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Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-1992-008

Scope and Content

This collection contains the papers of Henry Morgan Jacocks (1878-1950), graduate of Virginia Tech (class of 1900) and assistant superintendent of the Mathieson Alkali Works in Saltville, Virginia. The collection includes correspondence, operation notes, printed materials, blueprintsm, and photographs.

While Jacocks' papers contain a small selection of correspondence and records pertaining to Mathieson's operation, they largely consist of trade publications (both promotional and instructional). The catalogs promote steel products as well as various pieces of machinery and other products. The instructional materials consist of manuals for specific pieces of machinery as well as general technical publications. Within the collection is also a set of undated drafting standards for the Virginia Iron and Bridge Company (Roanoke, Virginia).

The papers also include a set of approximately two dozen blueprints and drawings, mostly for parts and machinery to be used at Mathieson. Except where otherwise noted, the drawings seem to have been completed in-house (a few were drawn by Jacocks himself). Among the drawings is a 1914 aerial view of Mathieson Alkali Works.

Dates

  • 1898 - 1919

Creator

Language of Materials

The materials in the collection are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to 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.

Biographical Note

Henry Morgan Jacocks, son of Jonathan Henry and Mary Katherine Harrell Jacocks, was born in Durant's Neck, North Carolina on December 31, 1878. He graduated from Berkeley Military Institute in 1895 before attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. A general science student at Virginia Tech, Jacocks was president of the Thespian and German clubs, vice-president of the Maury Society and served as literary editor of the Grey Jacket and editor-in-chief of The Bugle. (A younger brother, Jonathan Wilbur Jacocks, also graduated from Virginia Tech in 1900.)

Together with his younger brother Jonathan Wilbur, Jacocks graduated from Virginia Tech in 1900. He was hired by the Mathieson Alkali Works in Saltville, Virginia as an assistant draftsman. During his 17-year career at Mathieson, Jacocks would eventually rise to the position of assistant superintendent.

Around 1919, Jacocks moved to Craddock, Virginia, where he worked briefly for the Portsmouth Cotton Oil Refining Company before establishing H. M. Jacocks and Company. Selling fuel, feed and fertilizer, the business closed in 1933, a victim of the Depression and a warehouse fire. Following the closure of his business, Jacocks worked for the Virginia State Highway Department before retiring in 1950. He died in an automobile accident on August 20 of that same year and is buried in Norfolk's Magnolia Cemetery.

Extent

2 Cubic Feet (2 boxes; 2 oversize)

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of Henry Morgan Jacocks, graduate of Virginia Tech (class of 1900), assistant superintendent at Mathieson Alkali Works (Saltville, Virginia), independent businessman, and Virginia State Highway Department employee. Correspondence, trade catalogs, instructional booklets, blueprints, and drawings from Jacocks' years at Mathieson Alkali Works. Also includes a set of drafting standards for the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company and several photographs.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by document type, then chronologically, with the exception of the printed materials. These are divided by function, with promotional materials arranged by corporation name and instructional materials arranged in bibliographical order.

Source of Acquisition

The Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1992.

Four additional photographs were donated in July 2014 by Matthew Kyle Jacocks, great-grandson of Henry Morgan Jacocks, B.S. Civil Engineering, 2007, M.S. Civil Engineering, emphasis in Construction, 2009.

Separated Material

The following works were transferred to the Rare Book Collection in 1992:

Missing Title

  1. Hawkins, N., Indicator catechism : a practical treatise (New York: Theo. Audel & Co., 1903)
  2. Moldenke, Richard, The Principles of iron founding (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1917)
  3. Schimpf, Henry W., A Manual of volumetric analysis (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1909)
  4. Sexton, A Humboldt, Producer gas : a sketch of the properties, manufacture, and uses of gaseous fuel (Manchester: Scientific Publishing Company, n.d.)

