Finding Aid to the Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers
Text
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
The collection contains family correspondence, including McWANE family letters,
genealogical materials, and photographs collected by Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, of
Lynchburg, Virginia. Notes and articles written by Mrs. WATSON, including research
materials and a refurnishing plan for Point of Honor, an historic house and museum in
Lynchburg, are also included. The collection also contains the correspondence of Edwin
Alban WATSON, editor of The Iron Worker, the house organ of the Lynchburg Foundry
Company.
[Detailed finding guide available with the collection]
MS1502
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
The collection contains family correspondence, including McWANE family letters,
genealogical materials, and photographs collected by Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, of
Lynchburg, Virginia. Notes and articles written by Mrs. WATSON, including research
materials and a refurnishing plan for Point of Honor, an historic house and museum in
Lynchburg, are also included. The collection also contains the correspondence of Edwin
Alban WATSON, editor of The Iron Worker, the house organ of the Lynchburg Foundry
Company.
BOX 1
BOX 2
WATSON, Lucille (McWANE)
1-1 Bristol School, Washington, D.C.
1-2 Invitations
1-3 McWANE, Lucille, Correspondence (1914-1926)
1-4 McWANE, Lucille, High School Reports
1-5 WATSON, Lucille (McWANE) (1893-1988)
1-6 Correspondence (1927-1939)
1-7 Correspondence (1940-1949)
1-8 Correspondence (1950-1959)
1-9 Correspondence (1960-1969)
1-10 Correspondence (1970-1987)
1-11 Correspondence (Undated)
1-12 Honorary Degree (Lynchburg College)
1-13 Medal of Honor (Daughters of the American
Revolution)
1-14 Societies
Writings of Lucille (McWANE) WATSON
Miscellaneous Notes
"Charles Willson PEALE's Miniature Portrait of Joseph HEWES"
"Christopher WINFREE, Sr. (1785-1858)"
"The Colonel [Charles CARTER] and His Lady
Come Home"
2-5 "The Country Store and Much Much More"
2-6 "A Distinguished Specimen of American Cabinet
Work"
2-7 "Edwin Alban WATSON"
(Continued)
2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 2
BOX 3
2-8 "Head of the House - The Story of Henry [McWANE], the Seventh
Child of the LFC Founder"
2-9 "Items Concerning the Early Christian Church of Lynchburg,
Virginia, and its Founders"
2-10 "LEGGETT Sideboard"
2-11 "Lena CREASY, Shoe Worker"
2-12 "Lynchburg Backgrounds" (Commonwealth, Vol. 3 No. 10, Oct
1936)
2-13 "Lynchburg Tobacco Imprints"
2-14 "Lynchburg's First Historian, Ann ROYALL, Pioneer Journalist,
1769-1854"
2-15 "More Virginia Cabinetmakers"
2-16 "A Ne'er-Do-Well Among the Well-to-Do [Molly
PECKERWOOD]"
2-17 “Notes on the WATSON Family of Amherst County, Virginia”
2-18 "Our First Career Dipolomat [William SHORT] and the Duchesse"
2-19 "Postwar Purchase [COPELAND Jug]"
2-20 "Relic of Reconstruction [Hyena Club]"
2-21 "Silversmiths of Lynchburg"
2-22 "Sister Blanche [Powell (ROBERTS) McWANE] vs.Infantile
Paralysis"
2-23 "The Story of Lynchburg Foundry"
2-24 "The STOVALL Paintings"
2-25 "Thomas JEFFERSON's Other Home [Poplar Forest]"
2-26 "An Unrecorded Miniature [Abraham VENABLE] by James
PEALE"
2-27 "Virginia Planter-Painter, Henry James BROWN (1811-1854)"
2-28 "What? Why? How? A Statement Concerning the furnishing of
Point of Honor"
2-29 "When Lynchburg was Lunchburg"
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
3-6
3-7
3-8
Genealogical Notes and Correspondence
BINGHAM Family
BLACKFORD Family
BOURNE Family
DIROM Family
DUDLEY Family
DUDLEY/McWANE Family
HENLEY Family
McWANE Family
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 3
BOX 4
BOX 5
3-9 McWANE, Blanche Powell (ROBERTS)
3-10 McWANE, Frederick W.
3-11 McWANE, Charles Phillip
3-12 McWANE, Henry E. - Correspondence
3-13 McWANE, Henry E. - Sunday School Lessons
3-14 McWANE, Henry E., Jr.
3-15 McWANE, James Ransome
3-16 McWANE, John R.
