Collections

Typescript genealogical notes and narrative family histories of the Newlon and Camden families from the 1600s to the 1930s. Chiefly contains information about the James H. Camden family of Maryland (and later, West Virginia) from the 1720s to the 1930s, including records about properties owned and the sale of land; birth, marriage, and death dates; transcripts of obituaries; and transcripts of letters sent between family members researching and gathering family history between 1909 and 1932. Also includes short narrative histories of Bernard H. Camden's Coast Guard service from 1896 to 1927 and his life after the military; about the Civil War service of Col. Edwin Duncan Camden (1840-1922), who served in the 25th Virginia Infantry from July 1861 until the end of the war; and about the division of the Camden family between the North and South during the Civil War. Collection also contains a history of various branches of the Newlon family in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, from 1600s to early 1900s and information about the related Bland and Sprigg families. This collection is divided into 8 Sections. Section 1. The Newlon Family Dating Back to 1720 in America

Papers collected by Roy Bird Cook, a Lewis County native and Charleston pharmacist, who in his role as historian, researcher, and author, was a pioneering and effective advocate for the preservation of West Virginia history. This collection includes the papers he collected in connection with his research, including documentation of the Civil War in West Virginia, Stonewall Jackson and his family, and genealogy of North Central West Virginia, among other topics. Materials include letters and papers of the Hays family, including Samuel L. and Peregrine Hays of Gilmer County (1836-1884, 1952-1962, undated [includes facsimiles]); records of the Confederate 31st Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and later correspondence, clippings, and papers about the regiment and its members (ca. 1856-1955, undated [includes facsimiles]); various collections of individual and family papers and Civil War correspondence (1793-1974, undated [includes facsimiles]); original and copies of Stonewall Jackson letters and papers, as well as papers pertaining to Jackson family members (1801-1963, undated [includes facsimiles]); and materials related to the history of pharmacy and medicine, with a special focus on West Virginia (ca. 1832-1961, undated [includes facsimiles]). There is also an extensive series of bound notebooks containing manuscripts, transcriptions, clippings, genealogies, pamphlets, and images regarding the following topics: Stonewall Jackson, Mary Anna Morrison Jackson, Colonel George Jackson, and Thomas Jackson Arnold; the Civil War, including historical sketches of battles as well as originals and copies of soldiers' diaries, journals, and letters; Lewis County; Charleston and the Kanawha Valley; Douglas S. Freeman; Granville Davisson Hall; Camden family; George Washington; and other topics.

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.