University of Virginia Library

Fourth Annual Report of the Archivist, University of
Virginia Library, for the Year 1933-34.

THE movement for the preservation of research materials, sponsored
by the Social Science Research Council in 1929, is steadily
becoming national in scope, and the report of another year's work
in Virginia affords good evidence for this contention. While the project
for the survey and collection of social science source materials in
this State originated with the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences
and the Library of the University of Virginia, its inception was
made possible by the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Materials
for Research of the SSRC and the American Council of Learned
Societies;[1] and during the past two or three years the activity of other
national and local organizations along the same line has further demonstrated
its fundamental importance for all related fields of scholarship.

That the State is the unit best adapted to carrying on this work of
preservation and enlargement of research materials seems fairly certain
in view of the progress made in this direction by the Public Documents
Committee of the American Library Association, which has taken
over this project from the Committee on Public Administration of the
SSRC. The plan to preserve these materials in every state is now
well launched in several commonwealths.[2] While public documents,
i. e., official publications of state and local governments, were emphasized
first, all related materials, printed and manuscript, were included
in the categories of sources worthy of preservation, as defined by the
chairman of the Committee.[3] These categories coincide, for the most
part, with those which the archivist listed in 1930 in outlining the survey
in Virginia,[4] although he laid more stress upon manuscripts. Subsequent
reports of the archivist, however, have indicated the inclusion
of all kinds of printed documents, reports, and pamphlets, especially
on Virginia and the South. The broad scope of the project was outlined

in a report to the Public Documents Committee at the Chicago
meeting of the American Library Association in October 1933.[5]

This tendency of intellectual movements to become nation-wide has
been furthered by the program of the federal government, making
funds available for educational projects as well as for public works.
Plans for an inventory of all state and local archives, through state and
sub-committees, were formulated in Washington, D. C., but before they
were ready for action, the rapid expenditure of federal funds forced
the disintegration and transfer of the project to the separate states
where, unfortunately, relief funds had already been allocated, or largely
so. Thus in Virginia the committee, composed of the late Dr. H. R.
McIlwaine, Mrs. P. W. Hiden, and the archivist, was unable to secure
authorization of the inventory. Another proposal for similar aid came
from the Tennessee Valley Authority, to employ qualified workers to
take inventory of those Virginia county archives in the area drained by
tributaries of the Tennessee River. In this case, just as the work began
in one county, the project was disallowed for lack of funds. It
does not require much rationalizing, however, to convince oneself that
the problem of personnel was serious; trained workers in most of the
counties were scarce and undoubtedly much of the inventory must have
been redone.

Although, according to the original plan at the University of Virginia,
the inventory of archives and manuscript collections was to be
stressed rather than the collection of materials for the Library,[6] as the
survey of successive counties has brought to light many original papers
that might be acquired, negotiations to secure them could not well be
postponed. The increasing proportion of time which this phase of the
work requires, along with the concentration upon Virginia newspapers,
was noted in the preceding Annual Report.[7] This condition has inevitably
prevailed during the past year, with the result that the inventory
was carried into only three new counties, viz., Brunswick, Halifax,
and Russell. While this state of affairs is to be regretted, the
gathering of data by correspondence, as in the case of certain lodges
and churches,[8] has actually extended the survey into many counties
and cities not yet included in the list by geographical regions. In other

words, the problem is being met from several angles, thereby affording
cross-sections of various kinds of records throughout wide areas. Since
all the county archives contain the same types of records, with some
variations, it is planned to compose a form-sheet, a copy of which can
be checked for each county and individual differences noted, with considerable
saving of time. As part of the inventory of Rockbridge County
the records of Washington and Lee University were listed, including
some interesting manuscripts concerning Liberty Hall Academy of the
Revolutionary period.

Previous work in the archives of Montgomery County resulted this
year in the transfer as a loan deposit to the University Library of a
large collection of miscellaneous private manuscript books, exhibits in
old law suits. Those of particular interest to the economic historian
are two letter-books, the teller's settlement, and blotter of the Farmer's
Bank of Virginia, 1855-64; statements of the office of the Bank in the
Valley of Virginia, 1858-64; the journal and day book of the Peach
Bottom Copper Mine, 1860-61; the Montgomery Hotel ledger, 1872-78;
and account books of a shoemaker, furniture-maker, blacksmith, hardware
dealer, and collier, ca. 1850-73. Another book containing a "List
of subscribers to the new Presbyterian Church" of Christiansburg,
1852-60, is worthy of mention.

