Collection is open to research.
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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], The Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Richard Eugene Hager (Anne Peyton Judkins Hager) Collection, Ms1995-008, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Richard Eugene Hager (Anne Peyton Judkins Hager) Collection consists of genealogical information primarily about the Preston family (the Abingdon, Virginia branch in particular) but also about many families that intermarried with the Preston line. The documents were collected primarily by Hager, her mother Anne Gray Judkins, her aunt Mary Preston Gray (1896-1992), and Gray's mother Elizabeth Cummings Preston Gray (1868-1956). The collection also includes historical information about Southwest Virginia, particulary those places associated with the Preston family including Abingdon and Seven Mile Ford near Marion, Virginia.
This collection includes a wide range of documents. This includes a handwritten book about the history of Southwest Virginia by Elizabeth Preston Gray (1868-1956). It also contains a letter from Tarleton Alexander (1810-?), who was a domestic servant for John Lewis Cochran Sr. (1793-1881). The letter is addressed to "Mistress," likely Cochran's wife Margaret Lynn Lewis Cochran (1808-1875). The collection also includes a photograph of Alexander. Also included in this collection are letters and agreements from Hatch D Poston (1794-1862), who was a slave owner in Smyth County, Virginia.
External Sources:
United States Census 1860, 1870
"Elizabeth Preston Gray" entry, The Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/9278/records/1166790, accessed on February 20, 2025.
"John Lewis Cochran Sr." entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143012780/john-lewis-cochran, accessed on February 6, 2025.
"Margaret Lynn Lewis Cochran" entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213337598/margaret_lynn_cochran, accessed on February 6, 2025.
"Elizabeth Cummings Preston Gray" entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9508143/elizabeth-cummings-gray, accessed on February 6, 2025.
"Mary Preston Gray" entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9508180/mary_preston_gray, accessed on February 6, 2025.
The materials in the The Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Richard Eugene Hager (Anne Peyton Judkins Hager) Collection consists of book manuscripts and unpublished essays, newspaper clippings, land deeds, correspondence, receipts, notes, and copies of wills. Also included are books belonging to the Preston family which include a family Bible, a children's poetry book, and many others. Of particular interest is an 1832 receipt to General Francis Preston (1765-1835) for a subscription to the Saturday Evening Post, writings by Elizabeth Preston Gray about the history of her family, the 1981 nomination of the Aspenvale Cemetary in Smyth County to the National Register of Historic Places, copies of Mary Preston Gray's book manuscript, The Family Tree (about the various family lines), and correspondence from Hatch Dent Poston regarding the sale and purchase of enslaved individuals.
Some folders also contain written context provided by the collector, Anne Judkins Hager.
The collection is arranged in chronological order.
The guide to the Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Richard Eugene Hager (Anne Peyton Judkins Hager) Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).