VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
COURTHOUSE DISASTERS & MYTHS
From the Editor
:
E
veryone who works in a library can tell
you about mistaken ideas and
misconceptions that will not go away
and that prompt lots of people to call or write,
asking questions based on misinformation or an
incorrect assumption. Having received on the
same day both a telephone call at the Archives and
History Library reference desk and a research
inquiry by letter from researchers frantically
wanting to know how to prove an ancestor’s birth
since “the Kanawha County Courthouse burned
down and burned up all the records,” I am
compelled to address the issue of courthouse
disasters, real and otherwise. If a record exists, I
want the researcher to be able to find it. If there is
no possibility a specific type of record exists, I do
not want a researcher wasting time and money
looking for one.
NO, NO, NO, NO!
THE KANAWHA COUNTY
COURTHOUSE
HAS NEVER BURNED!!
By Susan Scouras
In 1921 in downtown Charleston, West Virginia’s
State Capitol burned and was destroyed. No
Department of Health Vital Registration records
were lost. Even if the birth and death records
recorded from the inception of state-level Vital
Registration in 1917 had been lost, the county
copies would have still survived in the 55 different
courthouses throughout West Virginia. The
Kanawha County Courthouse, a totally separate
building located several blocks away in downtown
Charleston, did not burn down in 1921 or at any
other time. To my knowledge, the Kanawha
County Courthouse has never had a fire or natural
flood that destroyed records, although leaky pipes
and/or roofs caused damage at an offsite storage
area in the recent past.
In fact, West Virginia has had relatively few
courthouse fires and floods that resulted in total
destruction of records. West Virginia has not
experienced earthquakes, landslides or tornadoes
that have resulted in loss of county or state records.
A very few counties for whatever reasons have
transferred some of their original records to either
the West Virginia and Regional History Collection
of West Virginia University Libraries (see
http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/wvcollection/count
ycourt/index.htm for holdings by county) or to the
West Virginia State Archives (see http://
www.wvculture.org/history/natural.html for
holdings of naturalization records by county), so
while those records are no longer in the county
courthouses, the records do exist as public records,
and are still accessible, just in alternative locations.
Occasionally not all of a given county official’s
staff are aware of the transfer and will tell inquirers
that the records were lost or destroyed.
Next to alleged fires, the Civil War is the second
favorite scapegoat for missing records. While
2 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
most West Virginia counties experienced at least
guerilla-style warfare that may have affected the
courthouses and the records therein, I suspect that
Civil War military action itself did not cause actual
loss of records as much as it simply prevented
people from recording events to begin with. Terry
Lowry, Civil War researcher and writer, as well as
our colleague in Archives and History, told me that
troops involved in courthouse occupations or
destruction often mention that county records were
removed or were left undamaged, according to
their reports as recorded in The War of the
Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records
of the Union and Confederate Armies. In addition
to the actual war years, recovery following the war
was often slow. Everyday life in several counties
was so disrupted by strife that recordkeeping did
not resume until the 1870's.
Combining information primarily from two
sources, West Virginia Genealogy: Sources &
Resources, by Carol McGinnis (1988), and West
Virginia Courthouses: A Pictorial History, by
Mary Thrash (1984), with my colleagues’
experiences and my own, I have compiled a list of
courthouses which have had fires or other
disasters. Counties indicated with an asterisk (*)
have some copies of pre-statehood birth, death and
marriage records housed at The Library of
Virginia, but available on microfilm at the West
Virginia Archives and History Library. These
records cover only 1853 through the early 1860's,
vary by county, were in poor condition at the time
of microfilming, and were poorly microfilmed. All
counties had varying amounts of their records
transcribed by Works Progress Administration
(WPA) employees under the auspices of the
Historic Records Commission in the 1930's.
Checking the WPA transcriptions (available in the
Archives and History Library collection) may help
if a county’s records were known to have been
damaged since the mid-1930's. Absence of a
record in the WPA transcriptions indicates the
record was most likely already missing by the time
copies were made.
