MSS. Manuscript Collections

Abstract The Brotherton Family Collection contains over 300 letters written during the 1850s and 1860s by members of the William H. and Sadie Brotherton family. The letters represent the Civil War era with letters that discuss the election of Abraham Lincoln and letters written by William Brotherton from a Confederate Prison at Richmond, Virginia. Most letters were written prior to the Civil War. There are also post-war letters written to William from his brother David, who served in the Army during...

Scope and Content

A collection of oral history interviews with Virginia Tech's vice presidents, including the first two Vice Presidents of Student Affairs, an interim Vice Preident of Student Affairs, and the Vice President of Graduate Studies.

Abstract This collection contains correspondence between David Winton Bolen (1850-1932), a lawyer in Fancy Gap, Virginia, and R. E. Withers, Examiner of Records 21st Circuit. A letter dated April 12, 1904 requests all documentation from Bolen as of February 1st regarding a lawsuit he served as commissioner for. Notation from Bolen says "Nothing in my hands Feb 1st." An envelope is also enclosed to Withers from Bolen. D. W. Bolen is noted as the attorney for Floyd Allen in the Carroll County...

Abstract

This collection contains a letter from Thomas K. Catlett (1796-1967), a Master Clergyman in Abingdon, Virginia, to James O. Lewis, a merchant in Pemberton, South Carolina. The letter dated December 15, 1831, discusses books that Catlett purchased but did not receive. After discussing the books, T. K. Catlett describes his new district to James O. Lewis before going on to mention the next South Carolina annual Methodist conference.

Abstract

This collection contains a letter from Levi Holbrook (1785-1872), a teacher and headmaster in Danville, Virginia, to his son Levi Holbrook, Jr., in Easthampton, Massachusetts. The letter dated July 2, 1851, discusses the health of Levi Holbrook and provides a variety of updates from Danville, including discussion about a man named Dr. Saunders murdering a man named A. S. Terry (or Jerry?) after a disagreement.

Abstract

This collection contains a letter from Francis Bell (1820-1893), a cattle dealer from Augusta County, Virginia, to Major James R. Kent, an enslaver and plantation owner in Montgomery County, Virginia. In the letter dated October 18, 1860, Bell asks Kent to sell him his stock of cattle directly rather than going through the firm of Crouse and [Sons?].

Abstract The Blue Ridge Springs Correspondence contains two letters, a small note, and seven postcards. The seven postcards dated 1910-1942 are addressed to Elizabeth "Bettie" Gross (1875-1964) of Bedford County and her husband William "Bill" Gross (1865-1946), a merchant from Bedford County. The letters and the note are from Lucy M. Thomas (1865-1933), of Bedford County, Virginia, to Joseph Ferries (1865-1955), a farmer in Blue Ridge Springs, Botetourt County, Virginia. Thomas and Ferries later...

Abstract

The Robeson Family Ledger contains various expenses and earnings of the family in Farmville, Virginia, from 1894-1908. The ledger includes records of several tenants and renters and documents payments to various companies. Payments were also made to a fraternal order called the Progressive Endowment Guild of America. Of interest is a mention of one servant, a woman named Lizzie Ligon, who was discharged in 1894. There is also a loose receipt from the Farmville Steam Laundry in 1908.

Abstract This Pulaski Iron Company Correspondence contains 43 documents, letters, and receipts dated 1895-1923. The letters are primarily to John N. Gordon, a lawyer and iron company merchant in Richmond, Virginia, from the Pulaski Iron Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are additional letters from Matthew Addy & Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, and The Low Moor Iron Company of Virginia. Most of the letters discuss prices, customers, and the overall state of the market. There are also ...

Abstract This collection contains the diary of Margaret Selden Kennedy Ross (1902-1982) of Warrenton, Virginia. The diary dated February-September 1915 depicts the daily life of a young girl in the early 20th century. Ross mostly talks about school, teachers, and classmates, with whom she spent most of her time. Her great-grandfather was Maryland Senator Anthony Kennedy, and her grandmother was Mary Selden Kennedy, author of the book Seldons of Virginia and Allied...