Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Kimberly Staub
Administrative Information
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
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Papers, Ms1987-046, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1987.
Processing Information
The description of the Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Papers was completed in 1987. Additional processing, arrangement, and description was completed in February 2011.
Biographical Note
Lucy Dickinson Urquhart was born in 1881 in Marion, Virginia, to Dr. and Mrs. S.W. Dickinson. She attended Virginia Intermont and Vassar College, as well as Columbia University's Teacher College. She worked as an advertising copywriter in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was also heavily involved in the Smyth County Historical Society and the Marion Baptist Church. Lucy was married to George D. Urquhart, and had no children. She died in Roanoke on January 27, 1975.
Scope and Contents
The Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Papers contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and poetry and advertisements by Lucy Dickinson Urquhart. The collection also includes correspondence, papers, and other materials related to her family.
Various family announcements, including wedding invitations and funeral service programs from family members are present. Stories, poetry, and advertisements by Urquhart are also in the collection. Many of Urquhart's stories depict life in the South and are written in a Southern dialect. Beyond her and her family's papers, other notes on the Baptist Church, the Smyth County Museum, and Norfolk and Western information from the 1917 War Revenue Act are in the collection.
Of special note, the collection contains a letter from K. D. Urquhart dated from the Civil War asking for command of an all black regiment. There are comments, supposedly written by Lucy Urquhart, on the bottom suggesting the is a fake, as the name is spelled incorrectly. There is also correspondence between Lucy Urquhart and Time and Life Magazine in New York City surrounding the coverage of African Americans in Southern newspapers in the wake of Emmit Till's murder. Furthermore, a few published materials, including a 1911 VPI Student Handbook and a 1912 Spalding Catalogue are part of the collection.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series. Series I: Correspondence contains letters to and from Lucy Urquhart. Where possible, correspondence is organized by author and date. The last folder in the series is made up of correspondence from multiple authors. Much of it is condolence letters regarding the death of Lucy Urquhart's parents, but the file also includes correspondence that could not be otherwise identified.
Series II: Subject Files includes remainder of the collection is arranged in subject files. Material within each file in chronological order. The series also includes oversize materials.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
- Women -- History
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).
Container List
- box-folder 1 folder: 1
K.D. Urquhart Civil War Letter,1865
- box-folder 1 folder: 2
Lucy Dickinson Urquhart and Mrs. S.W. Dickinson Correspondence,1902-1904
- box-folder 1 folder: 3
Winston Dickinson Correspondence,1905-1916
- box-folder 1 folder: 4
Ruby Dickinson Correspondence,1918-1919
- box-folder 1 folder: 5
Correspondence Regarding Religious Herald Article,1928
- box-folder 1 folder: 6
Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Correspondence with Time Magazine,1950-1956
- box-folder 1 folder: 7
Lucy Dickinson Urquhart Correspondence with Ralph,1958
- box-folder 1 folder: 8
Other Correspondence,1901-1956
- box-folder 1 folder: 9
Financial Documents,1889-1969
- box-folder 1 folder: 10
Dickinson Family Announcements,1876-1968
- box-folder 2 folder: 1
Baptist Church History Notes of S.W. Dickinson,1890-1923
- box-folder 2 folder: 2
S.W. Dickinson Materials,1894-1916
- box-folder 2 folder: 3
Smyth County Museum,1905-1973
- box-folder 2 folder: 4
Post Cards,1908-1915
- box-folder 2 folder: 5
Norfolk and Western Information on the War Revenue Act,1917
- box-folder 2 folder: 6
Music Hymn Book,n.d.
- box-folder 2 folder: 7
Stories, Poetry, and Advertisements by Lucy Dickinson Urquhart,n.d.
- box-folder 2 folder: 8
Pamphlets and Publications,1911-1947Bibliography
- Student Handbook of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1911-1912
- Athletic Record: Interscholastic and Intercollegiate, 1911-1912
- Spalding Catalogue, 1912
- Flood Views of Huntington, WV, 1913
- The Rand McNally Indexed County and Railroad Pocket Map and Shippers' Guide of Virginia, 1913
- Women Go to College: Bulletin of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1945
- A Dickinson Family of Virginia and Illinois, 1947
- Poems By Innes Randolph, n.d.
- Advertising Successfully for Banks and Trust Companies by Lucy Dickinson Urquhart, n.d.
- box-folder 2 folder: 9
Ephemera,1905-1973
- box-folder 2 folder: 10
S.W. Dickinson Business Card Box,n.d.
- oversize folder: 1
Certificates and Diplomas,1915-1922
- oversize folder: 2
Newspaper Clippings,1928-1956