3-17 McWANE, Lawrence H.
3-18 McWANE, Mabel
3-19 McWANE, Rosa
3-20 MERIWETHER Family
3-21 OBRIEN Family
3-22 ROBERTS Family
3-23 RYAN Family
3-24 SANDIDGE Family
3-25 SHORT Family
3-26 TALIAFERRO FAMILY
3-27 WATSON Family
3-28 WATSON, Elizabeth Wilkins
3-29 WOODSON/WINSTON Family
3-30 WREN Family
WATSON, Edwin Alban, Editor, Iron Worker
4-1 WATSON, Edwin Alban (1883-1960)
4-2 Correspondence (1933-1937)
4-3 Correspondence (1942-1943)
4-4 Correspondence (1944)
4-5 Correspondence (1945-1946)
4-6 Correspondence (1947)
4-7 Correspondence (1948)
4-8 Correspondence (1949 Jan-Jun)
4-9 Correspondence (1949 Jul-Dec)
4-10 Correspondence (1950-1952)
4-11 Miscellaneous House Magazines
5-1 Antiquarian Club
5-2 Cast Iron Pipe Association (CIPA)
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 5
5-3
5-4
5-5
5-6
5-7
5-8
5-9
CAUDILL News-Journal (1980)
Editorial Board, The Iron Worker - Miscellaneous Minutes (1944-1947)
Employees in Service (Lynchburg Foundry)
Employees, Lynchburg Foundry Co. (1942)
Floor Molding (Article & Photographs)
HAMNER, Mrs. E.C., Jr., Interview (1966)
"In the Best Manner: Colonial Silversmithing in Virginia" (Marsha A.
TREBLE)
5-10 The Iron Worker
5-11 KUNIANSKY, Max
5-12 Lynchburg (Va.) Water System
5-13 Bulletin, Lynchburg College (1928)
5-14 Lynchburg Foundry Company
5-15 Miscellaneous Correspondence
5-16 Miscellaneous Notes (Louise A. BLUNT)
5-17 Mt. Athos
5-18 National Institute of Social Sciences
5-19 Newspaper Clippings
5-20 Pig Iron Rough Notes (1943) - "Two Maritime M's to Lynchburg Foundry
Company"
5-21 Plough Patents 1818-1846
5-22 Steamship Savannah; Nuclear Ship Savannah
5-23 Scrapbook (1934-1936)
5-24 Tobacco
5-25 Virginia Research Center for Historical Archeology
5-26 "Virginia's First Iron Steamer - Canal Boat Gov. McDOWELL" (Daily
Press 1952)
5-27 Wallpaper - Bishop EARLY House
BOX 6 6-1 "Badly Kicked - Not by a Horse" (Sunday Delta, New Orleans, 1858)
6-2 "Letters and Notes" (Dr. George W. BAGBY)
6-3 "Battle of Lynchburg" (Lynchburg Virginian, 1864)
6-4 "Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press" (1942)
6-5 Cunard Daily Bulletin (1909)
6-6 "Dr. Thomas WALKER, Father of Kentucky" (Glenna Louise DOLINGER)
6-7 "The FAUNTLEROY Family" (Robert H. FAUNTLEROY)
6-8 "Jamestown" (Reprint of several articles from The Iron Worker by the
Jamestown Foundation)
6-9 "Memorandum and Anecdotes of the Civil War" (Arthur J. ROBINSON)
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 6 6-10 "My Life's History" (Charles Guido KEGLEY) “My Memoirs and
Autobiography" (Marietta McWane KEGLEY)
6-11 "Packetboat John Marshall: A Brief History" (Samuel H. WILLIAMS)
6-12 "Reminiscences of the Grove" (Mary Haldane Begg COLEMAN)
6-13 "Salt, the Most Useful of Mineral Substances" (E. B. TUSTIN, Jr.)
6-14 Various recommendations for the DAR Medal of Honor for LMW.
BOX 7 Diaries of Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, 1935-1967
BOX 8
Miscellaneous Photographs, Tintypes, Daguerrotypes, Ambrotypes
[BOX 9] Scrapbook 1912-1913
[BOX 10] Scrapbook 1913, "History of Architecture" (Bristol School)
[BOX 11] Scrapbook, "Death of Henry E. McWANE"
[BOX 12] Photograph Album, European Travels
[BOX 13] Special Diploma, International Colonial
Exposition, Paris, France, 1931
MS1502
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
Edwin Alban WATSON, son of Edwin Alexander WATSON and Rose Berryman
Taliaferro ROBERTS, was born 9 March 1883, in Amherst County, Virginia. In 1901,
he was employed as a salesman by the Thornhill Wagon Company of Lynchburg, and
eventually rose to the position of vice-president. In 1919, he was associated with
William C. DURANT, president of General Motors Corporation in New York. While
employed at General Motors, he was appointed as a special assistant to Mr. DURANT to
interview bankers of the area in seeking their assistance in financing the purchase of
automobiles. The study eventually led to the establishment of finance companies for the
purpose of providing loans for automobile purchases.
