Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk. (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Provenance

This collection came from the estate sale of James and Frances (Dellinger) Sheetz and subsequent re-sale on Ebay.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Sheetz and Dellinger Family Papers, 1870-1950, SC 0317, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

Purchased on August 25, 2009 through eBay.

Processing Information

The collection originally included a leather photo album that measured 8" by 10.25" and was 1.5" thick and was embossed with flowers and a spade. Photographs were separated from the original album due to preservation issues. Each photograph or any other materials that were contained inside the album have been accounted for, numbered according to the original collection number, and are included within the collection.

The collection number was updated in June 2021 from P 0001 to SC 0317 to 1. align with established manuscript collection numbering scheme with SC prefix and 2. renumber all "photograph" collections with P prefix. The collection name was updated from Sheetz-Dellinger Collection to Sheetz and Dellinger Family Papers to more accurately reflect the collection's creators and material type. The folder numbers were also updated to start over with box 2. No significant changes were made to the collection description at this time.

Bio/Historical Note

James Samuel Sheetz of Edinburg, Virginia, was born on April 6, 1917. He graduated from Edinburg High School in 1937 and married Frances Dellinger, also of Edinburg (date unknown). James passed away on May 22, 1994.

Frances Dellinger Sheetz was born on May 23, 1918 in Edinburg, Virginia, to Lula and John Dellinger. Frances graduated from Edinburg High School in 1937 and married James S. Sheetz of Edinburg. She was an active member of her community and church, first at St. Paul's United Church of Christ of Edinburg until its dissolution, and then to St. Johns United Church of Christ in Hamburg. She was also a participant of the Edinburg Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary, the Shenandoah County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, the Homemakers Department of the Shenandoah County Fair Association, the Edinburg Heritage Foundation, and the Family and Community Education Club. Frances passed away on Thursday, April 16, 2009, at the age of 90.

Scope and Content

The Sheetz and Dellinger Family Papers, 1870s-1950s, comprise 92 photographs, two Edinburg High School diplomas, an assortment of school report cards and other papers, and various miscellaneous materials pertaining to James S. Sheetz, Frances Dellinger Sheetz, and their family and friends.

Series 1. Photographs, contains eleven folders of portraits and other photographic images of various men, women, and children, presumably friends and family members of the Sheetz and Dellinger families. All of the photos are sepia or black and white, and most are accompanied by a matte frame which sometimes gives the photographer's name and is decoratively embellished. All of the images are arranged by subject matter, beginning with large groups, couples, families, women, men, children, and finally houses, landscapes, and miscellaneous photos. A large portion of the photographs are professionally done, and as a whole Series 1 offers a glimpse into the popular fashions of men, women, and children in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Series 2. Ephemera, comprises three folders that include school materials such as report cards, diplomas, a book of graduation name cards, and various ceremony and theatrical programs. The last of the three folders is titled "Miscellaneous" and consists of memorial cards, election reminder and birthday cards, a newspaper clipping, a Lententide folio from Emanuel Lutheran Church, a theatrical play booklet, and a used envelope. The memorial cards may prove useful when researching death and memorial rituals of Victorian culture in the late nineteenth century.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two series:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Dellinger family
• Edinburg (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• Family papers
• Photographs
• Sheetz family
• Sheetz, Frances, 1918-2009
• Sheetz, James S. (James Samuel), 1917-1994
• Shenandoah County (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
• United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
• Virginia -- Genealogy -- Sources
• Virginia -- History -- Sources
• Virginia -- History, Local -- Sources
• Virginia -- Social life and customs
• eBay (Firm)