Counties not listed here may have missing ledgers
or significant gaps in their surviving records, but
were not reported in the sources used for this
article to have had catastrophic events. Several
county history books were consulted for
clarification when the two main sources conflicted.
County clerks or historians who would like to
contribute or correct information for an updated
listing in the future are invited to contact me. Any
readers who can provide information on any
specific instance of missing or damaged records
(and what caused the records to be harmed) are
encouraged to share their knowledge:
Susan Scouras, Editor
West Virginia Archives and History News
susan.scouras@wvculture.org
(304) 558-0230, Ext. 742
COUNTY COURTHOUSES AND RECORDS
Berkeley*: Berkeley County has many gaps in its
records, but I was not able to establish a specific
reason for the losses, although admittedly many
gaps occur in Civil War years. Berkeley’s first
courthouse was a temporary one and was replaced
by Berkeley’s first permanent courthouse in 1773.
The first building used as a temporary courthouse
burned, but not until 1975, over 200 years after any
records kept there would have been moved to the
permanent courthouse.
Boone*: Ballardsville, then the county seat, was
burned during the Civil War in 1861. Union troops
burned the homes of Confederate sympathizers, as
well as the courthouse, according to West Virginia
in the Civil War, by Boyd Stutler (Page 162). West
Virginia County Courthouses states that a new
courthouse was built in 1865. Birth, death and
marriage records prior to 1865 are gone, and Will
Book A and Deed Book C are listed as missing.
Deeds and surveyor’s books seem to be the only
pre-1865 records remaining.
Braxton*: A courthouse fire occurred in 1861;
however, most if not all records from 1836 on still
exist.
Cabell*: Some records have been damaged by
flood water and are not very legible. Transcripts of
many of these records are available as an aid in
3 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
deciphering them. Some records which can no
longer be found in the original books appear in the
WPA record transcriptions compiled in the 1930's.
Doddridge*: The first site used for court burned in
1848, and the second courthouse burned in 1898.
Looking at the list of records available on
microfilm, I do not see that any records were lost
in either fire.
Fayette*: Fayette County’s first courthouse was
“demolished during the Civil War,” according to
Mary Thrasher. When the second courthouse was
outgrown, a third courthouse was built, which
burned in 1893. Some Fayette County records
(including marriages) dating from its formation in
1831 survive, while others, such as births and
deaths, do not exist prior to 1866. Fayette County
has many significant gaps in its records, but for the
most part the dates of the missing records do not
correspond to the war years or to the courthouse
fires. Some of the most extensive gaps in records
are well after 1893.
Hampshire*: Hampshire County suffered the loss
of records during the Civil War when books and
loose papers repeatedly were removed and then
returned to the courthouse as control of the county
seat, Romney, changed hands dozens of times, but
the courthouse did not burn down. Births before
1865 and deaths before 1866 were lost or not
recorded. The majority of the will books before
1865 are missing, and marriages between 1829 and
1864 are gone. No doubt few records were
recorded during the war years anyway. WVU has
57 boxes of Hampshire County Court records,
mostly actual court proceedings and land books.
Some records have been found in private hands
over the years, and more may surface in the future
if we are lucky. Several years ago seven boxes of
loose original court documents dating from 1754 to
1885 were found in the Hampshire County
Courthouse. These documents included wills;
estate appraisals, sales and settlements;
appointments and reports of administrators;
guardianships; etc., and were microfilmed by the
Division of Culture and History, Archives and
History section.
Hancock*: The courthouse burned in 1920, but
apparently no records were lost.
Jefferson*: A fire in 1803 evidently did not
destroy any records.
Kanawha*:The courthouse has never burned. No
records have been lost. The statehouse burned in
Charleston in 1921, but no state births and deaths
were lost either.
Lewis*: An 1866 fire destroyed the courthouse,
but the records were saved.
