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 materials in the collection are in English.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Strawn Family Papers, Ms1994-006, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Strawn Family Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1994.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Strawn Family Papers commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

George Everett Bumbarger, son of Jacob and Lucy Packard Foster Werner Bumbarger, was born in Lithopolis, Ohio, on December 20, 1850. In 1861, he moved with his family to the area of Wheatland (Clinton County), Iowa. On December 29, 1873, he married Roxanna Virginia Rundall. Daughter of Shadrach and Rhoda Nettleton Rundall, Roxanna ("Roxie") was born in Wheatland on March 25, 1856. The Bumbargers had eight children: Walter J. (1875-1954); Nellie C. (1878-1941); Harry E. (1880-1962); Lucy N. (1882-1966); Wesley G. (1885-1975); Emma M. (1887-1970); Elsie (1890); and George A. (1891-1892). The 1880 federal census lists the Bumbargers as farmers, residing in Warren County, Iowa. George E. Bumbarger died in St. Charles (Madison County), Iowa, on January 29, 1892; Roxana Rundall Bumbarger, on September 3, 1942. Both were buried in St. Charles Cemetery.

Nellie Cinderella Bumbarger, oldest daughter of George E. and Roxanna Rundall, was born in St. Charles (Madison County), Iowa, on September 12, 1878. In 1898, she married John Madison Strawn. Born on November 23, 1872, John was the son of Levi and Catherine Ullom Strawn. In the 1900 federal census, the Bumbargers are listed as farmers in Warren County, Iowa. They continued to live in Warren County as late as 1930. Nellie Bumbarger Strawn died in St. Charles on June 10, 1941; John, on February 8, 1961. both were buried in St. Charles Cemetery.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains papers of the Strawn and Bumbarger families of New Virginia and St. Charles, Iowa, with additional letters written from locations in Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. The majority of the collection consists of 11 letters written among the extended family.

Included among these are three 1891 letters from G. E. Bumbarger (written from Hutchinson, Kansas; Pueblo, Colorado; and Colorado Springs, Colorado) to his wife Roxie (Roxanna Virginia Rundall Bumbarger). Bumbarger describes the scenery and discusses in more detail local salt mines, ice-making plants, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, and hotel rates.

Also included is an 1891 letter, supposedly written to Roxanna Bumbarger by "sister All" (probably sister-in-law Sarah Alice Bumbarger Ewing). The family correspondence also includes five letters received by Nellie Cinderella Bumbarger Strawn (daughter of George and Roxie): one from her husband, John Madison Strawn, written in 1906 from Cheyenne, Wyoming, discussing the relocation of a saloon and hotel and the hauling of freight; one from her mother, discussing church news, the corn crop, and recent deaths; one from cousin Rhoda (probably Rhoda Elvira McCuddin Houlette), discussing the melon crop, canning, and whooping cough; and two from her sister-in-law, Effie Jane Strawn Shutt, including general family news and a dinner invitation. Also included is an 1894 letter from W. J. B. [Walter Jacob Bumbarger] of St. Charles, Iowa, likely written to his sister Nellie. Completing the Strawn family correspondence is a 1905 newspaper clipping containing a letter to the editor, written by Levi Strawn at Worland, Wyoming, discussing the scenery, crops, and a large Wyoming irrigation project.

In addition to the Strawn/Bumbarger correspondence, the collection contains three letters written to J. A. Cravens (Indiana Representative James Addison Cravens) during the American Civil War: Writing from New Albany [Indiana] on August 14, 1862, William V. Daniels thanks Cravens for the position of chaplain and endorses Dr. Shields for the position of hospital physician. J. V. Kelso [James V. Kelso, 38th Indiana Infantry] writes from camp near Bowling Green, Kentucky, on November 6, 1862, with a lengthy request for assistance in obtaining a military appointment and shares in detail his views on politics, Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and "contrabands." In his letter of December 28, 1863, C. T. Delling [Christian T. Delling], a merchant of Cynthiana, Kentucky, writes of Cravens' proposed bill to provide relief to Kentucky residents who sustained losses during the raid of John Hunt Morgan and recounts at length his experiences in relocating his store's stock.

The collection also contains a marriage certificate for John Strawn and Nellie Bumbarger; a 1942 Montgomery, Alabama, Chamber of Commerce newsletter featuring a story about the wartime conservation committee headed by Calvin Hardin; and two pages of biographical notes on the Roxanna Bumbarger family.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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