E. Alban WATSON became the representative for the Locomobile Motor Company in
Washington, D.C., and later organized the Watson Motor Company, a Buick dealership,
in Roanoke, Virginia. "Among his sales experiences" was the sale of a "$12,000
Locomobile town car" to President Warren G. HARDING "for his private use."
Edwin Alban WATSON married 23 October 1926 Lucille McWANE, daughter of
Henry Edward McWANE and Blanche Powell ROBERTS, of Lynchburg, Virginia.
In 1933, E. Alban WATSON was affiliated with the Lynchburg Foundry Company as
editor of The Iron Worker, an industrial magazine published by the Foundry. As editor,
he expanded the scope of the magazine to include general interest articles as well as
industry news. Under his leadership, "a pattern calling for feature articles specializing in
subjects relating to Virginia history, as well as progress reports on plant improvements,
products and personnel" was established.
E. Alban WATSON retired from Lynchburg Foundry in 1952. He died 3 February
1960 and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
[Obituary, Lynchburg News, 4 February 1960, Sect. B, p. 14 col. 1; "Edwin Alban Watson," The Iron
Worker, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Spring 1960), p. 14; "Marriage of Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane,"
Lynchburg News, 24 October 1926, p. 9 col. 1; E.A. Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers, Mss,
MS1502, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, VA.]
MS1502
LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
Lucille McWANE, daughter of Henry Edward McWANE and Blanche Powell
ROBERTS, was born 2 August 1893, in Lynchburg, Virginia. She graduated from
Lynchburg High School and was graduated from the Bristol School in Washington, D.C.,
in 1916. She was employed by the Lynchburg Foundry Company and originated a
quarterly magazine for the Foundry known as The Iron Worker. She was editor of the
magazine from 1919 until 1923.
During World War I, Lucille McWANE was commandant of the Lynchburg Red
Cross Canteen Service from June 1918 until November 1918. She left to take a position
as hostess in the Y.W.C.A. Hostess House at Camp Humphreys, Virginia.
On 23 October 1926, in Lynchburg, Lucille McWANE married Edwin Alban
WATSON, son of Edwin Alexander WATSON and Rose Berryman Taliaferro
ROBERTS, of Amherst County, Virginia.
In 1931, Lucille (McWANE) WATSON was co-furnisher of the United States
Pavilion at the International Colonial and Overseas Exposition in Paris, France, and
received an official citation for her participation.
In 1934, when her husband, E. Alban WATSON, became editor of the newly-revived
Iron Worker, Lucille WATSON became assistant to the editor, and continued as assistant
until he retired in 1952. She contributed a number of articles to the magazine between
1919 and 1964.
During the sesqui-centennial celebration of the City of Lynchburg, Lucille
(McWANE) WATSON was chairperson of the Committee on Publications and was coauthor of The Saga of a City, the historical publication of the celebration.
Lucille WATSON was associate to the administrator of the restoration efforts at the
Appomattox Surrender Grounds in 1950. In 1952, she was a member of the committee
for the exhibition of Southern furniture (1640-1820), held at the Virginia Museum of Fine
Arts in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1954, Lucille WATSON was co-director for the assembling of an exhibition of
paintings from Lynchburg homes, and was co-writer of the catalogue of the art gallery of
Randolph-Macon Woman's College.
In addition to articles written for The Iron Worker, Mrs. WATSON also contributed
numerous articles reflecting her interest in antiques and collectibles to the magazine,
Antiques. She was also a member of the Bibliographic Society of the University of
Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Early American
MS1502
(Continued)
LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
(Continued)
Industries Society, and the Kenmore Association. She was elected to the American
Institute of Social Sciences, was awarded a Medal of Honor by the National Society,
Daughters of the American Revolution, and was presented with an honorary degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters by Lynchburg College.