Lincoln: The Lincoln County courthouse burned
in 1909, destroying almost all records. Some land
and land tax records dating from 1867 were not in
the building at the time and are available in
Lincoln County, but have not been microfilmed
yet. An effort was made to recreate records, and
many Delayed Birth certificates were recorded as
a result. Because Lincoln County was formed in
1867 by the state of West Virginia, there will be no
pre-Civil War era records preserved in Virginia for
this county as there are for some old Virginia
counties; however, pre-1867 records for this
geographic area and its people can be found in
Lincoln’s parent counties of Boone, Cabell,
Kanawha and Putnam.
Logan*: Many Logan County records were
destroyed during the Civil War, with at least one
fire in 1862. Boyd Stutler states in West Virginia in
the Civil War (Page 166-67) that “the most
important county records had been removed from
the courthouse before” the fire, but that “the loss in
miscellaneous and minor records was
considerable.” In contradiction to Stutler’s
research, West Virginia County Courthouses states
that “all records were lost.” While we may never
be able to sort out exactly what occurred and when,
something obviously happened during the
remaining years of the war, since records of births,
deaths and marriages before 1872 are gone, as are
wills prior to 1873. Deeds dating from 1835 on,
as well as surveyor’s records, are available. I do
not know if these are original records that
survived, or if they are recreated records.
Compounding the destruction of records is the fact
that record keeping did not resume following the
war until 1872.
McDowell*: A time line in Welch and Its People,
by Rose Marino (Page 4-5), provides information
about the various county seats and courthouses
4 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
from the formation of McDowell in 1858. The
first courts were held in private homes until a log
cabin was built to serve as a courthouse in 1866,
when Wilcoe was named as the county seat.
Although that building stood until torn down in
1901, the court was moved again in 1867 to a site
near Coalwood. In 1874 Perryville became the
county seat, where West Virginia County
Courthouses reports that a two-story log
courthouse was erected. Reportedly the vital
records were moved stealthily using two wagons at
night from Perryville to Welch in 1892 after Welch
was named the county seat. Apparently several
temporary or short term courthouse sites were used
from the creation of the county in 1858 until 1895,
when the current courthouse was built in Welch.
So many moves may be why McDowell’s early
records are sketchy. Births, Volume 1, is labeled
1872-1904, but with the exception of what must be
a few delayed birth records, the actual birth records
do not start until 1894. Deaths begin with 1894,
marriages in 1859, deeds in 1868, and wills in
1893. The WPA transcription books reflect the
same dates, so the records were already missing by
the 1930's.
Mercer*: Mercer County has experienced a
number of courthouse changes, and has some
missing records, but I do not see an obvious
correlation to event dates. The courthouse burned
in 1862, but some, or possibly all, records were
saved. According to West Virginia County
Courthouses, a dispute over whether Athens or
Princeton should be the county seat led to a group
of Princeton supporters stealing records from
Athens and carrying them to Princeton, with one
wagon lost along the way, and with local legend
implying at least one record book was lost. When
Princeton won the argument and became the
county seat in 1870, a new courthouse was built
there, but it burned in the same year. Since Mercer
County’s records on microfilm run back to 1837,
the year the county was formed, I can not see that
any records were lost, except marriages prior to
1854.
Mingo: Williamson flooded in 1977, resulting in
heavy damage to records in the courthouse. Mingo
was not created until 1895, and the Genealogical
Society of Utah was not initially interested in
filming Mingo’s records during the 1960's-1970's
microfilming sessions since they were
concentrating on pre-1900 records at that time. By
the time Mingo County’s records were scheduled
for filming, privacy laws had been enacted which
prevented copying many records. Births for 1900-
24, deaths for 1894-1925, marriages for 1895-1926
and wills for 1895-1926 were filmed. A single
slim volume of WPA transcripts done in the 1930's
includes births for 1895-1899 and wills for 1894-
1911 (the wills are identified as including 1884-
1911, based on the probate date of the first will
listed, but I think that is a typographical error since
the county was not formed until 1895).
Monongalia*: Fire in 1796 destroyed some but
not all records. Marriages from the county’s
fomation in 1776 up to 1796 no longer exist. The
loss of wills before 1819 is not explained by this
fire.
