Stephen Jones, Compiler, Senator Chapman Revercomb Research Papers
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3357
Papers and records of Stephen Jones and Senator Chapman Revercomb, collected and created for the writing and publication of biography A Conspiracy of Events: Senator Chapman Revercomb and West Virginia Politics, Immigration Reform, and the Eisenhower-Taft Conflict, which Jones co-authored with Ann Bradly. Collection includes historical records of Revercomb and related political records, as well as collected secondary sources and papers from the writing and publication of the book.
Materials include original and xerox copies of: correspondence; newspaper articles; congressional records; personal appointment books; notes; ephemera; photographs; and a cassette tape of Jones’ notes. Materials predominantly originate from Jones and Revercomb, but include a variety of sources, such as from the Presidential Libraries of Truman, Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
This collection has three sets of material. The original collection, donated in 2000, consists of two copies of the uncorrected manuscript copy of A Conspiracy of Events, one bound and one unbound. The 2018 addendum represents the majority of the collection. The most recent addendum consists of an unbound copy of the published work, as well as a few volumes of Congressional records and some photographs.
The 2018 addendum includes a mix of historical and research materials, including both originals and photocopies. The papers in this addendum relating to Revercomb’s political career regard issues such as immigration (including the Displaced Person’s Program); labor (including the Taft–Hartley Act); Civil Rights; and communism and socialism. Related materials created by or about Revercomb include bound volumes of his congressional remarks, as well as voting records; policy statements and public speaking notes; correspondence; and newspaper articles. Of particular note are the two “Speech Kits” for 1954 (box 9) and 1956 (box 5); original volumes published by the Republican Party containing notes, facts, and outlines to guide speech writing that aligned with Republican policy. There is a significant collection of newspaper clippings on a variety of topics relating to Revercomb and West Virginian politics. There are also records of Revercomb’s daily affairs, including his original “Daily Reminder” books (1942-1960, box 10). Other highlights of political materials include an original letter from Robert C. Byrd mentioning his participation in the Ku Klux Klan (1946, box 5, folder 32).
The 2018 addendum also contains the papers of Stephen Jones, primarily relating to the research, writing, and publication of A Conspiracy of Events. These materials include several drafts of the books, as well as notes and correspondence about editing and acquiring materials which are often intermixed with historical records. There is also a significant collection of secondary sources, predominantly photocopies of articles, theses, and books.
The cassette tape in box 3 must be digitized for research access. Researchers must contact the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
5.55 Linear Feet (3 small flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 small flat storage box, 2 in.; 2 document cases, 2 1/2 in. each; 4 document cases, 5 in. each; 2 record cartons, 15 in. each; 2 oversize folders, 0.6 in. total)
English
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository