Name/Title
Ambrose W. Cramer index and Elizabeth Davenport Cramer Sherrard literature notebookEntry/Object ID
ARC963Scope and Content
ARC963-1: Record book used for two purposes: as an index and as a literature notebook. Designed as an index with one letter of the alphabet designated for each page. Pages A and B are missing. Title page reads: "Ambrose W. Cramer, Charles Town, Va. Geo. Ed. Cordell. Index For The Year 1861." Each page contains names of persons whose last names begin with the letter of that page, followed by a number or numbers. Names are not necessarily in alphabetical order on the page and numbers are generally but not necessarily in order. The index is also used as a literature notebook. When the book is turned upside down and read back to front, it is a collection of verses and quotes, almost all religious, recorded in a different handwriting from the index. (Description comes from ARC963-2).
ARC963-2: Typed letter from Betsy Rice (great-granddaughter of Ambrose W. Cramer) addressed to Charles Town Historical Society or Chamber of Commerce, Charles Town Presbyterian Church, and Montreat Historical Foundation. Dated October 17, 1979. Includes description of record book (ARC963-1). In the letter Rice indicates that Ambrose W. Cramer (1820-1901) was a merchant and also the treasurer of the Presbyterian Church. Mentions speculation that the literary items in the record book were copied in the book by Rice's grandmother, Elizabeth Davenport Cramer Sherrard (1853-1938), (Ambrose W. Cramer's daughter).
ARC963-3: Typed letter from John A. Washington, Jefferson County Historical Society president, addressed to Betsy Rice. Dated October 31, 1979. Washington indicates that the Jefferson County Historical Society, which had its archives at the Charles Town Library, was interested in acquiring the record book (ARC963-1).
N.B.: "Roger Chen" mentioned in both letters is "Roger Chew." J. Rissler, JCM, 6/3/2021.Acquisition
Accession
75Source or Donor
Charles Town LibraryAcquisition Method
GiftArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 record book, 13" x 8"
2 typed letters