Morgan*: Records were lost in a courthouse fire
in 1844, and again during the Civil War. Some
attempts were made to recreate records; however,
birth and deaths before 1865 are gone. Marriages,
wills and deeds survived.
Pendleton: A fire in 1924 did not destroy records.
Pleasants*: According to West Virginia County
Courthouses, a lightning strike in 1923 caused
severe damage, resulting in demolition of the
courthouse and erection of a new one in 1925. No
records were lost.
Preston*: Preston County lost all records in a
fire in 1869. (This building blew down when it
was still under construction in 1856 and had to be
rebuilt.) The Library of Virginia records provide
some birth, death and marriage records for 1853-
60.
Putnam*: According to West Virginia County
Courthouses, a severe windstorm destroyed the
courthouse in 1899. As far as I can tell, no records
were lost.
Randolph*: A courthouse fire in 1897 destroyed
some county records, but the birth, death,
marriage, will and deed records were in a vault and
saved.
Roane*: Roane County’s first courthouse burned
in 1877. According to Roane County West
5 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
Virginia Family History 1989 (Roane County
Family History Committee, 1990), “All the record
books of the circuit clerk’s office and of the county
court were carried out by some thoughtful
citizens;” however, “much of the order books of
the county court’s first twenty years were
destroyed.” The second courthouse built in 1889
did not burn, as West Virginia Courthouses
mistakenly reports, but was torn down in 1965 to
make room for the present courthouse.
Tucker*: Tucker County experienced a pitched
battle between factions for the county seat. The
original county seat of St. George lost out to
Parsons in 1893 and the county records were taken
from the courthouse and moved to a temporary site
in Parsons until a new courthouse was built there
in 1898. The records seem to have survived intact,
except for periodic gaps in the death records.
Tyler*: Tyler was formed in 1814, and its earliest
records date from 1815. Sistersville was the
county seat for the initial year, then Middlebourne
became the permanent county seat. According to
an article by Vivian Boston in History of Tyler
County West Virginia to 1984 (Tyler County
Heritage and Historical Society, 1984), “court was
held in private residences among the county
officers until 1854 when the present courthouse
was erected.” A second essay by Mary Rohing in
this source mentions a log building used as a
courthouse that was erected in 1820 on land earlier
conveyed by Robert Gorrell. No courthouse fire is
mentioned in either article. West Virginia
Courthouses states that an early log structure on a
farm owned by the Mason family served as the first
courthouse; that this log courthouse burned (date
not reported); and that the burned courthouse was
replaced by the present one built in 1852.
Regardless of which account of events is correct,
no records appear to have been destroyed. By the
way, the courthouse was so extensively expanded
and renovated in 1922 that one could be forgiven
for thinking this was an entirely different building.
Again, no records were affected by the change.
Wayne*: A fire destroyed the courthouse in 1921.
There are gaps in the records, but most records
prior to 1921 survive. I do not know if some of the
earliest records were lost in the fire or through
other means. For example, marriage records begin
with 1853, although the county was created in
1842, and deeds exist from that year.
Webster: In 1860 Webster County was the last
county created under Virginia before West
Virginia achieved statehood. The Civil War
disrupted organization of the new county, with
neither Virginia nor West Virginia taking control
of Webster’s government. As a result, some
records were not kept, courts did not meet, etc.
According to West Virginia County Courthouses,
the wartime county clerk feared records would be
destroyed, cut pages from the books, took them to
his home, moved West after the war and never
returned the records. In 1888 a courthouse fire
destroyed most of the records that had been kept or
had survived the war, including births, deaths,
marriages and wills. Deeds recorded before 1877
either survived or were re-done. By the way,
although the county seat has been Fort Lick,
Addison, and now Webster Springs in turn, the seat
of county government never moved–the town just
changed names twice.
Wetzel*: Wetzel County has significant gaps in
birth and death records during and following the
Civil War years. I assume wartime activity and
resulting disorganization for years afterward was
the cause of, or at least a contributing factor to
either failure to keep records or loss of records. I
could not find any documentation with an
explanation. Although New Martinsville
experienced flooding, the courthouse was used as
a haven for those fleeing the flood waters, leading
me to think the courthouse itself did not flood.
