James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
820 Madison DriveMSC 1706
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
Telephone: (540) 568-3612
library-special@jmu.edu
URL: https://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/
Tiffany Cole
Administrative Information
Use Restrictions
The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Access Restrictions
Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Provenance
Material was property of a Henkel family descendant, presumably Mildred Renalds Wittig, great-granddaughter of Siram and Margaret Koiner Henkel.
Materials in the 2023-0329 accession, purchased from ZH Books, share provenance with the rest of the collection in that they descended through the Henkel family to Mildred Renalds Wittig before being sold at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates' March 2, 2022 Winter Americana sale.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Henkel Family Papers, 1801-2008, SC 0253, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates' November 10, 2017 Americana & Fine Antiques Auction, Featuring Virginia and the South auction. A second accrual to this collection was acquired directly from Mildred Renalds Wittig in May 2019. This accession comprised mostly books from the family's collection and were cataloged separately. A second copy of the August 1835 letter from Siram Henkel to Margaret Henkel regarding a large group of enslaved persons being marched through the Shenandoah Valley was included and interfiled. An arithmetic book belonging to Samuel A. Henkel, 1854, was also interfiled. Materials that comprise the 2023-0329 accession were purchased from ZH Books in March 2023.
Processing Information
Much of the collection was received in three-ring binders with the manuscripts in plastic sleeves. The correspondence was generally arranged in chronological order. The documents were removed from the binders and plastic sleeves and placed in Mylar when necessary.
Appraisal
A representative sample of course materials, comprising parctice invoices, checks, ledgers, day books, cash books, etc., created by Lillian Henkel and Harry S. Henkel were retained. Excessive duplicates, brittle and highly acidic documents, and materials with negligible research value were weeded from the 2023-0329 accession.
Bio/Historical Note
Several complete and thorough genealogies have been written about the Henkel family and their contributions as doctors, printers, entrepreneurs, millers , and religious leaders. As such, this biographical note does not serve as an exhaustive rehashing of previous scholarship. Researchers are encouraged to review published secondary sources for additional information on the Henkel family.
The Henkel Family of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley descends from Rev. Paul Henkel (1754-1825) and Elizabeth Henkel (d. 1843). Siram Peter Henkel, who along with his immediate family is primarily documented in this collection, was the fifth child of Dr. Solomon Henkel (1777-1847) and Rebecca Miller Henkel (1780-1854) and grandson of Rev. Paul Henkel.
Siram was born March 16, 1809 in New Market, Virginia. In an attempt to follow in his father's footsteps, Siram attended, but did not complete, medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Koiner (variously spelled Coiner) Henkel (1820-1899) of Augusta County, Virginia on June 30, 1835. The couple settled at "The Plains" – located between New Market and Timberville – in September 1835 and their thirteen children, many of whom are also documented in this collection, were born and raised there. Siram farmed various crops and also operated a store and mill at The Plains. The Plains Mill was erected between 1847 and 1849 under the direction of Siram and his father Solomon, prior to his death in August 1847.
During the American Civil War, two of Siram and Margeret's sons served for the Confederacy. Lewis Philip (1837-1904) served in the Ordance Department of the Confederate Army. Around 1863, Lewis became a member of Co. H (Valley Rangers) of the 10th Virginia Cavalry. Luther Melanchton (1841-1919) was also a member of the Confederate Army and wrote home to his father from various camps. Lewis and Luther's brother Samuel Augustus (1840-1885) was exempt from military duty due to medical reasons. He became epileptic after sustaining injuries from run-away horses in 1855.
In 1878, one year prior to Siram's death, he sketched the plans for a new house at Plains Mill. The house was built in 1882 and served as the residence for Siram's widow, Margaret, until her death in 1899. The aforementioned sketch and photographs of the completed house are found in this collection.
Heleah Margaret Henkel, daughter of Siram and Margaret Henkel, married William M. Renalds in 1893. Their family is heavily documented in the 2023 accession materials.
Scope and Content
The Henkel Family Papers, 1801-2008, document the influential Henkel family of Shenandoah and Rockingham counties in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The collection, chiefly documenting the Siram and Margaret Koiner Henkel line of the family, is comprised primarily of correspondence written to Siram P. Henkel and includes letters from his sons Lewis and Luther during their service in the American Civil War. The collection also includes personal and financial papers of various Henkel family members including Siram's children and genealogical research materials, much of which was used to inform Mildred Renalds Wittig's Henkel – Renalds Connection: with Ancestral Scripts and Collections (2014).
