In 2004, the Victory Stadium Study Committee was appointed and requested that certain background materials related to the study of the future of Victory Stadium be placed in three Roanoke City Public Libraries locations: Main Library, Williamson Road Library, and Raleigh Court Library. These items were assigned numbers to match the committee’s requests in memos dated August 20, 2004, September 24, 2004, and October 22, 2004. There are a few additional items in the collection not mentioned in these memos. Furthermore, not all items listed for investigation in the memos resulted in the submission of a document.
No known restrictions. Virginia Room copy fees apply.
This collection consists primarily of secondary sources related to the Clay Family.
A Guide to the Lorenzen Family Collection
The collection includes two scrapbooks containing photographs, three mounted photographs, and a history of the Lorenzen family, consisting of genealogical information and photographs. The scrapbooks appear to have been compiled by Fred and consist of photographs of places and people from 1898-1910; some, but not most, of the people and places are identified. The individual photographs are: Blackburn’s String Band, which includes Fred; Fred and two other saxophone players; and Fred holding a Saxophone. The family history, “Chronicles of an Immigrant Family: The Lorenzens” includes information about Frederick J. Lorenzen’s ancestors, as well as his siblings and their children. It contains photographs of family members (including Ollie Lorenzen with the 3rd Sec. Co. C. 300th Signal Battalion in 1919), as well as local places, including: the family’s parlor; the first block of Campbell Ave. SW, Roanoke (1917); a house on Fourth Ave. NE Roanoke; and 1317 Clark Ave. SW, Roanoke.
Frederick J. Lorenzen, Helen Lorenzen Mark, Hazel Lorenzen Davies
A Guide to the Sigma Tau Delta Collection
The collection documents the activities of the Sigma Tau Delta Sorority from 1940 through 1983 and includes a significant number of photographs of club members and events. It consists of the contents of eight traditional scrapbooks and one “magnetic” photo album. Scrapbooks include information about the sorority, including constitution and by-laws, lists of officers, and a few membership lists. Newspaper clippings about the club document its activities and officers, as well as information about members. The scrapbooks also contain correspondence received by the sorority, including numerous thank you notes from members regarding gifts and from organizations the club donated to, as well as marriage, birth, graduation, and death announcements. Of special interest are letters in scrapbooks that document members’ lives during WWII, when several relocated with their husbands to military bases, and one member’s experience in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). While all scrapbooks contain numerous photographs, later scrapbooks have more photographs and less ephemera. Many, but not all, of the people in photographs are identified. Photographs of the sorority’s parties also document the interiors of a variety of venues in the Roanoke region, as well as members’ homes. The 1953-56 Scrapbook includes over thirty pictures of the interior and the residents of Hobday Cottage, Virginia Baptist Children’s Home, Salem, VA, taken from 1953-55 when the sorority sponsored activities and improvements for the young women living there. Digital versions were created of all scrapbooks. Items that could be removed from scrapbooks without damage were placed in folders, including both paper and photographic items. However, most scrapbooks included pages that could not be disassembled; these have been retained within the scrapbook covers. All items were removed from the “magnetic” photo album.
A Guide to the 1967 Roanoke River Water Quality Standards Collection
The collection includes: correspondence with agencies and elected officials; newspaper articles; background information on water quality; and the public hearing record from the May 16, 1967 event.
Smithy & Boynton, Architects & Engineers Scrapbook
The collection consists of one scrapbook that documents the activities of the firm, its leaders, and its employees from 1980 through 1992. It includes ephemera and newspaper articles related to projects the firm was involved in designing or engineering. A digital version of the scrapbook was created and should be primarily consulted by researchers.
A Guide to the Rubinette Miller Niemann Collection
The collection includes memorabilia amassed by Miller while she was working as the County Home Demonstration Agent. It includes: Home Demonstration Club Yearbooks from 1961 through 1964; photographs of Home Demonstration, 4-H, and other Extension events and staff from the 1959-63 period; and newspaper clippings, featuring Home Demonstration Club activities and Miller’s achievements; and a scrapbook created by club members for Miller, documenting her time as Home Demonstration Agent, and given to her in 1964, which also contains numerous photographs. A digital copy was created of the scrapbook.
A Guide to the Mill Mountain Theatre Collection
The collection consists primarily of performance programs from the 1965 through 1997-1998 seasons; only in a very few instances are the playbills of all the season’s performances included. Some programs contain histories of the Mill Mountain Playhouse/Mill Mountain Theatre. For example, 1968 provides a 5-year retrospective, there is a timeline history in the 1982 program, and the 1988-89 Silver Anniversary Season playbills include photographs of prior productions. Some playbills list the entire season’s performance schedule. Season brochures are available for a number of years.
A Guide to the Grandin Court Elementary School PTA Collection
The collection consists of meeting minutes (1951 through 1963-64) and scrapbooks (1951 through 1989-90) of the Grandin Court PTA. Box 1 contains handwritten minutes of the Grandin Court PTA from its founding in February 1951 through the 1963-64 school year, as well as some financial records from the 1957-58 through 1960-61 school years. The collection also consists of the contents of eleven scrapbooks, dating from 1951 through 1990. Ten scrapbooks document the activities of the Grandin Court PTA; one scrapbook, from 1951, memorializes the first semester and first sixth-grade class at the school. For preservation purposes, digital files were created of each scrapbook, and most scrapbooks were disassembled and their contents, including photographs, placed in folders in Box 2. However, three scrapbooks could not be disassembled without damaging materials. PTA Scrapbooks include a wide variety of information, which varies by year, but generally includes the following: information about PTA leadership and budgets; PTA newsletters and informational flyers about fundraising and other activities; newspaper clippings about Grandin School and its students and teachers and Roanoke City Schools; programs from school events; information distributed by Roanoke City Schools; information from Grandin School staff; information on school field trips; thank you notes received by the PTA, including many written by students; school calendars and lunch menus; summer activity information from organizations such as the YMCA; 1975-76 and 1977-78 Grandin School Yearbooks; and photographs. While there are a few photographs that date from earlier years, the bulk of the photographs are found in scrapbooks that date from 1982 and later. Photographs document many student activities, though very few students are identified. Teachers and PTA volunteers are more often identified in photographs.
Showtimers, a nonprofit community theater organization, was founded in 1951 with Betty Ross Garretson, a speech and drama professor at Roanoke College, as its president. Its first home was at the Laboratory Theater, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia. The organization also provided acting classes. By 1960 it was averaging paid admission of 1,000 persons at its performances. In 1963 musicals were added to its yearly slate of productions. In 1971 productions moved to a former church on McVitty Road, Roanoke, Virginia, which was renovated to suit the Showtimers’s needs. In late 1970s and early 1980s productions were stage at Olin Hall, Roanoke College; they later returned to a renovated and expanded facility on McVitty Road. The Footlighters were founded in 1952 and merged with the Showtimers after their 1953 season. The bulk of the collection is comprised of show programs, from 1951 through 1993. Not all years are complete; few programs are available for 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1984 through 1993. Programs from The Footlighters 1953 productions are included in the collection. Three anniversary publications that include written histories and photographs of Showtimers productions are available for 1960 (10th Anniversary), 1975 (25th Anniversary), and 1990 (40th Anniversary). A financial report that documents Showtimers’s receipts and expenses, 1951-1959 is part of the collection.
A Guide to the Roanoke Book Collectors Collection
Ten small books / pamphlets, dating from 1862 to 1950. They include two copies of Moore’s The Night Before Christmas, one dating to 1862, and several books with ties to Roanoke, as they were edited by, published by, or privately printed for Roanoke residents. Of note is an illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, published by Stone Printing, Roanoke, in 1909.
A Guide to the Roanoke Association for the Exhibition and Sale of Livestock Minute Book
One minute book of the Roanoke Association for the Exhibition and Sale of Live Stock from Virginia and Other States, covering May 1883 through October1887. Numerous pages have been removed from the book. Those that remain are primarily minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors, but also include minutes of several Stockholder meetings. Topics of meetings include management and purchase of the fairgrounds and developing rules and policy for exhibitions held in October, 1883 through 1887.
Roanoke Association for the Exhibition and Sale of Livestock from Virginia and Other States
A Guide to the Better Business Bureau of Roanoke Collection
The Better Business Bureau of Roanoke, Inc. was chartered December 5, 1939, as a branch of the National Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. A nonprofit organization, it is funded through memberships of individuals, businesses, and other organizations, and managed by a board of directors. It is a resource to members and the public for education in fair trade and fraud prevention and investigates complaints. Collection includes pamphlets, bulletins, newsletters, and similar items from 1940-1943. Bulletins and newsletters include articles on general scams to avoid, as well as details about particular local individuals found to have defrauded the public. They also describe the activities of the Better Business Bureau of Roanoke to address deceptive practices by local businesses.
A Guide to the 1961 Charter Study Commission Collection
The Charter Study Commission was authorized by Roanoke City Council in June 1961 to study the City Charter and report on suggested changes to it by November 1, 1961. Members of the committee were: A. A. Akers, Mrs. Emmett R. Albergotti, E. Griffith Dodson Jr., Earl A. Fitzpatrick, Robert A. Garland, John W. Hancock Jr., James P. Hart Jr., Harold N. Hoback, Edward H. Scott, English Showalter, James L. Trinkle, Earle J. Wentz Jr., Gordon C. Willis, Robert W. Woody, Chairman. The collection includes information gathered by the commission, its meeting minutes, and drafts of its report to city council. Meeting minutes cover August through November 1961. Background information includes: the existing Roanoke City charter as well as those of a few other cities; information from the National Municipal League about city charters; and on topics of particular concern—real estate assessment, “quadrant” voting, and school funding. The collection also includes correspondence received from city officials and the public regarding concerns to be addressed in the charter review.
