMANCE AND TRAGEDY; FRIENDSHIP HILL, HOME OF ALBERT GALLATIN; MARSHALL HALL AND OTHER POTOMAC POINTS IN STORY AND PICTURE; and MT. VERNON: ITS CHILDREN, ITS ROMANCES, ITS ALLIED FAMILIES AND MANSIONS. There are complete and incomplete typescripts, rough drafts, revisions, photographs and plates of her books. Also there are typescripts of news articles on Washington, D.C., the Potomac Valley, and Wood County. There are genealogical notebooks and correspondence and also correspondence to publishers concerning business arrangements. Families mentioned are: Ball, Barber, Bee, Brake, Broadwater, Burns, Chenoweth, Clayton, Collins, Corbitt, Cox, Cunningham, Davis, Day, Dougherty, Drake, Fittro, Fitzrandolph, Goff, Hall, Hardman, Harris, Haymond, Henderson, Hoff, Hughes, Ireland, Jackson, Johnson, Kapkin, Kendall, Kercheval, Kuykendall, Leep, Leg(g)ett, Lemon, Lowther, McDougal, McGinnis, McGregor, McNeill, Marsh, Maxwell, Meredith, Minear, Modesitt, Morgan, Morrison, Murphy, Null, Nutter, O'Maley, Piatt, Pierpont, Pribble, Prunty, Ralston, Reger, Riddel, Riddle, Scott, Sharp, Shinn, Sleeth, Smith, Stump, Taylor, Waldo, Web(b), Willard, Willis, Wilson, and Zinn.
The Pocahontas Mines Collection, 1883-1997, documents the mining operations of CONSOL Energy, Inc. and its predecessor coal mining companies in the Pocahontas, Virginia, area, including numerous counties in southwest Virginia and eastern West Virginia. The collection is divided into four series based on type: Scanned rolls, Unscanned rolls and documents, Books, and Ledgers. The scanned and unscanned rolls are primarily of mining maps and related oversized items, such as mechanical building and equipment drawings, plats, and topographic maps. The books and ledgers generally relate to mining surveys.
This collection contains primary and secondary resources pertaining to Robert E. Lee and the Lee family. Included are correspondences from, to, and about Lee and various family members; memorabilia, pamphlets, photographs, reminiscences, miscellaneous personal papers, family history and genealogy. The collection includes materials acquired from the Lee family and items donated to and purchased and compiled by W&L University since Lee's tenure as president of Washington College from 1865 - 1870. Adminstrative papers, such as President's Reports, etc..., from Robert E. Lee's presidency of the school may be found within the W&L University Archives. Please contact W&L Special Collections for information regarding the University Archives.
A local history and genealogies of the lower New River valley compiled by Aubrey O. Smith and Judge Winton A. Riffe of Beckley. The collection contains a section on local history covering 29 counties in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. The section on local history is comprised of church records, community histories, county court records and cemetery transcriptions. The collection mostly consists of the genealogies of 207 family names and their sources such as personal memoirs, interviews, obituaries, correspondence, and family records, sketches and charts. The Smith-Riffe Collection is also commonly known as the New River Genealogy.
Thornton Tayloe Perry, Collector, Papers4.5 Linear Feet Summary: 4 ft. 6 in. (12 index card boxes, 4 1/2 in. each) [the boxes contain a total of 68 reels of microfilm]
Creator
Perry, T. Tayloe
Abstract Or Scope
This microfilm version of the Thornton Tayloe Perry Collection held by the Virginia Historical Society contains historical material collected by Perry over a 30 year period. It concentrates upon western Virginia and West Virginia with particular emphasis upon the lower Shenandoah Valley and Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties of West Virginia. The microfilm was placed in the West Virginia Collection by the Virginia Historical Society under provisions of a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant.
United Mine Workers of America, Health and Retirement Funds, Records183.71 Linear Feet 183 ft. 8.5 in. (2 document cases, 2.5 in. each); (314 document cases, 5 in. each); (39 records cartons, 15 in. each); (1 oversize box, 3 in.); (1 oversize box, 6 in.) (6 ledgers, 3 in. each); (2 document rolls, 5.5 in.); (3 motion pictures, 4 in.)
Creator
United Mine Workers of America. Health and Retirement Funds
Abstract Or Scope
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) archives consists of the records of the first industry-wide pension and medical care plans for coal miners and their families in the United States. The archives comprise approximately 156 linear feet of records from the years 1946-1974, and include minutes, resolutions, correspondence, memos, reports, transcribed speeches, lawsuit documents, construction plans, contracts, statistical reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, microfilmed reading files, sound recordings, and movie film.
This collection contains papers created by or related to William and Anne Fleming and several family members on Anne's side, including her parents, Israel and Elizabeth, and her brother, William.
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