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series:
Correspondence, 1827-1913 Personal Papers, 1801-1881 Financial Files, 1832-1894 Genealogy and Research Files, 1890-2008 2023-0329 Accession, 1864-1923Related Material
Henkel Family Papers, 1783-1916, SC 0099, Special Collections, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Henkel Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Henkel family records, 1838-1903. Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond.
Henkel- Miller Family Papers, 1793-1910, #14434, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
Henkel Plain Mills Store Daybook, 1835-1849, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Multiple collections under the accession number 8653, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library.
Many of the documents in this collection are copied and transcribed in Mildred Renalds Wittig's Henkel – Renalds Connection (2014).
Separated Material
Several issues of serials including the Lutheran Church Visitor and the Southern Churchman have been removed from the collection and cataloged as part of Special Collections' rare book collection. Additionally, the facsimile publication of the Day Book for Solomon Henkel at the Plains Mills, Rockingham County, Virginia (2013) and Mildred Renalds Wittig's Henkel – Renalds Connection: with Ancestral Scripts and Collections (2nd ed., 2014) were removed from the collection and cataloged separately. Additional books and a broadside from the 2019 accession were cataloged separately. Two issues of Shenandoah Valley (1900), a New Market newspaper, were separated from the 2023-0329 accession and added to existing holdings in Special Collections.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- Account books
- Copybooks (instructional materials)
- Daybooks
- Family papers
- Financial Records
- Genealogies (histories)
- Henkel family -- Correspondence
- Henkel, Siram Peter, 1809-1879
- Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates
- Letters (correspondence)
- New Market (Va.) -- History
- Personal papers
- Photographs
- Postcards
- Promissory notes
- Receipts (financial records)
- Report Cards
- Research notes
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- History
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Sawmills -- Virginia
- School records
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- History
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Genealogy
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Slavery -- Virginia -- 19th century
- Songbooks
- Virginia -- History
- Virginia -- History, Local
- ZH Books
Bibliography
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Plains Mill, VDHR File No. 082-5403, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form . 2014.Wittig, Mildred Renalds. Henkel – Renalds Connection: with Ancestral Scripts and Collections . Harrisonburg, Va.: Custom Printing, 2014.
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- New Market (Va.) -- History
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- History
- Rockingham County (Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- Genealogy
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- History
- Shenandoah County (Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Genealogy
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History
- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Social life and customs
- Virginia -- History
- Virginia -- History, Local
Container List
Series 1: Correspondence, 1827-1913, chiefly contains letters written to Siram P. Henkel with correspondents including members of the Koiner/Coiner family of Augusta County, the Miller family of Winchester, and the Rupert family of Augusta County. The correspondents report on family and community news, marriages, health and illnesses, deaths, weather, harvest and planting updates, crop yields, and include fellow merchants requesting advice on the market of certain goods and numerous requests for Dr. Henkel's pills. Of particular interest are the letters written to Siram by his sons Lewis and Luther while serving in the American Civil War. The sons, and Luther in particular, write about camp life and general updates related to the war. In a December 21, 1861 letter to his father, Lewis P. Henkel writes from Winchester and mentions General Stonewall Jackson. He also refers to General Gilbert S. Meem as "Genl. Drunk."
This series also contains correspondence to/from other Henkel family members including Dr. Solomon Henkel, Samuel G. Henkel, Solomon D. Henkel, Maggie Henkel Renalds, Lillian Henkel, and Margaret Koiner Henkel.
The documentary record confirms that Margaret Koiner Henkel's family were enslavers and given the date of much of the correspondence, a portion relates to slavery and enslaved persons. Delia Koiner Overholt wrote to her sister Margaret Henkel on May 28, 1847 relaying the news of their grandfather's death. She goes on to write that "eleven or twelve blacks are to be sold and a great deal of property." In a January 24, 1857 letter to Siram Henkel, Delia Koiner Overholt writes again to describe in detail describes the sale of enslaved persons from her grandfather's estate. A similarly noteworthy letter, dated August 13, 1835, was penned by Siram Henkel to his wife Margaret in which he describes a large "drove" of enslaved persons that passed through the Valley. He describes the scene as follows: "There were eighty-four chained together to one long chain; there were also a great many women and children that were also in company; the whole number of men, women & children was two hundred and forty." There are two original copies of this letter in the collection.
