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A Guide to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society Collection

SC# 2095

Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807

Initially compiled by Sandra Joyner & Don Lambert, April, 1987
Additions by Marie Green, Scott DeNoon, Chris Bolgiano, May, 1988
Revised May, 1989; Nov. 1989; April 1990
Additions and Revisions by Mindy Tanner April 1991

Updated July, 2008

Scope & Content
This collection consists of approximately 1,700 items, in five Hollinger boxes and one Flat box, and covers the dates 1740-1950. The collection is comprised of a very wide variety of legal, governmental, business, school, and church records, as well as personal papers, all primarily from the Central Shenandoah Valley (Rockingham, Shenandoah, Augusta, and Page Counties). Most are originals, but some photocopies are included.

The Legal/Governmental Documents Series includes summonses, road documents, juror lists, delivery bonds, papers from the Sheriff's Office and the Circuit Courts of Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, CSA Telegraph Reports, postal accounts, and miscellaneous other official reports, claims, applications, etc.

The Business/Institutional Documents Series includes church histories and other church documents, school catalogs, slave purchase documents, records of Cootes' Store, and other miscellaneous business papers which are not related to families, such as the merger of the News Register Co. and Rockingham Publishing Co.

The Individual/Family Documents Series contains deeds and indentures; letters; receipts; promissory notes and other financial papers, including those related to family businesses; certificates; and miscellaneous other documents. Of particular interest are the Harrison and Lincoln folders, which include several noteworthy deeds; and the Winfield folder, which includes several items relating to the Civil War.

Organization
Most of the papers were received in no order. A few packets were labeled with family names. The documents were sorted into the following series and sub series:

1. Legal/Governmental Documents.
2. Business/Institutional Documents.
3. Individual/Family Documents.
   A. Individual Families. Separate folders under each family or individual for which 5 or more   relevant items are held.
   B. Miscellaneous Families. Combined folders in 1 alphabetical sequence for 4 or less documents per name. See Cross Index for names.
   
4. Oversize.
   A. Legal/Governmental Documents.
   B. Business/Institutional Documents.
   C. Individual/Family Documents.
   D. Maps.
   E. Himmelsbrief.

Abbreviations:  TM = typed manuscript.

Provenance
This collection was compiled from many boxes of miscellaneous papers placed on deposit at the Library by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.

Arrangement

Box 1

Series 1: Legal and Governmental Documents

Folder 1 Account book, J. H. Shue, Clerk of Circuit Ct. 1875-1881, 1 item.

Folder 2 Applications to create voting precincts, 1922, 2 items.

Folder 3 Applications for soft-drink licenses, 1916-1931, 78 items.

Folder 4 Appointments to office, 1876-1887, 7 items.

Folder 5 Arrest warrants, 1890-1920, 6 items.

Folder 6 Articles of agreement, 1861 Militia draft substitute agreement, 1821-1894, 11 items.

Folder 7 Black voters, Rockingham County, 1902-1903, 1 item.

Folder 8 Complaints of illegal sales of poison, 1906-1907, 14 items.

Folder 9 Complaints to the court. One document deals with a Negro escaping from jail, 1778-1825, 5 items.

Folder 10 Court Actions: court decisions and grand jury presentments, 1779-1879, 5 items.

Folder 11 Courthouse and Public Square; papers dealing with the building of a new courthouse, 1832-1838, 12 items.

Folder 12 Court Petitions, 1798-1899, 5 items.

Folder 13 CSA Military telegraph reports, 1864 , 2 items.

Folder 14 Debt contracts, 1797-1907, 19 items.

Folder 15 Delivery bonds, 1844-1893, 90 items.

Folder 16 Inquests, 1790-1823, 10 items.

Folder 17 Jail: Reports on the condition of the jail, 1824-1916, 3 items.

Folder 18 Juror lists. See also Oversize Series. 1871-1902, 63 items.

Folder 19 Lawsuit: Haga vs. Bradley. Article of agreement and depositions concerning this lawsuit. 1829-1835, 13 items.

Folder 20 Licenses: to sell merchandise, keep private entertainment, practice as physician or attorney, operate as daguerrian artist, 1929 list of stills. 1760-1929, 53 items.

Folder 21 Oaths of office, 1779-1893, 7 items.

Folder 22 Pleas of the Commonwealth, 1855-1860, 7 items.

Folder 23 Postal accounts, Parnassus, Va. 1875-1881, 25 items.

Folder 24 Assessments of Clerks of the Court, 1880-1914, 93 items.

Folder 25 Civilian Defense, 1941-1944, 1 item.

Box 2

Series 1: continued

Folder 1 Prohibition petition, 1914, 1 item.

Folder 2 Promises to pay, 1817-1910, 28 items.

Folder 3 Receipts & applications for business charters, 1875-1903, 51 items.

Folder 4 Records & claims against estates, 1792-1890, 9 items.

Folder 5 Recognizance bonds, 1883-1889, 50 items.

Folder 6 Recognizance bonds, promises to keep the peace, 1890-1897, 77 items. .

Folder 7 Road documents. See also Oversize Series. 1793-1927, 57 items.

Folder 8 Summonses and subpoenas, 1801-1930, 36 items.

Folder 9 Tax Data. See also Oversize Series. 1801-1861, 4 items.

Folder 10 Miscellaneous legal documents: Claims, judgments of court, deposition notice, program from dedication ceremony of W. G. Myers Armory. 1797-1954, 4 items.

Series 2: Business and Institutional Documents

Folder 11 C&W Railroad Company. See also Oversize Series. 1895, 3 items.

Folder 12 Cootes' Store: legal & financial records, 1857-1923.

Folder 12.5 Cootes' Store Horse Co. ledger, 1911.

Folder 13 Cootes' Store: charges, receipts, 1839-1898.

Folder 14 Cootes' Store: Post office records, 1866-1895.

Folder 15 Cootes' Store: Bark business, 1890-1892.

Folder 16 Currency: Bills issued from banks and counties. 1860-1861, 2 items.

Folder 16.3 Gilbert, Felix. Extracts by Warren Skidmore from Account book, 1768-9.

Folder 16.5 Harrisonburg Chamber of Commerce, 1925-1944.

Folder 17 Mossy Creek Iron Works, 1801, 1 item.

Folder 18 Rawley Springs Tonic Water Co., 1896, 3 items.

Folder 18.5 River Bank Bridge Co., 1867, 3 items.

Folder 18.7 Rockingham Thespian Society, 1866, 1 item.

Folder 19 Telephone companies: Receipts from Harrisonburg Mutual Telephone Co.; by-laws of Page Co. Telephone Company. 1902-1904, 3 items.

Folder 20 General Church documents: Contains und. TM "Some Old Churches of Rockingham& Neighboring Counties" by Ruebush & Wayland; M. E. Church S., Rockingham Dist. Steward's Bk. 1884; 1911 Rockingham Sunday School Association Constitution; [Peaked Mountain Church] list, 1920. 1884-1920, & und.,4 items.

Box 3

Series 2: continued

Folder 1 Trustees and officers of churches, 1875-1918.

Folder 2 Church histories and directories, 1927-1950:  Cook's Creek Presbyterian, 2 booklets, 1927, 1951; Hebrew Friendship congregation, booklet 1952, TM [1950?]; Methodist Church of Dayton, booklet 1951; Mt. Hebron, booklet 1950; Port Republic Methodist Church, booklet 1957; New St. Stephen's Reformed Church, booklet 1941; Trissels Mennonite Congregation, TM 1950. 

Folder 3 School documents: Catalogs from Girls' Home School, Prospectus for Industrial School at Massanetta Springs, Program from McGaheysville H. S., Teacher's District Meeting, Timberville, 1908 program. 1889-1926, 5 items.

Folder 4 Mossy Creek Academy Lists of subscribers, Constitution (with transcription). [1850?], 5 items.

Folder 5 Slave Purchase Documents, 1794-1825, 3 items.

Folder 6 Miscellaneous business documents: 1901 timber contract; 1816 & other sale notices; 1843 Elk Run tent holders agreement; subscription form, Golden Horseshoe Tavern, Elkton; 1855 Rockingham Mutual Fire Ins. Co. policy for A. Sprinkel; 1913 (?) merger of News Register Co. & Rockingham Pub. Co., Account with J.P. Houck; Minute book of Weyers Cave Telephone Exchange, 1898-1952. 1816-1919, 10 items.

Series 3A: Individual and Family Documents
Note: See also cross index for particular names

Folder 7 Basford, Thomas. Includes summonses, tax data, and business accounts. 1868-1874, 8 items.

Folder 8 Conrad, Edward. Contains deeds & plat for downtown Harrisonburg; other deeds; & receipt for Valley Telephone Co. shares. See also Folder Con-1 Oversize. 1895-1908, 12 items.

Folder 9 Crawford, William. Contains tax information. 1867-1877, 13 items.

Folder 10 Eversole Family. Contains letters; road tax toll; RR stock receipts; & misc. 1832-1879, 70 items.