Lucille (McWANE) WATSON died on 28 November 1988 in Lynchburg and was
buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
[E.A. Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers, Mss, MS1502, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg,
VA; "Marriage of Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane," Lynchburg News, 24 October 1926, p. 9
col. 1; Lucille McWane, "The Red Cross Canteen Service in Lynchburg in War Time," in Arthur Kyle
Davis, ed., Virginia Communities in War Time, Second series, Source Vol. VII (Richmond: Virginia War
History Commission, 1927), p. 125; Editor's note, Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association, The Saga of a
City (Lynchburg: The Association, 1936), n.p.; A. N. Marquis Co., Who's Who of American Women, 5th
ed., 1968-1969, (New York: Marquis, 1969), p. 1281; Obituary, Lynchburg News, 29 November 1988,
Sect. B., p. 2 col. 2.]
MS1502
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
The collection contains family correspondence, including McWANE family letters,
genealogical materials, and photographs collected by Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, of
Lynchburg, Virginia. Notes and articles written by Mrs. WATSON, including research
materials and a refurnishing plan for Point of Honor, an historic house and museum in
Lynchburg, are also included. The collection also contains the correspondence of Edwin
Alban WATSON, editor of The Iron Worker, the house organ of the Lynchburg Foundry
Company.
[Detailed finding guide available with the collection]
MS1502
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
The collection contains family correspondence, including McWANE family letters,
genealogical materials, and photographs collected by Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, of
Lynchburg, Virginia. Notes and articles written by Mrs. WATSON, including research
materials and a refurnishing plan for Point of Honor, an historic house and museum in
Lynchburg, are also included. The collection also contains the correspondence of Edwin
Alban WATSON, editor of The Iron Worker, the house organ of the Lynchburg Foundry
Company.
BOX 1
BOX 2
WATSON, Lucille (McWANE)
1-1 Bristol School, Washington, D.C.
1-2 Invitations
1-3 McWANE, Lucille, Correspondence (1914-1926)
1-4 McWANE, Lucille, High School Reports
1-5 WATSON, Lucille (McWANE) (1893-1988)
1-6 Correspondence (1927-1939)
1-7 Correspondence (1940-1949)
1-8 Correspondence (1950-1959)
1-9 Correspondence (1960-1969)
1-10 Correspondence (1970-1987)
1-11 Correspondence (Undated)
1-12 Honorary Degree (Lynchburg College)
1-13 Medal of Honor (Daughters of the American
Revolution)
1-14 Societies
Writings of Lucille (McWANE) WATSON
Miscellaneous Notes
"Charles Willson PEALE's Miniature Portrait of Joseph HEWES"
"Christopher WINFREE, Sr. (1785-1858)"
"The Colonel [Charles CARTER] and His Lady
Come Home"
2-5 "The Country Store and Much Much More"
2-6 "A Distinguished Specimen of American Cabinet
Work"
2-7 "Edwin Alban WATSON"
(Continued)
2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 2
BOX 3
2-8 "Head of the House - The Story of Henry [McWANE], the Seventh
Child of the LFC Founder"
2-9 "Items Concerning the Early Christian Church of Lynchburg,
Virginia, and its Founders"
2-10 "LEGGETT Sideboard"
2-11 "Lena CREASY, Shoe Worker"
2-12 "Lynchburg Backgrounds" (Commonwealth, Vol. 3 No. 10, Oct
1936)
2-13 "Lynchburg Tobacco Imprints"
2-14 "Lynchburg's First Historian, Ann ROYALL, Pioneer Journalist,
1769-1854"
2-15 "More Virginia Cabinetmakers"
2-16 "A Ne'er-Do-Well Among the Well-to-Do [Molly
PECKERWOOD]"
2-17 “Notes on the WATSON Family of Amherst County, Virginia”
2-18 "Our First Career Dipolomat [William SHORT] and the Duchesse"
2-19 "Postwar Purchase [COPELAND Jug]"
2-20 "Relic of Reconstruction [Hyena Club]"
2-21 "Silversmiths of Lynchburg"
2-22 "Sister Blanche [Powell (ROBERTS) McWANE] vs.Infantile
Paralysis"
2-23 "The Story of Lynchburg Foundry"
2-24 "The STOVALL Paintings"
2-25 "Thomas JEFFERSON's Other Home [Poplar Forest]"
2-26 "An Unrecorded Miniature [Abraham VENABLE] by James
PEALE"
2-27 "Virginia Planter-Painter, Henry James BROWN (1811-1854)"
2-28 "What? Why? How? A Statement Concerning the furnishing of
Point of Honor"
2-29 "When Lynchburg was Lunchburg"
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
3-6
3-7
3-8
Genealogical Notes and Correspondence
BINGHAM Family
BLACKFORD Family
BOURNE Family
DIROM Family
DUDLEY Family
DUDLEY/McWANE Family
HENLEY Family
McWANE Family
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 3
BOX 4
BOX 5
3-9 McWANE, Blanche Powell (ROBERTS)
3-10 McWANE, Frederick W.