A Guide to the First Baptist Church Collection
While its history can be traced back to the Big Lick Baptist Church founded in 1875, it was in 1929 that the congregation of First Baptist Church moved to its newly constructed church on Third Street between Franklin and Luck Avenues. The church occupied this building into the twenty-first century. During the mid-twentieth century, the period of time this collection represents, its pastors were William Cooke Boone (1927-1930), Walter Pope Binns (1931-1943), Wade Hampton Bryant (1945-1961), and Charles Grantland Fuller (1961-1999). Membership in the church ranged from about 2,000 in 1929 to almost 2,500 in 1971. The collection primarily consists of church service programs from 1929-1948 and directories and yearbooks from the 1960s and 1970s. The collection includes programs from Sunday Services during the years 1929-1948 and 1961-1970, though coverage of many years is scant, and no year includes the full complement of programs. Programs often include a church calendar for the upcoming week. Full church directories are available for the years 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1974, and a leadership directory is included for 1966. Several yearbooks for the Woman’s Missionary Union and the Rebekah Bible Class from the 1960s and early 1970s are also part of the collection.
A Guide to the Roanoke Country Club Collection
The Roanoke Country Club was founded in 1899 as a golf and tennis club. Its first clubhouse was a repurposed home near where it rented land from the Crystal Spring Land Company for a golf course; tennis courts were also built on adjacent lots purchased by the club. Club members also participated in other sports and games and held social events. In 1902 membership was 113 active and 49 associate members. In 1908 the club moved to its present location off Melrose Avenue, which was accessible by streetcar from downtown Roanoke. It included a clubhouse, 9-hole golf course, and tennis courts; the course was expanded to 18 holes in about 1920. A new clubhouse was constructed in 1924; the first swimming pool at the club was installed in 1937. In subsequent years, facilities were further improved, expanded, and enlarged. In 1964 the club acquired more land to expand the golf course to 27 holes in 1966. In 1967-68 the club house was further expanded and modernized and an indoor tennis facility was built. The collection features the club newsletter, Country Club News from 1956-1970, though not all issues are present. It also includes materials gathered to prepare a club history on occasion of its 70th Anniversary in 1969, including a reproduction of “Golf in Roanoke” written in 1917 by Walter A. Carpenter, and typescript drafts of the history of tennis in Roanoke and of the Roanoke County Club written by George Hanger in 1969.
A Guide to the Wednesday History Club Collection
Organized in 1917 as the “Wednesday Club,” with its first meeting in January of 1918, members changed the name to “Wednesday History Club” in 1921. The organization was a women’s literary study club with programs focused on history, world affairs, and fine arts. With membership originally capped at 20 and expanded to 25 in 1950, it met twice monthly on Wednesdays, September through May. In addition, the organization’s members gifted books to the public library and donated time and money to other civic causes. The club disbanded in 2022. The collection is primarily club yearbooks from 1917-18 through 2013-14, with a few additional items of club ephemera and newspaper clippings. Yearbooks list members, past presidents, program topics and presenters, club constitution and by-laws. A set of yearbooks from 1917-18 through 1986-87 were originally donated within a scrapbook compiled by the club; for conservation purposes they were removed from the scrapbook. The 1917-18 and 1918-19 yearbooks are handmade and fragile. Later yearbooks are professionally printed or typed and copied, though some from the 1930s also have hand-illustrated covers. For most of the years between 1920 and 1990 the library also received and held copies of the yearbooks; many have notations regarding information to support the program topics. The 1977-78 yearbook includes essays on the club’s history, 1917-1977; many later yearbooks include updated club histories.
A Guide to the Roanoke City-County Centennial Civil War Commission Papers
In 1959 Roanoke County and the City of Roanoke jointly established the City-County Civil War Centennial Commission to work with the Virginia Civil War Commission to coordinate plans for 100th Anniversary activities. John E. Moore took over the chairmanship of the commission in September of 1960. Items in the collection document events sponsored of the commission, including a television program, a display of Currier & Ives prints, commemoration of the Battle of Hanging Rock, and the visit from a Civil War era steam locomotive, “The General.” Information is also included on Moore’s personal visit to the last living Confederate veteran, Col. Walker Williams and the establishment of the Salem Flying Artillery reenactment organization.
John E. Moore, chairman, Roanoke City-County Civil War Centennial Commission
A Guide to the Royal Arcanum . Council No. 1228, Record Book Collection
The Royal Arcanum is a fraternal organization that provides insurance benefits to its members and their families. The Roanoke Council No. 1228 was established in 1890. The collection includes four Meeting Minute Books, spanning the years from the organization’s founding in 1890 through 1910. Additionally there is a Record of Applicants book with listings from 1895 through 1911. An Order Book on the Treasurer includes payment stubs from 1914 through 1919. Loose items within the books were moved to folders.
A Guide to the Magic City Garden Club Collection
The Magic City Garden Club, the second garden club established in the City of Roanoke, was organized in 1927 under the leadership of Kelly Rainey Davis (Mrs. George Maslin Davis). She was the club’s first secretary; its first president was Martha Norton Stone (Mrs. Alvah Stone). There were nine charter members. During the 1970s and 1980s membership ranged from 25 to 40 members. The group provided education to its members about gardening and organized gardening exhibitions, including Roanoke’s first indoor flower show in 1928 and the first show inviting clubs from across Southwest Virginia in 1931. It was the only club from Roanoke to be a charter member of the Virginia State Federation of Garden Clubs in 1932 and was a founding club of the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs in 1934. The collection includes a minute book covering 1969-1988, a booklet documenting the history of the first fifty years of the club, 1927-77, and a club yearbook from 1997-98.
A Guide to the Joshua L. Chamberlain Camp 20, Sons of Union Veterans Collection
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Camp 20, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, was organized in 1995 under the leadership of Robert Eck. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a national organization dedicated to preserving the history of Union Veterans of the American Civil War. Hereditary members are male descendants of veterans of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy who served in that conflict; associate members are men who have a demonstrated interest in the Civil War. Chamberlain Camp members have worked to identify the graves of Union Veterans in and around Roanoke, and participate in ceremonies that honor their service. Its namesake, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, was a Colonel (later Brevet Major General) who commanded the 20th Maine Volunteers at the Battle of Gettysburg. The collection is focused on the founding of the Camp and its activities in the 1990s. Organizational documents, newsletters from 1993-1999, and photographs of ceremonies and events from 1994 to 1999 form the core of the collection. Other documents in the collection cover Civil War commemorations of the 1990s, activities of the Chesapeake District of Sons of Union Veterans in the 2000s and 2010s, and awards presented by the Chamberlain Camp in 2014.
Members of Joshua L Chamberlain Camp 20, Sons of Union Veterans
A Guide to the Botetourt County Council of Garden Clubs Collection
The Botetourt County Council of Garden Clubs was organized in October 1957. It initially consisted of seven member clubs: Fincastle Garden Club, Eagle Rock Garden Club, Plant and Hope Garden Club, Buchanan Garden Club, Big Spring Garden Club, Orchard View Garden Club, and Castle Garden Club. Its purpose was to hold countywide flower shows and programs. Later member clubs included: Bonsack Garden Club, Rainbow Forest Garden Club, and Flowering Hills Garden Club. There had been a precursor organization with a similar function, the Botetourt County Federation of Garden Clubs, active in the 1930s and 1940s. The Botetourt Council of Garden Clubs was dissolved in 1995. The collection includes Botetourt County Council of Garden Club minutes and administrative documents for the years 1957-1976 and 1988-1995 as well as scrapbooks and albums that record the organization’s activities through newspaper clippings, ephemera, and photographs covering the span of the council’s existence. The 1961 Flower Show is well documented by a Scrapbook that won a state award and photographic slides of many entries. The collection also includes a flower show record book, covering the years 1933-38 from a precursor organization, the Botetourt County Federation of Garden Clubs.
Botetourt County Council of Garden Clubs and Botetourt County Federation of Garden Clubs
A Guide to the Margaret Lynn Lewis Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution Collection
The Margaret Lynn Lewis chapter of the DAR was organized in Roanoke in 1894 by Lelia Smith Cocke (Mrs. Lucian H. Cocke), who was its first regent (chapter leader). The chapter was named after Margaret Lynn Lewis, who emigrated from Scotland to near Staunton, Virginia, in 1832 with her husband John Lewis. They were the parents of Revolutionary War General Andrew Lewis. DAR Members must have a documented ancestor who aided in the effort for American Independence. The purpose of the organization is to preserve and memorialize the history of men and women who were active in the effort of obtaining American Independence and to promote education regarding American history and citizenship. The Margaret Lynn Lewis Chapter donated time and money to a wide variety of efforts that furthered these goals. For several decades they sponsored a Good Citizen award to a local high school student. They also erected local monuments to memorialize patriotic causes and individuals. Chapter members of note include Sarah Johnson Cocke (the second Mrs. Lucian H. Cocke) who, when she lived in Georgia, was a national charter member and one of the first vice-presidents general of the national DAR. Sally Smith Rowbotham (Mrs. Arthur Rowbotham) served as state regent and national vice-president of the DAR in the 1930s (though she had moved to Altavista, VA at that time). Willie Walker Caldwell (Mrs. Manley M. Caldwell), author and writer for The Roanoke Times, was a Republican national committee member. Several members were founders of the Roanoke Civic Betterment Club. This collection includes scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other memorabilia amassed by members of the Margaret Lynn Lewis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Items document the activities of the local, state, and national DAR, as well as colonial and local history. Coverage of the chapter’s founding through the 1960s is limited. Materials created prior to the 1970s suffered water damage; there is reference in later documents to the flooding of a bank vault in November 1985 that affected the chapter’s memorabilia trunk. Only portions of early scrapbooks were salvaged and included in the donated items. These and some later items showed signs of mold; once digital copies were made of them, they were discarded. Digital copies were also made of later scrapbooks to document page order and item placement; these were then disassembled to remove newsprint and protect photographs.
A Guide to the Katherine B. Murphy Garden Clubs Collection
This collection of material was amassed by Katherine Brooks Murphy (Mrs. John M. Murphy) during the 1960s and early 1970s in her work as an officer in three organizations: the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs, the Blue Ridge District of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, and the South Roanoke Garden Club. She served on the board of directors and as treasurer and finance committee chair for the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs, 1964-67, and then remained on the board of directors through 1971. Katherine Murphy was Director and Treasurer for the Blue Ridge District from 1967-69. She was the South Roanoke Garden Club representative to the Roanoke Council 1975-76. Documents cover the period of time when the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs purchased and made upgrades to their Garden Center at “Fairview,” 2713 Avenham Ave. SW, Roanoke. The collection includes the documents that Katherine Murphy amassed in her role as treasurer and board member of the Roanoke Council and Blue Ridge District of the Virginia Federation of Garden Clubs, and through her membership in the South Roanoke Garden Club. Items date from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s. The collection includes constitution and by-laws for the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs, lists of officers and member clubs, presidents’ reports, financial reports, and minutes of meetings of the board of directors (1964-70), executive board (1965-71), and regular meetings (1965-71). It also includes documents related to the purchase and improvement of the Garden Center at “Fairview,” 2713 Avenham Ave. SW, Roanoke. Other items provide details on the financial aspects of the 1969 Color & Fashion for Living show. Various documents related to other activities of the garden clubs are also included.