All correspondence addressed to Dr. Solomon Henkel and/or Solomon Henkel P.M. is filed with Solomon Henkel (1777-1847), who was a practicing physician and served as Shenandoah County's first postmaster. A concerted effort was made on behalf of the archivist to not confuse his papers with those of his son Solomon David Henkel (1815-1872).
Much of the correspondence includes envelopes or address leaves. The correspondence is arranged primarily by recipient, but in cases where the recipient is unknown (e.g. non-specific salutations and greetings or lack of return address), the correspondence is filed with miscellaneous correspondence. Some of the letters have non-original annotations on the address leaves relating to content or the correspondents.
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 1
Miscellaneous Henkel family correspondence1827-1913
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 2
Siram Henkel correspondence1829
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 3
Siram Henkel correspondence1832
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 4
Siram Henkel correspondence1834
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 5
Siram Henkel correspondence1835
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 6
Margaret Koiner Henkel correspondence18351837
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 7
Siram Henkel correspondence1836
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 8
Dr. Solomon Henkel correspondence1836-1846
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 9
Siram Henkel correspondence1837
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 10
Siram Henkel correspondence1838
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 11
Siram Henkel correspondence1840
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 12
Margaret Koiner Henkel correspondence1840-1849
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 13
Siram Henkel correspondence1841
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 14
Siram Henkel correspondence1842
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 15
Siram Henkel correspondence1845
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 16
Solomon D. Henkel correspondence1845-1859
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 17
Siram Henkel correspondence1847
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 18
Siram Henkel correspondence1848
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 19
Siram Henkel correspondence1849
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 20
Siram Henkel correspondence1850
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 21
Siram Henkel correspondence1851
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 22
Siram Henkel correspondence1852
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 23
Siram Henkel correspondence1854
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 24
Siram Henkel correspondence1855
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 25
Siram Henkel correspondence1856
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 26
Margaret Koiner Henkel correspondence1856-1896
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 27
Siram Henkel correspondence1857
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 28
Siram Henkel correspondence1858
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 29
Siram Henkel correspondence1859
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 30
Siram Henkel correspondence1860
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 31
Siram Henkel correspondence1861
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 32
Siram Henkel correspondence1862
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 33
Siram Henkel correspondence1863
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 34
Siram Henkel correspondence1864
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 35
Siram Henkel correspondence1867
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 36
Siram Henkel correspondence1868
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 37
Siram Henkel correspondence1869
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 38
Siram Henkel correspondence1870
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 39
Siram Henkel correspondence1871
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 40
Siram Henkel correspondence1872
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 41
Siram Henkel correspondence1873
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 42
Siram Henkel correspondence1874
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 43
Siram Henkel correspondence1875
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 44
Siram Henkel correspondence1876
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 45
Siram Henkel correspondence1877
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 46
Siram Henkel correspondence1878
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 47
Heleah Margaret "Maggie" Henkel Renalds correspondence1883-1896
- Mixed Materials [1000886356] box: 1 folder: 48
Siram Henkel correspondenceundated
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1801-1881, includes miscellaneous papers from the immediate family of Siram Henkel. School papers and writing assignements from Siram and Margaret Henkel's children, Lewis, Samuel, Julia, Martin, and Maggie are included. The documents include a January 17, 1881 essay on politeness written by Maggie Henkel.
The series also includes a manuscript music book penned by Siram's mother, Rebecca Miller Henkel, a grammar copybook belonging to Siram's brother Slyvanus Henkel, and Siram's 1878 plans for his family's new home place at Plains Mill.
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 1 1801
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 2
Sylvanus Henkel grammar copybook1822
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 3
Lewis Henkel school papers1849
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 4
Samuel A. Henkel school paper and arithmetic book18491854
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 5
Miscellaneous Henkel papers1856-1891, undated
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 6
Julia Henkel school papers1867
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 7
Martin M. Henkel and Julia A. Henkel copybook1873-1874
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 8
Siram Henkel sketch of Plains Mill house1878
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 9
Heleah Margaret "Maggie" Henkel Renalds school papers1881
Series 3: Financial Files, 1832-1894, contains receipts, ledger pages, and promissory notes. Included in Siram Henkel's financial papers is a form of the estimate and assessment of agricultural products to be taxed by the government of the Confederate States. Of particular interest is Paul P. Henkel's 1844-1872 daybook entitled "Sawmill Book No. 3" documenting the sawmill owned by Solomon Henkel. The daybook records prices for sawing and details sawing activities. Elizabeth Garber Renalds' account book and journal documents egg business and other farming and day-to-day activities while the family was living at the Lincoln Homestead on Linville Creek south of Broadway.