Wetzel has significant gaps in birth and death
records throughout the 1860's and 1870's.
Wirt*: Wirt County Courthouse experienced a fire
in 1910 that destroyed some, but not all, records.
Missing are: births before 1870, deaths before
1870 and for 1875, and marriages before 1854.
Probate and land records appear to be intact. A
second fire in 1985 affected only some tax
assessor’s records. No other documents were lost.
Wyoming*: Wyoming County has large gaps in its
death records for the Civil War years and
aftermath, with 1860-64, parts of 1865-67, and
6 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
1868-74 missing. Wartime disruption is probably
to blame for most of the losses.
A common mistake made by beginning family
historians is due to a lack of knowledge about state
and county history. Sometimes researchers who
can not trace records past a certain year in a
specific county will assume, since they can find no
records at all for that county for earlier years, that
a courthouse disaster must have wiped out the
records they seek. For example, someone
searching for Grant County ancestors that he
knows lived on the same land for over a century is
disappointed to find no records before 1866, and
assumes that the county’s records did not survive
the Civil War. In fact, there are no Grant County
records prior to 1866, because there was no Grant
County prior to 1866, when Grant was formed
from Hardy County. The researcher must continue
tracing his line by looking in Hardy County’s
records back to the formation of Hardy from
Hampshire County in 1786, then in Hampshire
County to 1754, when Hampshire was formed from
portions of Frederick and Augusta Counties
(whose records will be in Virginia, not West
Virginia). When a new county was formed,
records pertaining to the land and the people now
within the boundaries of the new county were not
transferred to the new county’s government. The
existing property deeds remained in the parent
county, although when that land was sold
eventually, the new deeds were filed in the new
county. Likewise, the birth of a child was recorded
with the county of jurisdiction at the time of birth.
A second common mistake is requesting records
that did not exist in the time period in question.
Birth and death records were not kept in Virginia
until 1853, and state vital registration as we know
it did not begin in West Virginia until 1917. The
1853-1916 records will almost always consist of a
line of information handwritten in a ledger. From
1917 on, information was recorded on individual
certificates at the state government level, and
sometimes at the county level as well. Marriages
were recorded at the county level, again usually as
a handwritten line in a ledger, although in some
counties the original handwritten lists or notes of
the ministers have survived. Depending on the
time period and on the practice of the county clerk,
some marriages were recorded on ledger pages that
have the appearance of individual certificates.
Anyone who writes to the West Virginia Archives
and History Library for a copy of a record will
receive a photocopy of the ledger page(s) for that
entry. If a researcher writes to the county
courthouse for that same record, he may receive a
photocopy or he may receive a “certificate”
containing the information for the specific entry
typed onto a form, with the seal and signature of
the county clerk applied. A certified photocopy or
certificate from the county clerk’s office is a legal
record. Copies obtained from any other source can
not be certified as legal records, only as true copies
from the book or microfilm.
In other cases, the records exist, but are housed in
mislabeled or poorly titled ledgers, or were
incorrectly identified when microfilmed. The
volume of Kanawha County Bonds/Minister
Returns [marriages] labeled as 1816 to 1843 on its
cover actually contains the marriages from 1844
through 1849 as well. The next volume, labeled as
Licenses and Returns, begins with 1850. Someone
reading only the titles on the ledgers themselves or
on the microfilm would assume 1844-1849
licenses and returns were missing. Check out the
ledger itself and you will see that the records up
through 1849 are entered in the first ledger in
proper sequence. We’ll probably never know why,
but we can speculate that the clerk had the book
labeled for the years he expected to use it, but
when there were plenty of blank pages following
the last entry for 1843, he continued to make
entries until all the pages were filled. Possibly a
change of office holders in the county clerk’s
position was a contributing factor. Similarly, the
volume labeled Taylor County Birth and Death
Register, 1886-1937, on the microfilm is not a
typical register at all. The top of the ledger pages
are printed as follows: “Register of inmates of
Taylor County Infirmary and descriptive list
including birth and death register.” The ledger
7 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
identifies those who came to live at the “poor
farm,” how long they stayed, births and deaths that
occurred there, and other personal information
about the residents that may not be available
elsewhere. County infirmary records are few and
far between, so this one was a delightful discovery.
