Browse Items (106 total)

The first letter is dated on July 28, 1861 and is written by James Francis Preston to his wife, Sarah Caperton Preston following the First Battle of Bull Run. He writes about the battle’s events and his own movements, including executing a direct…

This collection contains a letter of invitation from Anna Lee to Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard of the Confederate Army to attend a country dance at Meadow Farm in Henrico County, Virginia, on Christmas evening 1861. The letter is dated…

The collection consists of a letter written by Nancy B. Harbin to her sons, Jack and John Harbin. The letter details a mother's concern for the well-being and safety of her three enlisted sons, Jack, John, and Edward Harbin. Nancy Harbin relates the…

The collection consists of a letter written by "Mima Brown" from Pulaski, Virginia to her brother Pvt. James H. Farmer on November 8, 1863. Brown reports news about an outbreak of Diphtheria in the area, a shortage of supplies for soldiers, unfair…

This letter (8 pages), dated November 27, 1863, from Fincastle, Virginia, is written on two identical pages of captured Union patriotic stationary with an engraving of an Antietam scene. In the letter, Mrs. Figgat recounts reuniting with a ‘dear…

This second letter (4 pages), dated December 5, 1863, and written on captured Union patriotic stationery with an engraving of Marshall House proprietor James Jackson shooting Col. Elmer Ellsworth, is an update of their son's worsening condition. "I…

The collection consists of a letter by Ansil T. Bartlett to his father, dated April 15, 1865. Written from Camp Farmville, Virginia, the letter mentions soldiers stealing good from nearby homes, daily tasks, war rumors, and Bartlett's hope to be home…

The second letter dates to May 15, 1872 and is written by Sarah Caperton Preston to Colonel Grabowski at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The letter is a response to a previous notice from the Colonel about her son’s (Hugh Caperton Preston)…

This collection contains an 1883 letter written by Jack Foster, a formerly enslaved person who served as a body servant in the 36th Virginia Infantry during the Civil War. Foster writes to former Confederate General John McCausland, one-time…

The collection includes a letter written by J. A. Snavley, its envelope, and an advertisement postcard/mailer for Scientific American publications. The letter describes attempts to gain a patent for acetylene gas light and other inventions, such as a…

Envelope from 1899 letter by Snavely

A letter about a personnel change within the Fries Textile Mill.

A letter introducing a new mill employee, sent to the Fries Mill from another mill owned by the Washington Mills Company.

A letter from the treasurer of the Washignton Mills Company inquiring about several employees wh had quit their jobs in North Carolina in order to work at the mill in Fries.

A short missive from the president of Wachovia Loan and Trust Company and the founder and president of Washington Mills Company, Col. Francis H. Fries, thanking the mill superintendent for sending updates about operations. Includes and example of the…

A letter offering jobs and perks to a family in order to convince them to go work at the Fries mill.

A letter to Dr. Wilmer Hodgson asking him to resign as mill doctor for Fries.

A letter to a former mill employee accusing him of trying to convince his former coworkers at the mill to quit and join him at his new company.

A letter to the mill superintendant asking about jobs for men being released from jail.

A letter from Mrs. Patsie Pruitt asking for her job back at the mill. She had moved to Maryland, but wanted to go back to Fries because child labor laws in Maryland prevented her children from working.

A letter from Haywood Haynes informing the mill that he and his family would be coming to work at the mill, with information about his family and their housing needs.

A letter responding to another company's attempts to collect on an alleged $2 debt.

A letter asking about a man detained in Atlanta who was possibly wanted for murder in Fries.

A letter explaining plans to build a new Baptist Church on Main Street in Fries, Va.

The Virginia Brewing Company letter was written on September 27, 1909 by Louis A. Scholz, President of the company, and Henry Scholz, Secretary and Treasurer of the company requesting support for anti-Prohibition laws in Virginia.

This collection contains a letter from English author Victoria Cross (Annie Sophie Cory) to Hughes Massie requesting that he read and provide feedback for her novel Life's Shop-Window.

A letter to responding to a telegram about a man potentially trying to convince mill employees to quit in order to work at another company.

A letter sent by the state confirming that the mill provided all utilities for the town.

A note sent in by an employee explaining their inability to work for several days.

A letter from the state of Virginia offering assistance to test Fries residents for hookworm.

A letter sent to the mayor of Fries asking about moving to town to set up shop as a dentist.

A letter from a resident of Fries reporting their neighbor to the mill administration for perceived suspicious behavior.

A letter from a doctor at the University of Virginia who came to Fries to help tend flu victims.

This letter was written by Maude E. Wallace of Virginia Agricultural Extension Service, Blacksburg, VA, to Sarah Pitts of George Peabody College, Nashville, TN, on 14 August 1929. Ms. Pitts had been hired to work as an Extension agent, but had not…

The collection also contains a letter from S. S. Griffith to Dr. J. Harry Smith, written in 1930 on Crocket Arsenic-Lithia Springs letterhead.

A letter regarding land for a maintenence road for Highway 94.

A letter from the principal of the high school informing the mill adminstration that a tank in the Home Economics Cottage had begun to leak.

A letter from the principal of the high school asking for scrap cloth to clean the school.

The letter is from Mildred Tate to Mrs. Gillette inviting her to a dinner at Hillcrest, the women's dormitory at Virginia Tech, held by Mrs. White on September 11, 1940.

A letter regarding land for a maintenence road for Highway 94.

A letter from a mechanical engineer at Virginia Tech explaining the required dimensions of a part for the mill.

A letter from the Werthan Bag Corporation asking the mill to resell their empty bags to help with the war effort.

A letter from Herbert Neisser, MD, inquiring about a position at the mill.