Ritchie, Patricia Turner Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750-1990s
Descriptive Summary
Repository: Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University
Title: Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s
Collection No.: SC 0145
Creator: Patricia Turner Ritchie
Extent: 2 boxes; 1.4 cubic feet
Language: English
Abstract: The Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, is comprised exclusively of photocopies of deeds, wills, surveys, patents, road agreements, accounts, letters and a wide variety of other documents relevant to the Brocks Gap area of northwestern Rockingham County, Virginia.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Use Restrictions: The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Preferred Citation: [identification of item], [box #, folder #], Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, SC 0145, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
Acquisition Information: This collection, comprised exclusively of photocopies, was purchased from Pat Turner
Ritchie beginning in May 1991 through 2002.
Provenance: Many of the original documents photocopied in this collection were brought by local
residents to the Turner Hams Store on Route 259 in Fulks Run, or the nearby Mt. Carmel
Church, for the "Brocks Gap Heritage Day" events first held by compiler Patricia Turner
Ritchie in the spring of 1991, where they were copied. Other materials were located
by Ritchie through her own research. Ritchie created an annotated index for some of
the materials, and notes that some of the documents are not recorded in the Rockingham
County Court House.
Processing Information: In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections
staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection
was previously cataloged as SC 3088.
Bio/Historical Note:
Brocks Gap is an area of approximately 200 square miles in northwestern Rockingham County formed by the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.
Scope and Content:
The Patricia Turner Ritchie Collection on Brocks Gap, 1750s-1990s, is comprised exclusively of photocopies of deeds, wills, surveys, patents, road agreements, accounts, letters and a wide variety of other documents relevant to the Brocks Gap area of northwestern Rockingham County, Virginia. The materials document many aspects of rural life. Family names mentioned most frequently are Fawley, Fulk, Turner, and Ruddle, but many others also occur. The "C" series are papers from the Ransom Hess estate; he was the son of Richard and Lydia Shoemaker Hess, grandson of Abraham and Amanda Custer Hess, great grandson of Richard Custer Jr. and Elizabeth Trumbo Custer, and lived on the Custer homestead on Little Dry River Road in Fulks Run.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into informal series or groupings of documents: Brocks
Gap (BG), Fulks Run (F), Custer (C), and Turner (T). This arrangement was imposed
by the donor. Each document or set of documents was also assigned a numeric identifier
by the donor. Corresponding indices are included for the Brocks Gap and Fulks Run
documents.
Location of Originals:
Original documents are either retained by private owners or collections in other repositories that Ritchie consulted as part of her research.
Contents:
| Folder Title |
Box : Folder
|
| BG Index, undated |
1:1
|
| BG 1-55, undated |
1:2
|
| BG 56-136, undated |
1:3
|
| BG 137-206, undated |
1:4
|
| BG 207-260, undated |
1:5
|
| BG 261-266, undated |
1:6
|
| BG 267-291, undated |
1:7
|
| BG 291-294, undated |
1:8
|
| BG 295A-303, undated |
1:9
|
| BG 303-312, undated |
1:10
|
| BG 313-320, undated |
1:11
|
| BG 338-356, undated |
2:3
|
| BG 357-359, undated |
2:4
|
| F Index, undated |
1:12
|
| F 1-117A, undated |
1:13
|
| F 118-200, undated |
1:14
|
| F 201-280, undated |
1:15
|
| C 1-68, undated |
1:16
|
| C 69-212, undated |
1:17
|
| T 1-106, undated |
2:1
|
| T 107-221, undated |
2:2
|
Compiled by: Chris Bolgiano, April 1997