Papers and artifacts of an interrelated family prominent in Blacksburg's history. Includes the Civil War letters of Confederate surgeon Dr. Harvey Black, the Civil War diary of hospital steward John S. Apperson, cotton books and correspondence of Germanicus Kent, nineteenth-century account books of a Blacksburg general store, 1912 European travel diary, and the political scrapbooks of State Senator and Attorney General Harvey B. Apperson.

The Papers of the Black, Kent, and Apperson Families of Blacksburg and Marion, Virginia, span the years 1779 to 1984, with the bulk of the material dating from 1821 to 1948. They are comprised of the Civil War letters of Dr. Harvey Black, the Civil War diaries of John Apperson, records and correspondence pertaining to nineteenth-century Blacksburg residents Edwin Amiss, his sister Arabella Amiss Kent, and her husband Germanicus Kent, cotton trader and Rockford, Illinois pioneer; and account books, correspondence, and photographs of several members of the Black, Kent, and Apperson families of Blacksburg and Marion, Virginia. The collection is divided into the following major series: Harvey Black Papers, Black Family Papers, Germanicus Kent Papers, Black Family Business Records, John S. Apperson Papers, Mary E. Apperson Papers, Alexander Apperson Papers, and Harvey B. Apperson Political Scrapbooks.

Harvey Black Papers: This series spans the years 1847 to 1888 and is comprised of the following subseries: Diaries, Civil War Letters, General Correspondence, Medical Career Records, and Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. It also includes one photograph, ca. 1865, of Harvey Black.

The Civil War Letters span the years 1861 to 1864 and document Black's experiences as a regimental surgeon in the Stonewall Brigade and as surgeon in charge of the Second Corps field hospital. The series is comprised of letters Black wrote to his wife Mary (Molly) in Blacksburg. Black usually wrote to his wife two to three days after a major battle and reported who, from Blacksburg, had been killed or wounded. He describes the effects of disease on the troops, looking for his brother-in-law Lewis Kent among the Union wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, the delirium of Stonewall Jackson as he lay dying at Guinea Station, and the difficulties of keeping his family clothed and fed during the war.

The Diaries consist of a short diary Black kept of his journey from Christiansburg to Mexico to fight in the Mexican War and a diary of a four-month journey, on horseback, from western Virginia through West Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Tennessee in the fall of 1849. The Mexican War diary documents Black's trip from Christiansburg to Norfolk and eventually Buena Vista, but includes little information about serving in the war. Both diaries consist mainly of Black's observations about the towns and cities he passes through. The diary of the trip west includes comparisons of culture and society in Virginia and the West and references to encounters with Virginians who had moved west.

General Correspondence spans the period 1847 to 1871. It is comprised of two letters Black wrote while he was studying medicine at the University of Virginia, his proposal of marriage to Mary (Molly) Kent, and a folder of letters Black received from family members between 1848 and 1871. Included are a letter describing pioneering in Island County, Washington Territory, in 1853; and two letters from Virginia State Senator John Penn regarding the establishment of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, forerunner of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg.

The Medical Career Records series spans the years 1848 to 1888. It is comprised of documents pertaining to Harvey Black's medical career before and after the Civil War and letters of recommendation for the position of Superintendent of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia and the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia. This series also contains an 1887 annual report for the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia.

The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Records span the years 1870 to 1873. This small series is comprised of a subscription list for the Preston and Olin Institute, an early history of the founding of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and certificates of appointment to the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College Board of Visitors.

Black Family Papers: This series spans the period 1779 to 1911 (bulk 1845 to 1911). It is comprised of miscellaneous items pertaining to Charles and Alexander Black, Kent Black and his wife Mary Bell Black. It includes an 1845 bill of sale for a slave girl named Adaline, an 1856 letter from Charles to Alexander Black; photographs of Alexander Black, Kent Black, and Mary Bell Black; a 1911 letter from Mary Kent to her children, and a quilt given to Kent Black by his medical patients, ca. 1890. Also included are the wedding register of Mary and Kent Black and an invitation to the 1885 Blacksburg Grand Annual Ball.

Germanicus Kent Papers: This series spans the period 1818 to 1899. It is comprised of Germanicus Kent's cotton books, kept while he was living in Huntsville, Alabama,1821-1823; correspondence with his sons Lewis and John, his brother Aratus Kent, and his brother-in- law Edwin Amiss. The cotton books document Kent's experience as a cotton merchant based in Huntsville, Alabama, 1821 to 1823. They contain lists of cotton prices and copies of correspondence to clients in Nashville and New Orleans. The correspondence pertains to life in Blacksburg in the 1830s, the Kent family's decision to settle in Virginia after living in Illinois, and Kent's business investments in the west and in Blacksburg. Letters from Edwin Amiss to Arabella and Germanicus Kent also pertain to Arabella Kent's inheritance of slave property from her mother's estate. An 1860 letter from Germanicus Kent to Aratus Kent discusses Germanicus Kent's desire to establish contact with his former slave Lewis Lemon Kent, then living in Iowa.

Black Family Business Records: This series spans the period 1832 to 1924 and is comprised primarily of account books for mercantile establishments in Blacksburg. It also contains an account book for A.W. Luster, a 1908 inventory for W. Stone & Son, and a copy of a newspaper advertisement, n.d., for A. Black and Company.

John S. Apperson Papers: This series spans the period 1858 to 1907. John Apperson's Civil War Diary is the centerpiece of this series. The diary also contains Apperson's account of his journey, in 1859, from his home in Locust Grove, Virginia to Smyth County in Southwest Virginia. In the Civil War diaries, he describes medical care of soldiers and lists monthly figures of wounded and dead for the Second Corps field hospital. He also describes going onto the battlefield after the fighting stopped at First Manassas, the scene on the morning of the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862; performing his first amputation, and his efforts to continue his medical education during the Civil War. This series also contains correspondence pertaining to Apperson's business career, 1900 and 1910, a catalog for the Marion Foundry and Machine Works, and photographs of John Apperson, Elizabeth Black, and their children.

The Mary E. Apperson and Alexander Apperson Papers: These series span the period 1827to 1984 and are comprised primarily of research files on the Black, Kent, and Apperson families of Blacksburg and Marion. Also included are publications pertaining to family history, correspondence with the Rockford, Illinois Historical Society regarding research on Germanicus Kent, correspondence pertaining to other genealogy research, the recollections of Elizabeth Black Apperson about Blacksburg history and buildings, family photographs, a photograph, ca. 1900, of the Alexander Black house in Blacksburg, and family artifacts.

The Harvey B. Apperson Political Scrapbooks: This series spans the period 1932 to 1950. The scrapbooks are comprised largely of newspaper clippings documenting Harvey B. Apperson's political career and Democratic Party politics in the Roanoke area in the 1930s and in Richmond in the 1940s. Also included are letters and telegrams of congratulation Apperson received when he was appointed Attorney General of Virginia in 1947, telegrams and letters of condolence his wife received upon his death four months later, photographs, and political ephemera.

Blacksburg Mining and Manufacturing Company: This series spans the period 1826 to 1965 and is comprised of legal documents and correspondence pertaining to the division of proceeds of mining investments among the Apperson descendants of Harvey Black. Also included are maps of Black and Apperson property in Blacksburg, ca. 1949.

Louise Caton Travel Diary: A diary of Louise Caton's four-month tour of Europe in 1912, including her voyage from New York to Genoa on the Laxmia and from Liverpool back to New York on the Celtic. The relationship of Louise Caton to the Black, Kent, and Apperson families is unknown.