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Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterFinding Aid Authors: Hannah Craddock, SCRC Staff.
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Wissler-Mayer Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Purchase.
Accessioned and minimally processed in April 2010. Fully processed by Hannah Craddock, SCRC Staff, in September, 2010.
Papers, circa 1830s-1950s, of the Wissler, Mayer, and Erb families of Grottoes and Columbia Furnace, Virginia, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Included are photographs, an autograph album, a manuscript cookbook, receipts, two ledgers, a Bible and hymn book, a Wissler family record for the descendants of William Franklin Wissler and Elizabeth Mayer (m. 1890), and correspondence.
Artifacts transferred to the Manuscripts Artifact Collection (Mss. 1.03) include: lockbox of Jacob M. Mayer (2010.223.01), small leather change purse (2010.223.02), brown leather coat wallet (2010.223.03), purple leather accordion wallet (2010.223.04).
Includes correspondence ranging in dates from 1862-1919. There is a concentration of letters addressed to Henry Erb the 1870s and three letters from W.L. Wissler during training in the military to his mother.
-Letter dated August 1, 1862, "My dear Grandma," signed "Maggie" -Letter dated December 27, 1873 to Henry Erb, signed "Sarah Burns" - Letter dated March 6, 1874, "Dear Friend" (Henry Erb), signed "Elias Bamberger", from Berkeley County, West Virginia -Letter dated June 30, 1874, "Dear Brother-in-law " (Henry Erb), signed "Elias Bamberger", from Berkeley County, West Virginia -Letter dated July 7, 1874, "Uncle Henry" (Henry Erb), signed "C Kauffman" -Letter dated August 11, 1874, Martinsburg, "Dear Uncle" (Henry Erb), signed "Your affectionate Niece, Lizzie, Andy" -Letter dated November 22, 1874, "Dear Uncle" (Henry Erb), Shippensburg, signed Fannie Bamberger -Letter dated February 16, 1889, "Dear Cousin," signed "Mr. Erb," from San Francisco
- Letter dated February 16, 1889, "Dear Cousin," signed "Mr. Erb," from San Francisco -Wedding invitation, dated October 4, 1898 -Letter dated November 10, 1906, "My darling Mama and girls," signed "C.B. Price" -Letter dated Saturday, May 22, 1915, "Dear Will" -Letter dated June 15, 1915, signed W.F. Wissler -Letter dated July 29, 1917, Marrine barracks, "Dear Mother," signed "Your loving Son" -Letter dated August 31, 1917, "Dear Mother," unsigned -Letter dated September 8, 1917, "Dear Mother," signed "Your Son" -Christmas card from the United States Marine Corps, dated December 17, 1919 -Farm Catalog and letter, dated January, 1923 -Letter dated March 15, 1954, to Mrs. J.M. Wissler, from J.E. Coleman, about an inquiry regarding a watch and clock appraisal -Pamphlet from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare about Social Security, dated August 30, 1954 -Letter, Undated, signed Mary Gochenour, congratulations on wedding
This folder includes receipts, bills, business and land contracts, and a ledger (Item 1) belonging to Henry Erb.
- Receipt from September 30, 1835 to March 22, 1839 - Receipt from September 30, 1835 - Receipt dated January 21, 1837 - Receipt dated December 26, 1838 - County Statement, dated May 24, 1839 - Receipt dated March 8, 1847 -Promissory note dated September 14, 1848 for $15.70 - Receipt dated October 15, 1867 - Tax Receipt, dated 1869, of Martin Coffman - Receipt dated December 25, 1882 -Contract between F.H. Wissler and S.E. Shelton from May, 1903 for a tract of land in Nelson County, Virginia -Certificate of Incorporation of the Nelson Mining and Manufacturing Company in Southampton, Virginia, dated October 29, 1907 -Letter dated June 15, 1915 to the Treasure of Grant County, regarding land and taxes -Check from Augusta-Rorkingham Bank, dated April 4, 1936 for $25.00 -Patronage Dividend from the Southern States cooperation, dated July 1, 1938 and July 1, 1939 -Marks note
Ledger from January 3, 1848 to April 1, 1858, belonging to Henry Erb and relating to Erb and Mayer families
Includes photographs of the family and a photograph album (Item 2)
Subjects Include: -Landscapes -Dr. Wissler -Family Portraits, including Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, -The Grottoes School -The Liberty Furnace ("Great Grandfather [John Wissler] built this church for the people who worked for him at the furnace. Dr. W.F. Wissler is buried here") -Farm Life -Family Pets
Subjects Include: -Landscapes -Dr. Wissler -Family Portraits, including Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, -The Grottoes School -The Liberty Furnace ("Great Grandfather [John Wissler] built this church for the people who worked for him at the furnace. Dr. W.F. Wissler is buried here") -Farm Life -Family Pets
Includes pictures of Dr. Wissler, Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, students at the Grottoes School, and unnamed family members.
-Landscapes -Dr. Wissler -Family Portraits, including Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, -The Grottoes School -The Liberty Furnace ("Great Grandfather [John Wissler] built this church for the people who worked for him at the furnace. Dr. W.F. Wissler is buried here") -Family Pets -Farm Life
-Landscapes -Dr. Wissler -Family Portraits, including Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, -The Grottoes School -The Liberty Furnace ("Great Grandfather [John Wissler] built this church for the people who worked for him at the furnace. Dr. W.F. Wissler is buried here") -Farm Life -Family Pets
Photo Album with Family record in front, Undated, includes 5 loose photographs and 24 formal portraits of family
Includes death notices from newspapers, an American Kennel Club Registration, Drawing of a seal for Elizabeth Erb, typed science exam (Undated), calling cards, and various pamphlets ("Keep 'em Smiling," "What the Stars Say," and "Washington's Birthday Patriotic Service")
Commonplace book, 1863, complied by Mary E. Baird, Ivy Hall, November 4, 1863
Handwritten Cookbook – M.E. Baird and Samuel J. Baird, includes recipes and fixes for common problems
Fifth Edition
Belonged to Bessie Mayer
Leipzig and Dresden: 1863. German Leather Bible belonging to the Reverend Martin Mayer (died in 1873)