Folder 11 Gaither Family. 1834-1907, 25 items.

Folder 12 Garber Family. Includes tax data, muster fines, tax paper for the Confederacy, and receipts from shares of stock. 1834-1886, 5 items.

Folder 13 Gibbons Family. Contains letters written by Mary Gibbons, including 1 dated 20 June 1862 describing battles of Pt. Republic & Cross Keys. 1838-1895, 17 items.

Folder 14 Harrison Family. Includes an indenture that transferred land from T. Harrison to Rockingham County for a courthouse. 1779-1831, 3 items.

Folder 15 Harnsbarger Family. Indentures, surveys. 1815-1824, 6 items.

Folder 16 Kemper Family. Letters, mostly written to Fanny Kemper before Civil War. 1843-1862, 34 items.

Folder 17 Kite, Joseph H. Bankruptcy papers. 1873-1875, 30 items.

Folder 18 Koontz, John. Includes 1812 grant to land where Koontz built the house later occupied by Lincolns. See also Oversize Series. 1805-1832, 24 items.

Folder 19 Lincoln Family. Includes land indentures and typescript of genealogy. See also Oversize Series. 1780-1831, 6 items.

Folder 20 Martz Family. Business letters from E. R. Shue, F. H. Bowman, etc. and letter to Hiram Martz commenting on politics and the recent elections. 1840-1914, 31 items.

Folder 21 McGahey Family. Letters, deed, survey, & appraisal of estate of Tobias R. McGahey, 1845; blacksmithing accounts; 1862 note from John Letcher; 1884 note from J. R. Jones; churn patents, & misc. 1809-1944, 45 items.

Box 4

Series 3A: continued

Folder 1 Miller Family. 1837-1882, 6 items.

Folder 2 Morrison Family. 1876-1898, 12 items.

Folder 3 Nicholas Family. See also Oversize Series. 1839-1843, 5 items.

Folder 4 Reherd, William, 1834-1881, 17 items.

Folder 5 Roller, John Edwin. Letters; description of military drill; tax receipts & other business papers. 1846-1908, 55 items.

Folder 6 Senger, Daniel. 1899-1905, 5 items.

Folder 7 Shacklett Family. Letters. 1834-1872, 65 items.

Folder 8 Shacklett & Gibbons. Invoices. 1855-1858, 16 items.

Folder 9 Shacklett & Others. Invoices. 1827-1888, 57 items.

Folder 10 Showalter, Jacob. Includes 1840 indenture of John Showalter; other docs. relevant to estate of Jacob. 1826-1876, 31 items.

Folder 11 Shue, J. H. 3 Confederate bills; docs. relating to Shue estate. 1864-1886, 15 items.

Folder 12 Spader, John, and relatives. Deeds, loan bonds. 1866-1917. Ca. 12 items.

Folder 13 Winfield Family. Includes many documents relating to the Civil War, business documents, indenture for servitude of a free boy of color. 1823-1944, 37 items.

Folder 14 Zirkle, Crawford. 1865-1876, 11 items.

Box 5

Series 3B: Miscellaneous Families
Note: See also cross index for particular names

Folder 1 A-C
Folder 2 D-G

Folder 3 H-K
Folder 4 L-Q
Folder 5 R-Z

Flat Box  (all items located in same flat box unless otherwise noted)

Series 4A: Oversize Legal and Governmental Documents

Folder 1 Assessments of clerks of the Court, 1880-1914, 7 items.

Folder 2 Public road papers, 1794-ca.1870, 4 items.

Folder 3 Reports of business of the Courts, 1883-1914, 30 items.

Folder 4 Tax Data, 1833, 1 item.

Folder 5 Miscellaneous legal documents: Juror list, list of Rockingham county officers; lists of county pensioners 1920, '21. 1874-1921, 3 items.

Series 4B: Oversize Business and Institutional Documents

Folder 6 C&W Railroad Company (1 page from Bridgewater Herald Sept. 14, 1895 [map drawer]), 1895, 1 item.

Folder 7 Church documents, 1794, 2 items.

Series 4C: Oversize Individual and Family Documents
Note: See also cross index for particular names

Folder 8 A-G
Folder 9 H-K
Folder 10 L-R (several large items in map drawer)
Folder 11 S-Z
Folder Con-1 Oversize

Series 4D: Oversize Maps, and miscellaneous

Folder 12 Plat of Hall lands, Harrisonburg 1883, 1 item. (map drawer)

Folder 13 Himmelsbrief, Rockingham County ca. 1800, 1 item.