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Collection Number: 05415

Collection Title: Garber Family Letters, 1901-1936

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


This collection was processed with support from Elizabeth Moore Ruffin.

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Size 1.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 230 items)
Abstract Members of the Garber family lived in Mount Jackson, Shenandoah County, Va. J.S. Garber worked on a labor gang and for the United States Corps of Engineers at sites in Fort Stevens, Or.; Fort Assiniboine, Mont.; and Fort Columbia, Wash. J.W. Garber, brother of J.S. Garber, lived with his wife and children on a farm in Mount Jackson, where they planted and harvested grain, fruits, and vegetables, and raised and sold livestock. He also served as a Republican town supervisor and often traveled to Richmond, Va., to solicit funds for his school district. J.W. Garber had at least two sons, W. Hoyle Garber and Robert Lee Garber, and a daughter, Eve Garber. J.S. Garber and J.W. Garber had a brother, Isaac N. Garber, who attended Bridgewater College in Virginia, and possibly one sister, who married Harry Strickler in 1935 and lived in Luray, Va. The collection consists of about 230 letters, chiefly to J.W. Garber from his brother, J.S. Garber, and from J.W. Garber to his son, W. Hoyle Garber. Letters, 1901-1908, from J.S. Garber to J.W. Garber were written chiefly while J.S. Garber's traveled across the country for his job. Topics include inquiries about social and family news from home; the weather; his opinions on the various states in which he traveled, including Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, New York, Montana, and Virginia; the dangers of his work at various installations; politics, including his thoughts on the Russo-Japanese War; the sale of land and crops; comments on African Americans; a description of the death of a young woman during an abortion; and the hiring of hands. Letters, 1932-1936, were written by J.W. Garber to his son, W. Hoyle Garber, while the latter was attending college at Randolph Macon Academy and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Topics include the sale of local farms and land, Grange meetings, local politics and economy, and Hoyle's education. There are also several letters from Hoyle's siblings and friends. Topics include general news from home, farm work, rabbit hunting and trapping, social activities, and the high school in Mount Jackson. Also included are a few miscellaneous newspaper clippings and a photograph of two unknown men in military uniforms.
Creator Garber (Family : Mount Jackson, Va.)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Garber Family Letters #5415, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Carmen D. Valentino of Philadelphia, Pa., in March 2009 (Acc. 101070).
Sensitive Materials Statement
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, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Kiley Orchard, May 2010

Encoded by: Kiley Orchard, May 2010

This collection was processed with support from Elizabeth Moore Ruffin.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Members of the Garber family lived in Mount Jackson, Shenandoah County, Va. J.S. Garber worked on a labor gang and for the United States Corps of Engineers at sites in Fort Stevens, Or.; Fort Assiniboine, Mont.; and Fort Columbia, Wash. J.W. Garber, brother of J.S. Garber, lived with his wife and children on a farm in Mount Jackson, where they planted and harvested grain, fruits, and vegetables, and raised and sold livestock. He also served as a Republican town supervisor and often traveled to Richmond, Va., to solicit funds for his school district. J.W. Garber had at least two sons, W. Hoyle Garber and Robert Lee Garber, and a daughter, Eve Garber. J.S. Garber and J.W. Garber had a brother, Isaac N. Garber, who attended Bridgewater College in Virginia, and possibly one sister, who married Harry Strickler in 1935 and lived in Luray, Va.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection consists of about 230 letters, chiefly to J.W. Garber from his brother, J.S. Garber, and from J.W. Garber to his son, W. Hoyle Garber. Letters, 1901-1908, from J.S. Garber to J.W. Garber were written chiefly while J.S. Garber's traveled across the country for his job. Topics include inquiries about social and family news from home; the weather; his opinions on the various states in which he traveled, including Ohio, Oregon, North Dakota, New York, Montana, and Virginia; the dangers of his work at various installations; politics, including his thoughts on the Russo-Japanese War; the sale of land and crops; comments on African Americans; a description of the death of a young woman during an abortion; and the hiring of hands. Letters, 1932-1936, were written by J.W. Garber to his son, W. Hoyle Garber, while the latter was attending college at Randolph Macon Academy and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Topics include the sale of local farms and land, Grange meetings, local politics and economy, and Hoyle's education. There are also several letters from Hoyle's siblings and friends. Topics include general news from home, farm work, rabbit hunting and trapping, social activities, and the high school in Mount Jackson. Also included are a few miscellaneous newspaper clippings and a photograph of two unknown men in military uniforms.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Letters, 1901-1936 and undated.

About 230 items.
Folder 1-5

Folder 1

Folder 2

Folder 3

Folder 4

Folder 5

Garber, J. W.: Letters from J.S. Garber, 1901-1908

Folder 6

Garber, J. W.: Letters from Isaac N. Garber, 1907-1908

Folder 7-13

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 9

Folder 10

Folder 11

Folder 12

Folder 13

Garber, W. Hoyle: Letters from J.W. Garber, 1932-1933

Folder 14

Garber, W. Hoyle: Letters from "George," 1933

Folder 15

Garber, W. Hoyle: Letters from siblings, 1933-1934 and undated

Folder 16

Miscellaneous, 1932-1934 and undated

Includes letters to and from W. Hoyle Garber, four newspaper clippings, and a photograph of two unknown men in military uniforms.

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