Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916) Papers A&M 0013

Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916) Papers A&M 0013


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West Virginia and Regional History Center

1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center

Repository
West Virginia and Regional History Center
Identification
A&M 0013
Title
Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916) Papers 1799-1919
URL:
https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/ark:/99999/196440
Quantity
105.9 Linear Feet, 105 ft. 11 in. (249 document cases, 5 in. each); (3 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (14 ledgers, 18 in.); (6 oversize folders, 1/2 in.)
Creator
Davis, Henry Gassaway, 1823-1916
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916) Papers, A&M 0013, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Henry Gassaway Davis

Henry Gassaway Davis (11/16/1823-03/11/1916) was a successful businessman and politician from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904.

He was born near Woodstock, Maryland on November 16, 1823, and was the second son of four children. He received a limited public-school education and left school at age 15 to support his family after his father's contracting business failed and left the family destitute. Davis first worked at a local quarry, as a water boy, and then as the caretaker of the Waverly Farm, the nearby farm owned by former Maryland Governor George Howard.

Davis began his railroading career in 1842 at age nineteen as a brakeman for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, then still under construction. He eventually advanced to the position of freight conductor, and then passenger conductor. Reportedly at Davis's request, he was appointed station agent for the Piedmont Station at Piedmont, [West] Virginia, because he wanted to explore the timber and coal resources of the Upper Potomac River region. About this same time, Davis established a mercantile lumber and coal business with his younger brothers Thomas B. Davis and William R. Davis at Piedmont. This business was known as H.G. Davis and Company (later H.G. Davis and Brother). Davis left the B&O in 1858 to focus on his business concerns. One of these concerns was the Piedmont Savings Bank, which he founded in 1858 and for which he served as president. Davis, like so many entrepreneurs, made extraordinary profits during the Civil War. Profits from the sale of horses to the federal government and timber and ties to the B&O Railroad enabled H.G. Davis and Company to invest in several thousand acres of coal and timber lands in the Upper Potomac and Cheat rivers region, at a cost said to be as cheap as one dollar per acre.

Davis founded the Cumberland and Piedmont Coal and Railway Company to provide railroad access to his coal and timber lands. In 1866 the West Virginia State Legislature, by a special act, incorporated the Cumberland and Piedmont Coal and Railway Company, granting the incorporators the right to mine coal, build factories and sawmills, buy and sell real estate, and build a railroad. It would be several years before Davis acted on the charter. Construction of the railroad finally began in 1880 at Bloomington, Maryland, and by 1881 the line had reached his mines at Elk Garden, West Virginia. Davis shipped the first Elk Garden coal to Baltimore in October 1881. A new railroad charter was granted in 1881 and Davis renamed the line the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway (WVC). By 1884 the line had reached present-day Davis, then Parsons in 1888, and Elkins (then Leadville) in 1889. Meanwhile in 1886, Davis created a subsidiary railroad, the Piedmont and Cumberland Railway Company (P&C). The P&C connected the WVC with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Cumberland. In 1902 Davis sold the WVC and P&C to George J. Gould, a railroad magnate, who was purchasing and consolidating rail lines to create an intercontinental railroad.

Davis desired to expand his rail network and in 1899 decided to construct a rail line connecting the WVC at Elkins with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad at Durbin, West Virginia. This line became the Coal and Iron Railway (C&I) and was completed in 1902. Davis used the profits of the sale of the WVC to fund construction of the C&I. Not finished yet with railroad construction, Davis incorporated the Coal and Coke Railway Company (C&C) in 1902 to exploit his Roaring Creek coal properties located in Randolph County. This new line ran from Elkins to Charleston via the Elk River through some of West Virginia's most difficult terrain. The C&C connected the Western Maryland at Elkins with the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad at Charleston, providing new markets for West Virginia coal. Construction commenced in 1903 and was completed in 1905, requiring twelve tunnels and thirty steel bridges. The town Gassaway, in Braxton County, was located at the mid-point of the rail line and became the divisional headquarters of the line. Ultimately, the WVC, P&C, and C&I were acquired by the Western Maryland Railroad and the C&C was absorbed by the B&O.

Early on in his career, Davis recognized that being in politics would further his business. Consequently, Davis ran for office on the democratic platform and was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1865 representing Hampshire County. Davis was very influential in the creation of Mineral and Grant counties in 1866, an effort which advanced his business interests. He was elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1868 and served in that capacity until 1871, when he was elected to the United States Senate. Davis served as a West Virginia Senator from 1871 to 1883.

