David H. Sutton, Compiler, Research Papers regarding Helvetia, West Virginia A&M 3687

David H. Sutton, Compiler, Research Papers regarding Helvetia, West Virginia A&M 3687


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West Virginia and Regional History Center

1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown, WV 26506-6069
Business Number: 304-293-3536
wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com
URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

Staff of the West Virginia & Regional History Center

Repository
West Virginia and Regional History Center
Identification
A&M 3687
Title
David H. Sutton, Compiler, Research Papers regarding Helvetia, West Virginia 1835-2010 1890-1925, 1979
URL:
https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/ark:/99999/209895
Quantity
6.75 Linear Feet, 6 ft. 9 in. (5 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (1 records carton, 15 in.); (1 flat storage box, 3 in.); (3 card boxes, 5 in. each)
Quantity
1.34 Gigabytes, 89 files in .tif and .jpg formats
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Research papers compiled by David H. Sutton documenting the early history of Helvetia, West Virginia, including information regarding the work, recreation, and genealogy of Helvetia's early settlers. The collection includes family papers, letters, oral histories, genealogies, photographs, and other material, regarding the Schneider, Aegerter, Hofer, Favri, and other families. Of special interest are the oral histories conducted and compiled by David Sutton of Helvetia citizens who were residents during the community's formative years (ca. 1880-1900); the interviews cover farming, education, recreation, and food, among other topics. In addition, there is a photocopy facsimile and transcription of an advertisement from 1873 designed to attract settlement to Helvetia by describing the location of the community, job opportunities, wages, terrain, and seasonal weather, among other topics.

Administrative Information

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.

Researchers may access digitized and born digital materials by visiting the link attached to each item or by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], David H. Sutton, Compiler, Research Papers regarding Helvetia, West Virginia, A&M 3687, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.


Scope and Contents

The collection contains material in 19 series, including:

Series 1. Schneider Family

Series 2. Lutz Correspondence

Series 3. Oral Histories -- Transcriptions

Series 4. News clippings

Series 5. Genealogy

Series 6. Research Material

Series 7. Philatelic Material

Series 8. Subjects

Series 9. Ephemera

Series 10. Aegerter Papers

Series 11. Aegerter Photographs with Index

Series 12. Aegerter Photographs from Album

Series 13. Aegerter Photographs from Box

Series 14. Hofer Photographs

Series 15. Oversize Material

Series 16. Oral Histories -- Tapes

Series 17. Glass Plates -- Aegerter

Series 18. Glass Plates -- Hofer

Series 19. Funeral Programs and Obituaries

An album of Ruth Ramsey Marti's postcard correspondence from 1910-1918 can be found in A&M 3819.

Separated Material

Books separated to the WVC Rare Books Collection:

Bollinger, Theodore P., ed. History of Saint John's Classis . Cleveland: Central Pub. House, 1921.

Frey, Heinrich. Schweizer Brevier: Was Ich Von Meiner Heimat Wissen Muss. Bern: Bitterli, 1947.

Keller, Paul. Unsere Schweizerlieder: 118 Volks Und Nationallieder Fur Klavier Allein Oder Fur Gesang Und Klavier = Nos Chants Suisses = I Nostri Canti Svizzeri . Lausanne: Foetisch, 1931.


Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Aegerter family
  • Funeral rites and ceremonies
  • Genealogy - Randolph County (W. Va.)
  • Helvetia (W. Va.)
  • Helvetia (W. Va.) -- History
  • Hoffer family
  • Lumber industry - Randolph County (W. Va.)
  • Lutz family
  • Obituaries and death records.
  • Photographs - Randolph County (W. Va.)
  • Snyder family
  • Steiger family

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

  • Helvetia (W. Va.)
  • Helvetia (W. Va.) -- History

Container List

Series 1. Schneider Family, Box 1
Mixed Materials Box: 1 1904-1970English.
Scope and Contents

Records of the Schneider family, including photographs, photograph albums, post cards, and other material. Items of note include a "bible birthday book" (1944) listing birth dates of friends and family members, a day book regarding management of the Schneider farm, (1942-1968), bull stud breeding receipts (1967, 1969), and other material belonging to Herman Schneider. Also includes material regarding Hedwig Schneider Steiger, Margrit Steiger, and Max Schneider, including portraits, a Steiger family book (1904; contains genealogy information), and an outline of Alvin Schneider's death (1945).

Series 2. Lutz Correspondence, Box 2
Mixed Materials Box: 2 1870-1879English.
Scope and Contents

Includes photocopies of correspondence between land merchant and Helvetia booster C.E. Lutz. and others. There are letters between Lutz, Gideon D. Camden, David Goff, and J.M. Bennett, many of which document the involvement of Lutz in land transactions in Randolph County, West Virginia. There is also a photocopy facsimile and transcription of an advertisement (1873) written by Lutz designed to attract settlers to Helvetia by describing the location of the community, job opportunities, wages, terrain, seasonal weather, and average acreage per plot of land (box 2, folder 1). The letters in folders 2-6 include citations indicating their provenance from the following collections at the West Virginia and Regional History Center: A&M 1199 Camden Papers (1785-1958), A&M 975 Goff Papers (1826-1904), and A&M 32 Bennett Papers (1785-1899).

