A Guide to the Robert T. Muse Papers, 1958-2014 Muse, Robert T., Papers, 1958-2014 51335

A Guide to the Robert T. Muse Papers, 1958-2014

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 51335


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© 2014 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Jim Greve

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Accession Number
51335
Title
Robert T. Muse Papers, 1958-2014
Physical Description
20.475 cubic feet (45 boxes).
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Robert T. Muse Papers, 1958-2014. Accession 51335. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Robert T. Muse, Aberdeen, Maryland.

Biographical Information

Robert Thaddeus Muse, Sr. was born in Dillonvale, Ohio on 2 October 1925. He is the son of Thaddeus Hatcher Muse (1892-1973) and Anna Webster (1893-1981). The family moved to Canton, Ohio in 1937. Muse attended Virginia Tech from 1942 to 1943, and then enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he resided in Petersburg, Virginia, and then returned to Virginia Tech, where he received a degree in industrial physics. From 1951 to 1962, Muse was employed by Titmus Optical Company in Petersburg. He then was a physicist at Fort Lee until 1973. Muse was transferred to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in 1973, and retired there in 1985. He married 1) Ann Elizabeth Brookes (1920-1980) on 22 June 1947, and 2) Betty Mae (Monroe) Meister (1922-2011) on 17 September 1988. Muse died 8 August 2018 in Aberdeen, Maryland, and was buried in Southlawn Memorial Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.

Scope and Content

Papers, 1958-2014, of Robert T. Muse (1925-2018) of Aberdeen, Maryland, containing his genealogical research on the Muse family, notably the descendants of John Muse, Sr. (1633-1723) of Souldrop, Bedfordshire, England, and Westmoreland County, Virginia. Most of the files relate to his service as historian for the Muse Reunion Association. The collection includes family group sheets, research/source files, and indexes.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I. Family Group Sheets. Series II. Research/Source Files. Series III. Indexes.

Contents List

Series I. Family Group Sheets .
Boxes 1-9
Extent: 9 boxes.

There are approximately 8800 family group sheets that were originally housed in three-ring binders. The largest portion of these relate to the descendants of John Muse, Sr. There are also sheets on nine other Muse lineages. The "identity code" located in the upper right portion of each sheet establishes the generation for each individual and the issue number of that individual for the parents' children. Letters indicate the generation, and numbers indicate the issue of the parents. An explanation of the identity code system used by Muse is located in the first folder of the collection. A complete set of the family group sheets are contained on DVD at the end of the series. In addition, there are "sources of information" codes at the bottom of each family group sheet which indicate the research source for the information Muse used. The research/source files are contained in Series II. There is an index to the family group sheets arranged alphabetically by name in Series III.

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Series II. Research/Source Files .
Boxes 9-43
Extent: 34 boxes.

The research/source files include the information used to compile the family group sheets, and also in Muse's collaboration with Dr. Roger David Chambers and Lou Andrews Murphy on "A Southern Legacy: Descendants of John Muse of Virginia - Volumes I and II," which were issued in 1994 and 1997. The files contain abstracts, copies, and transcriptions of deeds, census records, church records, land patents and grants, military and pension records, tax records, vital statistics, and wills, as well as Bible records and family registers, clippings, correspondence, family group sheets, genealogical charts and pedigrees, obituaries and epitaphs, photographs, and information from published sources. The material in the research/source files was obtained by Muse on various research trips around the country, and from other Muse family members and researchers. There are inquiries regarding specific ancestors or lines of descent from individuals he met at annual Muse family reunions who were seeking to exchange information, and responses to inquiries that were published in "Everton's Genealogical Helper" by Muse and others. The files are arranged alphabetically by research/source code, and there are duplicate codes for some of the folders. There is an index to these files in Series III.

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Series III. Indexes .
Boxes 44-45
Extent: 2 boxes.

There are separate full-name indexes to the family group sheets for Muse and non-Muse surnames that contain the "identity code" used to locate a specific individual's sheet. In addition, there is a personal name index to the research/source files that includes the code used to locate a specific folder.

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