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Conditions Governing Access

Requires signed form for boxes 1-5, 24.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Earl L. Core (1902-1984) Papers, A&M 1730, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Earl Lemley Core, botanist, educator, and historian, was born in Core, West Virginia, Monongalia County in 1902. He received his Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia University in 1926; his masters from WVU in 1928; and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1936. Dr. Core was a professor in WVU's Biology Department for 44 years (1928-1972) and chair of the Department for 18 years (1948-1966). He was also curator of the WVU Herbarium for 40 years (1934-1972). During World War II the Foreign Economic Administration sent Core to Columbia, South America (1943-1944), to explore the Andes Mountains in search of a source for quinine from the Cinchona tree. There he discovered at least 15 new species and in 1978 one of the plants he discovered, the genus Corethamnium , was named for him.

Core was founder (1936) of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club and editor of the journal, Castenea , for 35 years. He was the author of scholarly books and articles with his early works focusing on the botany of West Virginia, and later works on local history and church history. Two biology textbooks he co-authored became standards: General Biology with P.D. Strausbauh and B.R. Weimer and A New Manual for the Biology Laboratory with Weimer. He also collaborated with Strausbaugh to write the classic The Flora of West Virginia . Other botany texts include Vegetation of West Virginia , Woody Plants in Winter , and his most popular book Spring Wild Flowers of West Virginia which has been in print since 1948. Core published articles in Castenea , Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science , and other scholarly sources.

After retirement in 1972, Core turned more of his attention to local history. His most extensive local history work is the five-volume history of Monongalia County, West Virginia, The Monongalia Story (1974-1984). His regular column, "The Monongalia Story" in Morgantown's Dominion Post also details the history of the county. Earlier he had written The Chronicles of Core (1937) about the town where he was born, and Morgantown Disciples: a History of the First Christian Church of Morgantown (1960).

Core's civic activities were numerous and include serving on the Morgantown Public Library Board for 20 years (1959-1979), Morgantown City Council for 4 years, and Mayor of Morgantown for 2 years (1956-1957). Core was an elder in his church, president of the Monongalia Historical Society, president of the Kiwanis, and much more. In 1948, Core persuaded WVU to set aside 100 acres for an Arboretum. The Core Arboretum was named for him in 1967. Earl L. Core Road in Morgantown also sports his name.

He died in Morgantown in 1984.

Biographical / Historical

Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Bartholomew, botanist and educator, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1912. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in botany from West Virginia University in 1934. She received a Master of Arts degree in botany from WVU with the thesis titled "The Flora of Wirt County, West Virginia" in 1948. Bartholomew joined the staff of the WVU Biology Department in 1938, first as Herbarium clerk and later as Herbarium assistant. In 1963 she was appointed as a biology instructor and curator of the Herbarium. During this time she created the Distribution of Southeastern Plants to facilitate the exchange of specimens. She added thousands of plants to the Herbarium collection and in 1950 started a 2,000-plant seed collection. She retired from WVU in 1977

Bartholomew was a member of the West Virginia Academy of Science, editor of its newsletter (1960-61), and secretary (1972-1985); member and secretary for the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club (1946-1981); member of the American Nut Growers Association; charter member and faculty advisor of the botany fraternity Phi Epsilon Phi; and member of Phi Mu.

Bartholomew who joined the Girl Scouts at age 12 earned all the nature badges and maintained a life-long interest in scouting. She served as a Girl Scout leader for more than 20 years. She also promoted nature to children through the Phi Epsilon Phi annual Wildflower Day. Additionally she worked with the Oglebay Nature Camp, church camp, and others. She was a leader at the annual Wildflower Pilgrimage at Blackwater Falls.

The Southern Appalachian Botanical Society created the Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award in 1989 in her honor and the governor named her as the Outstanding West Virginia in 1974.

She died in Morgantown in 1985.

Scope and Contents

Original Accession; 1756-1985; boxes 1-21 and two oversize folders

Records of Earl L. Core, botanist, writer, editor, historian, and West Virginia University professor and Biology Department Head. Includes the correspondence, collected research materials, and writings of Dr. Core. The earliest correspondence, 1951-1960, deals mostly with his role as a botanist and West Virginia University Botany Department chair, and includes letters both to and from Dr. Core. Later correspondence, mostly from the 1960s but up to 1984, includes historical and genealogical inquiries in addition to matters pertaining to botany, publications, and Biology Department business. Of importance is Dr. Core's correspondence with two prominent botanists, P.D. Strausbaugh, with whom Core authored botany and biology texts, and H.A. Allard.

In addition to botany and nature, a large part of the collection deals with the history of Morgantown, Monongalia County, and West Virginia. The collected research materials for these areas include newspaper clippings, booklets and pamphlets, correspondence, genealogical charts, maps, original historical documents, and more. Dr. Core's research resulted in the publication of a 5-volume history of Monongalia County, The Monongalia Story , as well as numerous newspaper columns in the Dominion Post . The collected research materials support Dr. Core's research for some 30 monographs on various aspects of natural history, local history, and to a lesser extent Bible and religious study.

Graphic materials include oversized maps, photographs, photographic glass negatives and film, greeting cards, and post cards.

See series and subseries descriptions for more information.

Addendum of 2018-09; 1907-1984; boxes 22-25

These records include handwritten plant lists; typewritten scientific and history papers; newspapers and newspaper clippings; maps; University class records; collected research materials; and magnetic audio tapes of Dr. Core's lectures on the flora of West Virginia. Plant lists and lecture notes presumably refer to slides in A&M 5211. This addendum includes Core's curriculum vita; some correspondence; and various short publications.

Other collected research materials include maps, postcards, book lists, technical reports about West Virginia and the region, flyers, photographs, newsletters, brochures, programs, and calendars of events from the WVU Experimental Station, the WVU Department of Biology, West Virginia State Parks, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, the Phi Epsilon Phi fraternity, the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club, the West Virginia University (Core) Arboretum, the American Association of University Professors, the National Audubon Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These items treat the following subjects: trees, forestry, insects, plant species, water, flooding, ecology, wildflower walks, and biography. The files contain a number of reprints and facsimiles of scholarly scientific papers. There is one local history, that of Wheeling. Biology student records include a graded research paper, a graded bibliography, Core's class record book, and summer class trip schedules.

The audio tapes are recordings of Dr. Core's lectures on West Virginia flora, February-April, 1966. There are 15 of the 1.25" reel to reel tapes in box 25. Five of the tapes are undated.

In addition to Earl L. Core materials in boxes 24 and 25, this addenda includes materials collected by Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Bartholomew, boxes 22 and 23. Bartholomew was also a West Virginia botanist, educator, and manager for the West Virginia University Herbarium. Her artifacts include buttons, a flag, and a Girls Scout cloth badge. A metal box contains items collected by Elizabeth Bartholomew including identification cards and Girl Scout records. Her papers include collected materials about biology and nature as well as materials, including teaching materials, from the WVU Biology Department.

Related Material

1197, 1556, 1730

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Botany
• Botany -- West Virginia
• Core Arboretum
• Monongalia County (W. Va.)
• Morgantown (W. Va.)
• Phi Epsilon Phi. Alpha Chapter (West Virginia University)
• West Virginia University. Department of Biology