A Guide to the Junior Woman's Club of Roanoke Collection
The collection primarily covers activities of the organization in the early 1940s, with a focus on their efforts to encourage and support the naturalization of immigrants. It includes club yearbooks from 1940-41, 1941-42, 1944-45, 1945-46, 1949-50, 1950-51, and 1956-57, a club scrapbook from 1941-42, and club newsletters from 1939-42. Additional ephemera, correspondence, and newspaper clippings focus on the establishment of the Americanization Association of Roanoke in 1941, the sponsorship of naturalization ceremonies in the early 1940s, and observance of the I Am an American Day in 1944.
: Junior Woman’s Club of Roanoke/Sue McKeller Swartz
A Guide to the Woman's Club of Roanoke Collection
The collection consists of club yearbooks spanning from the 1920s through the 1970s (not inclusive), which were given to the library over the years by various donors, and a club scrapbook for the years 1962-64, which had been in the possession of Lucille Woody Creasy Anderson (1913-2006), Mrs. Roy V. Creasy, who was president of the Woman’s Club of Roanoke during those years. The yearbooks include lists of officers, committee chairs, and members; the club constitution and by-laws; a history of the prior year’s activities; and a program for the coming year’s activities. Some include photographs of the club meeting place and club leaders. The scrapbook documents the club’s and Mrs. Creasy’s activities and district, state, and national events attended, through ephemera, newspaper clippings, correspondence received, and a few photographs (no identification of individuals). Also included in the scrapbook are some of Mrs. Creasy’s hand-written speaking notes, as well as many issues of the club’s monthly newsletter. A digital copy of the scrapbook was made. Many non-newspaper items were loose and were removed from the scrapbook to box 1, folders 1 and 2.
A Guide to the Southwest Virginia Punk Zine Collection
This collection consists of 45 various punk zines alphabetically arranged by title. Most were produced in Southwest Virginia; however, there are some issues from other parts of the state. Dates range from 1982 through 2016.
A Guide to the Willis M. Anderson Collection
The collection consists of four scrapbooks documenting Willis M. “Wick” Anderson’s political career from 1958 through 1969. The scrapbooks were comprised primarily of newspaper clippings glued to paper. One scrapbook was traditional in style; the others consisted of pages inserted in plastic page covers and held in three ring binders. All pages were scanned and digital versions created, due to the instability of newsprint. Non-newsprint items were removed from the scrapbooks and placed in folders. These include government publications, photographs, and ephemera.
A Guide to the Betty Lindamood/John Sutton Collection
The collection consists primarily of several dozen letters sent from Betty Lindamood to John W. Sutton from the time of their engagement in November 1949, up to their wedding in April 1950, while she lived in Roanoke and he in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to discussions of wedding planning, the letters document aspects of her life living in the Lewis-Gale Hospital Nurses Home on Church Avenue.
No known restrictions on publication. Virginia Room copy fees apply.
A Guide to the Dixie Gray Chapter, Children of the Confederacy Collection.
The collection consists of four scrapbooks, covering club activities from 1949-1955, and additional loose documents. The scrapbooks were compiled by Dixie Gray members and document the history of the Civil War and the activities of the club through newspaper and magazine clippings, as well as historic site ephemera. The additional documents include handwritten letters from two Civil War soldiers, George M. Hanson and Julius B. Buford, written during the war; the Sept. 6, 1865, issue of the Daily Republican newspaper, Lynchburg, Virginia; and a photograph of a portrait of Robert E. Lee.
Dixie Gray Chapter, Children of the Confederacy
A Guide to the Daleth Study Club Records
The collection consists of meeting minutes, chapter yearbooks, additional club records, and some correspondence received. Meeting minutes begin with the club’s founding in 1930 and continue through 1972, only missing the club years 1936-37 and 1937-38 (the club year ran Sept. through May). Treasurer records are available from 1947-1970. Folder one contains a club history that documents the founding and early years of the organization. Subsequent histories (through 1941 and for club years ending in 1972, 1975, 1980, 1981, and 1982) summarize the year’s events and programs. Club yearbooks are available for most years during the 1930s and 1940s and a few years during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Correspondence received is limited to a few items from 1959-60 and 1969-72.
A Guide to the Blue Ridge Forum Collection
The Blue Ridge Forum was a women’s educational organization, or study club, founded in Roanoke in 1937. Its membership largely came from the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Delphian Society (one of at least four Delphian chapters in Roanoke), whose members disbanded and formed this group. Members studied social and cultural topics, across the United States and worldwide, at times from courses published by the University of North Carolina extension division. Member-led meetings involved discussions based on readings, as well as individual member reports. The group disbanded in 1997.
A Guide to the Roanoke Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy Collection.
The collection consists of Scrapbooks (ranging from 1942 to 1969) and Yearbooks (ranging from 1940 to 2000, not inclusive) compiled by the Roanoke Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The 1960 Constitution of the organization notes that the Scrapbook is the responsibility of the chapter’s Custodian; available earlier versions of the constitution do not specify who compiled the scrapbooks, though the office of Custodian is defined as having “charge of all properties of the Chapter.” Five yearbooks remain largely intact (1942, 1956-57, 1959-60, 1960-61, and 1961-62); inserted and loose materials were removed to folders. Digital copies were made of the yearbooks and should be primarily consulted by researchers, due to the fragility of the scrapbook pages. The items in two scrapbooks (1964-67 and 1968-69) were mostly loose from their pages, except for newspaper articles. Digital copies were made of these pages with items placed where they had previously been attached. Items were then removed to folders, except for the newspaper articles. The scrapbooks primarily consist of newspaper and journal articles, and national, state, and local UDC ephemera. These items document the activities of the UDC, the history and memorialization of the Civil War and its veterans, and other facets of Southern and Southwestern Virginia history. Later scrapbooks include photographs of UDC events, members, and memorials. Chapter yearbooks include lists of officers and members and topics of meetings; some also include by-laws. Yearbooks from the 1940s through 1960s were found within scrapbooks; yearbooks for 1980-82 and from 1991-2000 were donated separately but placed with this collection.
A Guide to the Horton-Goodykoontz Genealogy Collection
The collection includes genealogical information and family photographs related primarily to the Horton and Goodykoontz Families. The information is well-organized and well-documented. It includes copies of bible records, newspaper articles, and excerpts from published materials, as well as correspondence. Photographs are all labeled with names of persons or locations of buildings.
William Terrell Horton, Nelle Neal Goodykoontz Horton, and Gertrude Neal Horton
No known restrictions. Virginia Room copy fees apply
A Guide to the William Watts Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy Collection
The donated collection consisted of scrapbooks, binders, and photo albums, as well as some loose items, across the active years of the organization, though the depth of information varies. The years from the organization’s founding through the 1930s are well represented in several scrapbooks, with an emphasis on local activities and obituaries, as well as Civil War history. From the 1940s, most information relates to documents distributed by the national organization about its educational resources and programs. Scrapbooks from the middle years of the twentieth century focus on UDC events, both local and national, and include newspaper clippings and event ephemera. Many events were jointly sponsored by the Fincastle Rifles Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and some also included the Hanging Rock Rangers Chapter, Children of the Confederacy. The scrapbooks from 1980s through the disbanding of the organization include numerous photos from local events, as well as newspaper clippings regarding the history and memorialization of the Civil War, often at a national level. The early scrapbooks were compiled by Maggie Jane Dull Crute (1868-1950), wife of Samuel L. Crute (1839-193), a Confederate veteran and active leader in the William Watts Camp of Confederate Veterans. Mrs. Crute was very active in the UDC and also served on the state pension board for veterans and widows. These albums largely consist of newspaper articles related to Confederate veterans’ issues, including many obituaries and biographies, as well as the activities of the UDC and items related to Civil War history. There are a few photographs in the albums, but individuals are generally unidentified. The collection also includes the minute book of the William Watts Camp of Confederate Veterans from its founding in 1891 through 1912. In addition, the collection includes over two hundred Certificates of Eligibility for the Southern Cross of Honor, a medal awarded by the UDC to living veterans. Materials from binders that could be easily disassembled were placed in file folders. In the case of “magnetic” photo albums, digital images were made of pages prior to disassembly. Most scrapbooks consist of acidic paper and largely contain newspaper articles. Each scrapbook was digitized. The method of attachment of items varied; in later books photographs could be and were removed, but in earlier scrapbooks removal of items would have caused irreparable damage. Scrapbooks have been preserved, but researchers should primarily consult the digital files.
Historians, presidents, and members of the chapter; early scrapbooks were compiled by Mrs. Maggie Dull Crute.
A Guide to the Williamson Road Woman's Club Collection
The collection consists of one record storage box and three flat storage boxes. It is located in the Special Collections of the Virginia Room. The collection includes club-related documents from its founding in 1952 through its dissolution in 2005. It consists primarily of the Williamson Road Woman’s Club historian’s scrapbooks from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s, and information collected by club officers in the 1980s and 2000s, received in binders and folders. Club Yearbooks are included for most years from 1952-53 through 1975-76; each of these includes a brief summary of the club’s activities of the prior year and a listing of officers and members. Aside from those reports, there is little coverage of the 1970s or the early 1980s. Scrapbooks include newspaper clippings about the club and its activities, documents related to club activities, correspondence received by the club, and photographs of club members and activities. Later scrapbooks included obituaries and funeral programs for former members of the organization. Scrapbooks from the 1950s and 1960s are in very fragile condition. One scrapbook that contained copies of the annual yearbooks was disassembled; its covers with writing were copied and retained, and the yearbooks and two photos from the scrapbook placed in file folders. For the remainder of these scrapbooks, all pages were scanned to digital format. Photographs were removed from the albums and placed in file folders. The scrapbooks have been retained in storage boxes, but researchers should primarily consult the digital versions of these items. Material from three-ring binders and “magnetic” photo albums from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s was removed and placed in file folders. When arrangement on a page with identifying information was important, a photocopy was made of the page and included in the file. Newspaper clippings were replaced by photocopies of the clippings. Items were kept together in the order they were removed from the binders or albums, which was generally chronological, though photographs were assembled in photo storage pages and placed at the end of the file.
