Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Papers of John D. Imboden, Accession #38-23, 580, 599, 2983, 2983-a, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection consists of four different accessions which were given to the Library without restrictions on four different occasions by Mrs. John Trout of Roanoke, Virginia, and one deposit of Mrs. Trout:

Alternate Form Available

39-23:Gift, 1935? 580: Gift, 1939 August 10. 599: Gift, 1939 August 29. 2983: Gift, 1948 October 8. 2983-a: Deposit, 1948 October 8

Biographical/Historical Information

John Daniel Imboden was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1823, the son of George and Isabella Imboden. Imboden attended Washington College for two years, then taught school and later practiced law in partnership with William Frazier in Staunton, Virginia. When Frazier gave up his law practice in order to take charge of the Rockbridge Alum Springs, Imboden entered into partnership with John Howard McCue. During this time, Imboden was a leader of the Democratic party in his district and served in the Virginia House of Delegates during 1850-1852 and 1855-1856. He was subsequently elected clerk of the County Court of Augusta in May 1857, and also served as district deputy of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Virginia.

In 1859, during the John Brown raid, Imboden organized the Staunton Artillery as a volunteer company, which he later commanded at the capture of Harper's Ferry and battle of Manassas in 1861. During the latter half of the Civil War, Imboden served primarily in the [Shenandoah] Valley and West Virginia.

After the war, Imboden turned his interests toward the development of mineral lands in southwest Virginia. He attempted to interest northern and foreign investors in his mineral and railroad development projects, traveling to London in 1873 for this purpose. Imboden died in 1895, having spent the last twenty years of his life in southwest Virginia where he helped found the towns of Big Stone Gap and Damascus (formerly Mock's Mill).

Imboden was married five times, to Eliza Allen McCue (1824-1857, m. June 26, 1845); Mary Blair McPhail (1833-1865, m. May 12, 1859); Edna Paulding Porter (1841-1870, m. October 2, 1866); Annie Harper Lockett (1851-1888, m. March 15, 1871); and Florence (Johnson) Crockett (1852-1908, m. May 22, 1890). Imboden had nine children -- Jane Crawford (1847-1930), Isabella (1849-1852), Martha Russie (1852-1930), Frank Howard (1855-1915), George W. (1857-1862), Nannie Carrington (1860-1947), Mary Wilson (1861-1862), John Daniel (1863-1877), and Helen McGuire (1874-?).

Scope and Content Information

This collection is comprised of ca. 3500 items (7 Hollinger boxes, ca. 3 linear shelf feet), (1831-1895) 1937, generated by John Daniel Imboden (1823-1895) of Staunton and Damascus, Virginia. The collection includes Imboden's correspondence with business associates and family members; financial and legal papers, some of which are related to Imboden's legal practice in Staunton, Virginia; manuscripts of articles and speeches by Imboden; galley proofs of his report to the Bureau of Statistics on industry, commercial and transportation in Virginia; printed reports and pamphlets regarding inventions and mineral resources; newspaper clippings, some of which are articles written by Imboden; and drawings of buildings and mechanical inventions by Imboden.

The correspondence, (1844-1895) 1937, is primarily between John D. Imboden and his business associates and family members. The nature of the correspondence varies through the years because Imboden did not return to his legal practice after the Civil War. From 1844 to 1860, Imboden's business correspondence deals primarily with his legal practice in Staunton, Virginia, where he was first a partner of William Frazier and later of John Howard McCue. Most of this correspondence dealing with other legal matters, such as land deeds and wills. Among Imboden's business correspondents during these years were Claudius Crozet, Jedediah Hotchkiss, and John Letcher. There are also several letters written in 1847 and 1848 by Chapman Johnson , Jr. a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, to Imboden regarding politics and business matters. Several letters written by Imboden while he was a member of the House of Delegates, 1850-1852, and 1855-1856, are also included. Some of the letters during 1852 to 1853 concern the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind at Staunton. Also present in the pre-1860 correspondence are several personal letters from Imboden to his first wife, Eliza Allen McCue and a letter from John B. Floyd of the War Department, to Imboden, dated January 16, 1860, following the organization of Staunton Artillery by Imboden during John Brown's raid in 1859.

The collection contains very little Civil War correspondence. Letters specifically related to Imboden participation in the Civil War include the following: George W. Randolph, Secretary of War for the Confederacy to Imboden, May 7, 1862; and Robert E. Lee to Imboden, October 6, 1862 (photostat). A transcript of the war diary of his brother, Capt. Frank M. Imboden, for 1862-1863, is in Box 5.

