Finding Aids to Collections Organized by Topic in the Archive of Folk Culture

VIRGINIA COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Joseph C. Hickerson and David E. Nealon
Series Editor: Joseph C. Hickerson

Publication Date: May 1983; Web revision May 2008
Series Number: LCFAFA No. 2
ISSN 0736-4903

Sound Recordings

AFS 536-662: John A. Lomax Southwest Collection, 1936
One hundred twenty-seven discs of recordings made by John A. Lomax primarily in Austin, Crystal City, Dallas, Luling, Pleasonton, San Angelo, San Antonio, Stamford, Spur, and Throckmorton, Texas. Other recordings include Parchman and Vicksburg, Mississippi; Richmond and Whitetop, Virginia; Taylor, Louisiana; and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, 1936. See item-level card catalog for song and performer list.

AFS 550-551, 652: Three discs recorded at Whitetop, Virginia, 1935.

AFS 663-743: John A. Lomax Southern States Collection Part 2, 1936
Eighty-one discs of recordings made by John A. Lomax in Parchman, Mississippi; Austin, Fort Spunky, San Antonio, Spur, Throckmorton, Texas; Belle Glade, Gainesville, Raiford, Florida; Boykin, Columbia, South Carolina; Washington, DC; Zionsville, North Carolina; and Culpeper, State Farm, Richmond, Virginia.

AFS 722-733, 744-750, 831, 835: Twenty-one discs recorded at State Penitentiary, Richmond, and Goochland, Virginia, 1936.

AFS 1340-1373: John A. and Bess Lomax / Old Fiddler's Contest Collection
Thirty-four 12-inch discs recorded at the Old Fiddler's Contest, Galax, Virginia, 1937. (tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 98B-101A)

AFS 3155-3313: Sidney Robertson Cowell and Charles Seeger Resettlement Administration and the 1937 National Folk Festival Recordings
One hundred fifty-nine 12-inch discs of instrumentals and songs recorded in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Charles Seeger, Margaret Valiant, and others for the Special Skills Division, Resettlement Administration, 1936-37. The collection includes one linear inch of notes.

AFS 3158-3165: Eight discs recorded in Marion, Virginia, by Sidney Robertson, 1936, for the Resettlement Administration.

AFS 3426-3432: Richard Chase Recordings
Nine 12-inch discs recorded in Virginia by Richard Chase in 1939.

AFS 3762-3768: Alan Lomax and Pete Seeger / Bog Trotters Recordings
Seven discs recorded in Galax and Roanoke, Virginia, by Alan Lomax and Pete Seeger, Jan. 7 -9, 1939.

AFS 4412I-4419: Alan Lomax / Emory Stroop
Eight 12-inch discs of string band featuring Herbert Smoke from Winchester, Virginia. Recorded at the Library of Congress, by Alan Lomax, 1940.

AFS 5225-5234: Alan and Elizabeth Lomax / Virginia Recordings
Ten discs recorded in Salem, Galax[?] and Rugby by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax. Recorded by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax, 1941.

AFS 8963-8964: General Julius Franklin Howell / Tales of the Confederate Army
Two 16-inch discs of Tales of the Confederate Army made by General Julius Franklin Howell (age 101) of Bristol, Virginia, in the Recording Laboratory of the Library of Congress, June 2, 1947. The collection includes a 2-page log.

AFS 9053-9065: Horace P. Beck Duplication Project
Three 6-inch and ten 10-inch discs of folk songs performed with guitar by Dale Potter and Silas Pendleton (of Huntley, Virginia). Recorded in Kingman, Maine, and Newport, Rhode Island, by Horace P. Beck and Wendell Hadlock, 1947. The collection includes a two-page song list.

AFS 9066-9075: MacEdward Leach and Horace Beck Collection of Old English Ballads
Ten 12-inch discs of Old English ballads recorded in Front Royal and "Little" Washington, Virginia, by MacEdward Leach and Horace Beck for the University of Pennsylvania Recording Project, 1947.

AFS 9829-9868: National Folk Festival, 1938
One 12-inch and thirty-nine 16-inch discs of instrumentals, radio programs, and songs. Recorded primarily at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Recording Company, May 6-8, 1938. The collection includes three-fourths linear inch of song lists, newspaper articles, and programs. Sarah Gertrude Knott makes some introductions. Includes several musicians from Virginia.

AFS 9979-9984: MacEdward Leach and Horace Beck Collection of Old English Ballads from Virginia
Six 7-inch tapes recorded in Amissville, Brownsville, Chester's Gap, Lynchburg, Flint Hill, Smedley, Sperryville, and Washington, Virginia, by MacEdward Leach and Horace Beck, 1949. (LWO 1501)

AFS 10,003-10,010: Maud Karpeles Recording Project
Eight 7-inch tapes of folksongs recorded by Maud Karpeles and Sidney Robertson Cowell in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in September and October, 1950 to record the singers that Cecil Sharp, with Maud Karpeles, had met and heard sing earlier in the century. Includes 11 pp. of notes on the songs recorded, plus copies of manuscripts penned by Sidney Cowell describing the recording trip.

AFS 10,500: C.J.S. Durham Collection
One 10-inch tape of reminiscences of Mr. Mann Sharper, an 80-year old Negro living in Fairfax County, Virginia. Recorded at the Library of Congress, October 1951. (2 hours)

AFS 10,834: E.C. Ball Virginia Folk Songs Recordings
One 7-inch tape of E. C. Ball recorded by himself at Volney, Virginia, 1954. (30 minutes)

AFS 10,978: Paul Clayton Recordings from Kentucky and Virginia
One 7-inch tape of sixteen instrumentals and songs performed with banjo and guitar, recorded at various locations in Kentucky and Virginia by Paul Clayton (of New Bedford, Massachusetts), January 29-March 26, 1956. The collection includes two pages of correspondence. (LWO 3529; LWO 12,523 reel 171A)

AFS 11,399: James Wharton / Menhaden Fisherman Song
One 7-inch tape of menhaden shanties recorded in Weems by James Wharton, 1957. (30 minutes)

AFS 11,866-11,868: Paul Clayton and George Foss Recordings of Mary Bird McAllister
Three 10-inch tapes of Mary Bird McAllister recorded at Brown's Cove by Paul Clayton Worthington and George Foss, 1958-59. (6 hours)

AFS 12,004-12,008: George Foss Folksongs of Virginia and North Carolina Collection
Six 10-inch tapes of instrumentals and songs recorded in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, by George Foss, 1961-62. The collection includes eighteen pages of lists. Includes Brown's Cove, Fancy Gap, Long Branch, Mission Home, Saltville, and Wyatt's Mountain, Virginia. (6 hours)

AFS 12,010-12,012: George Korson Bituminous Songs Collection
Three 10-inch tapes of instrumentals, a recitation, and songs performed with fiddle and guitar by bituminous coal miners from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Recorded at various locations by George Korson, 1940. The collection includes three pages of lists. Portions of this collection have been published by the Library of Congress on recording number AFS L60, Songs and Ballads of the Bituminous Coal Miners.

AFS 12,359-12,361: Robert Beach Fiddle Tunes
Three 7-inch tapes of eighty-seven tunes played on fiddle by Robert P. Beach, originally of Lenox, Iowa, accompanied by Iolene Beach, Joseph Winn, and others. Recorded in Springfield, Virginia, by Joseph C. Hickerson, March 26, 1966. The collection includes a three-page list of Mr. Beach's repertoire and a text of "The Irish Jubilee." (3 hours)

AFS 12,362-12,364: Joseph C. Hickerson / Fields Ward Recordings Project
Three tapes containing fifty-nine songs, guitar and banjo tunes, and seven spoken pieces by Fields Ward, originally of Galax, Virginia, recorded in Forest Hill, Maryland, in June 1966 by Joseph C. Hickerson. (3 hours)

AFS 12,396-12,397: Scott Odell / Instrumental Music from Virginia and North Carolina
Two 10-inch tapes of instrumental folk music of Virginia and North Carolina recorded by J. Scott Odell,1964 and 1965. (4 hours)

AFS 12,598-12,600: Joseph C. Hickerson / Stella Holaday and Fields Ward Recordings
Three tapes containing fifty one songs and ballads sung and played by Stella Holaday, originally of Sparta, North Carolina, and Fields Ward, originally of Galax, Virginia, recorded at Ward's home in Forest Hill, Maryland, in October 1966 by Joseph C. Hickerson. (3 hours)

AFS 13,031-13,037: Alan Jabbour Duplication Project
Seven 10-inch tapes of instrumentals performed on banjo, fiddle, guitar, and hammered dulcimer. Recorded in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia by Alan Jabbour, October 2, 1965 April 1, 1967. The collection includes one linear inch of logs. (14 hours)

AFS 13,050: A.F.R. Lawrence / Prof. John Powell "Folk Music of South" Radio Broadcast Collection
One 7-inch tape of "Folk Music of the South no. 3," radio program of Virginia ballads and fiddle tunes directed and narrated by Prof. John Powell, broadcast March 7, 1934, at WRVA, Richmond, Virginia, over NBC Red Network. (30 minutes)

AFS 13,479: E.C. Ball Recordings
One 5-inch tape of guitar pieces, played and recorded by E. C. Ball, Volney, Virginia, October 1967. (30 minutes)

AFS 13,703-13,709: Alan Jabbour Duplication Project
Seven 10-inch tapes of instrumentals and songs performed with banjo, fiddle, and guitar. Recorded in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia by Alan Jabbour, May 6, 1967 June 22, 1968. The collection includes one-half linear inch of logs. (14 hours)

AFS 13,718: Mike Seeger Recordings of Kate Sturgill, Scott Boatright, and Luther Bryant
One 10-inch tape of recordings of Kate Sturgill (Greenville, Tennessee, Dec. 31, 1968), Scott Boatright (near Coeburn Virginia, Jan. 2, 1969), and Luther Bryant (Troutville, Virginia, Jan. 5, 1969). (2 hours)

AFS 13,577-13,671: Robert W. Gordon Disc Recordings
Two 12-inch, twenty-four 10-inch, forty-three 8-inch, one 7 1/2-inch, three 7-inch, and twenty-two 6-inch discs of air checks, hymns, letters, sea shanties, songs, voice tests, and other material recorded at the Library of Congress and elsewhere by Robert Winslow Gordon, 1929-32. The collection includes three linear inches of manuscripts and newspaper clippings. Includes recordings from Charlottesville, Virginia.

AFS 13,992-14,021: National Federation of Music Clubs Archivists / Folk Music Materials
Eighteen 7-inch, three 5-inch, and nine 3-inch tapes of folk music from Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Recorded by regional National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) archivists and contributors, 1931-63. Donated by Annabel M. Buchanan for the NFMC Folk Music Archive. The collection includes five linear inches of articles, correspondence, logs, and musical and textual transcriptions.