A Guide to the Roanoke Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia Collection
The collection includes information primarily from the 1950s into the early 1970s, as inherited, collected, and retained by Katherine T. Ellett. The bulk of the collection was amassed by Ellett during her chairmanship of the committee, beginning in 1966. Earlier items are included, such as financial records for the committee from 1922-43 and membership lists from 1939 and 1940. A notebook of minutes, member lists, and ephemera related to the organization was compiled by Frances M. Cocke, 1954-59; a spiral bound transcription notebook containing minutes, 1956-61, is labeled with Belinda Spindle’s (Mrs. C. Shelbune Spindle) name, but others appear to have used it. Items related to typescript histories written by members and donated to the Roanoke Library in 1956 are included as well. The items from Mrs. Ellet’s time as chairman include general correspondence and information related to the committee’s fiftieth anniversary (1968) luncheon and tour in Fincastle, VA, as well as programs and documents from national conventions. Additionally, a number of publications from the Virginia and national organizations, including histories of both, are included in the collection. The collection also includes membership election certificates 1955-73, arranged alphabetically by member name.
Frances Mingea Cocke; Belinda Tuley Spindle; Kathrine Tyler Ellett
A Guide to the Starkey School Collection
The collection consists of one document storage case. It holds information regarding the history of the Starkey School, Starkey Village, and material related to the Starkey School Reunions held in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015. Historical information includes copies of newspaper articles and book excerpts, the National Register nomination form for Starkey School, and historic photographs, largely of students and student activities, but also including images of other Starkey Village scenes. School records in the collection include “School Term Reports,” which were completed by teachers at the end of each school year, spanning from 1894 through 1961. The reports include physical information about the school building as well as a listing of students attending the school, by grade in later years. The collection also includes information compiled about former students, teachers, and staff, including newspaper obituaries, mostly from the early 2000s. Information used to organize the reunions, including mailing lists and advertising flyers, is included in the collection, as well as several newspaper articles announcing the reunions and reporting on them. One folder includes correspondence to the compilers about the reunions and about the history of the school and village. One folder includes information about late twentieth century issues in Starkey: the sale of Crescent Heights Water Works (1987-1992); the opening of South County Library (2011-12), and the expansion of the Friendship Health facility (2016).
A Guide to the Southwestern Virginia Genealogical Society Records
This collection consists of records generated by the Southwestern Virginia Genealogical Society. Included are administrative records and pedigree charts. In addition, issues of Virginia Appalachian Notes were originally included with the collection. Issues were removed from the collection and housed with existing issues in the Virginia Room’s holdings. Digital copies of Virginia Appalachia Notes may also be accessed in the Virginia Room Digital Collection. Pedigree charts were contributed by society members as a way to share genealogical information with the public. Charts arranged alphabetically by surname in each volume. Indexes for each volume are included. Items in the collection range from July 1975 through December 2009.
Southwestern Virginia Genealogical Soceity
A Guide to the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation Records
This collection consists of seven record storage boxes of materials generated and collected by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation (RVPF). The type of material is arranged into the following series: Series I includes organizational records and documents produced by RVPF; Series II includes research compiled by RVPF on specific properties and areas of historical significance; Series III contains materials not prepared by RVPF but related to regional historic preservation; Series IV includes photographs, negatives,and slides collected and/or produced by RVPF; and Series V includes one RVPF seal embosser.
A Guide to the Fred and Katherine Settle Wright Genealogical Collection
This collection consists of two record storage boxes of genealogical research compiled by the Wrights on a number of families. Contents are arranged alphabetically by surname as they were kept by the Wrights. The majority of surnames herein have Virginia connections and to a lesser degree North Carolina connections. Manuscripts are typed-written in narrative form. Where specific details could not be confirmed through sources, evidence-based theories are presented. This collection does not include copies of original records used to compile the research; however, sources of information are well documented. Each file typically begins with the first known settler to the United States and continues with descendants.
A Guide to the Virginia Room Map and Oversized Materials Collection
This is a guide to the Virginia Room Map Collection, including oversized documents, architectural drawings, and original newspapers. Most Virginia Counties and Cities are included, as well as some areas of surrounding states. If you are interested in viewing materials in this collection, note the cabinet, drawer, folder, and item number to present to staff for retrieval. **Please note the following:** Maps and oversized items cannot be scanned. Architectural drawings consist primarily of public buildings in the City of Roanoke. The Virginia Room does not have plans for other private residences. Architectural drawings drafted by Eldon Karr include 21 residences, which are the only residential drawings in the collection.
This collection consists of genealogical research compiled by Charles “Sonny” Everette Boyd, Jr. Surnames most frequently researched include Hardaway, Harvey, Livesay, Elam, and Tucker. Box one contains legal sized pedigree charts arranged alphabetically by surname. Box two contains letter sized research materials arranged alphabetically by surname followed by materials arranged alphabetically by document type. Some pedigree charts are included in Box two that were not produced on legal sized paper. Much of the research is focused in Southside Virginia, but also includes other parts of Virginia and surrounding states. At the folder level, documents are arranged as they were kept by Mr. Boyd.
Interments in Old Lick, First Baptist Church, and City Farm Cemeteries, 1912-1960
This is a guide to a collection of death certificates of individuals buried in Old Lick, First Baptist Church, and City Farm cemeteries beginning with the earliest available certificates in 1912 and concluding with 1960 when burials at the cemeteries ceased. The graves at City Farm and those from the western portion of Old Lick cemeteries were relocated to Coyner Springs in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Many of the graves were unmarked and as a result, the remains were reinterred in mass graves at Coyner Springs. Nine hundred thirty-three graves were removed from Old Lick/First Baptist cemetery. Over 550 graves were removed from City Farm cemetery. In an effort to help identify individuals relocated to Coyner Springs, this collection includes death certificates of over 2,600 individuals originally interred in Old Lick/First Baptist Church and City Farm cemeteries. It is not definitively known which of these graves were relocated as the remains were not identified during the relocation process. Certificates are arranged alphabetically by surname for each year. It should be noted that some stillbirths were not included with death certificates. Only certificates issued in the City of Roanoke, Roanoke County, Salem, and Vinton were searched. Persons who may have died outside of these areas and buried in these cemeteries have not been identified in this process.
This collection consists of genealogical research compiled by Evelyn Ashworth Bodine. Ms. Bodine compiled records on a number of surnames, primarily Ashworth, Bodine, Burgess, Ferguson-Phelps, Hiett, and Thornton-Gadd. Each folder included on the container list includes the information compiled by Ms. Bodine. This often includes pedigree charts, copies, of records, copies from secondary sources, and notes typewritten by the creator. Ms. Bodine visited many courthouses, libraries, and other institutions to conduct genealogical research. Much of the material is related to Virginia counties, but extends to many other states. In most cases, source citations are provided.
The Smith-Riffe Collection represents a half century of genealogical and local history research in the New River counties of southern West Virginia and adjacent Virginia.
A Guide to the Manuscripts of Grady Garrett
The Manuscripts of Grady Garrett consists of 12 reels of microfilm containing genealogical research on families of Virginia and North Carolina.
Roanoke Valley Real Estate Multiple Listings Service Photograph Collection
This is a guide to photographs included in the Roanoke Real Estate Multiple Listings Service Photograph Collection. Photos include many Roanoke Valley homes on the market or new construction between 1989 and 1999. All photos are single family dwellings. Photos are not digitized, but may be scanned upon request. Photos are arranged alphabetically by street and followed by house number.
Historic Garden Week in Virginia Homes Index
An index to homes from Roanoke, Salem, and the surrounding areas profiled in Historic Garden Week in Virginia, 1938-2010.
The Burton/Neighbors Addenda Collection is comprised of materials related to families, landowners, and soldiers from the Botetourt County area. The collection includes a spiral bound notebook, 1 journal publication, loose leaf documents and newspaper clippings, 3 bound folders, and 11 loose folders. The information is both in print and handwritten. This material is an extension of the Charles T. Burton Collection.
A Guide to the Marsteller Corporation Records Collection
The Marsteller Corporation Records Collection contains acknowledgements of orders placed for grave markers. Orders in this collection begin in 1911 and continue through 1960; missing orders include the years 1915 and 1916, 1920-1924, 1938-1941 (surnames A-J). It is important to note that the year in which a marker was ordered does not necessarily indicate year of death. In many cases, markers were ordered years after an individual passed. Orders often contain the following information: • Name of decedent • Date of birth • Date of death • Burial location • Cost of marker • Name and address of the individual who ordered the marker Many orders contain more than one marker. In some cases, orders contain information regarding military service and familial relationships to the decedent. The earliest known date of birth contained in this collection is 1754. The latest date of death is 1960. While the majority of records contain complete dates of birth and death, in some cases this information was not known or provided at the time the marker was ordered. Unknown dates are indicated in the container list by NG (not given) in the appropriate column. The records are physically arranged first chronologically by order year and then alphabetically by surname. In cases where orders contain more than one surname, they are filed under the surname used by the Marsteller Corporation. For example, the surnames ‘Smith’ and ‘Adams’ appear on the same order, but they are filed under ‘Adams’; the container list indicates in which box and folder the information can be located. With the exception of two bound volumes, 1911-1914 and 1917-1919, records consist of loose pages. In an effort to better preserve the records, loose pages were removed from post-bindings and arranged as they were kept by the Marsteller Corporation in folders.
A Guide to the David H. Steinberg Streetcar Manuscripts
The collection consists of 1 box containing 12 folders. Included in the box are the original manuscript and photocopies of the typed 318 pages, photocopies of trolley photographs, and correspondence about the collection. The manuscript compilation was begun November 8, 1983. the donation was received at the Virginia Room on December 29, 1999.
