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Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterEarl Gregg Swem Library
400 Landrum Dr
Williamsburg, Virginia
Business Number: 757-221-3090
spcoll@wm.edu
URL: https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries-spaces/special-collections
Finding Aid Authors: Hannah Craddock, SCRC Staff.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Use:
Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Preferred Citation:
Wissler-Mayer Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Acquisition Information:
Purchase.
Processing Information:
Accessioned and minimally processed in April 2010. Fully processed by Hannah Craddock, SCRC Staff, in September, 2010.
Scope and Contents
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.
Separated Material
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).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Autograph albums
- Bible records
- Cookbooks
- Ledgers (Accounting)
- Letters (correspondence)
- Pennsylvania--Genealogy
- Pennsylvania--Lancaster County--History
- Photographs
- Receipts (financial records)
- Recipes
- Rockingham County (Va.)--History--19th century
- Rockingham County (Va.)--History--20th century
- Shenandoah County (Va.)--History--19th century
- Virginia--Genealogy
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Pennsylvania--Genealogy
- Pennsylvania--Lancaster County--History
- Rockingham County (Va.)--History--19th century
- Virginia--Genealogy
Container List
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.
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 1 id72407
Correspondence1862-1889Scope and Contents
-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
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 2 id78612
Correspondence1889-1919Scope and Contents
- 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.
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 3 id72409
Financial Records1835-1939Scope and Contents
- 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
- Mixed Materials Box: 3 id72410
Ledger1848-1858Scope and Contents
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)
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 4 id72413
NegativesUndatedScope and Contents
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
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 5 id72412
NegativesUndatedScope and Contents
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
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 6 id79902
Photographs - PortraitsUndatedScope and Contents
Includes pictures of Dr. Wissler, Michelle Lee Boggs (Alice Lee's daughter), Edna, students at the Grottoes School, and unnamed family members.
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 7 id79903
Photographs1912-UndatedScope and Contents
-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
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 8 id79904
Photographs1912-UndatedScope and Contents
-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
- Mixed Materials Box: 4 id72414
Photo AlbumUndatedScope and Contents
Photo Album with Family record in front, Undated, includes 5 loose photographs and 24 formal portraits of family
- Mixed Materials Box: 1 Folder: 9 id72416
Personal Papers1830-1959Scope and Contents
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")
- Mixed Materials Box: 2 id72418
The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the original tongues; and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised1841
- Mixed Materials Box: 2 id72614
Book of Commonplace Poetry1863Scope and Contents
Commonplace book, 1863, complied by Mary E. Baird, Ivy Hall, November 4, 1863
- Mixed Materials Box: 2 id72616
Cookbook1887Scope and Contents
Handwritten Cookbook – M.E. Baird and Samuel J. Baird, includes recipes and fixes for common problems
- Mixed Materials Box: 2 id72617
A Choice Selection of Hymns From Various Authors Recommended to All Denominations for the Worship of God1800-1899Scope and Contents
Fifth Edition
- Mixed Materials Box: 2 id72618
Autograph Album1880-1889Scope and Contents
Belonged to Bessie Mayer
- id72615
Die Bibel oder die ganze heilige Schrift des Alten Und Neuen Testaments nad ber Deutschen Uebersekugn D. Martin Luthers1863Scope and Contents
Leipzig and Dresden: 1863. German Leather Bible belonging to the Reverend Martin Mayer (died in 1873)