The bibliography of Virginia newspapers,[9] to be published as Part
I of the Guide to Virginia historical sources, is in preparation for the
press. This compilation will list every known newspaper title, but because
Dr. Clarence P. Brigham is revising his Bibliography of American
Newspapers, 1690-1820, in the present Virginia work bibliographical
data and holdings of libraries will be given only for papers since
1820. The collection of newspapers for the University Library has
progressed along with the assembling of information on the editors
and their journals. It is estimated that about two hundred Virginia
papers are represented in the files of the Library. Many of these are
rare single issues of papers of which, very probably, no files are extant.
For recent years, especially since 1900, there are files of varying length
from every section of the State, and fairly good files of a number of
papers of the nineteenth century, especially since 1850. Because of
lack of space in the Virginia Room, the Law School has kindly provided
space in the stacks of Clark Hall where the papers since 1870 are
kept. Most of the newspapers are gifts from editors and other generous
persons; some have been obtained by exchange with other libraries.

A few editors have placed their old files on deposit and the archivist,
at the meeting of the Virginia Press Association in Charlottesville,
July 1934, urged the members to give serious consideration to the
preservation of their files in the same way.

This research on newspapers provides another example of wide cooperation
along cultural lines. The projected "Union List of Newspapers
in the United States and Canada" was begun in October 1933
with Miss Winifred Gregory as editor. In every State at least one
chairman has been appointed to be responsible for submitting the data
on the papers in that State, restricted to those since 1820. The compilation
of the archivist, to be published in 1935, will serve as the report
from Virginia. The inventory of the rapidly increasing holdings
of the University Library and the transcription of the data to cards
were greatly facilitated by student aid financed by the FERA. Indeed,
without this help, this part of the work could not have been kept up
to date.

The range of available information on all aspects of Virginia history,
especially during the nineteenth century, continues to broaden
with the acquisition of more manuscripts. A number of the larger collections
which are on deposit deserve special mention for the value of
their content. The papers of General Joel Leftwich, ca. 1785-1840, are
concerned with business relations in Bedford County, with militia routine,
and with military activities during the War of 1812. The Ambler
Family Manuscripts, 1790-1850, consist chiefly of vouchers, receipts,
and letters to John Jaquelin Ambler of "Glen Ambler" in Amherst
County, including some papers of his kinsmen the Barbours; these
manuscripts throw much light upon plantation life and include a number
of letters from men prominent in public affairs. Of special interest
is the four volume journal of John Jaquelin Ambler, describing in
detail his "grand tour" of Europe, 1823-26, prefaced by his autobiography
and supplemented by notes on his life at "Glen Ambler" for
several years after his return. The Sydnor-Chapin correspondence, ca.
1830-80, deals with general social and religious conditions, especially
Baptist, in King and Queen County and vicinity and with education in
a "female academy" in Washington, D. C. From the descendants of
General John Hartwell Cocke, co-founder with Jefferson of the University
of Virginia, come his correspondence, plantation diaries, and
accounts, ca. 1800-66, loaned for certain special investigations now in
progress.

The Wallace Family letters and documents, presented to the Library,
date back to 1750 and treat of the commercial ventures of these Scottish-American

merchants, especially during the period 1773-1805. Army
life, from the viewpoint of the soldier and the physician, and military
affairs in Washington's command are discussed in entertaining fashion
in letters written from Valley Forge, tidewater Virginia, and elsewhere.
It is appropriate that the letters of Francis Walker Gilmer to Peter
Minor, 1812-24, long in private hands west of the Alleghanies, should
be acquired finally by the University of Virginia, since they discuss the
beginnings and first problems of the institution. The papers of the late
Armistead C. Gordon, former rector of the University, presented by
his children, are those concerning his policies and activities as a member
of the Board of Visitors (1894-98, 1906-18). Life at the University
is depicted in the letters of Robert M. Rucker, a student during
1849-51. The diary of Alanby M. Miller, former student in the University,
tells of his experiences at the University of Heidelberg, 186869.
From Cumberland County come the Palmore papers of a county
sheriff, treating of general economic and social conditions, 1858-96.
The records of Henry T. Harris, superintendent of schools in Nelson
County during the early years of the present century, afford some conception
of public education in a mountain district.

Among the manuscripts of a more purely economic nature deserving
special notice are the business records of James S. Easley and Easley
& Willingham of Halifax Court House, whose profits from a lucrative
merchandising enterprise in ante bellum days were invested in public
lands in Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The file of letters
received by Easley and by his son, R. Holt Easley, and of copies of
letters sent, 1854-60 and 1865-ca. 1900, is well-nigh complete. It forms,
in the opinion of one economic historian who has examined them in
detail, one of the most valuable sources on the disposal of the public
lands as well as on early banking methods in that region of the Middle
West. The journals and ledgers of Easley's store in Halifax cover a
period of half a century, beginning in the latter 1830's.

