Search

The collection contains correspondence and papers of the Brown, Selby, Kirkland, Robine, Spong, Strode, Thomas, Waters, Hammond, Billmyer, Shepherd and Hamtramck families. Includes genealogical information on the Brown, Billmyer, Shepherd, and Hamtramck families; ledger, 1795-1796; and a receipt book, 1835-1843, of Walter Brown Selby.

Two copy books and two loose leaves by Martin Browne, a land owner who lived near Red House Shoals on the north bank of the Kanawha River in Union District, Putnam County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Martin Browne was a native of Leeds, York County, England, and immigrated to America around 1785 to 1787. He operated a tavern near Winchester, Virginia until about 1808, when he moved to Red House Shoals. The copy books in this collection date from 1810 to 1833 when he was living in western Virginia and include primarily correspondence; the main correspondents are family members and his friend Thomas Stribling of Winchester, Virginia; topics include business transactions involving land, money, and slaves, as well as personal matters involving his family. Entries are detailed and literate. Copy book 1 (28 pages) dates from 1810 to 1814; copy book 2 (25 pages) dates from 1817 to 1833 (the pages of copy book 2 are not in clear chronological order). There are also two loose leaves regarding a slave sale in Frederick County, Virginia (1805), and a land sale in Mason County, Virginia (1806) respectively.

A family history and genealogical record of the Mercer family of Monongalia County, WV with mention of the allied families of Brown and Campbell. Robert Mercer was the first of the family to settle in what is now West Virginia near Morgantown in 1766. He was the son of Gideon Mercer and the grandson of John Mercer, the earliest known family member in America. John Mercer was a Quaker merchant of New York City and an extensive landowner of Manhattan Island. Also noted is the movement and settlement of the family, particularly of the line of Robert Mercer's son Joseph, into Pennsylvania and Ohio. Noted are the frontier activities of Joseph Mercer's children: Phoebe and Nottingham, the latter being a veteran of the War of 1812. Two sons of Phoebe, Henry Marshall Campbell and James Campbell, served in the PA 46th Volunteer Infantry, Company F during the Civil War with James being killed in Virginia at the battle of Cedar Mountain. Material covers the years 1766-1933.

Photostat copies of tables tracing the Presbury line from Capt. John Hall (d. ca. 1660) through the families of Bayless, Browne, Colgate, Hall, Little, and Lytle. Also includes two volumes, cataloged in the general library, "The Presbury Family of Maryland and the Ohio Valley." There is also information regarding the Kaminsky and Parry families. Material covers the years 1650-1950.

Collection is chiefly composed of genealogical materials compiled by Ruffner R. Payne. It contains various types of genealogical information for different West Virginia families from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Documents include charts, notes, letters, certificates, pamphlets, narrative histories, and legal documents, and date from 1805 to 1943. Materials are loosely arranged in alphabetical order by family name and vary in number and format for each family. Families for whom there are several documents include the Fowke, Franklin, Furman, Payne, Rogers, and Ruffner families. A complete inventory of names is available in the library. Collection also includes typewritten copies of journals and letters belonging to Henry Bedinger (1753-1843) that detail his service in Boston as a member of Captain Hugh Stevenson's Company of Riflemen. Bedinger chiefly records he unit's movements, places they camped, and engagements with the British. Bedinger served in defense of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and was captured there in November 1776. He was held as a prisoner of war until his exchange in October 1780. He later served as postmaster of Shepherdstown and a member of the Virginia Assembly. Collection also includes a bound volume of typewritten letters to and from Henry Bedinger from September 1781 to 1799. Most letters are written to Bedinger during the 1790s and pertain to Assembly meetings and Bedinger's business as a merchant. Letters written from Bedinger are typically to his wife and friends and relate more to family matters.

A history of the Stateler/Statler family of West Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois from Stephen Statler (ca. 1710-ca. 1784) to Rebecca Margaret Stateler Dougan (1838-1911). The family's settlement patterns start with Stephen Statler disembarking in Philadelphia from Germany in 1749. The family alternately settled along the frontier in Hardy Co. and Monongalia Co., WV; Fayette Co. and Greene Co., PA; Licking Co., OH; and Marshall Co., IL. Their settlement in southwestern Pennsylvania and north central West Virginia corresponded with the Revolutionary War in which Jacob Statler (1748-78), as a soldier, was killed by Indians; and Jakes Run in Monongalia County is named to honor him. Although this collection is primarily a genealogy which is the original intention of its compilers, there is much history of the Jakes Run and Pentress, originally Statlerstown, portions of Monongalia County including maps and illustrations. Other head members of the family mentioned are John Statler, Jacob Stateler, John Stateler, Stephen A. Stateler and David Stateler. Also mentioned are the related families of Brown/Braun and Hannum.

Papers of a Morgantown lawyer and state legislator. Includes political correspondence of William Moreland addressing issues ranging from abortion to coal mining with a majority of the papers regarding the operation of state bureaucracy and the importance of organized labor in West Virginia. Addendum of 2010/10/29 includes Moreland's World War II (WWII) service records, family genealogy, and family photographs. Addenda of 2011/03/21 and 2011/06/20 include papers of William Moreland, and papers of his father and grandfather, James R. Moreland and Joseph Moreland. Addendum of 2014/06/12 includes some papers and many artifacts. Addendum of 2016/07/27 includes drawings of properties in Monongalia County and political campaign and other material. See "Scope and Content Note" for details. Addendum of 2017/05/22 contains two scrapbooks of clippings documenting Moreland from 1933-1970. There are additional addenda.