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).

Access Restrictions

Collection open to 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.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Dudley and Rexrode Family Papers, SC 0213, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection were purchased by Special Collections at the March 24, 2008 estate sale of Marshall Dudley Rexrode. The sale took place in Mt. Solon, Virginia and was auctioneered by Charley Whetzel.

Processing Information

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in 2017-2018. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 5039. During this time, the collection was minimally reprocessed in order to simplify the arrangement and description, and rehoused to remove unnecessary oversize boxes. The collection was originally processed in 2012 and described in minute detail, often at the item-level (e.g. obituaries). Some of this description was retained. Description that was deemed irrelevant or superfluous was not retained during reprocessing. Photographs were grouped according to identifications made by the original processor and were housed in plastic sleeves. During reprocessing in 2019, the photographs were removed and housed in archival folders.

Bio/Historical Note

The papers were acquired from the estate of Marshall Dudley Rexrode (1905-2006). Rexrode graduated from Bridgewater College and attended Virginia Tech. He was a prominent farmer and member of the community in Mt. Solon, Virginia. He was a charter member of the North River Ruritan Club and served as their treasurer for 45 years. Rexrode was an elder, deacon, and chairman of the board of trustees for Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church (a historic church established in 1768 in Augusta County). Rexrode was also the secretary-treasurer of the Rockingham County Land Bank Association and assistant secretary-treasurer of Staunton Production Credit Association. He served on the Augusta County Planning Commission three times. Additionally, he was director and president of the Augusta County Farm Bureau Federation, as well as director and president of the Augusta County Petroleum Co-op. His work on various boards, social organizations, and church related activities is evidence of his active community involvement.

Marshall Dudley Rexrode was in possession of his family's papers including those of his father, Dr. Charles Pinkey Rexrode (1871-1929), and his maternal grandfather, Edward Alexander Dudley (1850-1927), and Arthur B. Dudley (1870-1946). Charles P. Rexrode, M.D. was a physician and pharmacist in Crab Bottom, Highland County, Virginia (now Blue Grass, Virginia). The Highland Recorder contains references to Dr. Rexrode treating patients and making house calls during times of emergency. Edward A. Dudley was a prominent farmer and cattle raiser in Highland County and Augusta County, Virginia. Dudley was living in the Churchville area of Augusta County at the time of his death in May 1927.

Also included in this collection are photographs and correspondence relating to Marshall Dudley Rexrode's aunt, Mary Alberta Dudley Brand (1894-1973). Brand and her husband Dr. Louis Christian Brand were Presbyterian Missionaries in Korea from 1924-1938, during the time that Korea was occupied by Japan. Dr. Brand was a physician and third director of the Ellen-Lavine Graham Hospital (now the Kwangju Christian Hospital) in Kwangju, Korea, where he was devoted to the elimination of tuberculosis. The Brand's daughter, Mary Alice Brand Boyle 1924-2006), and son-in-law, Lewis Venable Boyle (1923-2005), are also documented in this collection.

Scope and Content

The Dudley and Rexrode Family Papers contain personal and financial records, photographs, and ephemera related to the Dudely and Rexrode families of Augusta County, Virginia, as well as the related Brand and Boyle families. Tax records, insurance records, and ledgers of family businesses, including C.P. Rexrode's medical practice and A.B and E.A. Dudley's agricultural business, are present. This collection also includes Rexrode, Dudley, and Brand family photographs including photographs of Virginia Tech and the Dudley-Brand family in Korea in the 1930s. Many are unidentified or presumed to be identified. Additionally, the collection contains documents related to community organizations including local ruritan clubs and the Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church in Mt. Solon, Virginia where M. Dudley Rexrode served as a deacon and elder. Printed ephemera in the collection includes a postcard with the label "The summer resort of foreigner at Katsuma Peninsula (Korea)," newspaper clippings of local interest articles and obituaries, and ticket stubs for Magic Kingdom and Disney World.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into four series. Series 1: Family Papers is arranged further into subseries.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Business records -- Virginia -- Sources
• Family papers
• Highland County (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• Ledgers (account books)
• Letters (correspondence)
• Merchants -- Virginia -- Records and correspondence
• Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church (Mr. Solon, Va.) -- Records and correspondence
• Physicians -- Virginia -- Records and correspondence
• Rexrode, M. Dudley (Marshall Dudley), 1905-2006
• Rockingham County (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• Virginia -- History, Local -- Sources
• Whetzel, Charlie, 1940-2021