Davis retired from politics in 1883 and returned to West Virginia to oversee his coal and banking interests. He then formed the Davis Coal and Coke Company with his son-in-law Stephen B. Elkins in 1886. The company controlled 135,000 acres of coal and timber lands, employed 1600 workers, operated nine mines, and furnished coal to be coked in its more than 1000 coke ovens. By 1892 Davis Coal and Coke was one of the largest coal producers world-wide.

Reluctantly, Davis was nominated as the vice-presidential candidate in the 1904 presidential election with Alton B. Parker as his running mate and presidential candidate. They lost to the Roosevelt-Fairbanks ticket by a wide margin. In running for office at the age of 80 Davis had become, and remains, one of the oldest candidates to have ever run for vice president of the United States.

Although retired from public service, Davis was appointed to represent the United States at the Pan-American Conferences (1889-1902) and later was appointed permanent chairman of the Pan-American Railway Committee, which he served from 1901 to his death in 1916. (The Pan-American Railway was a failed intercontinental railroad scheme. Promoters wanted to connect the capitals and principle cities of South and Central America with North America by rail). Davis also served as Chairman of the West Virginia Semi-Centennial Commission in 1913, the group tasked with planning the "Golden Jubilee" or 50th anniversary of West Virginia statehood.

Davis's philanthropic legacy was notable. His charitable activities included funding the Davis Children's Shelter in Charleston, West Virginia, a shelter for orphaned and neglected children (1896); the Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church, a church built in memory of his wife Katherine Bantz Davis; and the Davis Memorial Hospital in Davis, also constructed as a memorial to his deceased wife. Perhaps most notably, he donated the land for Davis and Elkins College in 1904, a liberal arts college named in honor of H.G. Davis and Stephen B. Elkins.

Davis married Katherine Ann Salome Bantz on 22 February 1853. The couple had eight children, three of whom died in infancy. The oldest child, Mary Louise "Hallie" Davis, married US Senator Stephen B. Elkins on 14 April 1875, linking the names Davis and Elkins forever.

Daughter Grace Thomas Davis became the namesake of Graceland, Davis's country mansion in Davis, West Virginia, and after his wife died she became his hostess for events held at the mansion. His older son Henry Gassaway Davis was something of a troubled soul, and was lost at sea in 1896. His youngest son John Thomas Davis worked closely with his father, was later associated with Davis and Elkins College, and became a coal operator and banker.

Henry Gassaway Davis passed in Washington D.C. on 11 March 1916 at the age of 93. He is interred at Maplewood Cemetery, Elkins, West Virginia.

Sources:

Clarke, Alan. The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg: a Western Maryland Predecessor. Lynchburg: TLC Publishing. 2003.

Hicks, W. Raymond. "The West Virginia Central & Pittsburgh Railway. The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43518154

Lewis, Ronald L. Transforming the Appalachian Countryside: Railroads, Deforestation, and Social Change in West Virginia, 1880-1920. Chapel Hill: University off North Carolina Press, 1998.

Rice, Donald L. "Coal & Coke Railway." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1337

Ross, Thomas Richard. "Henry Gassaway Davis." The West Virginia Encyclopedia. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1711

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and business papers of Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916), a successful businessman and politician from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. The collection largely documents his business and political career, although there are personal papers in the collection as well. His business interests were largely concerned with coal mining, timber, and railroads. Types of documents include letters, reports, account books, and maps, among other material. Much of the correspondence is arranged alphabetically. The scope and content note of each record series provides substantial detail regarding content.

Series include:
Series 1a. Business Papers, 1882-1909 (boxes 1-29)
Series 1b. Banking Records, 1886-1916 (boxes 30-33)
Series 2. Coal Company Operations, 1799-1915 (boxes 34-48)
Series 3. Miscellaneous Papers, 1855-1916 (boxes 49-62)
Series 4. Miscellaneous Letters, 1872-1915 (boxes 63-65)
Series 5. Miscellaneous Bills and Receipts, 1872-1918 (boxes 66-82)
Series 6. Miscellaneous, 1872-1916 (boxes 83-115)
Series 7. Alexander Shaw Lawsuit, 1880-1894 (boxes 116-118)
Series 8. Personal and Political Papers, 1870-1916 (boxes 119-145)
Series 9. Railroads, 1862-1916 (boxes 146-189)
Series 10. West Virginia Semi-Centennial Commission, 1911 August 9–1913 July 26 (box 190)
Series 11. T.B. Davis Papers, 1879-1915 (box 191)
Series 12. Davis Memorial Hospital and Church, 1898-1916 (boxes 192-193)
Series 13. H.G. Davis and Brother, 1868-1905 (boxes 194-197)
Series 14. Real Estate and Timber, 1869-1915 (boxes 198-202)
Series 15. H.G. Davis Letter Books, 1865-1916 (boxes 203-231)
Series 16. West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Company Letter Books, 1880-1903 (boxes 232-240)
Series 17. Minute, Letter, and Other Books, 1881-1914 (boxes 241-247)
Series 18. Oversized Ledgers, 1884-1913 (boxes 248-260)

