Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence 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: Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence, Ms2019-019, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence was donated to Special Collections in 2017.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence was completed in May 2019.

Biographical Note: Julia Ellen Thomas Conway

Julia Ellen Thomas was born in 1848 in Blacksburg, VA, the daughter of Colonel William Thomas and the fifth of five children. Julia and William Buchanan Conway were married in 1870 and settled for a time in Blacksburg where William became a surgeon for the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). They had five children: Daisy, Alfred, William, Archie, and Mary. Julia died in 1916.

Biographical Note: Mary Black Thomas Luster

Mary Black Thomas Luster was born on August 22, 1834 in Blacksburg, VA, the daughter of Colonel William Thomas and the third of five children. Mary married Archiles W. Luster, who was a farmer in Blacksburg, VA. She was a housewife and had no children. Mary died on June 1, 1914.

Scope and Content

The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence consists of letters written to Conway by her sisters, Mary Black Thomas Luster and Ann Elizabeth Thomas (1830-1903) from March 29, 1895 to December 27, 1898. Most of the letters are undated, but are assumed to be written around the time of the dated letters. Topics in the letters include family matters, particularly relating to her daughter, Daisy Conway who seemed to have lived with Julia's sister Mary.

Arrangement Note

The Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence is arranged in chronological order. Most of these have the month and day noted, but do not have the year. We assume they were written within the three year period of 1895-1898.

Related Material

W. B. Conway and Julia Thomas Conway Correspondence (Ms2019-018). Finding aid available online . Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence (Ms2014-015). Finding aid available online . Catlett Conway Correspondence (Ms2012-039). Finding aid available online .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South

Rights Statements for Archival Description

The guide to the Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/) .