Sometimes gaps in records are unexplained, such
as with McDowell County Births, Volume 1,
which is labeled 1872-1904. The records actually
start with 1894, with the exception of a few
delayed births for the 1880's entered in the front of
the ledger. In the middle of the volume of
Nicholas County Births for 1855-1904 are blank
pages with “No Record for 1870 and 1871"
scrawled across.
I hope you find this compilation helpful. I have
included most but not all of the information used in
previous county records articles. [See also:
February 2001, Missing WV County Records;
August 2001, Additions and Corrections to the
County Records List; and August 2000, West
Virginia’s 55 Counties.] For additional
information on West Virginia county history,
courthouses and records, visit the West Virginia
Archives and History Web site at
http://www.wvculture.org/history
. For “County
History Resources” you will find a link under
“History Center,” or you may go directly to
http://www.wvculture.org/history/counties/list.ht
ml. “Counties Records on Microfilm”link can be
found in the “State Archives” section or located
directly at http://www.wvculture.org/ history/
countrec.html. The “Records Management and
Preservation Board” section includes the report of
the West Virginia Courthouse Facilities
Improvement Authority, which sheds light on
current courthouse conditions and document
preservation issues for each county. The Executive
Summary of the report provides an overview of the
records survey itself and a county by county listing
of holdings and physical condition of records.
NEW TITLES
The Hour Has Come: The 97
th
Bomb Group in
World War II: Thomas F. Gulley, 1993.
Mother Jones: Revolutionary Leader of Labor
and Social Reform: Dorothy L. Wake, 2001.
Press On I’ll Meet You at the Gate: Memoirs of
Daisy Virginia Maiden Boone: compiled by
JoAnn Fox, 1987.
Our Heritage: [Fairfield, S.C.], 1950(?).
“–Tryin’ to Get Home–”: A Journal: John Henry
Memorial Committee, 1974.
John Henry Memorial Authentic Blues and
Gospel Jubilee: [Program]: The Committee,
1973.
Teter Descendants of Hans Jorg and Maria
Dieter: Eva A. (Teter) Winfield, 1992.
Westfall-Shannon and Related Families:
Genevieve Lentz, 1975.
An Abstracted Copy of the 1850 Federal Census
of Gallia County Ohio: 2
nd
ed, Kelly Robert
Greer, 2001.
The Strength of Our People: Norva Balser
Warner, 2004.
HACKER’S CREEK PIONEER
DESCENDANTS
22
ND
ANNUAL GATHERING
AUGUST 12-15, 2004
Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants will be
celebrating “The Good Old Days” with several
days of workshops, library research, local tours,
food and fun. Workshops include:
• Research Aids and Putting Your Family
Tree Together, led by Paul Petit
• Immigration Patterns and Central West
Virginia, with David Houchin
• History of the Lower Tygart Valley,
discussed by Carolyn Fortney Hamilton
• Family Tree Maker Seminar, an all day
class taught by John Hines and Dave Heise
Joy Stalnaker will lead tours of the Weston State
Hospital building and grounds and of the Hacker’s
Creek area. For complete information about
registration, fees, lodging and activities, visit
http://www.hackerscreek.com
, e-mail
, call (304) 269-7091, or
write HCPD, 45 Abbotts Run Road, Horner, WV
26372.
