Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection, Ms2019-012, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2019.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection was completed in March 2019.

Historical Note

Rosanna Croy Dawson was born on 1822 to Methodist sexton Adam Croy and Elizabeth Echols Croy. Records suggest that Rosanna married William H. Dawson (November 23, 1811-March 27, 1878) between December 30, 1839 and January 2, 1840. William H. Dawson was a teacher. Together they raised nine children in a home located at the intersection of East Roanoke and Wharton Streets. The nine children were Robert M., William Thomas, Melissa Jane, Wesley McDonald, Martha V., Sarah E., Mary M., Maggie R., and Ellen Pauline. William H. Dawson taught mathematics, French, and Latin at the Olin and Preston Institute after it opened in 1851. William was the head of the school until it closed when the Civil War began.

Rosanna's youngest daughter, Ellen, started a dressmaking business out of the house. Following William H. Dawson's death in 1878, Rosanna joined her daughter in the business. Rosanna kept books for the business and actually recorded the names of the women who sewed, the garments they worked on, and the hours they worked to keep track of how much they should be paid.

Rosanna died on March 18, 1906.

Scope and Content

The Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection includes materials from 1847-1907. The collection contains family history related to the Croy-Dawson families, framed + unframed photographs, business papers from the dress shop, and family materials relating to Blacksburg. The collection consists of three series: Diaries, Images, and Papers and Artifacts.

Arrangement Note

The Rosanna Croy Dawson Collection is arranged in three series: Diaries, Images, and Papers and Artifacts. I. Diaries contains the following items: diaries dated 1847-1907, transcripts of diaries, and loose pages that did not belong in the diaries. This series is arranged by material type. II. Images contains photographs and a newspaper clipping. The photographs are of Rosanna and William Dawson, their children and grandchildren, unidentified family members, the Dawson House, and a picture and newspaper clipping of when the Liberty Bell came to Roanoke, VA. This series is arranged by subject. III. Papers and Artifacts contains two sub-series: Family Papers/Genealogy and Ephemera. Family Papers/Genealogy contains primary sources for research, genealogy research, original correspondence, receipts and deeds, a description of William Dawson's chair, and a Roanoke Times article about the collection. Ephemera contains publications, including "The Maid of the Mountains", "The Secret of a Happy Day", "Methodism in Blacksburg", other local history information, and a Washington, D.C. ashtray. This series is arranged by material type.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Blacksburg (Va.)
• Diaries
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Methodist Church (U.S.)
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• Women -- History