Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
A. J. Davis Family Collection
Davis, Albert John, 1854-1935
Ms.2012.067
5.7 Cubic Feet
5 boxes
1874-2007
1874-1907
The A. J. Davis Family Collection includes journals; scrapbooks; professional and biographical information; photographs, sketches, and ephemera; and a town history. The journals (1874-1927) contain memoirs, particularly of Davis' army experiences, as well as some writing exercises, poetry, stories, and religious observations. Scrapbooks compiled by A. J. Davis include newspaper clippings, personal reflections, and a stamp collection. The professional and biographical information includes service records from Davis' time in the army, genealogy information compiled by other family members, and last wills and testaments. The collection also includes a 19-page history of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, authored by Davis, as well as a draft of the Book of A. J. Davis and other manuscripts. The collection also contain pictures of Davis and his wife.
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], A. J. Davis Family Collection, Ms2012-067, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The A. J. Davis Collection was deposited in Special Collections in August 2012. In November 2021, additional materials relating to A. J. Davis and his family were donated to Special Collections and University Archives. At that time, the previously deposited materials were also donated.
Existence and Location of Copies
At the time the bulk of the collection was donated in 2021, a CD containing digital surrogates of many items was included. Some of this collection has been digitized and is available online.
Processing Information
The processing (including the re-housing of the scrapbook in its original order), arrangement, and description of the A. J. Davis Collection was completed in November 2012. Additional materials were integrated in January 2022.
Biographical Note
Albert John Davis was born in 1854. He enlisted with the U. S. Army Cavalry (7th Regiment?) at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1876. He spent most of his early military career in the Dakota territories, at Fort Rice and Fort Lincoln, eventually serving for an officer (Colonel Otis) and for the Quartermaster. In 1881, he was able to secure a transfer to the Signal Corps. During the 1880s and 1890s, he served with the Signal Corps and the U. S. Cavalry. By 1897, he was assigned to the Weather Bureau (later the National Weather Service), eventually settling in Norfolk by 1904. He retired in 1924. Davis died on November 16, 1935.
External Source:
National Weather Service Biographies, NOAA History, http://www.history.noaa.gov/nwsbios/nwsbios_page15.html, archived online at https://web.archive.org/web/20130220135209/www.history.noaa.gov/nwsbios/nwsbios_page15.html, accessed June 22, 2023.
Scope and Content
The A. J. Davis Family Collection includes journals; scrapbooks; professional and biographical information; photographs, sketches, and ephemera; and a town history. The journals (1874-1927) contain memoirs, particularly of Davis' army experiences, as well as some writing exercises, poetry, stories, and religious observations. Scrapbooks compiled by A. J. Davis include newspaper clippings, personal reflections, and a stamp collection. The professional and biographical information includes service records from Davis' time in the army, genealogy information compiled by other family members, and last wills and testaments. The collection also includes a 19-page history of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, authored by Davis, as well as a draft of the Book of A. J. Davis and other manuscripts. The collection also contain pictures of Davis and family members. Various objects such as wooden writing desks and army ephemera are included.
Arrangement
After new materials were donated in 2021, this collection was reprocessed as a whole. The collection is arranged into two series by material type.
Series I: Personal Papers is divided further into subseries by topic. The subseries are then arranged in folders by subject. This series includes materials like journals, scrapbooks, legal documents, writings, and genealogy information.
Series II: Objects is made up of artifacts and objects associated with Davis and members of his family. This includes, but is not limited to, writing desks, a riding crop, and a compass.
Separated Materials
Several publications and books were separated to the Rare Book Collection in Special Collections and University Archives:
Davis, Jonas Abraham. Judiasm Excelled: or the Tale of a Conversion from Judaism to Christianity being the Autobiography of Jonas Abraham Davis. Philadelphia : Printed for the author by S.A. George, 1869. (BV2623.D385 .D38 1869 Spec Small)
Davis, Jonas Abraham. Judaism Excelled: or the Tale of a Conversion from Judaism to Christianity being the Autobiography of Jonas Abraham Davis. Philadelphia : Printed for the author by S.A. George & Co., ©1869. (BV2623.D395 D38 1869b Spec Small)
Fables of Æsop, and others / translated into English, with instructive applications ; and a print before each fable. By Samuel Croxall. New York : Published by Evert Duyckinck, No. 102 Pearl-Street. G. Long, Printer, 1813. (PA3855.E5 C76 1813 Spec Small)
Pepys, Samuel. Pepys' Diary. Edited by Charles J. Finger. Girard, Kansas : Haldeman-Julius Company, [1922]. (DA447.P4 A5 1922 Spec Small)
Boccaccio, Giovanni. Tales from the Decameron. Girard, Kansas : Haldeman-Julius Company, ©1924. (PQ4272.E5 A344 1924 Spec Small)
The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of The Sacraments; and other Rites and Cermonies of the Churchaccording to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America: together with the Psalter, or Psalms of David. Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1869. (BX5943 .A1 1869 Spec Small)
Abbott, Jacob. History of William the Conqueror. New York : Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 82 Cliff Street, [1849]. (DA197 .A25 1849 Spec Large)
The Book of Common Prayer
Episcopal Church. The Hymnal: revised and enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of Our Lord 1892. Oxford : Printed at the University Press ; New York : H. Frowde, [1892?]. (BV372 .A3 1892 Spec Small)
Pinnock's Catechisms. A Catechism of Geography; being an Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of the World, and its Inhabitants.