Among Davis's correspondents are:
U.S. Representative John D. Alderson
West Virginia Governor George W. Atkinson
U.S. Senator William Henry Barnum
U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Thomas F. Bayard
U.S. Minister to the Netherlands August Belmont, Sr.
U.S. Senator James G. Blaine
U.S. Senator Calvin S. Brice
U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan
U.S. Senator Johnson N. Camden
industrialist Andrew Carnegie
President of Mexico General Porfirio Díaz
U.S. Secretary of War Stephen Benton Elkins
U.S. Minister to France Charles J. Faulkner, Sr.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad President John W. Garrett
Olympian Robert S. Garrett
James Cardinal Gibbons (Cardinal, Archbishop of Baltimore)
U.S. Senator Arthur Pue Gorman
U.S. President Benjamin Harrison
Confederate cartographer Jedidiah (Jed) Hotchkiss
Maryland Governor Elihu Emory Jackson
U.S. Senator John E. Kenna
U.S. Secretary of War Daniel S. Lamont
U.S. Congressman Adam Brown Littlepage
U.S. Representative James Tilghman Lloyd
President of the WV Supreme Court of Appeals Daniel Bedinger Lucas
Consul General of Wurttemberg Charles F. Mayer
West Virginia Governor William A. McCorkle
U.S. Senator John R. McPherson
U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Joseph S. Miller
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad President Oscar G. Murray
Pennsylvania Railroad President George Brooke Roberts
Southern Railway President Samuel Spencer
U.S. Senator Thomas Taggart
U.S. Senator Daniel W. Voorhees
U.S. Senator Thomas J. Walsh
U.S. Secretary of the Navy William Collins Whitney
Maryland Governor William Pinkney Whyte
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Windom

Related Material

13, 717, 1028

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Significant Persons Associated With the Collection

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Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Series 1a. Business Papers (boxes 1-29)
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Mixed Materials Box: 2 Mixed Materials Box: 3a Mixed Materials Box: 3b Mixed Materials Box: 4 Mixed Materials Box: 5 Mixed Materials Box: 6a Mixed Materials Box: 6b Mixed Materials Box: 7 Mixed Materials Box: 8 Mixed Materials Box: 9 Mixed Materials Box: 10a Mixed Materials Box: 10b Mixed Materials Box: 11a Mixed Materials Box: 11b Mixed Materials Box: 12 Mixed Materials Box: 13a Mixed Materials Box: 13b Mixed Materials Box: 14 Mixed Materials Box: 15 Mixed Materials Box: 16 Mixed Materials Box: 17 Mixed Materials Box: 18 Mixed Materials Box: 19 Mixed Materials Box: 20 Mixed Materials Box: 21 Mixed Materials Box: 22 Mixed Materials Box: 23 Mixed Materials Box: 24 Mixed Materials Box: 25 Mixed Materials Box: 26 Mixed Materials Box: 28 Mixed Materials Box: 29 1882–1909
Scope and Contents

This series includes H.G. Davis's incoming business correspondence. It consists of daily communications from his managers related to the day-to-day operations of the Buxton and Landstreet Store (the company store), Coal and Coke Railroad, Davis Coal and Coke Company, Davis Colliery Company, the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway, and his other business concerns. There is also incoming correspondence from the Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore and Ohio railroads, and numerous manufacturers and vendors. In addition to the business correspondence, some of Davis's personal and family correspondence is filed in this series as well, including materials regarding charity, financial solicitations, and other topics.

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Series 1b. Banking Records (boxes 30-33)
Mixed Materials Box: 30 Mixed Materials Box: 31 Mixed Materials Box: 32 Mixed Materials Box: 33 1886–1916
Scope and Contents

This series includes bank account books, bank account balance sheets, and bank statements for various H.G. Davis enterprises, including Davis and Trout, H.G. Davis and Company, H.G. Davis and Brother, and T.B. Davis and Company. In addition, there are sawmill accounts and other inventories.

