Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Montgomery Family Papers, Mss. Collection 2004.7, Kegley Library, Wytheville Community College, Wytheville, VA

Acquisition Information

Donated in 2005 by the Washington County Historical Society who received the collection from the estate of John Rice Montgomery. The Society gave the Kegley Library material pertinent to Wythe County.

Biographical Information

James Cosby Montgomery, the son of John G. Montgomery and Etha Grogan Montgomery, was born in Emory, Virginia on 29 January 1909. He attended schools in Saltville and Glade Spring; he also attended Emory and Henry College before transferring to University of Michigan and ultimate graduation at Radford University with a degree in education. Montgomery also conducted graduate work at the University of Virginia, North Carolina State College, and the University of Michigan. He taught schools in Washington County and Wythe County and also served as principal of Ivanhoe High School before assuming a position as visiting teacher for the Wythe County school system. As such, Montgomery counseled students and their families who withdrew from school for health, economic, and psychological reasons.

James Cosby Montgomery married Rubye Rice, daughter of Hugh P. and Lillie Rice, on 25 December 1939 at the family home in Mendota, Virginia. Rice taught school at Valley Institute high School when she met Montgomery who was teaching near Saltville. They later moved to Wytheville in 1945. Rubye Rice Montgomery taught school at Wytheville Elementary School until her retirement.

Their only child, John Rice Montgomery, was born on 1 June 1944. He attended school in Wythe County, graduating from George Wythe High School in 1962 as valedictorian. He attended the University of Michigan where he received a degree in English in 1966. He then taught English at Jefferson High School, Addison High School, and Fleming High School in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1974 Montgomery became administrator in the Roanoke City Schools and later served as assistant superintendent for Salem City from 1980 to 1986. He then worked as headmaster for the Community School on the Hollins College campus. In 1987 he assumed the executive directorship of Voice of the Blue Ridge, a non-profit group for the blind and visually impaired.

James Cosby Montgomery died on 27 June 1964 after a two year illness from heart problems. Rubye Rice Montgomery died on 1 July 1999 in Roanoke while John Rice Montgomery died on 23 August 2002,also in Roanoke, Virginia. All three are buried in the Holston Conference United Methodist Cemetery in Emory, Virginia.

Scope and Content

This collection is arranged into three series. Series I, Correspondence (1954, 1962, 1964, undated), consists of one folder with mostly photocopies of correspondence from colleagues of James Cosby Montgomery wishing him a quick recovery. Two other original pieces are memoranda issued by Montgomery regarding student retention. Finally, five folders contain greeting cards received by Montgomery and his family in 1962 during and after his hospitalization and recovery from heart problems.

Series II, Photographs (1940s-1970s), contains images of the Montgomery family and relatives as well as students and classes taught by Rubye Rice Montgomery and James Cosby Montgomery. Also included are photographs of various trips across the United States taken by the Montgomery family in the 1940s through the 1960s.

Series III, Yearbooks (1955-1958, 1962), contains five yearbooks from Wytheville Elementary School dating from 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1962. yearbooks from Jackson Memorial School and Max Meadows High School have been catalogued as part of the Kegley Library book collection.

Series IV, Miscellaneous (1939-1990), contains a folder of newspaper clippings of obituaries as well as a folder of clippings about professional and personal activities of the Montgomery, Rice, and Grogan families. Other folders contain programs from performances by pianist John Rice Montgomery and a directory and bulletin from St. Paul Methodist Church in Wytheville, Virginia. Another folder contains newspaper clippings and a letter of recommendation for William Whitaker Jr., a former student of Rubye Rice Montgomery. Finally, Selective Service documents for John Rice Montgomery and programs from a Lions Club Ladies Night comprise another folder.