Series 3. Oral Histories -- Transcriptions, Box 3, Folders 1-7
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 1-7 1979English.
Scope and Contents

Includes five bound transcriptions of eight interviews between the compiler of the collection, David H. Sutton, and various individuals who were raised in the Helvetia community during its early years (1880s through 1890s). The transcriptions cover a wide range of topics including the types of food the interviewees recalled having for supper; the crops that were grown on their farms; and recreational activities, such as attending church, community dances, hunting, playing music, and attending the Helvetia fair. Many interviewees discuss their education, including descriptions of their school house, curriculum, and other activities of a normal school day in the Helvetia community. Interviewees include Minnie Betler Malcomb, Mary Huber Marti, Mary Metzener Morris, Anna Merkli McNeal, Genevieve Hofer, Myrtle Brownersack Koener, Ella Karlen Betler, and Anna Zumbach Daetwyler. This series also includes two photographs of David H. Sutton in the process of interviewing Anna Merkli McNeal and other material. There are also audio recordings of oral history interviews in Series 16 with these interviewees.

Series 4. News Clippings, Box 3, Folders 8-11
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 8-11 1948-1983English.
Scope and Contents

Includes clippings from The Inter-Mountain newspaper (Elkins, West Virginia) and other local papers regarding events and news involving the Helvetia community. Subjects of articles include the historic architecture of Helvetia, a grant for an Appalachian music program, and the naming of Helvetia to the National Register of Historic Places, among other topics.

Series 5. Genealogy, Box 3, Folders 12-25
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 12-25 1835-1836English.
Scope and Contents

Includes genealogies and other material regarding some of Helvetia's early settlers, including the Betz, Merkli, Bopp, Halder, Koprio, Buff, Sennhauser, Stutzman, Vogel, Sassi, Hofer, Asper, Burhl, Hasel, Dubach, Betler, Gimmel, Anderegg, Metzener, and Aegerter families.

Series 6. Research Materials, Box 3, Folders 26-60
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 26-60 1839-1986English.
Series 7. Philatelic Material, Box 3, Folders 61-63
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 61-63 1954-1990sEnglish.
Scope and Contents

Includes event day philatelic covers for Pickens Maple Syrup Festival (1980-1990s) and Helvetia Fair (1980-1990s), both Randolph County, West Virginia events. There are also twenty-five foreign postage stamps from Switzerland ("Helvetia") from 1954, 1955, 1962, and 1987.

Series 8. Subjects, Box 3, Folders 64-73
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 64-73 1893-2004English.
Scope and Contents

Includes two autograph books of Bertha Teuscher (1893-1909), a second cornet part book for a local wind band (ca. 1880-1910), a Pickens High School newsletter titled "Trail Blazer," (1935), a menu from the Helvetia restaurant Hutte (ca. 1960-1980), postcards of Helvetia and Elkins (1982), Helvetia Community Fair premium list (1962), a brochure regarding the Helvetia Players in the comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace," (1968) and other material.

Series 9. Ephemera, Box 3, Folders 74-76
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 74-76 1974English.
Scope and Contents

Includes cardboard ribbons from the Helvetia Community Fair and quilt raffle tickets (1974).

Series 10. Aegerter Papers, Box 3, Folders 77-78
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 77-78 1858-1943English.
Scope and Contents

Includes the personal papers of Gottfried and Maria Anna Aegerter. They include letters, military records, oil and gas lease information, a marriage certificate, and other material.

Series 11. Aegerter Photographs with Index, Box 4
Mixed Materials Box: 4 ca. 1890-1925English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 120 numbered photographs of the Aegerter family and other families of the Helvetia community. The numbers are referenced in a 198 page topical index which provides identification of people and other subject matter in the photographs. There are also images documenting activities such as farming, hunting, clearing timber, playing music, and traveling by horse drawn carriage, among other topics. Photographs numbered 8, 43, 46, 47, 54, 61, 62, 72, 80-84, 89, 100, and 109-114 are missing from this series.

Series 12. Aegerter Photographs from Album, Box 5
Mixed Materials Box: 5 1890-1925English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 120 numbered photographs of the Aegerter family and other families of the Helvetia community. The numbers are referenced in a 198 page topical index which provides identification of people and other subject matter in the photographs. There are also images documenting activities such as farming, hunting, clearing timber, playing music, and traveling by horse drawn carriage, among other topics. Photographs numbered 8, 43, 46, 47, 54, 61, 62, 72, 80-84, 89, 100, and 109-114 are missing from this series.

Series 13. Aegerter Photographs from Box, Box 6, Folders 1-6
Mixed Materials Box: 6 Folder: 1-6 1890-1925English.
Scope and Contents

Includes unidentified photographs of Aegerter family members (originally filed together in a box) similar to those of Series 11 and 12. The Aegerter photographs in this series were originally filed with the Aegerter glass plates in Series 17; there is no apparent connection between this series and Series 17.