AFS 14,088-14,090: James Scancarelli / Fiddle and Banjo Music
Three 10-inch tapes of instrumentals and songs recorded in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia by James Scancarelli, May 23 August 16, 1969. The collection includes twelve pages of fieldnotes. Includes Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Uncle Frank Rayborn, Norman & Jimmy Edmonds, M. Samples, Chick Martin, Wade Ward, J. Scancarelli, Arthur Leake Caudle, Wilson Douglas. (6 hours)

AFS 14,091-14,093: Blanton Owen Duplication Project
Three 10-inch tapes of instrumentals and songs recorded in Virginia and West Virginia primarily by Blanton and Malcolm Owen, June 29 September 14, 1969. The collection includes eleven black-and-white photographs and six pages of fieldnotes and lists. Performers include John Hilt, Arthur Hilt, Taylor Kimball, Frank Austin, Oscar Wright. (5 hours)

AFS 14,155-14,160: Eric Olson / Fiddle Tunes
Six 7-inch tapes of fiddle tunes and other folk music recorded 1968-1969 in North Carolina and Virginia by Eric Olson. Also copy of fiddlin' Bill Hensley recorded 1940 in North Carolina by David P. Bennett, and a copy of early hillbilly recordings. (6 hours)

AFS 14,170: Will I. Monday / "The Allen Tragedy"
One 7-inch tape of Will I. Munday describing the Allen Tragedy of Hillsville, Virginia, 1913. (30 minutes; LWO 5241)

AFS 14,217: Francis W. Shield / Mrs. James Wilson Singing "Little Ida"
One 3-inch tape of "Little Ida," discussed and sung by Mrs. James Wilson, originally of Ohio. Recorded by Francis W. Sheild (Mrs. Wilsons's granddaughter's husband) in Hampton, Virginia, July 1970.

AFS 14,234-14,240: Charles Perdue Duplication Project
Seven 10-inch tapes of Negro folktales and church services recorded in Culpeper and Rappahannock County, Virginia, by Charles Perdue, 1969-1970. Includes religious songs and sermons. The collection includes logs. (ca. 15 hours)

AFS 14,254-14,257: Charles Faurot Collection of an Interview with Galax, Virginia, Musicians
Four 7-inch tapes of an interview with and music played by Kahle Brewer, Wade Ward, and Fields Ward, all originally from Galax, Virginia. Interview focuses on the backgrounds of traditional music in the Galax area. Also two tunes played on fiddle by Alan Jabbour. Recorded for the Archive of Folk Song by Charles Faurot, July 4, 1970. (2 hours; LWO 6119)

AFS 14,292-14,297: Alan Jabbour Duplication Project, Part III
Six 10-inch reels of tape of white fiddle and banjo tunes from Virginia and North Carolina, and black Baptist church services from Durham. Recorded by Alan Jabbour, 1967-1968. (12 hours; LWO 6111)

AFS 14,303-14,314: Blanton Owen Fiddle Recordings
Twelve 7-inch tapes of instrumentals performed on banjo, fiddle, and guitar, and religious songs recorded in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia by Blanton Owen, summer-fall 1970. The collection includes a nine-page list. Includes religious songs from a Primitive Baptist church in North Carolina. (ca. 10 hours; LWO 6244)

AFS 14,429: Joseph Di Misa / "Steve O'Donald's Wake" Recording
One 3-inch tape of "Steve O'Donald's Wake" sung by Joseph G. DiMisa of Woodbridge, Virginia, Frank G. DiMisa of White Plains, Maryland, and Jesse M. Clements of Kensington, Maryland, recorded by Joseph G. DiMisa.

AFS 14,475: M. Ellsworth Kyter / Fiddle tunes of Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
One 5-inch tape of fiddle tunes of Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Recorded by M. Ellsworth Kyter, 1970-1971. (1 hour; LWO 6446)

AFS 14,574: Robert Witte / Menhaden Duplication Project
One 10-inch tapes of menhaden fishermen recorded in Weems by Robert Witte, 1967. (2 hours)

AFS 14,577-14,580: Howard Glasser / Dave Magram Duplication Project
Four 10-inch tapes of instrumentals and songs recorded in Virginia and West Virginia by Dave Magram, August 22-29 and October 15, 1966. Virginia recordings include Head Waters, Ottibine, and Singer's Glen. Duplicated from tapes loaned by Howard Glasser. The collection includes eleven pages of fieldnotes, lists, and tape concordances. (7 hours)

AFS 14,590-14,600: Charles Perdue Duplication Project
Eleven 10-inch tapes of folk music and folklore from Rappahannock County, Virginia, consisting mainly of Negro church services and family of John Jackson. Recorded by Charles Perdue, 1970-1971. (ca. 25 hours)

AFS 15,053-15,074: Peter R. Hoover Collection
Twenty-two 10-inch tapes of primarily instrumental music recorded in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia by Peter R. Hoover, 1959-67. Mostly instrumental folk music, including also music derived from Ireland, Scotland (from Howard Glasser Collection), Iowa, and Washington, D.C. Also includes "History of Classic Jazz." (45 hours)

AFS 18,474-18,706: Blanton Owen and Tom Carter Appalachian Music and Interviews
Two hundred thirty-three tapes including string band music, piano, Jew's harp, fife and Hawaiian guitar music, and interviews, recorded in Grayson, Carrol, Patrick, Wythe, Floyd and Franklin counties in VA, and Allegheny Co., NC, in 1973-74 by Blanton Owen and Tom Carter.

