A Guide to the Withers Papers (Chitwood Collection), 1881-1943, Undated. Withers Papers, Chitwood Collection, 1881-1943 2006.7

A Guide to the Withers Papers (Chitwood Collection), 1881-1943, Undated.

A Collection in
Special Collections, Kegley Library
Collection Number 2006.7


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Special Collections, Kegley Library, Wytheville Community College

Special Collections
Kegley Library
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, Virginia 24382-3308
USA
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Processed by: Cathy Carlson Reynolds

Repository
Special Collections, Kegley Library
Collection Number
2006.7
Title
Withers Papers (Chitwood Collection) 1881-1943
Physical Characteristics
52 folders.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Withers Papers (Chitwood Collection), Mss. Collection 2006.7, Kegley Library, Wytheville Community College, Wytheville, VA

Acquisition Information

Donated by Ruth Ann Chitwood in 2001 as part of the W. R. Chitwood Collection.

Biographical Information

Robert Enoch Withers

Robert Enoch Withers, son of Robert Walter Withers and Susan Dabney Alexander Withers, was born on 18 September 1821 at Rock Castle in Campbell County, Virginia. Withers followed his father's footsteps by becoming a physician; he graduated from the University of Virginia with a medical degree and trained at the Baltimore Almshouse Hospital.

He married Mary Virginia Royall on 3 February 1846; she was the daughter of Joseph Edwin Royall and Mary Elizabeth Royall of Lynchburg, Virginia. The young couple settled in Campbell County where he practiced medicine. During their sojourn in that county, Mary Virginia Royall Withers and Robert Enoch Withers had six daughters including Elizabeth Royall Withers (1846-1927), Susan Dabney Withers (1848-1924), Alice Chinn Withers (1850-1892), Jennett Ann Withers (1851-1945), Mary Virginia Withers (1853-1855), Josephine Withers (1854-1956), and Kate Massie Withers (1856-1911).

Faced with limited educational opportunities for his growing family, Withers accepted the advice of his cousin, Dr. Edward D. Withers, and moved to Danville, Virginia in August 1858. He joined the practice of his cousin, sent his girls to school at the female seminary run by Rev. Dame, and purchased a house on Wilson Street. Children born in Danville include Betty Ellison Withers (1858-1918), Willie Clare Withers (1859-1939), Virginia Secessia Withers (1861-1939), Robert Edwin Withers (1865-1952), and Mary Thornhill Withers (1867-1874).

When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Robert Enoch Withers joined the Confederate Army as a major; he later became colonel of the 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment until he was wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill. He subsequently oversaw Confederate prisons and hospitals at Danville, Virginia until the end of the war.

Withers served as lieutenant-governor of Virginia in 1873. In 1875 he served as a U. S. Senator for one term. In 1885 President Grover Cleveland appointed him as U. S. Consul to Hong Kong. Withers and some of his family members, including Robert Edwin Withers, journeyed to Hong Kong where they stayed for four years.

Withers moved to Wytheville, Virginia in 1879 and eventually purchased the Ingleside home which his daughter Bettie Ellison Putney later purchased from family members. Robert Edwin Withers Sr. later bought Ingleside from Josephine Putney Dame. After his retirement from politics, Withers remained active in the Episcopal Church and served as Examiner of Records from 1896 to 1907. He died on 21 September 1907.

Robert Edwin Withers Sr.

The eleventh child and only son of Mary Virginia Royall Withers and Robert Enoch Withers, Robert Edwin Withers Sr. was born 13 March 1865 in Danville, Virginia. He attended private schools and the Virginia Military Institute in 1882. At V.M.I. Withers joined Sigma Chi fraternity. After his graduation in 1885, he served as secretary to his father who was U. S. Consul to Hong Kong.

Withers moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893 and began a long career at the Pittsburgh Reduction Company which later became the Aluminum Company of America. He served as treasurer and assistant secretary, vice-president of finance, a director, and as senior vice-president.