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Series 2. Coal Company Operations (boxes 34-48)
Mixed Materials Box: 34 Mixed Materials Box: 35 Mixed Materials Box: 36 Mixed Materials Box: 38 1799–1917
Scope and Contents

This series includes day-to-day correspondence relating to the operation and conditions of the Davis Coal and Coke and the Davis Colliery companies coal mines and coke ovens. Other correspondence includes coal car availability, coal quality issues, estimates and costs for coal town construction, miners' wages, and the price of coal.

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Series 3. Miscellaneous Papers (boxes 49-62)
Mixed Materials Box: 49 Mixed Materials Box: 50 Mixed Materials Box: 51 Mixed Materials Box: 52 Mixed Materials Box: 53 Mixed Materials Box: 54 Mixed Materials Box: 55 Mixed Materials Box: 56 Mixed Materials Box: 57 Mixed Materials Box: 58 Mixed Materials Box: 59 Mixed Materials Box: 60 Mixed Materials Box: 61 Mixed Materials Box: 62 1855–1916
Scope and Contents

These papers include construction estimates for railroad buildings and bridges, correspondence with the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, correspondence with railroad construction contractors, memoranda of agreement between H.G. Davis and other railroads, miscellaneous financial statements, and papers regarding the formation of Seaboard Steam Coal Association (a coal producer syndicate). Other materials include deeds, maps, newspaper clippings regarding the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and newspaper clippings regarding the 1916 death of H.G. Davis.

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Series 4. Miscellaneous Letters (boxes 63-65)
Mixed Materials Box: 63 Mixed Materials Box: 64 Mixed Materials Box: 65 1872–1915
Scope and Contents

This series includes miscellaneous correspondence and letters, as well as deeds, financial statements, and memoranda of agreement.

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Series 5. Miscellaneous Bills and Receipts (boxes 66-82)
Mixed Materials Box: 66 Mixed Materials Box: 67 Mixed Materials Box: 68 Mixed Materials Box: 69 Mixed Materials Box: 70 Mixed Materials Box: 71 Mixed Materials Box: 72 Mixed Materials Box: 73 Mixed Materials Box: 74 Mixed Materials Box: 75 Mixed Materials Box: 76 Mixed Materials Box: 77 Mixed Materials Box: 78 Mixed Materials Box: 79 Mixed Materials Box: 80 Mixed Materials Box: 81 Mixed Materials Box: 82 1872–1918
Scope and Contents

The majority of these papers are bank statements for several banks including the Davis National Bank, Davis National Bank-Piedmont, Davis Trust Company, Elkins National Bank, Piedmont National Bank, Trust Company of West Virginia, Tucker County Bank, and the 1st National Bank of Elkins, as well as statements from the Davis Electric Light Company and various coal and coke production statements. There are also bank account books, blank checks, check registers, and check stubs.

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Series 6. Miscellaneous (boxes 83-115)
Mixed Materials Box: 83 Mixed Materials Box: 84 Mixed Materials Box: 85 Mixed Materials Box: 86 Mixed Materials Box: 87 Mixed Materials Box: 88 Mixed Materials Box: 89 Mixed Materials Box: 90 Mixed Materials Box: 91 Mixed Materials Box: 92 Mixed Materials Box: 93 Mixed Materials Box: 94 Mixed Materials Box: 95 Mixed Materials Box: 96 Mixed Materials Box: 97 Mixed Materials Box: 98 Mixed Materials Box: 99 Mixed Materials Box: 100 Mixed Materials Box: 101 Mixed Materials Box: 102 Mixed Materials Box: 103 Mixed Materials Box: 104 Mixed Materials Box: 105 Mixed Materials Box: 106 Mixed Materials Box: 107 Mixed Materials Box: 108 Mixed Materials Box: 109 Mixed Materials Box: 110 Mixed Materials Box: 111 Mixed Materials Box: 112 Mixed Materials Box: 113 Mixed Materials Box: 114 Mixed Materials Box: 115 1872–1916
Scope and Contents

This series includes miscellaneous business correspondence related to land acquisitions and railroads; miscellaneous banking, financial, and tax statements; various lawsuits and other litigation records; and documents regarding the Gassaway, West Virginia reservoir and water works.