Kipling, Rudyard. Plain Tales from the Hills. New York : Hurst & Co., [approximately 1899]. (PR4854 .P6 1899b Spec Small)
Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Translated by J. Fitzgerald. New York : John B. Alden, 1884. (BS2940.T5 A3 1884 Spec Small)
Abbott, Jacob. History of Cyrus the Great. New York : Harper & brothers, [1850]. (DS282 .A2 1850 c. 2 Spec Small)
Gibbs, Montgomery B. Military career of Napoleon the Great : an account of the remarkable campaigns of the "man of destiny" ; authentic anecdotes of the battlefield as told by the famous marshals and generals of the first empire. Akron, Ohio : Saalfield, 1905 [©1895]. (DC203 .G44 1905 Spec Small)
Frost, Holloway Halstead. Some Stories of Old Ironsides. Annapolis, Maryland : U.S. Naval Institute, [1931]. (E182 .F799 1931 Spec Large)
Stover, Douglas E. U.S. Weather Bureau Station, Hatteras, North Carolina : special historic resource study. [Cape Hatteras, N.C.?] : [U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore], 2007. (NA4510.W6 S76 2007 Spec Large)
Cicero, Marcus Tullius. Select Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero Translated by C. D. Yonge. Philadelphia, David McKay, [©1895]. (PA6279.A4 Y6 1895 Spec Large)
The English Version of the Polyglott Bible containing the Old and New Testaments; with the Marginal Readings; together with a Copious and Original Selection of References to Parallel and Illustrative Passages, Exhibited in a Manner Hitherto Unattempted. Contributor: Thomas Chevalier. Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1851. (BS185 1851.P5 Spec Small)
Webster, Noah. The new universities dictionary : based on the original foundation of Noah Webster. New York : World Syndicate Company [©1925]. (PE1628.W4 D453 1925 Spec Small)
Kipling, Rudyard. The Phantom Rickshaw and other Tales. New York : Hurst & Co., [approximately 1899]. (PR4854 .P45 1899b Spec Small)
Liddell, Henry G. A History of Rome, from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1872. (DG231 .L71 1872 Spec Large)
The Italian Organ Boy, and Other Stories. Boston : Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, [approximately 1862]. (BV4571 .I83 1862 Spec Small)
Book for Boys and Girls. Boston : Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, [approximately 1862]. (BV4571 .B568 1862 Spec Small)
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the A. J. Davis Family Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
United States. Army
Series I: Personal PapersSubseries A: Biographical InformationLife in Hatteras, NC195819Burial Map & Obituariesundated110Genealogy Infoundated111A.J. Davis Biographicalundated112Subseries B: Financial and Legal DocumentsRetirement/Pension Certificates1918-193052Wills & Testaments1851-193053Subseries C: JournalsJournal, including stories, memoirs, and religious observations1874-1901?13Diary of A.J. Davis1881-189214Journal of A.J. Davis (Printed 1982)1874-189715Journal of A.J. Davis (unbound, printed in 1982)1874-189716A.J. Davis Transcribed Journal1880-192717A.J. Davis Journal1880-192718Subseries D: Military ServiceArmy Signal Corps Recordsundated511Subseries E: PhotographsPhotographs of A. J. and Jessie Davis1890s-190711Photographs192054Framed Photo of A.J.D.'s Children and Picture Frame189655Subseries F: Professional InformationWeather Bureau Employmentundated113Subseries G: ScrapbooksPhotograph album/scrapbook2A.J.D. Scrap Book1896-1930114A.J.D. Scrap Book1877-1926115Paper Scrap Books116Subseries H: Writings"A Brief Outline of Woods Hole Scenes and People from a Strictly Biased View. A. J. D."12Draft: From the Book of A.J. Davis1874117Article, Poem, and Short Story written by A. J. Davisundated118Judaism Excelled: Autobiography of Jonas Abraham Davisundated119Comparison: Romulus and Davidundated57Subseries I: Papers and Ephemera Cards/Newspaper Clipping/Continental Moneyundated56Correspondence undated58Davis Family in Londonundated59Graduation Speech1874510Series II: ObjectsMetal Box1Leather Writing Deskundated3Compassundated3Indian Wars Medalundated3Stamp for Wax Seals and Waxundated3U.S. Military Pinundated3Wooden Clothespinundated3Coin Purseundated33rd Valve Finger Ringundated3Riding Cropundated3Embroidered Bookmarkundated3Wooden Writing Deskundated4Wooden Writing Deskundated4