AFS 18,707-18,710: Deborah Burns / Weaver's Mennonite Church Recordings
Four 7-inch tapes of shape note, Harmonia Sacra, religious choral singing recorded January 1, 1974 at Weaver's Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia, by Deborah Burns. (LWO 9091)

AFS 18,872-18,873: Richard Chase Collection
Two 10-inch tapes of ballads, songs, shape note singing and narrative (Jack tales) recorded in 1930s and 1940s by Richard Chase in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Among the identified performers are Mrs. Kit Williamson, Ella Shiffert, Robert L. Blackwood, Rebecca Jones, Mrs. Cal Hicks, Arch Lewis, Robert Hammond.

AFS 18874-18875: Gerald Parsons and Edward Tittel / Wayson's Corners, Maryland, Tobacco Auction
Two 5-inch tapes containing a tobacco auction conducted by Bob Cage from South Boston, Virginia, recorded in Wayson's Corners, Maryland, by Gerald E. Parsons and Edward Tittel, May 1976.

AFS 19,220-19,230: Arthur Kyle Davis Duplication Project
Eleven tapes of Appalachian songs, ballads and fiddle tunes, recorded in Virginia in 1932-1934 by Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr., and in 1948 and 1961 by Fred F. Knobloch. Includes some interviews with Davis and other scholars.

AFS 19,232: Louis C. Jones Lecture on Virginia Folk Artist Queena Stovall
One audiocassette of a lecture given by Louis C. Jones concerning Virginia folk artist Queena Stovall at Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia, October 9, 1974. (1 hour)

AFS 19,258: Natalie Curtis Burlin / Hampton Institute Cylinders
One 10-inch tape copied from 23 wax cylinder recordings of gospel songs sung by the Hampton Quartette. Recorded at the Hampton Institute in Virginia, by Natalie Curtis Burlin, ca. 1916. Also includes dictation of business letters (circa 1955). Some of these songs are transcribed in Burlin's Hampton Series Negro Folk-Songs. The collection includes logs.

AFS 19,260-19,267: Jeff Todd Titon and Ken George / Interviews Concerning Religious Experiences, Stanley, Virginia
Eight 7-inch tapes of interviews concerning white religious experiences with Rev. John Sherfey and members of the Fellowship Independent Baptist Church of Stanley, Virginia. Recorded in Stanley, Phleburg, Luray, Etlan, and Pine Grove, Virginia, by Jeff Titon and Ken George, 1977. The collection includes transcripts of the interviews. Keywords: personal narratives, jokes, conversation, hymns, church services (structure and practices), doctrine and individual experiences, witnessing, conversion narratives, call-to-preach narratives, shouting, testimony, sermons, prayers, teaching. (LWO 12,197)

AFS 19,334-19,340: Scott Odell Collection
Seven 10-inch tapes of Appalachian string band music performed by Kyle Creed, Ernest Hodges, Tommy Jarrell, Sidney Myers and others. Recorded in Vermont, southwest Virginia, and at the Festival of American Folklife in Washington, D.C. by Scott Odell of the Smithsonian Institution’s Division of Musical Instruments, 1966-1970. The collection includes 57 pages of logs, lyric transcriptions, notes, and photocopies of photographs.

AFS 19,343-19,354: Ed Morris Duplication Project
Twelve 10-inch tapes of performances by and interviews with African American and folk revival musicians including Wilbert "Big Chief" Ellis, Ed Green, John Jackson, Skip James, George Jazz, Buddy Boy Jenkins, Raun MacKinnon, Bill McCulloh, Randy Mason, Frank Mizell, Flora Molton, and Ed Morris. Recorded in Virginia and Washington, D.C., by Ed Morris, Charles Perdue, and others, 1963-1965. The collection includes twenty-two pages of logs and notes. [Note: the logs are incomplete, therefore there may be additional related material contained in the collection.]

AFS 19,391: Songs and Stories by Emory Rexrode
One audiocassette of songs and stories by Emory Rexrode, Monterey, Virginia. Recorded by Bruce R. Richardson, 1976.

AFS 19,422-19,433: Arlington County Folk Arts Program Oral History Project
Twelve audiocassettes of interviews with older Arlington County, Virginia, residents. Interviews conducted by high school students as part of an oral project sponsored by the Arlington County Folk Arts Project, directed by Lynn Mailloux. Recorded ca. 1979.

AFS 19,599-19,600: Ralph Rinzler Duplication Project
Forty-two 10-inch tapes featuring Doc Watson and family, Clarence Tom Ashley, Bill Monroe, and others. Contains some Virginia material but recorded primarily in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, in 1960-1965 by Ralph Rinzler and others.

AFS 19,713-19,726: Henry Glassie / Folk Music Recordings
Fourteen 10-inch tapes of folk music recorded mostly in Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania by Henry Glassie, 1961-1967. Performers include Ola Belle Reed, Hobart Smith, N. T. [Nathan Tab] Ward, and Ruby Bowman Plemmons.

AFS 19,844-19,873: National Folk Festival, 1972
Thirty 10-inch tapes of the National Folk Festival, recorded at Wolf Trap Farm Park, Vienna, Virginia, July 27-30, 1972. The collection includes 25 pages of logs and the program book from the festival. Includes blues, bluegrass, old time, sacred and Native American music by various performers including John Jackson, Mike Seeger, an the Seldom Scene, among others.

