Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)Betsy Reed, Graduate Assistant and Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
Permission to publish material from the Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence, Ms2014-015, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence was donated to Special Collections in 2014.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Dr. W. B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas Correspondence was completed in December 2014.
Dr. William B. Conway was born in Ellerslie, Virginia, in 1845. Conway studied at Virginia Military Institute for a year, but left school to enlist as a private in Company C, 4th Virginia Cavalry. He served through the war, and afterwards studied medicine under the tutelage of Dr. Alfred Taliaferro at Culpeper Courthouse. He then studied at Washington University in Baltimore and graduated in 1869. Upon graduation, he left Baltimore to practice medicine at Mount Vernon Iron Works in Rockingham County, Virginia.
Julia Ellen Thomas was born in 1848 in Blacksburg Virginia the daughter of Col. William Thomas. Julia and William were married in 1870 and settled for a time in Blacksburg where William became a surgeon for the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). They had five children: Daisy, Alfred, William, Archie, and Mary, all of which, except William, reached adulthood. Julia died in 1916. William died in College Park, Georgia, in 1920.
This collection contains approximately sixty letters exchanged between Dr. William B. Conway and Julia Ellen Thomas (later Conway) during their courtship in 1869-1870. The letters discuss a number of topics including the couple's relationship, their families, mutual friends, and local and national events.
The letters in the collection are arranged chronologically.
W. B. Conway and Julia Thomas Conway Correspondence (Ms2019-018). Finding aid available online .
Julia Thomas Conway and Mary Black Thomas Luster Correspondence (Ms2019-019). Finding aid available online .
Catlett Conway Correspondence (Ms2012-039). Finding aid available online .