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 10
Miscellaneous Henkel family financial papers1832-1873, undated
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 11
Paul P. Henkel daybook/sawmill book no. 31844-1872
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 12
Siram Henkel financial papers1845-1884, undated
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 13
Solomon D. Henkel financial papers1847
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 14
Dr. Solomon Henkel financial papers1847-1848
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 15
Samuel A. Henkel financial papers1861
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 16
Heleah Margaret "Maggie" Henkel Renalds financial papers1885-1890
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 17
Heleah Margaret "Maggie" Henkel Renalds account book1893-1894
- Mixed Materials [1000898413] box: OV 1
Elizabeth Garber Renalds account book/journal1932-1959
Series 4: Genealogy and Research Files, 1890-2008, is comprised of research material, much of which was used to inform Mildred Renalds Wittig's Henkel – Renalds Connection: with Ancestral Scripts and Collections (2014). Documents include family trees, facsimiles of correspondence and manuscript material not otherwise found in this collection, photographs of Henkel family members and properties including Plains Mill and the Plains School, newspaper clippings, Henkel family reunion materials, and blank postcards. An oversize reproduction of a blank family register printed by Ambrose Henkel & Comp. is included.
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 18
Photographs1890-2007
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 19 Mixed Materials [1000898413] box: OV 1 folder: 1
General genealogy and research files1891-1998, undated
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 20
Newspaper clippings1953-2003, undated
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 21
Rev. Anthony Jacob Henkel Family National Association and reunions1972-2008
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 22
Correspondence and manuscript facsimilesundated (1822-1910)
- Mixed Materials [1000886357] box: 2 folder: 23
Postcardsundated
Purchased from ZH Books in March 2023.
The materials in this series share provenance with the rest of the collection in that they descended through the Henkel family to Mildred Renalds Wittig before being sold at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates' March 2, 2022 Winter Americana sale.
Series 5: 2023-0329 Accession, 1864-1923, includes Henkel family correspondence, Renalds family correspondence, and letters written to Ray Renalds while he was admitted to Rockingham Memorial Hospital in 1923 for an undisclosed illness.
School materials were created by Lillian Henkel while a student at the Shenandoah Institute in Dayton and Harry S. Henkel while a student at Dunsmore Business College in Staunton. Coursework created by Ray Renalds while a student at Shenandoah Luthern Institute is included.
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 1
Eugenia Stiegel Henkel correspondence1864-1879
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 2 1875-1900
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 3
Harry S. Henkel correspondence1900
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 4
Ray Renalds correspondence1917
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 5
Ray Renalds correspondence1918
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 6
Ray Renalds correspondence1919
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 7
Ray Renalds correspondence1920
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 8
Ray Renalds correspondence1921
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 9
Ray Renalds correspondence1922
- Mixed Materials [1000897424] box: 3 folder: 10
Ray Renalds correspondence (folder 1 of 3)1923
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 1
Ray Renalds correspondence (folder 2 of 3)1923
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 2
Ray Renalds correspondence (folder 3 of 3)1923
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 3
Ray Renalds correspondenceundated
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 4
Frank Renalds correspondence1917-1921
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 5
Melvin Renalds correspondence1918-1922
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 6
Richard Renalds correspondence1917-1923
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 7
William M. Renalds correspondence1917-1920
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 8
Renalds family correspondence1917-1923
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 9 1918
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 10
Harry S. Henkel bound bookkeeping coursework1897-1899
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 11
Harry S. Henkel bound coursework for Office Routine and Bookkeeping1899
- Mixed Materials [1000897425] box: 4 folder: 12
Harry S. Henkel Dunsmore Business College bound bookkeeping coursework1899-1900
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 1
Harry S. Henkel bookkeeping coursework examples1897-1900
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 2
Lillian Henkel bound bookkeeping coursework1900Scope and Contents
Front covers of bound volumes are inscribed "Lillian M. Henkel, Shenandoah Institute, Sept. 20, 1900"
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 3
Lillian Henkel bound coursework for Office Routine and Bookkeeping1901
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 4
Lillian Henkel bookkeeping coursework examples1901
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 5
Ray Renalds report cards1913-1919
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 6
School programs1916-1920
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 7
Ray Renalds coursework1917-1921
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 8
Shenandoah Lutheran Institute tuition receipts1919-1920Scope and Contents
Tuition for Ray and Richard Renalds.
- Mixed Materials [1000897426] box: 5 folder: 9
Ray Renalds receipts1918-1919