AFS 19,883-19,885: Interviews with Hobart Smith and May Kennedy McCord, 1963
Three 10-inch tapes of oral history interviews with Hobart Smith and May Kennedy McCord, with singing and instrumental accompaniment, recorded by George and Gerry Armstrong in 1963.

AFS 23,212-23,251: Jeff Todd Titon / Stanley, Virginia, Collection, Part 2
Forty 10-inch tapes of church services, prayer meetings, and hymn sings (with piano and guitar accompaniment) recorded at the Fellowship Independent Baptist Church in Stanley, Virginia; interviews with the pastor, John Sherfey, and members of the congregation, recorded in Stanley and Lucas Hollow, Virginia; Rev. Belvin Hurt's "Sunlight of Love" broadcasts and Rev. John Sherfey's "Bible Way Gospel Time" broadcasts, recorded at WRAA Studios, Luray, Virginia. Recorded by Jeff Todd Titon with Ken George, July 1976-December 1979.

AFC 1935/002: John Lomax Southern States Collection, 1934-35
Two hundred eighty-six 12-in discs of songs and instrumentals recorded mostly in southern states by John A. and Alan Lomax, 1933-35.

AFS 75; 87: Two discs recorded at Negro Baptist churches in Alexandria, Virginia, 1933.

AFC 1939/002: Alan Lomax CBS Radio Series Collection
Recordings and manuscript materials connected with his participation in the "CBS American School of the Air," which was broadcast from 1939-41. Programs were aired weekly and were based on themes such as work songs, railroad songs, whaling ballads, game songs, and play-party songs. Among featured performers were: The Bogtrotters (of Galax, Virginia), The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, Woody Guthrie, Burl Ives, Aunt Molly Jackson, Huddie (Leadbelly) Leadbetter, Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, and Joshua (Josh) White. Much of the collection's correspondence is from listeners requesting that particular songs be sung during the show. Many songs submitted by listeners were later sung on the show either by Lomax or by the listeners who submitted them. (Includes AFS 1191I-4524; 13,488-13,499)

AFC 1939/003: Fletcher Collins, Jr. Collection
Thirty-four 12-inch discs recorded in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, by Fletcher Collins, Jr. between 1935 and 1942. The collection includes indexes, transcriptions, and correspondence.

AFC 1939/005: Herbert Halpert 1939 Southern States Recording Expedition
Four hundred and nineteen 12-inch discs of instrumentals, monologs, prayers, sermons, songs, and stories recorded in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, by Herbert Halpert, March 15-June 23, 1939, for the Folk Arts Committee of the WPA and the Library of Congress. The collection includes one and one-fourth linear inches of articles, contact sheets, correspondence, descriptions, interviews, lists, photographs, reports, and song texts.

AFS 2735-2770, 2775-2797, 2807-2842: Ninety-five discs recorded at Chilhowie, Clintwood, Durham (Kentucky), Esserville, Ferrum, Freeling, Hamiltown, Hillsville, Laural Grove, Marion, Norton, Richmond, Rockymount, and Wise, Virginia.

AFC 1940/003: John and Ruby Lomax 1940 Southern States Recordings Collection
One hundred forty-six 12-inch discs of a sermon and songs recorded in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia by Bess Brown, John A., and Ruby T. Lomax, September-November 1940. The collection includes one and one-half linear inches of correspondence and song transcriptions.

AFS 4073, 4079-4085: Eight discs recorded at Galax, Virginia, by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax, 1940.

AFC 1941/002: The Library of Congress / Fisk University Mississippi Delta Collection
This collection consists of audio recordings, manuscript materials and moving images which are the products of a 2-year field study conducted by the Library of Congress and Fisk University during the summers of 1941-42. Field research was done in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and contains examples of secular and religious music, sermons, children's games, jokes, folktales, interviewes, and dances. Among the manuscript materials are song lists, correspondence, disc jackets, and research notes. Recordings include blues songs, field hollers, ballads, game songs, gospels and spirituals as well as spoken materials such as interviews, sermons, speeches, jokes, lying contests, and folktales. The Mississippi records were made in connection with the socio-musical survey undertaken by the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The Virginia records were made for the purpose of public pressings, and contain the songs of the Ward Family, Mrs. Gladden, and the Ball Family. [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1941/006: Alan Lomax Recordings of White House Program Rehearsal
Seven 12-inch discs of thirty-five songs and monologues performed by Woody Guthrie, Alan Lomax, J.M. "Sailor Dad" Hunt (of Marion, Virginia), Private Rotson, and Wade Mainer’s Mountaineers. Recorded at a dress rehearsal for "An Evening of American Folksong" at the White House, Washington, D.C., by Alan Lomax, February 1941. The collection includes one page of song lyrics for "When Jones’ Ale Was New." (Includes AFS 4428-40)

AFC 1941/011: Radio Research Project Recordings
One hundred and three discs recorded in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia in July and August, 1941 by Alan Lomax, Joseph Liss, Jerome Wiesner. This trip documented the folk festivals at Asheville, North Carolina, and Galax, Virginia, and made numerous documentary recordings of the Wilmington experiment in Georgia and Tennessee, particularly in Blairsville, Georgia. Much of the work was done through the offices of Mr. Landis of the TVA in Nashville. Includes an interview with Mrs. Julia Wolfe, mother of Thomas Wolfe. (tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 332B-357A)