A Guide to the Junior League of the Roanoke Valley Records Collection
The Junior League of the Roanoke Valley (JLRV) Records Collection consists of materials generated by the League throughout its existence. Items include administrative documents, annual reports, new clippings, newsletters, information regarding JLRV projects, programs, scrapbooks, photographs, yearbooks, and artifacts such as awards and plaques. While some items date to the 1928 creation of the League, the bulk of materials range from the 1960s through the 2010s. In some cases depending upon condition, scrapbooks were photocopied or dismantled to preserve the contents; others were left intact. Containers housing numerous photographic slides were maintained as they were received. Numerous loose photographs were sleeved based on date of creation or where possible, grouped according to the event depicted.
The Virginia Cooper papers consist of records, publications and research notes pertaining to Revolutionary War patriot William Faris of Cumberland and Roanoke Counties, Virginia, son Benjamin Faris and their families. The collection includes information relating to the families of their wives with surnames Weissenburger, Baldwin, Petty, Garwood and Watkins. Additional Farises are documented in census, deeds, land grants, tax lists, wills, vital and court records from Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Fluvanna, Franklin, Goochland, Halifax and Henry counties.
The Glenna Garner Collection is arranged into two series: Series I contains research compiled by family groups arranged alphabetically by surname; Series II contains records arranged alphabetically by document type. Series I focuses on Glenna Garner’s own genealogical research. The research is focused on primarily the following surnames: Akers, Garnand, Kefauver, Marken, Murray, Robertson, and Tilley. Garner often cites the sources for the information she gathered while researching her family history. Series II consists of records compiled by Garner, largely of cemetery surveys, but also deaths recorded in area funeral homes, and vital records attained from courthouses. In addition, there is an index of over four thousand obituaries from the Roanoke Times and The Roanoke World-News. The index was created from clippings Garner had collected over time with dates ranging from 1938 through 2010. While the original clippings were not retained, the obituaries can be retrieved from microfilm in the Virginia Room. Items in folders are maintained in the order in which they were compiled by Garner.
A Guide to the Dorothy Gibboney Collection
The Dorothy Gibboney Collection consists of materials collected by Gibboney from 1966-1980. Materials include correspondence, news clippings, awards, photographs, and programs and speaking engagements. Most of the correspondence was received during her tenure as superintendent of Roanoke City Public Schools. Items in the collection are of personal rather than administrative nature.
A Guide to the Pan Philian Club Records Collection
The Pan Philian Club Records collection consists of records generated by the club from its inception in 1920 through the 1960s. Records include meeting minutes, correspondence, news clippings, programs, and projects. Materials are arranged alphabetically by document type. Materials were presented in two chronological scrapbooks; however, due to their condition, materials were removed and rehoused.
A Guide to the Fortnightly Club Records Collection
The Fortnightly Club Records Collection consists of records created by the club since it was founded in 1913 as a literary club for women in the Roanoke Valley. Materials include yearbooks, meeting minutes, program materials, scrapbooks, correspondence, news clippings, photographs, and other material generated throughout the clubs existence.
A Guide to the Dudley Family Genealogical Collection
Materials included in the Dudley Family Genealogical Collection were compiled by Naoma Dudley Slone in two three-ring binders with photographs compiled in a separate album. The primary focus of Mrs. Slone’s research relates to the Dudley and allied families, including Shufflebarger and Sturdivant. Some document types included are copies of original records with some original records, copies from family Bibles, obituaries, news clippings, family group sheets, notes, and correspondence. One file of post-Civil War letters addressed to various members of the Wilkinson Family was included with the binders; however no connection could be established to the binder contents. One album containing original and print photographs was also included. The album pages were photocopied to document the manner in which Ms. Slone had compiled them. Original photographs were removed from the album for preservation purposes. All documents are arranged as they were maintained by Ms. Slone.
A Guide to the Giles County Tithe Books Collection
This a guide to the Tithe books for Giles County, which cover the time period of 1820-1845. The tithe books were entitled “Tithe Book” or “List of Taxable Property” or “List of Revenue.” Tithes were small taxes or assessments that were collected annually by the Commissioner of the Revenue. Each book lists the names of males chargeable with a property tax. Categories include number of white males above 16 years; blacks above 12 years; blacks above 16 years; horses, mares and colts; free Negroes and mulattoes (not a category in 1820); stud horses; rates of covering by the season; and the sum total of the taxes. The tithe books for 1820, 1821 and 1833 included lists of merchants, taverns, ordinaries (inn serving alcoholic beverages), stores, and houses of private entertainment that received licenses. The 1820 and 1823 tithe books include separate lists of free negroes and mulattoes. The 1845 list of revenue is similar to the tithe books because it contains lists of males chargeable with revenue, but does not list individual tax categories. Records are arranged chronologically for the following years: 1820, 1821, 1823, 1824, 1833, 1840-1842, 1845.
A Guide to the Giles County Poll Books Collection, 1809-1923
This is a guide to the poll books of Giles County, which cover the years 1809-1923. Poll books contain election returns for local, state, and national government; votes on state issues include infrastructure improvements to bridges, roads, the railroad, and changes to the state constitution. Also included in this series is a tithe book (1820), petitions, and receipts for local school and dog taxes. Poll books are precinct records listing the names of the persons who voted and the candidate for whom they cast their vote. Twentieth century records are anonymous ballots. The tithe book lists the names of male personal property owners. Categories include number of white males (16+), blacks (12+, 16+) horses and mules. Petitions and receipts list the individual residents of Giles County to whom the petition or receipts pertain. Records are arranged chronologically by year and thereunder by election. The records are for the following years: 1809, 1815, 1817, 1819-1828, 1830, 1836, 1837, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1844, 1846-1848, 1850-1852, 1855, 1856, 1860, 1862-1864, 1874, 1877, 1881, 1899, 1914, 1918, and 1923.
A Guide to the Mary Burks Dean Collection
This collection consists of 6 record storage boxes of genealogical information compiled by Mary Burks Dean over the course of many years. Included is research on her ancestral lines as well as those of others. The information herein is arranged as kept by Mrs. Burks, alphabetically by surname. In cases where there were multiple files for a surname, files were assigned numbers based on the order in which they were kept; for example Smith I, Smith II, etc. Surname files may contain a variety of information, including copies of original records and secondary source materials, copies of Bible records, correspondence, family group sheets, lineage charts, notes, and news clippings. In some cases, information was provided to Mrs. Dean by individuals; where known, this is indicated with folder information. Some of the surnames included are: Burks, Chastain, DeWitt, Watson, and Wheat.
A Guide to the William Trippeer Genealogical Collection
The William Trippeer Genealogical Collection is housed in 2 record storage boxes. The main families included in this collection are Nelms, Dameron, Dickenson, Berger, Trippeer, Mowbray, Edwards, Gaeb, and Fenimore. Materials which comprise the collection include descendancy charts, photographs (both originals and copies), information compiled from secondary sources, copies of various records, news clippings, manuscripts written by Trippeer and others on specific families, notes, and correspondence. Content is arranged as maintained by William Trippeer. Trippeer published several family histories which have been cataloged and are included in the Virginia Room collection.
An index of Roanoke Times obituaries for the years 1960-1965.
An index of obituaries from the Roanoke Times for the years 1955-1959.
This index includes surnames found in the E. Marvin Raney Collection. The majority of Raney's research focuses on the families of Bedford and Franklin Counties, though surnames from other counties are represented. Raney worked extensively with Mae Moore, a local, well-known genealogist. This collection consists of 106 bound volumes.
A Guide to the County of Roanoke Circuit Court Annexation Records Collection
This is a guide to the County of Roanoke Circuit Court Annexation Records Collection, This record collection consists of 2 record storage boxes containing transcripts of court proceedings for the 1974 Roanoke Valley consolidated annexation case. The proceedings for this case began on 16 September 1974 and adjourned on 17 October 1974. Proceedings reconvened on 17 March 1975 with final arguments on 19 March 1975. The Final hearing and case decision was held on 10 May 1975. Records are a complete transcription of the proceedings, excluding the proceedings of 24 September 1974 (Volume XII, pages 1298-1440), which were missing at the time of donation. Also included is a document containing the City of Roanoke Exhibits presented during the proceedings and the Order of Annexation.
A Guide to the Urban Renewal Collection of Mary Bishop
This collection is housed in three record storage boxes. Content consists of all of Mary Bishop’s research for “Street by Street, Block by Block: How Urban Renewal Uprooted Black Roanoke”. The collection is arranged into four series: • Series I: Neighborhoods – consists of any notes, correspondence, news clippings, interviews with residents, neighborhood plans, maps, memoranda and news releases and historical information. • Series II: Related Research – consists of information on other urban renewal initiatives across the country, including publications, news clippings, contacts, city demographics, • Series III: Organizations – consists of information related to the organizations involved, either as advocates for or opponents of urban renewal, including general information on the organizations, financial statements, notes from meetings, correspondence, interview notes and records. • Series IV: Projects – information regarding Bishop’s urban renewal projects, including speaking engagements, editorials, proofs of story for “Street by Street”, reader’s response to “Street by Street”, photographs used in the story and information related to Bishop’s “Invisible Inner City”.
"Street by Street, Block by Block: How Urban Renewal Uprooted Black Roanoke" and "Racial Remapping: How City Leaders Bulldozed Black Neighborhoods" by Mary Bishop and "The Invisible Inner City" (in 5 parts) by Mary Bishop and S.D. Harrington.
This is an index of articles written by Raymond Barnes for the Roanoke World News. Barnes' feature articles, entitled "Echoes of Roanoke", ran from 1958-1969 and covered an array of historical topics related to the Roanoke Valley.
Articles were published from 1958-1969, but content ranges from the Colonial era through the 20th Century.
A Guide to the Valley Baptist Association Women’s Auxiliary Collection
This is a guide to the Valley Baptist Association Women's Auxiliary Collection. The Valley Baptist Association Women’s Auxiliary Collection consists of materials related to the organization’s history, mission work, and programs. Included are materials such as meeting minutes, programs for various sponsored and associated events and conventions, a typewritten history of the organization, financial information, guides and agendas.
A Guide to the Valley Beautiful Foundation Records Collection
This is a guide to the Valley Beautiful Foundation Records Collection. The Valley Beautiful Foundation was organized in 1981 in order to promote the beautification of the Roanoke Valley. It set about its goal by planting trees in the city, co-sponsoring conservation lectures, carrying out projects such as hanging flower baskets downtown, and distributing grants from the Virginia Department of Forestry to local towns and schools for Arbor Day celebrations. The records contain selections of internal records such as minutes, planning session notes, and financial information from the 1990s and 2000s. There are also many documents, articles, and photographs about Valley Beautiful’s events and grant-funded projects. Valley Beautiful disbanded in 2013.