3-11 McWANE, Charles Phillip
3-12 McWANE, Henry E. - Correspondence
3-13 McWANE, Henry E. - Sunday School Lessons
3-14 McWANE, Henry E., Jr.
3-15 McWANE, James Ransome
3-16 McWANE, John R.
3-17 McWANE, Lawrence H.
3-18 McWANE, Mabel
3-19 McWANE, Rosa
3-20 MERIWETHER Family
3-21 OBRIEN Family
3-22 ROBERTS Family
3-23 RYAN Family
3-24 SANDIDGE Family
3-25 SHORT Family
3-26 TALIAFERRO FAMILY
3-27 WATSON Family
3-28 WATSON, Elizabeth Wilkins
3-29 WOODSON/WINSTON Family
3-30 WREN Family
WATSON, Edwin Alban, Editor, Iron Worker
4-1 WATSON, Edwin Alban (1883-1960)
4-2 Correspondence (1933-1937)
4-3 Correspondence (1942-1943)
4-4 Correspondence (1944)
4-5 Correspondence (1945-1946)
4-6 Correspondence (1947)
4-7 Correspondence (1948)
4-8 Correspondence (1949 Jan-Jun)
4-9 Correspondence (1949 Jul-Dec)
4-10 Correspondence (1950-1952)
4-11 Miscellaneous House Magazines
5-1 Antiquarian Club
5-2 Cast Iron Pipe Association (CIPA)
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 5
5-3
5-4
5-5
5-6
5-7
5-8
5-9
CAUDILL News-Journal (1980)
Editorial Board, The Iron Worker - Miscellaneous Minutes (1944-1947)
Employees in Service (Lynchburg Foundry)
Employees, Lynchburg Foundry Co. (1942)
Floor Molding (Article & Photographs)
HAMNER, Mrs. E.C., Jr., Interview (1966)
"In the Best Manner: Colonial Silversmithing in Virginia" (Marsha A.
TREBLE)
5-10 The Iron Worker
5-11 KUNIANSKY, Max
5-12 Lynchburg (Va.) Water System
5-13 Bulletin, Lynchburg College (1928)
5-14 Lynchburg Foundry Company
5-15 Miscellaneous Correspondence
5-16 Miscellaneous Notes (Louise A. BLUNT)
5-17 Mt. Athos
5-18 National Institute of Social Sciences
5-19 Newspaper Clippings
5-20 Pig Iron Rough Notes (1943) - "Two Maritime M's to Lynchburg Foundry
Company"
5-21 Plough Patents 1818-1846
5-22 Steamship Savannah; Nuclear Ship Savannah
5-23 Scrapbook (1934-1936)
5-24 Tobacco
5-25 Virginia Research Center for Historical Archeology
5-26 "Virginia's First Iron Steamer - Canal Boat Gov. McDOWELL" (Daily
Press 1952)
5-27 Wallpaper - Bishop EARLY House
BOX 6 6-1 "Badly Kicked - Not by a Horse" (Sunday Delta, New Orleans, 1858)
6-2 "Letters and Notes" (Dr. George W. BAGBY)
6-3 "Battle of Lynchburg" (Lynchburg Virginian, 1864)
6-4 "Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press" (1942)
6-5 Cunard Daily Bulletin (1909)
6-6 "Dr. Thomas WALKER, Father of Kentucky" (Glenna Louise DOLINGER)
6-7 "The FAUNTLEROY Family" (Robert H. FAUNTLEROY)
6-8 "Jamestown" (Reprint of several articles from The Iron Worker by the
Jamestown Foundation)
6-9 "Memorandum and Anecdotes of the Civil War" (Arthur J. ROBINSON)
(Continued)
MS1502
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
AND LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
PAPERS
(Continued)
BOX 6 6-10 "My Life's History" (Charles Guido KEGLEY) “My Memoirs and
Autobiography" (Marietta McWane KEGLEY)
6-11 "Packetboat John Marshall: A Brief History" (Samuel H. WILLIAMS)
6-12 "Reminiscences of the Grove" (Mary Haldane Begg COLEMAN)
6-13 "Salt, the Most Useful of Mineral Substances" (E. B. TUSTIN, Jr.)
