Collections

Photographs and other material of the Butcher family of Lewis County, West Virginia. Includes portrait and candid photos, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (1911), a statement from Weston City Hospital for the birth of a child (1948), a radio program (1969), a Weston High School class ring (1933), and Weston High School commencement materials (1966). The photos depict Wilda Juanita Turner Butcher (1915-1999), Weston High School class of 1933 and owner of the ring; her husband, Robert Hugh Butcher (1912-1996); her mother, Laura "Dolly" Kemper Turner (1869-1959); her father, Claude Turner (1891-1968); and her children, Elizabeth and James. The radio program is the "Brotherhood" segment of the Campus Lines radio program produced by Fairmont State College (now Fairmont State University), with interviews and music selection by James Butcher. The Weston High School commencement materials, including an announcement, "Annual Sermon to the Seniors," and commencement program, document the last class of the school prior to consolidation into Lewis County High School for the 1966-1967 school year.

Collection of Lewis County local history material collected by Dick Ralston of Buckhannon. Includes genealogy and history, and photographs of the Ralston family. Also includes Gray and Sons maps of Wheeling, Morgantown, Clarksburg, and Fairmont. See Scope and Content for details.

Paper regarding Martha Watt Sexton (b. 1770), her husband Noah Sexton (b. 1764), and their families written by historical researcher Donald E. Watts. The couple moved from New England to (West) Virginia around 1816, living in Lewis and Upshur (then Randolph) Counties.

Military artifacts owned by General Joseph Andrew Jackson Lightburn (1824-1901) during his service as a Union officer during the American Civil War. Lightburn served in the western Virginia campaign of 1861, the siege of Vicksburg, and in the Atlanta Campaign, among other activities. Artifacts include: battle sword with scabbard, 44 Colt Revolver (1860 Model), compass / sun dial, bullet mold, cap box containing one small round ball, two epaulets, storage container for epaulets, and dress sword with scabbard. There is also a group photograph of three of General Lightburn's great grandchildren (2011).

Indenture between sellers Daniel Stringer, Millie Stringer, Lewis Maxwell and buyer Robert W. Collins for the sale of land in the town of Preston, Lewis County, (West) Virginia, dated December 1818. This copy of the indenture may have been a draft or unofficial copy; it does not record the full date or the names of witnesses. The town of Preston changed its name to Weston in 1819.

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.

Lewis County debt record featuring Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson as Constable to collect money from Jonathan E. Bennett owed to J. Holt. Does not include original signature of Stonewall Jackson.