Conditions Governing Use

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.

Researchers may access digitized materials by visiting the link attached to each item or by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], William Earle Rumsey, Entomologist and Photographer, Papers, A&M 2935, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

William Earl Rumsey was born September 9, 1865 near VanEtten, Chemung County, New York. He attended Cornell University in the late 1880s and earned a B.S. in Agriculture in 1891. He remained there until 1893 when he came to the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, where he soon became the Assistant Entomologist. During his tenure at West Virginia University, he took many photographs of his work, among other subjects. Rumsey became the West Virginia state entomologist in 1912, and as of 1929 was still in that position. He passed away February 16, 1938.

Scope and Contents

Papers of William Rumsey, WVU Agricultural Experiment Station entomologist and photographer. Initial acquisition includes correspondence from a friend at Cornell University, Rumsey's student essays and diaries (1880-1925) and family photographs. There are also glass plate negatives, and lantern slides of West Virginia University subjects, and other subjects as well.

Addendum of 2017-07-19; boxes 13-14 and oversize folders 1 and 2; ca. 1806-1961.
Addendum includes photographs, correspondence, financial and legal papers such as deeds, clippings, printed material, artifacts, and other materials. Photograph formats include glass plate negatives and positives, lantern slides, cabinet cards, prints, negatives, postcards, and mounted photos. Some of the people and places in the photos are identified, but many are not. The personal papers and publications include material on entomology, botany, genealogy, and more.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Diaries and journals.
• Entomology
• Photographers
• Photography
• Rumsey, William Earle, 1865-1938
• Universities and colleges
• West Virginia University -- Faculty
• West Virginia University. Agricultural Extension Service