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Series 7. Alexander Shaw Lawsuit (boxes 116-118)
Mixed Materials Box: 116 Mixed Materials Box: 117 Mixed Materials Box: 118 1880–1894
Scope and Contents

These documents are related to the Alexander Shaw v. H.G. Davis and the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Company lawsuit, which concerned the construction of the Piedmont and Cumberland Railway Company. There are legal briefs, depositions, and testimony; financial statements for the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway and Piedmont and Cumberland Railway companies; and other lawsuit related documents.

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Series 8. Personal and Political Papers (boxes 119-145)
Mixed Materials Box: 119 Mixed Materials Box: 120 Mixed Materials Box: 121 Mixed Materials Box: 122 Mixed Materials Box: 123 Mixed Materials Box: 124 Mixed Materials Box: 125 Mixed Materials Box: 126 Mixed Materials Box: 127 Mixed Materials Box: 128 Mixed Materials Box: 129 Mixed Materials Box: 130 Mixed Materials Box: 131 Mixed Materials Box: 132 Mixed Materials Box: 133 Mixed Materials Box: 134 Mixed Materials Box: 135 Mixed Materials Box: 136 Mixed Materials Box: 137 Mixed Materials Box: 138 Mixed Materials Box: 139 Mixed Materials Box: 140 Mixed Materials Box: 141 Mixed Materials Box: 142 Mixed Materials Box: 143 Mixed Materials Box: 144 Mixed Materials Box: 145 1870–1916
Scope and Contents

Personal papers include financial statements; correspondence regarding the Davis Children's Shelter; documents related to the design and construction of Graceland, including correspondence with Baldwin and Pennington (Graceland's architects); and obituary notices for the 1902 death of Katherine Bantz Davis, wife of H.G. Davis. Political papers include letters related to the 1913 West Virginia Semi-Centennial celebration; correspondence and materials related to Davis's 1904 Vice Presidential nomination, such as congratulatory telegrams, and other Parker/Davis ticket papers; and other political letters.

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Series 9. Railroads (boxes 146-189)
Mixed Materials Box: 146 Mixed Materials Box: 147 Mixed Materials Box: 148 Mixed Materials Box: 149 Mixed Materials Box: 150 Mixed Materials Box: 151 Mixed Materials Box: 152 Mixed Materials Box: 153 Mixed Materials Box: 154 Mixed Materials Box: 155 Mixed Materials Box: 156 Mixed Materials Box: 157 Mixed Materials Box: 158 Mixed Materials Box: 159 Mixed Materials Box: 160 Mixed Materials Box: 161 Mixed Materials Box: 162 Mixed Materials Box: 163 Mixed Materials Box: 164 Mixed Materials Box: 165 Mixed Materials Box: 166 Mixed Materials Box: 167 Mixed Materials Box: 168 Mixed Materials Box: 169 Mixed Materials Box: 170 Mixed Materials Box: 171 Mixed Materials Box: 172 Mixed Materials Box: 173 Mixed Materials Box: 174 Mixed Materials Box: 175 Mixed Materials Box: 176 Mixed Materials Box: 177 Mixed Materials Box: 178 Mixed Materials Box: 179 Mixed Materials Box: 180 Mixed Materials Box: 181 Mixed Materials Box: 182 Mixed Materials Box: 183 Mixed Materials Box: 184 Mixed Materials Box: 185 Mixed Materials Box: 186 Mixed Materials Box: 187 Mixed Materials Box: 188 Mixed Materials Box: 189 1862–1916
Scope and Contents

This series includes day-to-day correspondence related to the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway and the Piedmont and Cumberland Railway companies. Other records regard the Coal and Coke Railway, the Coal and Iron Railway (surveys and related documents), the Cookerly Farm Railroad War, the Pan-American Railroad commission, and the Potomac and Piedmont Coal Railway Company (1866 charter and related materials). There is also correspondence with other railroad companies, Shaw lawsuit materials, financial statements, payrolls for various farm and railroad departments, and materials regarding the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

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Series 10. West Virginia Semi-Centennial Commission (box 190)
Mixed Materials Box: 190 1911 August 9–1913 July 26
Scope and Contents

This series includes correspondence related to the "Golden Jubilee," the 1913 West Virginia Semi-Centennial, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of West Virginia's statehood. The correspondence regards the purchasing of American flags for each of West Virginia's fifty-five counties, the composition of a state poem and state song, and the appointment of West Virginia University Professor James Morton Callahan to author a semi-centennial history of West Virginia.

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Series 11. T.B. Davis Papers (box 191)
Mixed Materials Box: 191 1879–1915
Scope and Contents

These papers are related to Thomas B. Davis's estate such as financial statements for his business concerns of H.G. Davis and Company and its successor H.G. Davis and Brother, as well as other estate related documents.

