Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Charles E. Vawter Family Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Charles E. Vawter Family Collection, Ms2012-057, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased by Special Collections in September 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Charles E. Vawter Family Collection was completed in September 2012.

Biographical Note

Charles Erastus Vawter was born in Monroe County, West Virginia, June 9, 1841. He was the son of John H. Vawter, who was, for twenty-four years, a member or the Virginia legislature. Charles Vawter's education at Emory and Henry College was interrupted in his junior year, when he joined the Confederate army, serving in the Stonewall Brigade, in which he became a captain. He was captured and became a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware. He was graduated from Emory and Henry in 1866, and, in that year, married Virginia Longley. For twelve years, he was professor of mathematics at his alma mater. He served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, and was recognised as an authority on manual training in the south. He died in 1905.

Source: Virginia Tech Administration Profiles

Scope and Content

The collection contains three types of items: a Ledger Book from 1882-83, two VPI yearbooks from 1900 and 1913, a CDV photo album, and two early daguerreotypes. The ledger book is most likely from C. E. Vawter's time overseeing the Miller School. The two VPI yearbooks were dedicated to C. E. Vawter and C. E. Vawter Jr. respectively. Though the photos in the CDV album are unmarked, they were taken by A. H. Plecker in Salem and Davis in Richmond, VA. The two daguerreotypes are early and feature a woman and man, presumably a married couple.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by material type.

Index Terms

Persons:

• Vawter, Charles E., (Charles Erastus), 1841-1905

Family Names:

• Charles E. Vawter family

Subjects:

• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute