12 Linear Feet, 12 ft. (22 document cases, 5 in. each); (6 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each); (4 small flat storage boxes, 5
in. each); (3 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each)
Creator
Hagans, Harrison (1796-1867)
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Papers of the Hagans family of Preston County, West Virginia, including Harrison, Elisha, George M., Henry C., John Marshall,
Zer Hagans, and others. There are letters, invoices, account books, advertisements, and other business records pertaining
to family business enterprises including several general merchandise stores and outlets in western Pennsylvania and Maryland,
and at Brandonville, Kingwood, Greenville, and Palatine, West Virginia. There are several postal records from Harrison Hagans'
twenty years as postmaster, 1822-1841, at Brandonville, and magistrate papers and deeds, most regarding the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad. There are also financial records documenting Hagans' tenure as president of the Greenville Mining and Manufacturing
Company which produced iron in Preston County in the 1830s. Other information records Hagans' interests in: county roads,
schools, churches, government and politics; the Preston Telegraph Company; a fulling mill, 1827; and a linseed oil mill, 1842.
There are Hagan patents for a washing and wringing machine (1845), and working models of mowing and threshing machines. There
is a volume of minutes of the quarterly conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1834-1859, and 1861 Wheeling Convention
papers regarding a new state government, and Civil War letters from family and friends.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Harrison Hagans (1796-1867) Papers, A&M 0012, West Virginia and Regional
History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Harrison Hagans settled in Preston County, West Virginia in 1818. He was involved in several business ventures and held many
appointed position throughout his life such as magistrate and postmaster in Brandonville, W. Va.. He was a delegate at the
Wheeling Convention in June, 1861 and went to Washington in 1863 to lobby members of Congress to vote for the admission of
West Virginia as a state. In 1866-67 he served in the West Virginia Legislature. Harrison Hagans died in May 1867.
The papers of the Hagans family of Preston County, West Virginia including Harrison, Elisha, George M., Henry C., John Marshall,
Zer Hagans, and others. There are correspondence, invoices, account books, advertisements, and other business records, 1810-1895,
relating to various family enterprises.
A chain of general merchandise stores were established, with outlets in Petersburg, Somerfield, and Bryants, Pennsylvania;
Oakland, Maryland; and at Brandonville, Kingwood, Greenville, and Palatine, West Virginia.
There are several postal records including financial, correspondence, and certificates from Harrison Hagans' twenty years
as postmaster, 1822-1841, at Brandonville, as well as magistrate records and deeds, most pertaining to the leases of right-of-way
from Preston County residents to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for $1.00.
There are also financial records documenting Hagans' years as president of the Greenville Mining and Manufacturing Company
which produced iron in Preston County in the 1830s. Other records document Hagans' interests in: county roads, schools, churches,
government, and politics; the Preston Telegraph Company; a fulling mill, 1827; and a linseed oil mill, 1842. Hagans developed,
patented, and sold in three states, ca.1845, a washing and wringing machine, and also completed working models of mowing and
threshing machines.
The collection includes a volume of minutes of the quarterly conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1834-1859, and
an 1832 editorial written by Harrison Hagans and addressed to "The Farmers, Mechanics, and All Who Labor for Their Daily Bread",
regarding the tariff, the National Bank and state banks and the "anti-American" spirit which presides over the "administration
of public affairs".
West Virginia statehood is documented by some of the 1861 Wheeling Convention papers of Delegate Harrison Hagans. There are
also letters from family and friends written during the Civil War, and a copy of a U.S. Congressional bill regarding division
of the state of Virginia (in box 1, folder 2).
Hagans and Sterling, Greenville Furnace and Mining Co. Papers
1834–1844
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 11
Greenville Furnace Ledger
1848–1849
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 12
Washing Machine Patent
1845–1858
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 13
Brick Yard Account Book
1849–1864
Mixed Materials Box: 1a Folder: 14
School Commission Papers
1839–1866
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 1
Post Office Business Correspondence
1822–1829
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 2
Post Office Business Correspondence
1830–1836
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 3
Post Office Business Correspondence
1837–1841
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 4
Post Office Financial Records
1825–1840
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 5
Post Master Appointments and Map of Brandonville
1822–1838
Mixed Materials Box: 1b Folder: 6
Justice of the Peace Court Records
1829–1860
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 1
State Convention Papers
1861
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 2
Letters regarding West Virginia Statehood
undated
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 3
Civil War Letters (includes 7 letters)
1861–1866
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 4
Invoices
1865–1866
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 5
Invoices
1871–1872
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 6
Invoices
1873–1877
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 7
Business Correspondence
1871–1881
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 8
Business Correspondence, Post Cards
1874–1876
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 9
Advertisements (includes several fliers for Wilson, Burns & Co. Grocers; the Reisinger Sash Lock, McDowell & Co. Importers
and Dealers in Carpets, Oil Cloths, Mattings, etc.; and Stockdale, Smith & Co. Wholesale Druggists; among others)
1874–1876
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 10
Ephemera (includes two trade cards, one from Johnson, Eagye, Earl & Co. Wholesale Grocers, and one from P.S. Hyde, Watches,
Clocks
ca. 1874
Mixed Materials Box: 2 Folder: 11
U.S. Census regarding Distilled Spirits and General Stores
1889
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 1
Bills of Lading and Receipts
1865–1867
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 2
Receipts, Advertisements, and Trade Cards
1863-1889 and undated
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 3
Receipts
1810–1855
Mixed Materials Box: 3 Folder: 4
Price Lists
1874–1890
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 1
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, A-B-C (includes business correspondence that relates to Hagans store, including requests for
goods (especially butter) or samples, and deals with suppliers)
1840–1890
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 2
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, D-E-F (business correspondence related to the Hagans store)
1839–1878
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 3
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, G-H-I-J-K (includes business correspondence related to the Hagans store; correspondents include
Gist & Wells General Produce Merchants, and Johnson, Colvin & Co. Wholesale Grocers)
1863–1877
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 4
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, L-M-N-O-P (includes correspondence related to the Hagans store from Laughlin Brothers & Co.
Wholesale Druggists; Leyda & Gaddis, Wilson Sewing Machine Company; Daniel Miller & Co. Importers & Jobbers of Dry Goods;
the National Bank of Kingwood; and others)
1860–1886
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 5
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, R-S-T-U (includes correspondence related to the Hagans store from Sickel, Shingleton & Co.,
dealers in Wholesale Notions, White Goods, Hosiery, etc.; John F. Stratton & Co. Musical Merchandise; Tallant & Delaplain
Wholesale Grocers; Samuel Townsend & Son Produce Commission Merchants; and others)
1840–1878
Mixed Materials Box: 4 Folder: 6
H. Clay Hagans Correspondence, V-W-X-Y-Z (includes correspondence related to the Hagans business, including postcards from
Wilson, Burns and Co.; letters from J.H. Windsor & Co.; letters from Ziegler & Swearingen Hosiery, Gloves, White Goods and
Notions; and others)
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