AFC 1943/005: Alan Lomax Recordings from Saltville, Virginia
Seven 12-inch discs of folk songs performed by Maud, Charlotte, and Dorothy Smith, Hobart Smith, Charley Debuck, Fred Galligher, and Edd Smith. Recorded in Saltville, Virginia, by Alan Lomax, August 28-29, 1942. The collection includes a 2-page log. (Includes AFS 6723-6729). [catalog record]

AFC 1948/008: Elice Eppes Collection of Negro Folk Songs Made at Appomatox Manor, Virginia
Two 10-inch discs of Negro folk songs recorded at Appomatox Manor, Hopewell, Virginia, by Miss Elice Eppes, ca. 1945. (Includes AFS 8033-8034)

AFC 1948/015: Hampton Institute Duplication Project
One hundred 12-inch discs of Negro religious songs, sermons, ex-slave narratives, Joe Louis fights, Eleanor Roosevelt speech, etc. from Hampton, Virginia, recorded by Prof. Roscoe Lewis of Hampton Institute, 1937-1940 [?]. (Includes AFS 8222-8321)

AFC 1948/019: H. Edward Behre Collection of Square Dance Calls
One 10-inch disc of square dance music and calls recorded in Alexandria, Virginia, by H. Edward Behre, ca. 1948. (Includes AFS 8350-8351)

AFC 1950/002: Anne and Frank Warner Collection
One hundred five discs, seventeen 7-inch tapes, and two 5-inch tapes of instrumentals, interviews, readings, songs, and stories recorded in the Bahamas, Massachusetts, the Middle West, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia, by Anne and Frank M. Warner, 1940-66. The collection includes three-sixteenths linear inch of concordances, correspondence, fieldnotes, and lists. Also includes Mohawk and recordings of Carl Sandburg. (Includes AFS 15,261-15,384)

AFC 1948/046: Richard Chase Duplication Project
Seven 16-inch discs of duplicates of American folk songs collected by Richard Chase in Virginia. (Includes AFS 8893-8899)

AFC 1953/003: Ray Owen Folk Music of Virginia Collection
One 10-inch tape of Virginia musicians recorded by Ray Owen, WBLT, Bedford, 1952. The collection includes a log. (Includes AFS 10,748) (1 hour; LWO 1895)

AFC 1957/007: Paul Clayton / Folk Songs from Virginia
One 10-inch tape of Virginia folksongs of an unidentified performer recorded by Paul Clayton Worthington, ca. 1955. The collection inlcudes a 2-page log. (Includes AFS 11, 305) (LWO 2468 reel 1)

AFC 1972/008: Jeanette Carter Kelly Recordings
One 7-inch tape of an interview with Jeanette Carter Kelly. Recorded in Hiltons, Virginia, by Terry Burcham and Doug Crosswhite, August 9, 1971. (1 hour) (Includes AFS 14,652)

AFC 1973/011: George Carey Collection of Interviews and Narratives from Maryland and Virginia
Six 10-inch tapes of more than two hundred interviews, narratives, and oral histories recorded on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, in 1968 by George G. Carey. Includes Craddockkville and Tangier Island, Virginia. (11 hours) (Includes AFS 15,587-15,592)

AFC 1973/020: Alan Jabbour and Tom Carter / Virginia Field Recording Project
Six 7-inch tapes including Munford ("Doc") Williams (harmonica) of Stuart, Virginia; tape dubs of instantaneous discs (originally recorded 1945 and 1949 from an unknown source) of J. W. Spangler and O. S. Spangler (fiddle), Maggie Wood, (guitar and vocal) from around Meadows of Dan, Virginia ; and Sherman Wimmer, fiddle, Boones Mille, Virginia. Recorded by Alan Jabbour, July 31-August 2, 1973.

AFC 1973/028: Laura Boulton Collection Part 1: Negro Folklore
Sixty 10-inch discs of Negro folklore. Recorded in Alabama, South Carolina, and Virginia, by Walter Garwick, 1935-37. (Includes AFS 15,667-15,726)

AFC 1974/019: John Jackson Recordings
Two 10-inch tapes of songs, stories and guitar pieces by John and Cora Jackson. Recorded at Fairfax Station, Virginia, by Joseph C. Hickerson, June 10, 1974. (Includes AFS 17,051-17,052)

AFC 1974/022: National Folk Festival, 1972
Eight 10-inch tapes of blues, old time, bluegrass, Sacred Harp, and ballads performed by traditional and revival musicians, including John Jackson, The Seldom Scene, Libba Cotton, and Chuck and Nan Perdue. Recorded at Area I of the National Folk Festival, Vienna, Virginia, in 1972 by the National Folk Festival Association. (Includes AFS 17,106-17,113)

AFC 1975/007: Dudley "Babe" Spangler, J.W. Spangler, and Maggie Wood Recordings
One 10-inch tape of fiddle and string band music by Dudley "Babe" Spangler, J.W. Spangler and Maggie Wood. Recorded at Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and Danville, Virginia, 1948-1949.

