Printer Friendly VersionA Guide to the Gordon W. Miller Collection, 1787-2005
Collection Number SC# 5014.
A collection in the Special Collections of
Carrier Library, James Madison University
Processed by: Chris Bolgiano, April, 2005
Preferred Citation: Miller, Gordon W. Collection. SC# 5014, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Descriptive Summary.
Physical Characteristics: Occupies 2/3 of one records storage box.
Abstract: Photocopies of materials documenting Gabriel T. Barbee's influence in the Virginia Farmers' Alliance, 1887-1894.
Scope and Content: These materials were gathered by Gordon W. Miller, a widely known and respected History Reference Librarian at JMU's Carrier Library from 1977-2003, during more than a decade of research on the life of Gabriel Thomas Barbee and in particular Barbee's role as primary organizer of the Virginia Farmers' Alliance, 1887-1894. Except for Mr. Miller's original publication on Barbee, all materials are photocopies, and represent an in-depth research effort to compile information from all possible sources.
Biographical/Historical: Gabriel Thomas Barbee was born in Rappahannock County, VA, in 1814. In 1834 he moved to Petersburg in Hardy County (then VA, now WV), where he worked as a merchant and a dealer in land. He served in the Virginia Senate from 1847-1851. After a short and apparently unsuccessful stint in wholesale trade in Baltimore in the 1850s, Barbee returned to Hardy County and resumed his business interests there, including a small amount of farming. In the 1860s Barbee moved to Lynchburg, VA, but also purchased land in Bridgewater, VA and moved there in the 1870s, where he and his family ran a hotel called the Barbee House. In 1878 he was elected major of Bridgewater and from 1880-1883 served as editor of The Bridgewater Journal. In 1887, after a trip to Texas where he came into contact with Farmers Alliance leaders, Barbee began holding meetings in Bridgewater to form a sub-alliance in VA. For the next three years he devoted most of his time to organizing a state Farmers' Alliance, serving as president in 1889 and 1890, by which time the organization had over 30,000 members in 85 county alliances. He also organized members in several other states, notably WV, and served on the Credentials Committee of the National Alliance. Barbee continued to be highly active on the state and national levels but the populist movement peaked by about 1894 and declined thereafter. Barbee died in 1908 in Romney, WV, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Bridgewater, VA.
Organization:
Series 1: Biographical and Genealogical Data on G.T. Barbee
Series 2: Farmers' Alliance
Series 3: Research Trail
Contents:
Series 1: Biographical & Genealogical Data on G.T. Barbee
Folder 1: Gabriel Thomas Barbee of Bridgewater, Virginia and the Virginia Farmers' Alliance, by Gordon W. Miller. 2005. 38 p. [Removed from collection and placed in Rare Books collection as Call # LD3141.M566l M54864 2005]
Folder 2: General - mostly data from published sources but also Barbee's will and two Civil War letters by Barbee.
Folder 3: Deeds - photocopies of deeds involving purchase or sale of property by Barbee, 1844-1907.
Folder 4: Census records, 1787-1900.
Folder 5: Business Dealings - envelopes from businesses that dealt with Barbee, and two business letters.
Folder 6: Smals Diary Entries - pages from the Henry Smals Diaries of Bridgewater, VA (SC# 2059) that mention Barbee, 1873-1890.
Folder 7: Genealogical Materials - data mostly from published sources relating to the Barbee family, especially his brother Herbert, a well known sculptor.
Folders 8-9: Newspaper Articles - local and state newspaper articles concerning Barbee; includes Miller's research notes on newspapers searched.
Series 2: Farmers' Alliance
Folder 10: VA State Alliance Documents- Constitution of the Farmers' State Alliance of Virginia, 1889 and 1891; Prospectus of the Alliance Fertilizer Works of West Point, VA, 1891; Farmers Alliance Co-operative Mfg. Co., Iron Gate, VA, 1890; Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Session of the [VA] State Farmers' Alliance, 1890; related articles from The Virginia Sun, 1893; several letters by Secretary-Treasurer J. J. Silvey, 1892-1894 and one by Barbee, 1891; roll of delegates, 1891.
Folder 11: VA State Alliance - Thesis, dissertations, books.
Folder 12: National Alliance - excerpts from books and journals on the Farmers' Alliance. Includes "National Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union Ritual," 1890.
Folder 13: National Alliance - Books.
Folder 14: National Economist, Official Organ of the Farmers Alliance - issues from 1889-May, 1890.
Folder 15: National Economist - issues June, 1890-1893.
Series 3: Research Trail
Folder 16: Correspondence - Letters by Mr. Miller to institutions and individuals concerning his search for traces of Barbee, with some responses and notes on research sources, 1990-1993.
Acquisition Information: Donated by Mr. Gordon W. Miller in January, 2005.