Series 14. Hofer Photographs, Box 6, Folders 7-14
Mixed Materials Box: 6 Folder: 7-14 1890-1910English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 35 photos of the Hofer family. Most individuals are identified; identifications are recorded to the back of each print. Family members identified within this series include: John Sr., John, Susie, Ruth, Ernest, Caroline, Gottlieb, Ida, Carrie, Katherina, and Mary Isch. There is no apparent connection between this series and Series 18.

Series 15. Oversize Materials, Box 7
Mixed Materials Box: 7 1889-1988English.
Scope and Contents

Includes a greeting card book belonging to Paul Aegerter, the diary of Ruth Ramsey Marti (1961), a photograph of Mary Ramsey Marti, a photograph of the Ramsey family in Webster County, West Virginia (1896), the Confirmation Certificate of Herman Schneider (1889), a broadside from the Annual Helvetia Ramp Supper (1988), pictures of Helvetia (1890-1910), and a published illustration of Helvetia (1876), and a few more items.

Series 16. Oral Histories -- Tapes, Boxes 8-10
1979English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 66 audio cassette tapes in three boxes of interviews between David H. Sutton and individuals who were raised in Helvetia during the early years of the community. Names of interviewees are listed by each box.

Transcriptions of these interviews can be found in Series 3.

  • Mixed Materials Box: 8
    Oral History Tapes
    1979
    Scope and Contents

    Pesons interviewed: Anna McNeal, Margaret Egleson Isch, Ralph Burkey, Ella Betler, Marian Aegerter Doyle, Margaret Koerner, and Edward A. Sutton.

    Transcriptions of these interviews can be found in Series 3.

  • Mixed Materials Box: 9
    Oral History Tapes
    1979
    Scope and Contents

    Persons interviewed: Helen Schneider Sutton, Hedwig Steiger, Myrtle Koerner, Gene Daetwyler, Anna Sutton Fischer, Della Metzener, Louis Lehmann, and Eleanor Fahrner Mailloux.

    Transcriptions of these interviews can be found in Series 3.

  • Mixed Materials Box: 10
    Oral History Tapes
    1979
    Scope and Contents

    Persons interviewed: Virginia Malcomb Zumbach, Edwin Ramsey, Mary Metzener Morris, Mary Zickefoose, Genevieve Hofer, Minnie Betler Malcomb, Mary Huber Marti, Anna and Freda Balli, Margie Fahrmer Daetwyler, Paul Daetwyler, Anna Zumbach Daetwyler, Julia Arnold, the Helvetia Men's Chorus, and the Helvetia Quartet. Also includes two tapes of interviews by Susan Leffler for West Virginia Public Radio, one of which contains interviews conducted at the Helvetia Fair.

    Transcriptions of these interviews can be found in Series 3.

Series 17. Glass Plates -- Aegerter, Box 11, Folders 1-13
Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 1-13 1890-1925English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 24 glass plate negatives of Helvetia families. Plates of images of the Aegerter and Burkey families in folder 1 are identified; other plates of family images, however, are not identified. Other glass plates depict recreational and outdoor scenes of Helvetia. Folders 2-13 of this series were originally filed with the Aegerter photographs in Series 13. There is no apparent connection between this series and Series 11, 12, and 13.

Series 18. Glass Plates -- Hofer, Box 11, Folders 14-25
Mixed Materials Box: 11 Folder: 14-25 1890-1910English.
Scope and Contents

Includes 12 glass plate negatives of members of the Hofer family and Helvetia community participating in recreational activities such as horseback riding and reading on a creek bank. The glass plates also depict a statue of a horse, a scarecrow in a field, a man holding a Pentecostal hymn song book, as well as other individuals and scenes of Helvetia, West Virginia. There is no apparent connection between this series and Series 14.

Series 19. Funeral Programs and Obituaries, Box 12, Folders 1-8
Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 1-8 ca. 1950s-1995English.
Scope and Contents

Includes funeral and memorial service programs, obituaries, news clippings, and other material related to the deaths of Helvetia residents.

Addendum of 2012 November 28, Box 12, Folders 9-16
Mixed Materials Box: 12 Folder: 9-16 1874, 1950-2010, and undatedEnglish.
Scope and Contents

This addendum includes photographs and negatives, such as negatives of the 1978 Fourth of July and the 1979 Helvetia Fair (1978-1979); oral history releases (1979); a deed pertaining to Upshur and Randolph Counties (1874); Helvetia Farm Women's Club records, record book, and correspondence (1950-2004); Margrit Schneider, nee Steiger, Swiss and American legal papers, including naturalization certificate (1928-1961); Favri correspondence and a typescript Favri family history (1998, undated); and Helvetia: The History of a Swiss Village in the Mountains of West Virginia by David H. Sutton, with two CDs of images used in the book (2010).