AFC 1975/040: Charles Perdue Collection of John Jackson Recordings
Eleven tapes of blues, religious music, stories, and oral history of John and Cora Jackson. Recorded in Fairfax Station, and Rappahannock County, Virginia, in 1965-1975 by Charles L. Perdue, Jr., and Nancy J. Martin-Perdue. (Includes AFS 17,610-17,620)

AFC 1977/003: 1977 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes the Bluegrass Cardinals (bluegrass); John Jackson (blues); and Bob Goff, Jr. and the Hobbs Sisters (bluegrass). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1975/007: Dudley "Babe" Spangler, J.W. Spangler, and Maggie Wood Recordings
One tape of copies of home recordings of string band music performed by Dudley "Babe" Spangler, J. W. Spangler, Maggie Wood and Harry Pendleton. Originally recorded in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, and Danville, Virginia, in 1945, 1948, and 1949 by the performers. Portions of this same material are also contained on parts of AFS 15,654-15,656 and AFS 18,627-18,628. (Includes AFS 17,474)

AFC 1977/013: David Holt Recordings Collection
Thirteen 10-inch tapes of Appalachian string band, banjo, fiddle, and hammer dulcimer music, cajun music, cowboy songs, labor songs (southern mill), shape note religious singing, and black children's games. Recorded in California, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, by David Holt, Appalachian Music Program, Warren Wilson College. The collection includes seven pages of logs, song lists, and notes. (LWO 9385)

AFC 1977/020: Pat Dunford Duplication Project Collection
Twenty-five 10-inch tapes of old-time banjo and fiddle tunes, interviews, stories, and songs by various artists. Recorded in Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia by Pat Dunford and occasionally Lee Haggerty, Art Rosenbaum, P. Siegel, and Dan White, 1962-69. The collection includes twenty-eight pages of song lists. Includes Wade and Fields Ward, Frank George, John W. Summers, The Feedroom Five, Kenneth Smelser, Mrs. Ella Parker, Mrs. Sigler Underhill and more. The Virginia material is on AFS 19,014-19,021 and 19,037.

AFC 1977/022: Richard Chase Appalachian Recordings
Twenty-one 10-inch and 10 12-inch discs and 1 4-inch, 1 5-inch, and 5 7-inch tapes of songs and tales recorded in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia by Richard Chase and others, 1935-53. Richard Chase's field recordings of Appalachian folklore and music. Ballads by Horton Barker and others, shape note and gospel singing, 19th c. sentimental and comic songs, tales, games and recitations recorded in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky. Also recordings of Chase and others in various non-folk performances. (Includes AFS 19041-19078; AFS 19079-19084)

AFC 1978/004: 1978 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes John Ashby and the Old Time Virginia String Band (country music from Virginia). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1978/005: Charles L. Perdue, Jr. / The Archive of Folk Song Virginia Folklore Index
A complete listing of Virginia field recordings from 1932-1977. Includes indexes to collectors, geographic areas, informants, types of instruments played, songs, tunes, tales, sermons, prayers, monologues, testimonies, play-parties, etc.

AFC 1979/019: Baltimore of Mount Pleasant: A Case Study of the Tradition of the Chanted Sermon in Virginia by E. Henry Willett, III
M.A. Thesis, 1975. Western Kentucky University. [catalog record]

AFC 1980/012: 1980 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes Leo Sarkisian and group, (Armenian music from Virginia). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1982/009: Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project Collection
Four hundred sixty-seven reels containing music, church services, radio programs, and interviews, recorded in Grayson, Carroll, Floyd, and Patrick Counties, Virginia, and Allegheny, Wilkes, and Surry Counties, North Carolina in 1978 by the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project of the American Folklife Center. Selections from this collection have been published as a library of Congress two-record album, Children of the Heav'nly King (AFS L79-80; [audiocassette]. The American Folklife Center has also published the book, Blue Ridge Harvest [catalog record], as a result of the project. The project collections also contain photographs, videotapes, fieldnotes, and collectors'. (Includes AFS 21,363-21,829). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1983/009: 1983 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes John Jackson & James Jackson (Virginia blues); and Grass Reflections (Virginia bluegrass). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1984/021: Blue Ridge Institute Carter Family Broadcast Collection
One 7-inch tape of radio program about the Carter family. Written and produced by Kip Lornell under the direction of Roddy Moore, for the "Folk Music in Virginia" series; includes interviews with Joe and Janette Carter. Project was funded by an NEA grant to Virginia Western Community College and the Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College, and was produced under the auspices of WVWR, Roanoke, Virginia. The collection includes a log.

AFC 1987/029: Henry Baxley 1963 National Championship Country Music Contest Collection
Three 7-inch tapes of the finals of the 1963 National Championships Country Music Contest held August 3-4, 1963, at Lake Whipporwill, Warrenton, Virginia, and sponsored and conducted by the Warrenton-Fauquier Jaycees. Chairman of the contest: Henry Baxley, Jr. Master of Ceremonies: Eddie Matherly (disc jockey, WKCW radio, Warrenton); recorded by Sonny Cameron.

AFC 1987/040: Philip S. Morgan Music in the Old Time Way Collection
One videocassette entitled "Music in the Old Time Way: Traditional Music and Musicians from the southern Appalachians," a video documentary produced, edited, and narrated by Philip S. Morgan, explores the origin, development, aesthetics and style of Appalachian old-time dance music; includes performances, interviews, and fiddlers' conventions. Recorded in Virginia and North Carolina.

AFC 1989/009: 1989 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes Greg Hooven and the Backstep Band (old-time music from Virginia). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1989/017: Lyle D. Campbell / Campbell Family Songfest Manuscript Collection
Eleven song transcriptions (22 manuscript pages) collected at Campbell family songfests in Nelson County, Virginia, 1882-1890s.

