Collections

A land grant signed by the Governor of Virginia, Joseph Johnson in 1853 granting 47 acres in Preston County to Thomas Trickett. Also an 1858 Preston County tax receipt for Thomas Trickett with assessments for personal and real property.

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.

Eleven compact discs containing scans of aerial photographs of Monongalia, Tucker, and Preston Counties.

William G. Brown (1800-1884) of Kingwood, West Virginia, was an attorney; member of the Virginia Assembly in the 1830s and 1840s; and a member of Congress from Virginia from 1845 to 1849 and West Virginia from 1861 to 1865. Chiefly contains deeds, plats, surveys, and other papers related to Brown's land in Preston and Monongalia counties, West Virginia, from 1860 to 1874 and items from Brown's law office concerning deeds, wills, and financial transactions from 1870 to 1883. A ledger book from Brown records the sale of dry goods items, chiefly food such as bacon, wheat flour, corn, coffee, meat, and tobacco, and notes the cost of items, debts, and account settled. Papers also include typescript essays on American history, the Constitution, and slavery, written circa 1927 and a typed copy of a letter of J.J. Phillips of Lantz, 18 July 1931, concerning the removal of Confederate remains from the Rich Mountain Battlefield.

Newspaper clippings, notes, biographies, correspondence, and proclamaiton compiled by Blagg for a study of the life of a Preston County editor, Republican politician, and the state's twelfth governor (1905-1909), and Blagg's unpublished manuscript on Dawson's career.

Historical research material collected by William Rice from ca. 1975-2015, mostly relating to the history of western Virginia and southeastern West Virginia, the Upper Potomac River basin, and particularly Elkins and Randolph County. There are three record series including subject files (boxes 1-4), miscellaneous research files (boxes 4-5), and family histories (boxes 5-16). Subject files are arranged alphabetically and cover many topics ranging from early settlement, the formation of cities and counties, wars, etc. Miscellaneous research files regard the War of 1812 and the Civil War in connection with western Virginia, among other material. Family history files are arranged alphabetically by last name; they document mostly eighteenth-century settlers of what was once Augusta County, Virginia.

Genealogy research papers compiled by W. Guy Tetrick and his son Willis G. Tetrick, Jr. The Tetricks were from Harrison County and the material in the collection mainly regards families of Harrison County and north central West Virginia. The collection contains mostly original genealogical compilations and family histories. It also contains personal and business correspondence; financial records; publications regarding local and state history; newspapers and news clippings; obituaries, cemetery records; records of the Sons of the American Revolution; and other material.

World War II mileage ration cards and stamps issued by the Kingwood Rationing Board to the Preston County Coke Company of Cascade, West Virginia, as part of the Mileage Rationing Program. Includes "certificates of war necessity" (Aug. 28, 1943) to cover four coal trucks, and certificates for tire replacement.

Digital copies of papers of the Zinn family of Preston County, West Virginia, including legal documents and genealogical records. Legal documents include a letter of attorney, indentures, deeds, stock certificates, and surveys of property. Genealogical records include a handwritten record of births, a page from a family bible recording births and marriages, and a typescript regarding the history of the Zinn family. Frequently mentioned names include Isaac Dean and George Zinn. The collection also includes an 1867 letter of commendation to George Zinn; it accompanied a medal awarded for service in the Civil War. This collection consists only of digital scans of the original documents. The collection also includes a digital version of an autobiographical account by Thomas E. Zinn titled "Sea Stories From My Time in the United States Navy" regarding his experiences as a naval and commercial pilot in the period ca. 1950s-1970s.