Roanoke Times/World News Scrapbook Index
This index was compiled from a number of scrapbooks of Roanoke Times and Roanoke World News articles maintained by library staff over many years. Articles are arranged roughly under various subject headings and include the date and edition of the newspaper in which the articles were printed. Dates range from 1924-1968. Articles may be obtained from microfilm reels in the Virginia Room.
This is a guide to the Papers of D. Saylor Good which primarily contains correspondence. Good wrote letters to members of his extended family throughout the country in an effort to trace the following ancestors: William Good (Guth, Goode), Jacob Good, Susannah Good Coffman (Kaufman) and Abraham Good. Good maintained copies of the letters he sent as well as those he received in return to his inquiries. In some cases, correspondence between him and his family members continued for a number of years. In addition to relatives, Good also wrote many Clerks of Court offices in Virginia and other states in an effort to locate various documents, such as wills and deeds. The collection also includes news clippings (primarily of obituaries, but also containing marriage notices and other family news), and greeting cards and postcards that Good received throughout the years.
A Guide to the Papers of the Spade and Trowel Garden Club
This is a guide to the Papers of the Spade and Trowel Garden Club, which consists of organizational records throughout the club’s existence. Records in this collection include meeting minutes, treasurer’s reports, club yearbooks, news clippings, correspondence, awards and scrapbooks. Records are well-kept and span 1941-1991, with the bulk of records ranging from the 1960s-1980s. Meeting minutes were kept in record ledgers for a number of years, before being recorded on loose-leaf paper. Scrapbooks were kept intact and are stored chronologically in separate boxes from the remainder of the collection.
A Guide to the Raleigh Court Elementary School Scrapbook Collection
This is a guide to the Raleigh Court Elementary School Scrapbook Collection. The Raleigh Court Elementary School scrapbook collection consists of scrapbooks from each school year or range of years from 1960-1996, with some years missing. Scrapbooks contain photographs and slides, memorabilia, PTA announcements and memoranda, news clippings, brochures and flyers. Each school year’s or range of years’ scrapbook contains a variety of information related to students, faculty, activities and the Raleigh Court Parent Teacher Association.
A Guide to the George E. Wade Collection
This is a guide to the George E. Wade Collection. The collection conists ofpersonal notes, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, business receipts, photographs, postcards, programs, and historical artifacts which are largely from the Roanoke area. The items date from the 1870s to the 1990s.
This document is an alphabetical listing of nearly 10,000 obituaries printed in the Floyd Press from 1944-1990. The Floyd Press is available on microfilm in the Virginia Room for these years.
A Guide to the Hazel Harvey Genealogical Collection
This is a guide to the Hazel Harvey Genealogical Collection. The Hazel Harvey Genealogical Collection contains research about the Bradford, Graham, Vaden, and related families of Montgomery and Roanoke Counties and the surrounding area. The notes, family group sheets, letters and a few photographs were collected and compiled mainly during the 1980s and 1990s by Hazel Bradford Harvey of Roanoke, Virginia.
Index to the Journal of the Historical Society of Western Virginia
This document is a subject index to the Journal of the Historical Society of Western Virginia. Originally called the Journal of the Roanoke Historical Society, on February 15, 1972, the Historical Society changed its name to the Roanoke Valley Historical Society, and the Journal accordingly changed its name thereafter to the Journal of the Roanoke Valley Historical Society. In 1997, the Historical Society again changed its name to the History Museum and Historical Society of Western Virginia, and theJournal became the Journal of the History Museum and Historical Society of Western Virginia with publication of the 1999 Journal. With publication of the 2006-2007 issue, the Journal became the Journal of the Historical Society of Western Virginia. Journal articles relate the rich history of Southwestern Virginia.
A Guide to the Harry E. Silcox Genealogical Collection
This is a guide to the Harry E. Silcox Genealogical Collection. The collection consists of one document storage case containing 11 folders. Some of the material included in the collection is correspondence, family group records, handwritten notes, news clippings, photographs and photocopies of records. Genealogical information ranges from 1700 through the mid-1990s. The order of materials kept by Harry Silcox was maintained during the processing of this collection. Primary surnames included are: Ackers, Fadely, Moore, Nunn and Silcox.
A Guide to the Science Fiction Fantasy Fanzine Collection
This collection consists of 1 document storage case of materials related to Roanoke Valley sci-fi fantasy fanzines. Included are issues of the Jinnia Clan Journal, Jinnia Clan Journal Junior, Wyrd, Overflow, and Marturian. Programs from early Mysticon and RoVaCon conferences are also included. The bulk of material runs from 1974 through 1983. There is no full-run of any one of the above mentioned fanzines in this collection.
A Guide to the Howell Family Genealogical Collection
This is a guide to the Howell Family Genealogical Collection. The Howell Family Genealogical Collection consists of research materials documenting the John and Mary Howell Family of Aberystwyth, Wales who settled in Virginia and their descendants. While the most of the collection focuses on Virginia Howells, the collection also consists of Howells throughout the United States. In addition to family group sheets, charts and publications, this collection also includes handwritten notes by various members of the Howell Family, presumably contacted by the compiler. Research appears to encompass dates from the late 1600s through the early 1990s. Also included are Volumes 1-4 of the Job(e) Journal, a quarterly periodical published by Bill Jobe of Studio City, California.
A Guide to the Clifton A. Woodrum Collection
The is a guide to the the Clifton A. Woodrum Collection. This collection consists of one record storage box of material, presumably collected by Woodrum over the course of his life. It is known that at least some of the material was collected by his wife, Lena, as indicated by notes in the collection and the fact the some materials were collected posthumously. The collection includes correspondence files, both personal and professional in nature, news clippings, photographs, and publications that discuss his political career. Also included are a number of scrapbooks that contained news clippings, primarily related to his political career. For preservation purposes, the scrapbooks were dismantled and photocopies were made of their contents. Each “scrapbook” is housed in its own folder with the contents arranged in the order presented in the scrapbooks. The collection of material seems to have begun in 1922 and ended shortly after Woodrum’s death in 1950.
A Guide to the Anita M. Cranford Collection
The Anita M. Cranford Collection consists of Ms. Cranford's genealogical research on the Myers, (von) Rieppel and Morsack families. In addition to family charts, there are a number of original photographs of various family members.
Partial obituary index for the Roanoke Times from 1923-1950. Also includes limited listings from the Roanoke Daily News beginning in 1890.
Obituary Index for the Roanoke Times from January 1960-December 1965.
A Guide to the SAR Fincastle Resolutions Chapter Records
Sons ofthe American Revolution, Fincastle Resolutions Chapter
This is a guide to the records of the Sons of the American Revolution, Fincastle Resolutions Chapter Records. This collection consists of records of the Sons of the American Revolution Fincastle Resolutions Chapter beginning in 1967 through 2009, with the bulk of records generated in the 1990s. Records include correspondence, membership rosters, meeting minutes, financial reports, information on chapter programs, news clippings, newsletters, photographs and other audio-visual materials. Materials are housed in two record storage boxes and one drop-front storage box. Correspondence, membership roster, meeting minutes, financial reports and newsletters appear to be incomplete. Each guide included in this collection represents the original donation and any addenda presented at later dates. Accruals are expected.
This is an alphabetical inventory of portraits included in the Davis Photographic Collection. Group portraits of companies and organizations are included, but individuals in group portraits are not identified. Dates were provided where known. Portraits have not been digitized.
The Mae Moore Papers is a collection of genealogical research materials collected by Mae Dillon Moore over the course of more than 30 years. The bulk of the material relates to the Akers, Altick, Blankenship, Dillon, Ferguson, Greer, Perdue and Smith Families of Virginia, though many other surnames are included.
This is a guide to the William Hubard Papers, which consist of genealogical research compiled by William Stebbins Hubbard. Included are official records, family files consisting of a variety of items, such as descendancy charts, photocopies from source publications, correspondence and family group sheet. A section of related research materials is included.
A guide to the Brickey Bible Papers, which consists of an 1815 leather-bound Bible, Brickey Family genealogical materials compiled by members of the family, photographs and other materials related to the Brickey Family.
An index of obituaries from the Roanoke Times for the years 1951-1954. Please note that the following months and years are not included: February-December 1951; February-June 1952.
Roanoke Times Index - July 1924-December 1925
Partial scan of the Virginia Room's Roanoke Times Index composed by library staff over many years.
Roanoke Times Index - April 1923-June 1924
A Guide to the Records of the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League
This items is a guide to the records of the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League. The Greater Raleigh Court Civic League Records (now Raleigh Court Neighborhood Association) document the neighborhood organization formed in 1978 to protect and further the interests of residents in eight neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia. The records mainly consist of minutes, project files, correspondence, and newsletters, and include some photographs, maps, and city publications from the group's formation to the present.
This document is an index to the Roanoker Magazine arranged alphabetically by subject. from 1974-present.
This is a guide to The Youth Haven Collection, which is comprised of materials relating to the early stages of the organization from 1969 through 1972. The Collection includes 15 folders containing the organization’s founding, financial beginnings, activities, and connections to other government and community organizations. The collection is a single report that has been divided into 15 sections. The collection contains organizational reports, legislative reports, financial reports, pictures, newspaper clippings, and correspondence.
A Guide to the Typescripts of the Roanoke District of the Virginia Writer's Project.
This guide of the Works Progress Administration Records consists primarily of typed manuscripts about historical topics of local interest written from 1936 to 1942. While the primary focus is on the city and county of Roanoke, several documents address historical topics specifically related to Botetourt, Floyd, Franklin, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick and Wythe counties, and others feature a broader focus on Southwest Virginia as a whole. Some of the typed manuscripts were photocopied, bound, and cataloged with the books in the Virginia Room. Most typescripts that were made into books were discarded from the WPA Records collection, though a few with differing versions or very poor copies were retained. Highlights of the collection include a monograph on duels fought in Virginia, listings of newspapers in Roanoke and 23 counties of southwestern Virginia, and many biographical sketches of both prominent and average citizens including pioneer women, “colored people,” and youth. While the collection is comprised almost exclusively of typed manuscripts, it also includes a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Roanoke’s history.