AFC 1990/012: 1990 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes The Lynn Morris Band (Virginia bluegrass). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1990/020: Recordings from the 1988 Galax Fiddlers' Convention
One audiocassette recorded at the 1988 Galax Fiddlers' Convention, Galax, Virginia, featuring Ralph L. McGee of Pilot, North Carolina, on fiddle; Will Keys of Jonesboro, Tennessee, on banjo; Don DePoy of Hampden, Maine, on guitar; and an unknown player on bass. The collection includes two color photoprints of Carl DePoy bowing with a "wishbone."

AFC 1991/012: 1991 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Includes the Seldom Scene (Virginia bluegrass). [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1995/004: Mike Seeger Collection
Two hundred and seventy-five 10-inch tapes of bluegrass, country, and folk music, recorded in California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, primarily by Mike Seeger, 1953-67. The collection includes three linear inches of computer disks, correspondence, notes, and photos. These tapes supplement his collections already in the archive. Includes some examples made by other collectors, including recordings of autoharpist, John Kilby Snow recorded by Blaine Jaeger. Bluegrass music predominates this collection. A number of the tapes were recorded from radio and TV programs. Bluegrass performers represented include Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Don Reno, and Red Smiley. Tapes also include interviews with country music artists of the 1920s and 1930s including Tom Ashley, Sam and Kirk McGee, Ernest V. Stoneman, Gid Tanner, and Frank Walker. In their reminiscences with Seeger, they speak of many other old-time musicians whom they knew and worked with, life on the road, musical sources, etc.

AFC 1996/020: Michelle Branigan / Piedmont Folksong Project: Little Union Baptist Church Watch Night Service Videotape Collection
One videocassette of a Watch Night service taped at the Little Union Baptist Church [Charlottesville, Virginia area?] by Michelle Branigan, December 31, 1992. It is a documentary on the religious song traditions of Cumberland and Amelia counties in Virginia.

AFC 1997/011: Lands' End All-American Quilt Collection
This is a vast collection with emphasis on visual images Lands' End in cooperation with Good Housekeeping magazine sponsored the quilt contests in 1992, 1994, and 1996. The collection consists of visual images, entry blanks, and essays written by entrants, as well as Lands End administrative files and correspondence pertinent to the promotion of the contest. Numerous types and styles of needlework, quilting, patchwork, applique and embroidery are represented among the visual images. All 50 states are represented. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

AFC 1998/033: Rhett Turner Old Time Musicians of the New River Valley, Virginia Collection
One videocassette entitled "Old Time Musicians of the New River Valley Virginia," by Rhett Turner. The collection includes a black-and-white photographic print (1997) by Turner of a violin and bow propped against a wheel.

AFC 1999/026: The Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention Collection
One compact disc of the 1998 Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention. Recorded March 27 and 28, 1998 at the Parish Hall of the Pohick Episcopal Church, Lorton, Virginia, and March 29, 1998 at Hearst Hall, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC. CD produced in 1999 by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington.

AFC 2000/001: Local Legacies Collection
Four hundred and five linear feet (approximately 90,000 manuscript pages, 475 sound recordings, 13,270 graphic materials, 335 electronic media, and 75 artifacts) of documentation of local festivals, fairs, parades, and other community-based events from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and trusts. The Local Legacies Collection was donated through the efforts of individuals, organizations, and institutions asked to participate by members of Congress. This project was part of the Library of Congress Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000. [online presentation].

AFC 2001/008: International Storytelling Collection
The International Storytelling Collection contains manuscripts, sound recordings, graphic materials, moving images, electronic media, and artifacts that relate to the storytelling revival of the 1970s through the present. Based in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the International Storytelling Center (ISC) and its predecessor organizations, the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS), and the National Storytelling Association (NSA) collected these materials. Through the organization’s programming, such as the National Storytelling Festival, the ISC has served as a focal point for the storytelling revival. [catalog record]

AFC 2001/015: September 11, 2001, Documentary Project Collection
The collection documents reactions of ordinary citizens in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States through sound and video recordings of interviews and personal narratives; as well as photographs, children's drawings, two scrapbooks, letters and e-mail, poems, ephemera, and a few artifacts. Some items were submitted as group projects of schools, libraries, and museums from 30 states in the U.S., and from American military service personnel and their families in Naples, Italy. Includes several interviews conducted in Virginia, include police officers from the Pentagon. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

AFC 2004/004: Alan Lomax Collection
Eight hundred forty-five linear feet (330,000 manuscripts; 3876 sound recordings; 5060 graphic images; 3035 moving images created and collected by Alan Lomax in his work documenting song, music, dance, and body movement from many cultures. Includes field recordings and photographs he made in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe, 1930s-2004. Includes many materials from Virginia. [catalog record] [online presentation]

AFC 2004/028: Paschall Brothers Concert Collection
Sound recording, videorecording, and photographs of the Paschall Brothers in concert at the Library of Congress, June 16, 2004. The Paschall Brothers, from Chesapeake, Virginia, perform traditional a cappella gospel quartet music associated with the Tidewater region. Manuscripts include a program flyer, recording log, and publicity materials for the group including a publicity photograph. Part of the Homegrown Concerts series. [catalog record]

AFC 2005/035: From Virginia to Vermont: A Trek from Slavery to Freedom, Lecture by Jane Beck
An illustrated lecture entitled "From Virginia to Vermont: A Trek from Slavery to Freedom" Illustrated lecture about the life of Daisy Turner, daughter of Alec Turner, a former slave who moved his family from Virginia to Vermont by Jane Beck. Recorded as part of the Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture series, at the Library of Congress on June 22, 2005. [event flier] [catalog record]