Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blue Ridge Springs Correspondence, 1895-1942, Ms2024-089, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Blue Ridge Springs Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in April 2017.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Blue Ridge Springs Correspondence was completed in September 2024.

Biographical Note

Elizabeth "Bettie" Virginia Ferries (also Ferris) Gross (1875-1964) of Bedford County, Virginia, married William "Bill" Gross (1865-1946), a grocery store merchant from Bedford County. They lived in Blue Ridge Springs for a time before they moved to Troutville, where they later died. Bettie had an older brother named Joseph Ferries (also Ferris) (1865-1955), a farmer originally from Bedford County. Joseph married Lucy M. Thomas (1865-1933) in Bedford County in 1907. Joseph owned a farm in Blue Ridge Springs, Botetourt County, Virginia, and he lived there until his death in 1955.

External Sources:

1880 United States Federal Census

Joseph L. Farrissin entry, The Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, online https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/3970051:60214, accessed on September 6, 2024.

William M Gross entry, The Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, online https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/2293012:9278, accessed on September 6, 2024.

Joseph Lee Ferris entry, The Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, online https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/1871648:9278, accessed on September 6, 2024.

"Lucy M Thomas" entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62066298/lucy_m_ferries, accessed on September 6, 2024.

"Elizabeth Virginia 'Bettie' Ferris Gross" entry, findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62086440/elizabeth-virginia-gross, accessed on September 6, 2024.

Scope and Content

This collection contains seven postcards to Elizabeth "Bettie" Gross and her husband William "Bill" Gross in Blue Ridge Springs, Botetourt County, Virginia. These postcards dated 1910-1942 are from various family members on general topics of health and vacations. One undated postcard that addressed Bettie as "Sister" mentions a fear of travelling due to the flu. This collection also contains two letters and a smaller note from Lucy M. Thomas of Bedford County, Virginia, to Joseph Ferries(?), a farmer in Blue Ridge Springs. The letters dated 1895 and 1905 also discuss general topics of health. In the 1895 letter, Lucy tells Joseph Ferries that she heard small pox was in Blue Ridge. Also included in the 1895 letter and in the smaller note are romantic newspaper clippings.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Botetourt County (Va.)
• Correspondence
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Virginia, Southwest

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Blue Ridge Springs Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).