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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.

Professional papers, correspondence, books, serials, and photographs documenting the professional career of Paul A. Miller, who served as president of West Virginia University, 1962-66. The material also deals with Miller's work as a graduate student, professor, and provost at Michigan State University, 1946-61; his tenure as assistant secretary for education in the Department of Health, Education & Welfare; and his term as president of Rochester Institute of Technology, 1969-79. Correspondents include: Marshall Buckalew, Francena L. Miller, Thomas E. Millsop, Leonard Riggleman, D. Banks Wilburn. See "Scope and Contents" note for an addendum to this collection.

Isaiah Shephard of Ritchie and Wood counties was the progenitor of this family which frequently corresponded with one another. Many of the letters were received by Roxie Shephard, as a young woman, from her friends and suitors. Much of the collection deals with Hiram W. Shepherd including correspondence while he was in World War I. Pvt. Shephard served in France attached to the A.E.F. General Headquarters 1st Army Motor section as a chauffeur. While a soldier he comments much about his travel duties, overseas Army life, and his acquaintances.

Diary of Uz Barns of Ritchie County, a volunteer in the Union Army who served as a private in the 10th West Virginia Infantry. The diary covers the years 1862 through 1865 and contains daily entries, mainly regarding weather conditions. Barns also wrote about marches and distances marched per day; encampments at various places in eastern West Virginia and in Winchester, Virginia; and engagements with Confederate forces at Beverly, (West) Virginia, Harpers Ferry, (West) Virginia, and Deep Bottom, Henrico County, Virginia. He also records number of prisoners taken. Barns was in Richmond at the time of Lee's surrender and mentions the number of cannon and the supply of shells and powder left there by the Confederates.

Record book for the West Virginia Oil and Oil Land Company, a Michigan-based company that had drilling operations in Ritchie County, West Virginia, for 1865 to 1878. Minutes from annual stockholders meetings from 1865 to 1878 provide information about by-laws, committee reports, stock certificates, buying land, and selling oil. Minutes from board of directors annual meetings from 1865 to 1882 document the appointment and resignation of officers, company procedures, and financial matters. Also includes published annual reports from 1867 to 1872 that describe market conditions and summarize the company's operations.

The record of the appointment of postmasters in the following WV counties: Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood and Wyoming. The record shows the dates of establishment and discontinuance of post offices, their changes of name, and the names of and the appointment dates of their postmasters. Beginning in 1870, it shows the names of post offices to which mail from discontinued offices was sent. The record also shows the dates of Presidential appointments of postmasters and the dates of their confirmation by the Senate, usually the dates that post offices were authorized to issue money orders, and occasionally the dates on which the locations of offices were changed.

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.