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 to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Gabriel C. Wharton Correspondence, Ms2009-012, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Gabriel C. Wharton Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 2008. An additional letter was donated in 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Gabriel C. Wharton Correspondence was completed in January 2009. Additional description was completed in July 2017.

Biographical Note

Gabriel Colvin Wharton was born in Culpeper County, Virginia on July 23, 1824. After graduating from Virginia Military Institute in 1847, Wharton became a civil engineer, working in Arizona and elsewhere. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wharton was appointed a major within the 45th Virginia Infantry. Soon after, he was promoted to colonel, commanding the 51st Virginia Infantry. In July 1863, Wharton was promoted to brigadier general, commanding a brigade guarding southwestern Virginia railroads and participating in the battles of New Market and Cold Harbor, among others.

Wharton married Nannie Radford in 1863; following the war, the couple made their home in Radford, Virginia. Wharton resumed his civil engineering career and was instrumental in building a railroad in the New River Valley. He was a member on the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College's Board of Visitors from 1874 through 1877, serving as the Rector from 1875-1877. Gabriel Wharton died in Radford in 1906.

Scope and Content

This collection contains three letters addressed to General Wharton. The first letter, dated November 20, 1869, is from Motz & Company, a New York real estate firm, requesting information on a good location for a blast furnace. The letter alludes to Wharton's ownership of "a good iron property." The second letter, written by F. M. Farmer of Dunkard Bottom [Pulaski County, Virginia] on March 21, 1870, relates to the fees due Farmer from Wharton for the use of two mares. The final letter, dated January 1875, pertains to an open petition on some property in Blacksburg.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Related Material

See also the Records of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, RG 1 , at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Virginia, Southwest

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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