Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Fridley and Ripoll Family Papers, A&M 4677, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from Thompson, Thomas, 2021.

Biographical / Historical

The surname Ripoll is of Spanish origin. Casto Ripoll's father was from Tarbena, near Valencia, Spain. He immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s after serving in the Spanish American War. Ripoll's sister ultimately moved to South America, and there is correspondence in the collection from her home in Argentina.

Mote Thompson received his wings in the Navy before going on to fly DC3s in the Pacific for the Marines. Upon completion of his service, Thompson became a two-time West Virginia University graduate, receiving both an undergraduate and a law degree.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains twentieth century papers pertaining to the history of the Fridley and Ripoll (pronounced "Ripple") families of Fayette, Boone and McDowell counties of West Virginia and their descendants, including the Thompson and Sarver families. Topics include the family homestead, finances, religion, travel, education, careers and military service. The collection features a variety of materials such as photographs, certificates, military artifacts, financial records and correspondence.

Collection highlights include a 1945 condolence letter to the Ripoll family from General MacArthur regarding the death of Pvt. Robert "Bobbie" Ripoll, West Virginia 4-H club materials from the mid-1930s, and correspondence from Harry Fridley while traveling the globe serving in the Navy during World War I.

The collection is organized into five series:

Series 1. Photographs, 1890s-1960s (boxes 1-3): Portrait and candid family photos of the Fridley and Ripoll families and their descendants. The photos are primarily organized by family; however, many of the photos' subjects are unidentified.

Series 2. Correspondence, 1900s-1980s (boxes 4-10): Correspondence to and from the Fridley and Ripoll families and their descendants, particularly to and from Robert "Bobbie" Ripoll and Mote Thompson during their World War II service.

Series 3. Family Papers and Ephemera, 1889-1983 (boxes 11-16): Memorabilia such as school assignments and report cards, newspaper clippings, recipes, assorted financial records, contracts and property deeds.

Series 4. Military Papers, 1942-1950 (boxes 17 and 18): Material documenting the Civilian Conservation Corps and military career of Pvt. Robert "Bobbie" Ripoll, 1st Infantry Regiment, 16th Infantry Division US Army, until his death from dengue fever in 1944.

Series 5. Artifacts, 1940s (boxes 19-23): Items primarily belonging to Pvt. Robert "Bobbie" Ripoll during his time in the Civilian Conservation Corps and the military such as first aid and sewing kits and uniform accessories.

A rudimentary family tree is available in the control folder for this collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• West Virginia -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
• World War, 1914-1918
• World War, 1939-1945