Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives ( specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Charles E. Vawter Family Collection, Ms2012-057, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was purchased by Special Collections in September 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Charles E. Vawter Family Collection was completed in September 2012.

Biographical Note

Charles Erastus Vawter, Sr., was born in Monroe County, West Virginia, on June 9, 1841 to John H. and Clara Vawter. John H. Vawter was a member or the Virginia legislature for twenty-four years. Charles Vawter's education at Emory and Henry College was interrupted in his junior year, when he joined the Confederate Army, serving in the Stonewall Brigade, in which he became a captain, during the American Civil War. He was captured and became a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware.

After the war, Vawter returned to Emory and Henry, graduating in 1866. Also in that year, he married Virginia Longley, and they had several children, including Charles E. Vawter, Jr., who later taught at Virginia Tech. For twelve years, Vawter, Sr., was professor of mathematics at his alma mater. He served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, and was recognised as an authority on manual training in the south. He died on October 27, 1905.

External sources:

"Charles E. Vawter", Virginia Tech History website, https://history.unirel.vt.edu/administration/vawter_charles_e.html : "From the report of the committee established to consider names of certain buildings on campus, sent to Dr. Walter S. Newman, President, on April 26, 1962."

"Capt Charles Erastus Vawter", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15298065/charles-erastus-vawter , accessed June 14, 2023.

Scope and Content

The Charles E. Vawter Family Collection contains a ledger from 1882-1883, two Virginia Polytechnic Institute's Bugle yearbooks from 1900 and 1913, a CDV photo album, and two early daguerreotypes. The ledger is most likely from Charles E. Vawter, Sr.'s time overseeing the Miller School. The two VPI yearbooks were dedicated to C. E. Vawter and C. E. Vawter, Jr., respectively. Though the photos in the CDV album are unmarked, they were taken by A. H. Plecker in Salem and Davis in Richmond, Virginia. The two daguerreotypes feature a woman and man, presumably a married couple.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Charles E. Vawter family
• Faculty and staff
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• University History
• Vawter, C. E. (Charles Erastus), 1841-1905
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (1872-1896)
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Charles E. Vawter Family Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-lwork/public-domain/cc0/ ).