The iron industry in southwestern Virginia may be studied from the
letters, receipts, and account books of David Graham's ironworks in
Wythe County, ca. 1820-60. From Christiansburg come the general
merchandise account books of the firm of Johnston & Co., 1865-92;
from Charlotte Court House records of a similar business, operated
successively for over fifty years from 1819 by William Smith, Samuel
S. Fuqua, J. & J. Overbey, and others, along with a tavern and blacksmith
shop. Records of the general country store, so typical of agrarian
business enterprise and now so rapidly disappearing, are on file in
the Library from every section of Virginia, forming a composite collection

spanning practically the entire period from 1790 to the present.
The law practice of W. W. Hurt in Pittsylvania County, embracing
a variety of economic matters, is revealed in his papers for the years
1850-80. The fragmentary records of the Pittsylvania Central Alliance
Trade Union, 1890-92, shed some light upon a characteristic organization
in the days of the populist movement. The diary of L. C. Catlett
from Gloucester County, 1913-16, represents an attempt to improve
agricultural methods in tidewater Virginia.

The Virginia and Southern collection has been further augmented
by numerous books, periodicals, maps, and pamphlets, and by unpublished
sketches of churches, societies, and economic developments.[10] A
growing appreciation for ephemeral pamphlet material, both old and
recent, may be noted in the fact that the Public Documents Committee
of the ALA devoted an entire session of its meetings in Montreal last
June to the problems of acquiring, preserving, and filing these so-called
"fugitive materials." Since they include official documents of the
United States and of state and local governments, now being issued
increasingly in "near-print" form, they have created a common problem
for social scientists and librarians of research institutions throughout
the country.

The idea of promoting co-operation among Virginia libraries,[11] to
preserve and make accessible the historical sources of the State, was
furthered during the past year by the University Library through the
Co-operation Committee of the Virginia Library Association. Lists of
books available for the cost of transportation were sent to a number of
libraries, to be checked by them and returned as requests. In this way
many duplicates were put into use and, it is hoped, the nucleus of an
exchange service created. The collecting of duplicate Acts of the General
Assembly of Virginia from the county clerks' offices, begun last
year,[12] to be used for exchange purposes, has progressed satisfactorily.
The establishment of the Public Document Clearing House of the National
Association of State Libraries will greatly facilitate this means
of enriching the University's holdings of this type of research material.

The need for photostatic equipment[13] to make copies of materials
that come to hand as loans for only a brief period, was met by purchasing
a Leica camera. The photographing is done on 35 mm. motion

picture film which may be used in a projector or from which enlarged
prints can be made at low cost.[14] So simple is the equipment that the
camera can be set up and operated anywhere with sunlight or ordinary
Mazda lamps. Thus the camera can be brought to the manuscript anywhere,
with the advantage of photographing material which the owner
is unwilling to let go out of his hands. The extent to which this photography
will enrich the Library cannot yet be measured. A word of
thanks for helpful suggestions is due Professor Robert C. Binkley of
the Joint Committee on Materials for Research, who for several years
has studied methods of reproducing such materials.[15]

It has been thought advisable to make available in preliminary form
certain sections of the inventory of historical sources. Appended to the
present report, therefore, is a list of original Episcopal church records
in the Diocese of Virginia, before 1900. Those of the colonial and
revolutionary periods are among the most valuable of the early official
records of Virginia, and those of the nineteenth century have been too
long neglected. It is hoped that this appendix will be justified by its
usefulness to students of Virginia history and that other original records
may be listed in subsequent reports.

With the departure of Mrs. Joseph Lee Kinzie, whose valuable work
on the Virginia manuscripts and documents has rendered these materials
so accessible since the inception of the project, Mr. John Cook Wyllie
of the Library staff has become curator of the Virginia Collection. The
need for an assistant to work with the archivist in the field, especially
in the survey of local archives, is more pressing than before, as the
work of inventory and collection grows more involved. The suggestion
that such an assistant might be employed part-time in the Virginia
Room,[16] is urgently repeated.

It is encouraging to find a growing consciousness throughout the
State that the University of Virginia Library is a recognized repository
for research materials and to feel that this archival work is a real part
of a national movement. In conclusion, the archivist wishes to express
his appreciation for the co-operation of the Library and Research Institute
staffs and the faculty and for the genuine interest and generosity
of many Virginia citizens, so indispensable to the advancement of the
work.