1.1 Linear Feet, 1 ft. 1 in. (2 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 large flat storage box, 3 in.)
Creator
Cook, Roy Bird, 1886-1961
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
Abstract
Papers of Thomas Tavenner and the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence; memoirs; journals; financial
and legal documents; pamphlets; newspapers; and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil
War. The Tavenner family were Confederate sympathizers.
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], Roy Bird Cook (1886-1961), Collector, Tavenner Family Papers and Other
Material, A&M 0081, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Roy Bird Cook was born at Roanoke, Lewis County on April 1, 1886, the son of David Bird and Dora Elizabeth Conrad Cook. In
1905, at age 19, he received his pharmacy license, the youngest person to ever do so in West Virginia. His pharmacy career
spanned fifty-six years. During his lifetime, Cook served on many pharmacy and state boards and commissions. His interest
in local history, the Confederacy and Stonewall Jackson inspired him to collect manuscripts and some 600 volumes on those
subjects. His many awards and honors include an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from West Virginia University in 1938.
Papers of Thomas Tavenner and the Tavenner family of western Virginia, including correspondence; memoirs; journals; financial
and legal documents; pamphlets; newspapers; and other material. Much of the material in this collection regards the Civil
War. The Tavenner family were Confederate sympathizers.
The collection is organized into ten series, including:
Series 1. Correspondence; 1796-1955, undated; box 1, folders 1A-20
Series 2. Reminiscences; 1861-1866, undated; box 1, folders 21-23
Series 3. Journals; 1840-1863; box 1, folders 24-25
Series 4. Financial papers; 1821-1901, undated; box 1, folders 26-31
Series 5. Indentures and Deeds; 1783-1855, undated; box 2, folders 1-8
Series 6. Subject series; 1859, undated; box 2, folders 9-15
Series 7. Pamphlets; 1845-1935; box 2, folders 16-19
Series 8. Ephemera; undated; box 2, folder 20
Series 9. Miscellaneous; 1932-1940, undated; box 2, folders 21-23
Series 10. Oversize; 1772-1938; box 3, folders 1-6
For additional information regarding Captain John V. Young of the 11th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, see A&M 895, Cook,
Roy Bird (1886-1961), Collector. Papers
See also A&M 3763, Tavenner, William C. Civil War Correspondence and Other Material
This series includes correspondence between members of the Tavenner family in (West) Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Louisiana,
and Michigan. Other correspondence includes Mason Matthews to his son Joseph William Matthews, CSA; Rev. Enoch Rector and
Rector College; Andrew S. Rowan; and Capt John V. Young, 11th Virginia, USA.
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1A
Cook, Roy Bird Correspondence (Tavenner Genealogy)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1B
Tavenner Family
1818-1846
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2
Tavenner Family
1847-1854
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3
Tavenner Family
1854-1861
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4
Tavenner Family
1861-1865
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 5
Tavenner Family
1867
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 6
Tavenner Family
1867-1868
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 7
Tavenner Family
1868-1876
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 8
Tavenner Family
1876-1878
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 9
Tavenner Family
1879-1882
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 10
Tavenner Family
1883-1955
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 11
Tavenner Family
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 12
Tavenner Family
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 13
Tavenner Family (copies)
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 14
Matthews, Mason to His son, Joseph William Matthews, CSA (contains transcripts)
1861-1865
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 15
Rector College and Reverend Enoch Rector (transcripts)
1822-1936
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 16
Rowan, Andrew S. (contains transcripts)
1823-1937
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 17
Young, John V., Captain, 11th Virginia, Company G (Union) (contains transcriptions)
1862-1864
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 18
Young, John V., Captain, 11th Virginia, Company G (Union) (contains transcriptions)
1864-1865
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 19
Young, John V., Captain, 11th Virginia, Company G (Union) (contains transcriptions)
This series includes receipts, tax papers, business contracts and miscellaneous items. Also includes an account book of Thomas
Tavenner (1858-59) and a Cow Book.
Series 5. Indentures and Deeds, Box 2, Folders 1-8
1783-1855, undated
Scope and Contents
This series includes indentures for lands deeded to George Washington by King George III, 19 February 1754 and deeds regarding
land purchases by Thomas Tavenner and various members of his family. Most deeds are for land in Wood County, while others
are for land located in Monongalia, Kanawha, Wirt, and Harrison counties in western Virginia, and Edwards and Wabash counties
in Illinois.
This series consists of a Kanawha Valley Economic Petition with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; an index of articles on the
John Brown Raid in the Battle Creek (Weekly) Journal (Michigan); a Civil War play about Gauley Mountain; a short history of
the 133rd Virginia Militia; poetry written by Thomas Tavenner; and a typescript history of the property title for Weston State
Hospital (5 pages).
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 9
Kanawha Valley Economic Petition with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 10
Annotated List of Articles in the Battle Creek (Weekly) Journal (Michigan) Regarding John Brown and His Followers
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography . Vol. 9, no. 1 (July 1901)
1901
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 17
Southern Literary Messenger and Southern and Western Literary Messenger and Review . Vol. 13, no. 9 (September 1847)
1847
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 18
Item 1: The Home Circle (July 1856 and October 1856, Nashville)
1856
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 18
Item 2: Southern Planter . No. 6 (June 1856)
1856
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 18
Item 3: Address of the Hon. Charles. J Faulkner at the Memorial Services in Honor of President Garfield in the Methodist Episcopal
Church, Martinsburg, West Virginia, On Monday, September 26, 1881
1882
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 18
Item 4: Daniel Boone: Little-Known History of the Famous Pioneer, Trail-Blazer, Indian Fighter in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia , by Roy Bird Cook
1938
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 19
Pages from the Past: Recollections, Traditions and Old Timers' Tales of Long Ago , by George W. Summers; 1935.
This series includes typescripts sent to Roy Bird Cook, a Captain's commission (copy) for Henry Harris signed by John Hancock
in 1776, and miscellaneous envelopes and paper.
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 21
Miscellaneous Items and One Commission (copy) Dated 1776
This series includes genealogy (1932) of Mary Randolph Cook, citizenship papers for Ian Christian Brevoor (1797), a map of
George Washington's land grant (1772) on the Little Kanawha River, and Civil War newspapers including 10 issues of the Richmond Whig (1863-64), 11 issues of the Richmond Daily Dispatch (1862, 1864), and miscellaneous newspapers from Staunton, Virginia, New York, Pittsburgh, and Louisville.
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 1
Mary Randolph Cook Genealogy (1932); Citizenship Paper for Ian Christian Brevoor (1797); Map, George Washington Land Grant
(1772)
1772, 1797, 1932
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 2
Richmond Whig , six issues from 1863, four issues from 1864
1863-1864
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 3
Richmond Daily Dispatch , ten issues from 1862, one from 1863, and one from 1864
1862-1864
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 4
Miscellaneous Newspapers
1855-1866
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 5
Miscellaneous Newspapers
1865-1876
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 6
Miscellaneous West Virginia Newspapers including Buckhannon Record, Charleston Gazette and Charleston Daily Mail