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Series 12. Davis Memorial Hospital and Church (boxes 192-193)
Mixed Materials Box: 192 Mixed Materials Box: 193 1898–1916
Scope and Contents

The Hospital and Church were both built in memory of H.G. Davis's wife Katherine Bantz Davis. The Hospital papers include financial reports, miscellaneous letters, and various pamphlets from other hospitals. The Church papers include correspondence from architects Harding and Upman, and various catalogs and documents relating to the church organ, seating, light fixtures, roofing, and ironwork.

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Series 13. H.G. Davis and Brother (boxes 194-197)
Mixed Materials Box: 194 Mixed Materials Box: 195 Mixed Materials Box: 196 Mixed Materials Box: 197 1867–1905
Scope and Contents

These papers are related to the business concerns of H.G. Davis and his brother Thomas B. Davis. Materials include correspondence related to the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway, deeds for their various railroads, railroad survey proposals and cost estimates, and real estate tax records. There are also employee rosters and payrolls for the Deer Park sawmill.

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Series 14. Real Estate and Timber (boxes 198-202)
Mixed Materials Box: 198 Mixed Materials Box: 199 Mixed Materials Box: 200 Mixed Materials Box: 202 1869–1915
Scope and Contents

These materials include correspondence related to the acquisition and sale of real estate, including timber and coal lands.

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Series 15. H.G. Davis Letter Books (boxes 203-231)
Mixed Materials Box: 203 Mixed Materials Box: 204 Mixed Materials Box: 205 Mixed Materials Box: 206 Mixed Materials Box: 207 Mixed Materials Box: 208 Mixed Materials Box: 209 Mixed Materials Box: 210 Mixed Materials Box: 211 Mixed Materials Box: 212 Mixed Materials Box: 213 Mixed Materials Box: 214 Mixed Materials Box: 215 Mixed Materials Box: 216 Mixed Materials Box: 217 Mixed Materials Box: 218 Mixed Materials Box: 219 Mixed Materials Box: 220 Mixed Materials Box: 221 Mixed Materials Box: 222 Mixed Materials Box: 223 Mixed Materials Box: 224 Mixed Materials Box: 225 Mixed Materials Box: 226 Mixed Materials Box: 227 Mixed Materials Box: 228 Mixed Materials Box: 229 Mixed Materials Box: 230 Mixed Materials Box: 231 1865–1916
Scope and Contents

This series contains letter books of outgoing correspondence.

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Series 16. West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Letter Books (boxes 232-240)
Mixed Materials Box: 232 Mixed Materials Box: 233 Mixed Materials Box: 234 Mixed Materials Box: 235 Mixed Materials Box: 236 Mixed Materials Box: 237 Mixed Materials Box: 238 Mixed Materials Box: 239 Mixed Materials Box: 240 1880–1903
Scope and Contents

These letters include correspondence from E.W.S. Moore (treasurer/secretary) and C.M. Headley (assistant to the president) regarding the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Company. There is also outgoing correspondence from the President's Office regarding the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Company.

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Series 17. Minute, Letter, and Other Books (boxes 241-247)
Mixed Materials Box: 241 Mixed Materials Box: 242 Mixed Materials Box: 243 Mixed Materials Box: 244 Mixed Materials Box: 245 Mixed Materials Box: 246 Mixed Materials Box: 247 1881–1914
Scope and Contents

These materials include H.G. Davis check stubs, 1896 Intercontinental Railway Commission Report, Hamilton Coal Company Stock Certificate Book, Hamilton Coal Company Minute Book, Piedmont and Cumberland Railway Company letter books, Gassaway Development Company correspondence, and Gassaway Church correspondence. There are also C.M. Headley (assistant to the president) outgoing letters regarding Hamilton Coal Company, the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway Company, the Coal and Iron Railroad, and the Coal and Coke Railway.

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Series 18. Oversized Ledgers (unboxed)
Mixed Materials Unboxed Object: 4-17 1884–1913
Scope and Contents

Oversized volumes include the Central Railway of Virginia (unrelated to the Virginia Central Railroad) Board of Directors ledger and route survey reports; Central Railroad of West Virginia (unrelated to the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway) ledger and stockholders' minutes; newspaper clippings scrapbook (1884-1894); H.G. Davis's personal name and address books; C.M. Headley's (assistant to the president) outgoing correspondence (1893-1894); and West Virginia Semi-Centennial Commission letter book (1911-1913).

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