He married Mary Cloyd Kent on 2 June 1892. The couple had two sons, Robert Edwin Withers Jr. who was born on 1 June 1894 and Kent Cloyd Withers who was born on 28 December 1910.

As his father, Robert Edwin Withers was an active member of the Episcopal Church. He served as a lay reader and vestry member of Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh for many years.

Withers and his wife purchased Ingleside from Josephine Putney Dame and spent many summers with family members there. Robert Edwin Withers died on 29 December 1952.

Robert Edwin Withers Jr.

Robert Edwin Withers Jr. was born on 1 June 1894. Suffering from various physical and behavior problems, he attended a sanitarium and school run by Dr. Mary Pogue at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He graduated from Yeates Preparatory School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1916 and attended the University of Virginia. When the United States entered World War I, Withers enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps and served guard duty at Grieve, France as a sharpshooter.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1922 with a B. S. in economics. He studied under Rev. W. A. R. Goodwin at the College of William and Mary in 1927 and the following year entered the Virginia Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia to study for the Episcopal priesthood. he was ordained at Emmanuel Church, Glenmore, Buckingham County, Virginia in July 1931. He served several parishes in Appomattox, Buckingham, and Cumberland counties and also in Ridgeland and Bluffton, South Carolina.

Robert Edwin Withers Jr. married Frances Glover Haskin son 10 August 1933. Haskins was a schoolteacher and a native of Buckingham County. They had one daughter, Mary Cloyd Kent Withers, who was born on 28 October 1935. Robert Edwin Withers died in February 1981 and Frances Withers died in October 1989.

Scope and Content

Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood evidently acquired this collection at an estate sale. This collection complements the Withers Family Papers (Mss. Collection 1997.1) donated by Gary and Ann Laing in 1997. This collection is distinguished from the Laing collection as Withers Papers (Chitwood Collection).

The collection consists of the following series: Series I, Correspondence (1899-1943, undated) includes letters to and from Robert Enoch Withers, Robert Edwin Withers Sr., Robert Edwin Withers Jr., and Mary Cloyd Kent Withers.

Series II, Examiner of Records to the Auditor of Public Accounts - Correspondence (1900-1907) contains correspondence of Robert Enoch Withers who served as Examiner of Records for the 15th Judicial District of Virginia from 1896 to 1907. As such Withers reported and audited claims and debts against the Commonwealth of Virginia for Bland, Carroll, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, and Wythe counties. The series include correspondence from guardians, executors, commissioners, and others managing estates or orphans as required by an 4 March 1896 of the General Assembly to report income and personal property.

Series III, Literary Drafts - Word Sketches (Undated), contains drafts and research notes by Mary Cloyd Kent Withers for her booklet Word Sketches of Some of Her Relatives . Series IV, Books (1881, Undated), contains a ledger and a copy of Myers Tactics; the Templar Manual . Series V, Photographs (Undated), contains five photographs while Series VI, Miscellaneous Records (1938, 1942), contains material relating to the Aluminum Company of America and Virginia Military Institute.

Contents List

Series I. Correspondence. 1899-1943, Undated
9 folders.
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Series II. Examiner of Records to the Auditor of Public Accounts - Correspondence. 1900-1907
30 folders.
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Series III. Literary Drafts - Word Sketches. Undated.
9 folders

This series contains handwritten drafts by Mary Cloyd Kent Withers of her book Word Sketches of Some of her Relatives . Also included are research notes on the Kent family, Byars family, Cloyd family, Craig family, Crockett family, and Montgomery family.

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Series IV. Books. 1881, Undated.
2 folders.

This series contains a ledger listing Virginia localities and post offices and Myers Tactics: the Templar Manual by E. B. Myers, published in 1881.

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Series V. Photographs. Undated.
1 folder.

This series contains a folder with five photographs including Robert Edwin Withers Sr., Robert Edwin Withers Jr., Robert Edwin Withers Sr. in an automobile, Robert Edwin Withers Sr. and Robert Edwin Withers Jr. in automobile, and a family group in Hong Kong.

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Series VI. Miscellaneous Records. 1938-1942.
2 folders.
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