Works Progress Administration, Roanoke District of the Virginia Writer's Project
A Guide to the Business Ledger of H.A. Webber
This is a guide to the business ledger of H.A. Webber. The H.A. Webber Ledger is a handwritten business ledger recording the transactions of H. A. Webber from 1873 to 1891, especially 1879-1880. H.A. Webber was a shoemaker and also ran the Roanoke County jail around 1890. The ledger including account for performing work on behalf of others, for employees making shoes, and for keeping people in jail for the U.S. Government who were brought in by U.S. Deputy Marshals.
A Guide to the Records of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke
This is a guide to the Records of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke. The records are divided into four sections, some of which are subdivided by record type. There are some gaps in the record, but overall the records are fairly complete. The first section, Club Records, contains meeting minutes and annual reports, along with The Kiwanis News weekly newsletter. These records provide an excellent and detailed record of the club’s activities. There is also a nearly complete set of annual membership rosters, three of which have photos of the members, as well as notes and correspondence from one Club president. The second section, Committee Records, contains committee notes for some of the standing committees. This section is mostly more recent records, and mostly contains selection notes from the Scholarship Committee in the 1980s and 90s. The third section, Historical Information and General Roanoke Club Records, contains information about the Club’s history. There are maps, brochures, correspondence and deeds for Camp Kiwanianna, a summer camp for girls run by the Club from the 1940s to the 1960s. There are also general records, including newspaper clippings about members in the 1970s and assorted event programs, and photographs of Club events (often unidentified.) The fourth and last section, District and International Records, contains some material about the Kiwanis Club International and activities as part of the Capital District. There are Capital District convention programs (some of the conventions were hosted in Roanoke), and a history of the District in the 1920s. There are also ribbons and patches from conventions.
This is a genealogical collection focusing on the Hale/Ahl/All families and connecting families. Many other families of Craig County, Virginia and surrounding areas are also included. Materials in the collection include notes, correspondence, news clippings and copies of official records (births, marriages, deaths, cemeteries, funeral homes, military pensions etc.) along with photographs: both originals and copies and photo negatives. The collection was created between ca. 1970 and 2001; materials included in the collection cover the 16th-20th centuries, with coverage varying for each family name. Names and locations will turn up multiple times throughout the records. Researchers interested in a certain family or locality should make sure to go through the name files as well as the cemetery files and files organized geographically by county or locality. Geographical designations are made at various levels: county, city or town, and cemetery names. Many of the family records include photographs; there are also photographs of buildings and local historical landmarks. Folders with photographs are marked. This includes original photographs as well as the photocopies Mrs. Hale often made of original family photographs. The cemetery records in the collections often include photographs of markers, maps and Mrs. Hale’s handwritten notes; they may also include obituaries. Mrs. Hale recycled paper. Occasionally a small article of importance will be mounted on a larger piece of which the text is not relevant.
A Guide to the Louise Wright Bailey Genealogical Collection
This is a guide to the Louise Wright Bailey Genealogical Collection. The Louise Bailey Collection consists of 12 record storage boxes which include family group sheets, records, correspondence, news clippings, photographs, handwritten research notes, birth, marriage and death announcements and photocopies of publications related to Mrs. Bailey’s research. Some of the primary surnames included in the research are: Bailey, Boyer, Cook, Cornett, Farley, French, Romine, Straley, Thompson, Vaught and Wright, as well as many other connected surnames from the 1600s to the early 1900s. The majority of the collection focuses on Southwest Virginia, though other parts of Virginia, other states and some European connections are represented. Mrs. Bailey maintained excellent organization of her genealogical research materials, which was further maintained in the processing of this collection. It is also important to note that in many cases, source information was provided for this thorough genealogical collection. It should also be mentioned that much of the correspondence included in the collection contains genealogical information, as Mrs. Bailey received research request from individuals all over the country. Records included in the collection are often handwritten transcriptions for official records, but in some cases may include photocopies of the records.
A Guide to the World War II Letters Collection
This is a guide to the World War II letters written by James S. Thomerson to his family in Roanoke while he was deployed during World War II. They chronicle his time abroad and illustrate the hardships that many others faced far from home.
Please contact the Virginia Room at 540.853.2073 for permission to use.
This is a guide to the Women's Guild Scrapbook. This scrapbook contains ephemera, photographs, brochures, newspaper clippings, and correspondence related to the guild. Contents of the scrapbook are arranged chronologically.
This is a guide to the papers of Julian Stanley Wise. This collection contains material directly related to Julian Wise or the Rescue Squad movement in the United States and/or Virginia. Personal correspondence, articles and awards comprise the majority of the collection.
A Guide to the Stephen Warren Collection
This is a guide to the Stephen Warren Collection. The Stephen Warren Collection is a collection of photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous items of the Bryant, Mullins, Caldwell, and McManaway families.
A Guide to the Papers of Marguerite Tise
This is a guide to the papers of Marguerite Tise. The collection consists of historical and genealogical materials related to Floyd County, Virginia, and limited research of other localities. The majority of the collection is composed of genealogical research related to many families of Floyd County. The collection includes newspaper clippings, vital statistic data, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and other miscellaneous documents. There are shorthand notations throughout the collection. The collection is divided into general categories – Surnames, County Records, Manuscripts, and Miscellaneous Records.
A Guide to the Enrollment Records of St. Andrews Catholic School
This is a guide to the enrollment records of St. Andrews Catholic School. St. Andrew’s School Enrollment Records document the names of students who attended the school circa 1897-1941, 1944-1953. Lists of high school graduates are documented from 1897-1941. From 1897 through 1930, names of students and addresses are recorded. Award winners for typing and other accreditations are listed in Book 1 (no date). From 1926-1936, 1944-1953, there is a complete listing of school students (circa 1930-1936, class year is not listed at the top of the page) for all grades. Beginning in Book 2 pg 69, the lists are divided by grade and include the student’s name, age, date of birth, father’s name, address, occupation, phone number, and withdrawal information. This collection is copied with permission from the St. Andrew’s Historical Society. Original records are available at the St. Andrew’s Historical Society.
A Guide to the Roanoke Railway & Electric Company Records
This is a guide to the records of the Roanoke Railway & Electric Company. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, general histories and newspaper articles.
A Guide to the Roanoke Area Scouting History Collection
This is a guide to the Roanoke Area Scouting History Collection. This collection contains the papers and personal documents of several notable leaders in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) from the Roanoke, Virginia area. The bulk of the collection extends from the 1930s to the 2000s.The collection contains information on awards, camps, menus, membership lists and member data, agendas and minutes of meetings, newsletters, various versions of official records, correspondence, financial records, and unofficial and personal documents. There are lists of attendees at camps and various events sponsored by the Roanoke-Area and Blue Ridge Mountain Councils of the Boy Scouts of America, as well as examples of the brochures and promotional literature for these camps, events and institutes, and the planning processes that went into holding them. Committee records, programs, clippings and newsletters are included, as are photographs, a few videotapes and a digital video disk. The collection provides an overview of scouting in the Roanoke area and the Blue Ridge Mountains for over eighty years, from the 1920s into the 2010s.
A Guide to the Roanoke Drug Company Collection
This is a guide to the Roanoke Drug Company Collection. The Roanoke Drug Company collection contains various articles related to Roanoke Drug Company and the various companies related to it, both before and after the company was known as Roanoke Drug Company. Interoffice memos, letters, and newsletters make up a large percentage of the collection. The remainder of the collection is comprised of stock ledgers, photos, office directories, ephemera and artifacts.
A Guide to the Diaries of Mary Louise Riley Harmon and Celia Riley
This is a guide to the diaries of Mary Louise Riley Harmon and Celia Riley. This collection of diaries relates the daily thoughts and actions of Celia Riley and Mary Riley Harmon. Those kept by Celia span the years 1928 through 1933 and 1946 and 1947. The diaries kept by Mary Riley Harmon were written between 1973 and 1994.
A Guide to the Ernest F. Reynolds Collection
This is a guide to the Ernest F. Reynolds Collection. The collection is comprised of various materials related to coal mining in West Virginia and Virginia and other miscellaneous historical topics of interest to the creator. Originally housed in binders, the binders were deconstructed for the purpose of preservation, to help consolidate material to aid researchers, while maintaining the original order of the materials. The collection consists of photos, notes, articles, and photocopies of different mediums associated with coal mining. Reynolds collection gives histories and backgrounds of mines andcoal mining . Other topics, such as iron furnaces, are also explored in Reynolds’ collection.
A Guide the Congressman Richard H. Poff Collection
This is a guide to the Congressman Richard H. Poff Collection. This collection contains Virginia’s 6th District US Congressman Richard H. Poff’s “Report from Washington” from 1954 through 1971. These are newsletters sent by the Congressman to his constituents on a routines basis providing them insight into governmental events happening in Washington, DC. There are several speeches, reports and newspaper clippings from or about the Congressman in the collection.
A Guide to the Pennsylvania Archives Maps
This is a guide to the Virginia Room holdings of the Pennsylvania Archives Maps. The Pennsylvania Archives Maps are comprised of twenty one folded paper maps of the twenty five piece collection and a photocopy of the index entitled, “An index to Maps, Portraits, and Other Illustrative Materials contained in the Ten Series.”
A Guide to the Nathaniel Parrish Manuscript Register
This is a guide to the Nathaniel Parrish Manuscript Register. This manuscript contains a collection of the professional and personal communications of Nathaniel R. Parrish. The documents date from 1916 to 1929. The collection is contained in one box and divided into two folders. Folder one contains personal communications between Parrish and his family, friends and any personal business not directly related to his profession. Folder two contains professional communications associated with Mr. Parrish’s work as a court reporter and stenographer.
A Guide to the Original Letters Collection
This is a guide to the Original Letters Collection. The collection contains various correspondences from numerous authors at different dates. The letters that pertain to Roanoke are those of John Randolph, who resided here in the 1800s, the majority of letters coming from the late 1820s to his cousin Maria, talking about daily life. The remaining letters range in date and cover a variety of topics. The oldest correspondence comes from the shipping company of Champe, Ward and Hunter to John Backhouse, another shipping magnate in England, regarding debts owed. A large portion of the letters appear to be legal in nature, discussing court dates and suits filed. The last folders in the collection contain a few land deeds for property in Roanoke County. Perhaps one of the most remarkable pieces in the collection is a letter from James Monroe to an unknown recipient in 1813.
