William Stine Phelps was born in Boones Mill, Virginia on October 14, 1867, where he also attended school. In 1895 he began courting Eula Richardson, while he was working as a tobacco salesmen, traveling across the mid-west states. William and Eula were married in 1897 before she began her teaching career and while he was still traveling for his job. Their correspondence describes their loneliness for each other and their family life in Roanoke, Virginia at the turn of the century. The collection demonstrates their strong commitment to family and church. In 1903, the couple moved to Bluefield, West Virginia where William and his brother, J. T. Phelps bought a furniture business, eventually incorporating it in 1909. He managed the business for many years until his retirement. Eula Richardson Phelps was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David F. Richardson. She had two sisters, Leah who was a teacher and was married to Holley Prescott Bush; and Rosa who was married to D. Luther Meador. They also had a brother, William R. Richardson who was married to "Willie M." William Phelps was the son of Andrew Jackson Phelps and Alice Jane Boone Phelps. He had two brothers, J. T. Phelps(who bought their furniture business), and N. W. Phelps. They also had a sister, Mary Phelps Walker.