Imboden's business correspondence from 1865 until his death in 1895 reflects his role in the development of railroads and mining of mineral resources, primarily in southwest Virginia, and the development of his various mechanical inventions, including the electric street car. Imboden's major business correspondents include Frederick William Holliday; Major [John Howard] McCue; M.B. Wood; firms in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Alexander H.H. Stuart; E.K. Hyndman; James L. Kemper; Andrew Rogers; and the Gauley Kanawha Coal Co. Of London, England. A few letters appear from such correspondents as Horace Greeley, John Tyler, Jr., Henry Mason Matthews, governor of West Virginia, and David Thomas Anstead, a British geologist. Also included is a letter from Henry Bergh, founder of the SPCA, who believed that Imboden's design for an electric street car would end the abuse of work horses in large cities. Some of Imboden's correspondence from November 1875 to 1876 concerns an alleged attack by Bradley Johnson on Imboden. A large part of the correspondence during 1875-1876 concerns Imboden's role as a commissioner of the International Exhibition of the United Stated Centennial Commission, held in Philadelphia in 1876. Correspondence during 1886 and 1887 is largely with William Switzler, chief of Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department, regarding Imboden's report on the mineral resources of Virginia. After 1888, Imboden's business correspondence is chiefly concerned with his position as the general manager of Damascus Enterprise Co. in Damascus, Virginia.

Imboden's personal correspondents after the Civil War include his fourth wife, Annie Harper Lockett (1851-1888); his fifth wife, Florence Johnson Crockett (1852-1908); his son, Frank Howard Imboden; his daughters, Martha Russie and Helen McGuire; and John Letcher. The correspondence contains family news as well as mention of Imboden's business affairs. Letters from Frank Howard Imboden, 1886-1892 (ca. 11 items), concern his work for a mining company in Honduras. The letters primarily relate to business matters, but some mention is made of the international affairs and activities of the Honduran people. Correspondence between John Letcher and Imboden after the war concerns Civil War history. One of these letters, April 20, 1877, with an 1864 newspaper clipping enclosed, describes the burning of Letcher's home in Lexington, Virginia, by Union troops. In addition, some of the correspondence between McCue and Imboden concerns Civil War history, including a letter dated February 3, 1883, regarding the historical accuracy of John Lewis Peyton's history of Augusta, Georgia. Peyton served as purchasing agent for North Carolina in England during part of the war. Also present in accession number 2983-a are several letters to Frank M. Imboden, brother of John D. Imboden.

Correspondence dated after 1895 is between members of Imboden's family and mainly regards Imboden's participation in the Civil War and his business accomplishments.

Imboden's legal and financial papers date from 1831-1895 and reflect the changes in Imboden's career. Papers dated before the Civil War pertain primarily to the legal and financial problems of Imboden's clients in his law practice. Since most of these legal problems involved overdue accounts, numerous receipts and accounts of his clients are included in this section. Also included are land deeds, stock certificates in railroad and mining companies, articles of agreement, and summonses. Post-1865 legal material contains numerous patents for mechanical devices invented by Imboden. Fourteen bound volumes, 1841- 1893, complete the financial and legal papers. The earliest bound volume, 1841-1844, contains accounts, reports, and inventories of the Virginia Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb and of the Blind, Staunton, Virginia. Other volumes include Imboden's cashbooks, which contain daily financial records of travel, building materials, and accounts. Two volumes contain records of legal cases handled by Imboden while practicing law in Staunton.

The third group of papers, 1876-1886, n.d., consist of numerous articles, speeches, and notes written by Imboden regarding political issues, Civil War history, and the development of the railroad and mineral resources in Virginia. Also included in this section is the gallery proof of a report for the Bureau of Statistics, U.S. Treasury Department, written by Imboden.

The printed material section, 1876-1896, n.d., contains magazine articles, pamphlets, reports, and newspaper clippings regarding Civil War history, and the development of coal mining and the railroad in southwest Virginia.

Photographs of the interior and exterior of Imboden's home in Staunton, Virginia, and numerous drawings of Imboden's various mechanical inventions complete the collection.

Organization

The collection has been divided into five series: I. Correspondence, II. Financial and Legal Papers, III. Manuscripts, IV. Printed Material, and V. Oversize Material. Material within each group has been arranged chronologically. Accession number 2983-a is a deposit and had been left in the control folder.