The following works were tranferred to the Rare Book Collection in 2007:

Missing Title

  1. American Water Works Association, Standard specifications for cast iron water pipe and special castings : with tables of dimensions, thicknesses and weights, adopted May 12, 1908 ([S. l.: s.n., 1908]). (TD491 .A6 1908 Large Spec)
  2. Barr, William M., Boilers and furnaces considered in their relations to steam engineering (Philadelphia: The Florence Company, 1898). (TJ285 .B26 1898 Large Spec)
  3. Bell, Louis, Electric power transmission : a practical treatise for practical men (New York: Electrical World and Engineer, 1899). (TK1001 .B4 1899 Large Spec)
  4. Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Manufacturers of milling machines and cutter grinders (Cincinnati: The Company, 1911). (TJ1190 .C5 1911)
  5. Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Tool room data : indexing; cutting spirals; the new Cincinnati universal dividing head; patented index arrangement (Cincinnati, OH: Press of C. J. Krehbiel & Co., [1905]). (TJ1165 .c46 1905 Large Spec)
  6. Crucible Steel Company of America, Sanderson Bros. Steel Works (Pittsburgh, PA: Crucible Steel Company of America, 1911). (TS309 .C7 1911 Small Spec)
  7. Detroit Stoker and Foundry Company, Detroit Stoker and Foundry Company : Detroit automatic stokers ([Detroit, MI: The Company, 190-?]). (TJ345 .D4 1900 Small Spec)
  8. E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Company, Du Pont farmer's handbook : instruction in the use of dynamite for clearing land, planting and cultivating trees, drainage, ditching and subsoiling (Wilmington, DE: The Company, c1912)
  9. General Electric Company, Transformer testing for central station managers (Schenectady, NY: General Electric Company, 1900). (TK2551 .T75 1900 Small Spec)
  10. Gillespie, William M., A Treatise on surveying : comprising the theory and the practice, pt. II: higher surveying (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1901) (TA454 .G55 1903 pt. 2 Large Spec)
  11. Hall, William S., Elements of the differential and integral calculus with applications (New York: Van Nostrand, 1897). (QA303 .H17 1897 Large Spec)
  12. H. Boker & Co., Catalogue no. 1 (New York: Hermann Boker & Company), [ca. 1912]). (TS309 H4 1912 Large Spec)
  13. Halsey, Frederick A., Slide valve gears : an explanation of the action and construction of plain and cut-off slide valves (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1899). (TJ545 .H2 1899 Small Spec)
  14. John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Wire in electrical construction (Trenton, NJ: Brandt Press, 1897). (TK3305 R7 1897 Small Spec)
  15. Johnson, J. B., Engineering contracts and specifications : including a brief synopsis of the law of contracts and illustrative examples of the general and technical clauses of various kinds of engineering specifications, designed for the use of students, engineers, and contractors (New York: Engineering News, 1901). (TA180 .J6 1901 Large Spec)
  16. Manly, Harold P., Oxy-acetylene welding and cutting: electric, forge and thermit welding, together with related methods and materials used in metal working and the oxygen process for removal of carbon (Chicago: F. J. Drake, 1916). (TS227 .M25 1916 Small Spec)
  17. A Manual of the principal instruments used in American engineering and surveying, 37th ed., rev. (Troy, NY: W. & L. E. Gurley, 1904). (TA581 .M36 37th (rev.) Small Spec)
  18. A Manual of the principal instruments used in American engineering and surveying, 45th ed. (Troy, NY: W. & L. E. Gurley, 1910). (TA581 M36 45th Small Spec)
  19. Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company, List of steel and other products manufactured by Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company [and] Cambria Steel Company ... (Philadelphia: The Company, 1918). (TS309 M53 1918 Small Spec)
  20. Thorp, Frank Hall, Outlines of industrial chemistry : a text-book for students (New York: Macmillan, 1898). (TP145 .T5 1898 Large Spec)
  21. Walker, Francis Amasa, Political economy (New York: Henry Holt and Company). (HB171 .W2 1888 Large Spec)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement and description of the Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers commenced and was completed in December 2007. Earlier processing of the collection had been done in 1992. Additional description was completed in July 2017.

Title
Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers, 1898-1919
Status
Completed
Author
John M. Jackson, Archivist
Date
2007 (CC0 1.0)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308