8 VOLUME V, NO. 3 MAY 2004
2004 Haunted West Virginia Ghost Hunters and
Spirituality Conference
“The Ghosts of the Civil War”
Haunted Parkersburg, an organization which regularly
conducts the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tour, is presenting
its annual Haunted W est Virginia G host Hunters and
Spirituality Conference in Parkersburg on August 6, 7 and 8,
2004. Civil War buffs, regardless of their viewpoints on
ghosts, may be interested in the Civil War encampment, re-
enactors and parade that are scheduled as part of this year’s
activities. For additional information, visit
www.hauntedparkersburg.com
.
West Virginia
Archives and History Library
Changes Hours on Weekends
Effective Friday, April 1, 2004, the West Virginia Archives
and History Library began closing at 5:00 p.m. rather than
6:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The change solved some
knotty scheduling problems for our staff witho ut significantly
decreasing our service to the public. No other changes are
proposed at this time. Our new hours are:
Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Closed
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
PLEASE CHECK OUR WEB SITE (http://www.wvculture.org/history) FOR
GENEALOGICAL and HISTORICAL SOCIE TY ME ETING
ANNOUNC EMENTS, AND FOR MORE COMPLETE INFORMATION ON
ACTIVITIES LISTED BELOW.
WEST VIRGINIA STATE MUSEUM CLOSED FOR
RENOVATIONS: Reopening date w ill be announced at a
later time. The Cultural Center, Charleston.
VANDALIA GATHERING, MAY 28-30: The Cultural
Center, Charleston.
MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 31: The Archives Library will be
closed.
ARCHIVES AND HISTORY COMMISSION
MEETING, JUNE 11: Jenkins Plantation, Lesage.
KYOWVA/ARCHIVES & HISTORY PHOTO
COPYING PROJECT, JUNE 12: Maddie Carroll House,
Huntington (Guyandotte).
WEST VIRGINIA DAY, observed JUNE 21: The Archives
Library will be open.*
INDEPENDENCE DAY, observed JULY 5: The Archives
Library will be closed.
*Only the Archives Library will be staffed--all other Archives offices will be
closed. The West Virginia Library Commission Library in The Cultural
Center is closed weekend s and all holidays.
ARCHIVES AND HISTORY STAFF
Fredrick Armstrong: Director
Debra Basham: Archivist (photographs, special collections)
Constance Baston: Researcher (Veterans Memorial
Archives)
Greg Carroll: Historian (Civil War, Native American
history)
Dick Fauss: Archivist (microfilm and moving images
collection)
Elaine Gates: Library Assistant (microfilming and
microfilm repairs)
Joe Geiger: Assistant Director (Historian, Web page)
Ed Hicks: Photographer (archival photography, darkroom)
Mary Johnson: Historian (West Virginia History)
Terry Lowry: Library Assistant (Civil War)
Cathy Miller: Library Assistant (WV State docum ents,
periodicals)
Sharon Newhouse: Secretary
Harold Newman: Library Assistant (microfilming,
Revolutionary W ar)
Pat Pleska: Manager of the Veterans Memorial Archives
Susan Scouras: Librarian (cataloging, Kentucky, library
collection, newsletter editor)
Jaime Simmons: Library Assistant (reco rds of the 1 700's
and early 1800's, Pennsylvania)
Bobby Taylor: Library Manager
Nancy Waggoner: Office Assistant
Working on special projects: Allen Fowler.
Volunteers: Carolyn Conner, Bill Kelley, Angela Tolbert,
Bob and Lucile Foster, John McClure, Carol de la Riva
and Lorene Mullins.
Summer Intern: Chad Proudfoot.
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This newsletter is a publication of :
The Divisio n of Culture a nd History
Archives an d History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanaw ha Boulevard East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
(304) 558-0230
Nancy P. Herholdt, Commissioner
Permission to reprint articles from West Virginia Archives and History
News is granted, provided: (1) The reprint is not used for commercial
purposes, and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the reprinted
material: Previou sly published in West Virginia Archives and History News,
[Volume and issue numbers], [Month, Year], a publication of the West
Virgin ia Div ision o f Cultu re and Histo ry.
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West Virginia Archives and History News Editor: Susan Scouras, (304) 558-
0230 , Ext. 7 42, susan.scouras @wv culture.org
.