A Guide to the Moulse-Huff Genealogy Collection
This is a guide to the Moulse-Huff Genealogy Collection. The Moulse-Huff Genealogy Collection was created and collected in the course of Helen Huff Moulse’s family history research in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. It contains completed genealogy forms, copies of records, photographs and notes pertaining to the Moulse and Huff families and their relatives, most of whom reside in southwestern Virginia.
A Guide to the McKendrie-Day Papers, 1920-1930
The documents in the McKendrie Day Family Papers include family history documents and materials relating to Charles and Sarah McKendrie’s four daughters, Grace, Mabel, Jessie “Boots,” and Hilda “Irene.” The majority of the materials focus on Mabel, Grace, and Irene McKendrie. Mabel’s documents focus on her years spent as a teenager in Roanoke, VA (1926-1928). Her diary, travel journal and high school programs document the life of a budding teenager in 1920s Roanoke, VA. Her diary lists the names of friends and families living in Roanoke, VA. Her manuscripts, undated, show her skills as a young writer. In one of her manuscripts, “Ellen of the Westland,” there is a torn page from a magazine advertising a writing contest with a $25,000 cash prize for the best novel by a woman. Grace’s scrapbook documents her graduation from Roanoke High School in 1925, and her early working life in Washington, DC, where she moved in 1926 and was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ephemera from her travels to places including New York City and Boston are included in the scrapbook. The documents relating to “Irene” McKendrie focus primarily on her tragic death in a car accident in Washington DC on her 17th birthday. Compiled in a scrapbook, there are photographs, letters, newsclippings, and sympathy cards, many of them from Roanoke residents.
A Guide to the Memoirs of Ora Belle Mayberry McColman
This is a guide to the memoirs of Ora Belle Mayberry McColman. The Ora Belle Mayberry McColman Memoir Manuscripts are comprised of twelve yellow ruled notepads of the thirteen piece collection. The first notepad in the collection was missing at time of donation. This is her fourth family history book, which is unpublished.
This is a guide to the LaRue Mason Collection. This collection consists of genealogical information relating to the Mason and Bowman families. Most of the information is regional, although correspondence regarding the search for genealogical information comes from all over the country.
This is a guide to the Papers of Dr. John Kern. The Kern Papers are comprised of documents, photographs, and newspaper articles that are a product of the research done by Kern during his time as Roanoke Regional Director for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources at the Department of Historic Resources. The collection includes copies of nominations of historic sites in Southwest Virginia to the National Registry of Historic Places and the research that went into those nominations, including records, photographs, and newspaper articles. Also included in Kern’s papers is his research of several areas in Southwest Virginia, including sites in Roanoke, Henry, Montgomery, Pulaski, Rockbridge, Smyth, Franklin, Floyd, Washington, Giles, and Russell Counties as well as in Roanoke City, Blacksburg, Wytheville, Buena Vista, and Covington, that were not nominated, research on Robert J. Boland and John Willis Chappelear, Jr, that were submitted to the Dictionary of Virginia Biography series, articles and research on subjects related to black history in Southwest Virginia, and documents related to workshops and conferences on black history that Kern helped organize. Research and a paper done under Kern’s supervision by an intern on Roanoke’s segregation ordinances is included as well. Many of the reports and nominations included can also be accessed online at www.dhr.virginia.gov. Addendum 2018.07.25 materials are composed of Dr. Kern’s work as Director of the Delaware State Division of Cultural Affairs. This addendum consists of information related primarily to historic sites in the State of Delaware. The majority of material consists of presentations Dr. Kern gave at various conferences, symposiums, meetings, and workshops throughout the United States on topics of historical significance. Items are arranged as they were kept by Dr. Kern.
A Guide to the Records of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lignite Lodge No. 185
This is a guide to record books for the Lignite Lodge #185, based out of Oriskany, VA, and one folder with the original deed for the Lignite Lodge Property in Oriskany, Botetourt County, Virginia.
A Guide to the Contents of the Huff Lane Time Capsule
This is a guide to the contents of the Huff Lane time capsule. The collection is comprised of items that were set in a cornerstone of Huff Lane Intermediate School in the City of Roanoke in 1950. The creator of the collection chose items that portray several aspects of Roanoke life and Roanoke City Public Schools.
This is a guide to the papers of Gayle Fisher. This is a genealogical collection of 49 family names that have been arranged by Mrs. Gayle Fisher. The collection includes computer printouts of Bible records, research by others, obituaries, photographs, and notes.
A Guide to the Records of the Elmwood Park Century Project
This is a guide to the records of the Elmwood Park Century Project. In 1978, the City of Roanoke and downtown business community commissioned a $100,000 study to evaluate the development potential of Roanoke’s downtown core area and to prepare a plan for revitalizing it. The Elmwood Park Century Project is one of the recommendations from the study that was approved by City Council as submitted to the public as a bond issue in 1979. The bond was issued and a committee was established to ensure that all development occurring in the project would be of certain design standards. The committee was chaired by Betty B. Wood, with the following members of the committee: Dorothy L. Gibboney, Byron A. Hicks, Mary Watkins, William Watts, Louis Goodwin, Vernon Jamison, Roma Pevler and George Vogel.
This is a guide to the Ellison Family Papers. This collection contains the correspondence of members of the Ellison family, as well as other documents, records, manuscripts, publications and printed materials related to and belonging to family members, friends and associates. Most of the letters in the collection are addressed to Beirne Ellison himself, but also significant parts of the correspondence belong to his father, Charles Ellison, his mother, Leona Ellison, and his wives, Gracie and Nannie Ellison, as well as other relatives, friends and associates. Materials in the collection touch on education, business practices, and hotel management, as well as Southern mores, dating practices and courting in the late 19th and early 20th century. The collection extends about a hundred years, from the early mid-nineteenth century to the early mid-twentieth century. The bulk of the collection is from the 1880s to the early 1900s.
A Guide to the Ruth Davis Manuscript Register
This is a guide to the Ruth Davis Manuscript Register. This manuscript is a collection of materials related to Ruth Davis’ enrollment in the Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing from which she graduated in 1926. The collection includes five folders that contain items such as newspaper articles about Jefferson Hospital and its founder, Dr. Hugh H. Trout, memorabilia about Florence Nightingale, nursing, and unidentified photographs. The collection also contains Ruth Davis’ Nurses New Testament Bible and her Memory Book that holds many unidentified photographs, most likely of fellow nursing students, doctors, and other hospital staff.
A Guide to the Papers of Bruce J. Anderson
This is a guide to the papers of Bruce J. Anderson. This collection contains genealogical research compiled by Bruce J. Anderson on his own family, in particular the Poindexter family. The papers and personal documents of a number of relatives are arranged by family surnames, and their variants, but are all related to the Poindexter family, which is also known by the variants Puddister, Pendexter, and Poingdestre. The collection extends from the 1950s to the 2000s, but the bulk of the collection is from the 1970s and 1980s, especially the 1980s. A few documents are from the 1930s.
This item is a guide to the Papers of Steve Brody. The Brody Papers are comprised of documents, photographs, and artifacts that relate to community work done by Steve Brody in Roanoke from 1935-1978. Documents include a biographical timeline of military service, news clippings, awards, stars of David, war enlistment cards, Christmas cards (including images of local families) and correspondence (1951-1977). Photographs and negatives include portraits of Brody from WWI – 1978, public events (flag dedication ceremonies, picketing during Vietnam, festivals in Elmwood Park and Victory Stadium); streetscapes and local buildings; small group photos (award ceremonies, WDBJ TV man of the week award ceremony); and collages of awards, news clippings, and photographs of Brody. Artifacts include war registration cards, wallets with all personal contents scrapbook, yarmulke, a suitcase, flag, and various awards and trophies.
A Guide to the Raymond Barnes Manuscripts
The Raymond Barnes Manuscript Collection consists of Barnes’ research notes and drafts used to compile "A History of Roanoke". Also included are several personal items, including a journal kept by Barnes in 1966, a journal kept by Barnes’ brother, Albert, in 1923 and Barnes’ address book. Notebooks are arranged chronologically by the time period covered in each. Notebooks containing Section I of A History of Roanoke document the valley prior to its settlement as Big Lick and are not strictly in order by year. Notebooks in Section II begin with 1882 and continue through 1940, with missing years noted in the container list. When published, Barnes chose to leave some names of individuals involved in scandals out of A History of Roanoke; however he includes these names in his notes. One folder at the end of the collection includes several notebooks that seem to relate to other research Barnes compiled separate from his book.
A Guide to the Bonnie S. Ball Collection
A guide to the Bonnie S. Ball Collection, which highlights the extensive genealogical research done by Mrs. Bonnie S. Ball, who worked primarily in Southwestern Virginia historical records. Contained in the collection are notes for merely a handful of family histories researched by Ball.
A Guide to the Papers of M. Carl Andrews
A guide to the Papers of M. Carl Andrews, which consists of seventeen file folders including typescripts, clippings and photocopies of newspaper articles and columns, letters, invitations, event programs, committee reports, and both personal and professional correspondence.
A Guide to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Records
First Virginia ChapterAssociation of Fundraising Professionals Records 1981-1997
A guide to the records of the presidents of the First Virginia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), earlier known as the National Society of Fundraising Executives (NSFRE). The collection extends from the founding of the chapter in 1981 and the presidency of Clai Wilcox to the year 1997 and the presidency of Harold Uhl.
A Guide to the 1952 All-America City Award Records
A finding aid for the 1952 All-America City Award Records, which were created and/or collected and compiled by M. Carl Andrews, Editor of the Roanoke Times & World News. Items include correspondence to and from Andrews in reference to the award and nomination, photographs, news clippings, and other related documents.
The Vertical File Index is an alphabetical list of over 3300 topical files. Vertical files may include pamphlets, news clippings and other materials that do not merit a call number, but are arranged for ready reference on a given topic.
The Surname File Index alphabetically lists all of the roughly 3,000 surnames for which there is a file in the Virginia Room.