6-14 Various recommendations for the DAR Medal of Honor for LMW.
BOX 7 Diaries of Lucille (McWANE) WATSON, 1935-1967
BOX 8
Miscellaneous Photographs, Tintypes, Daguerrotypes, Ambrotypes
[BOX 9] Scrapbook 1912-1913
[BOX 10] Scrapbook 1913, "History of Architecture" (Bristol School)
[BOX 11] Scrapbook, "Death of Henry E. McWANE"
[BOX 12] Photograph Album, European Travels
[BOX 13] Special Diploma, International Colonial
Exposition, Paris, France, 1931
MS1502
JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
EDWIN ALBAN WATSON (1883-1960)
Edwin Alban WATSON, son of Edwin Alexander WATSON and Rose Berryman
Taliaferro ROBERTS, was born 9 March 1883, in Amherst County, Virginia. In 1901,
he was employed as a salesman by the Thornhill Wagon Company of Lynchburg, and
eventually rose to the position of vice-president. In 1919, he was associated with
William C. DURANT, president of General Motors Corporation in New York. While
employed at General Motors, he was appointed as a special assistant to Mr. DURANT to
interview bankers of the area in seeking their assistance in financing the purchase of
automobiles. The study eventually led to the establishment of finance companies for the
purpose of providing loans for automobile purchases.
E. Alban WATSON became the representative for the Locomobile Motor Company in
Washington, D.C., and later organized the Watson Motor Company, a Buick dealership,
in Roanoke, Virginia. "Among his sales experiences" was the sale of a "$12,000
Locomobile town car" to President Warren G. HARDING "for his private use."
Edwin Alban WATSON married 23 October 1926 Lucille McWANE, daughter of
Henry Edward McWANE and Blanche Powell ROBERTS, of Lynchburg, Virginia.
In 1933, E. Alban WATSON was affiliated with the Lynchburg Foundry Company as
editor of The Iron Worker, an industrial magazine published by the Foundry. As editor,
he expanded the scope of the magazine to include general interest articles as well as
industry news. Under his leadership, "a pattern calling for feature articles specializing in
subjects relating to Virginia history, as well as progress reports on plant improvements,
products and personnel" was established.
E. Alban WATSON retired from Lynchburg Foundry in 1952. He died 3 February
1960 and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
[Obituary, Lynchburg News, 4 February 1960, Sect. B, p. 14 col. 1; "Edwin Alban Watson," The Iron
Worker, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Spring 1960), p. 14; "Marriage of Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane,"
Lynchburg News, 24 October 1926, p. 9 col. 1; E.A. Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers, Mss,
MS1502, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, VA.]
MS1502
LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
Lucille McWANE, daughter of Henry Edward McWANE and Blanche Powell
ROBERTS, was born 2 August 1893, in Lynchburg, Virginia. She graduated from
Lynchburg High School and was graduated from the Bristol School in Washington, D.C.,
in 1916. She was employed by the Lynchburg Foundry Company and originated a
quarterly magazine for the Foundry known as The Iron Worker. She was editor of the
magazine from 1919 until 1923.
During World War I, Lucille McWANE was commandant of the Lynchburg Red
Cross Canteen Service from June 1918 until November 1918. She left to take a position
as hostess in the Y.W.C.A. Hostess House at Camp Humphreys, Virginia.
On 23 October 1926, in Lynchburg, Lucille McWANE married Edwin Alban
WATSON, son of Edwin Alexander WATSON and Rose Berryman Taliaferro
ROBERTS, of Amherst County, Virginia.
In 1931, Lucille (McWANE) WATSON was co-furnisher of the United States
Pavilion at the International Colonial and Overseas Exposition in Paris, France, and
received an official citation for her participation.
In 1934, when her husband, E. Alban WATSON, became editor of the newly-revived
Iron Worker, Lucille WATSON became assistant to the editor, and continued as assistant
until he retired in 1952. She contributed a number of articles to the magazine between
1919 and 1964.
During the sesqui-centennial celebration of the City of Lynchburg, Lucille
(McWANE) WATSON was chairperson of the Committee on Publications and was coauthor of The Saga of a City, the historical publication of the celebration.
Lucille WATSON was associate to the administrator of the restoration efforts at the
Appomattox Surrender Grounds in 1950. In 1952, she was a member of the committee
for the exhibition of Southern furniture (1640-1820), held at the Virginia Museum of Fine
Arts in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1954, Lucille WATSON was co-director for the assembling of an exhibition of
paintings from Lynchburg homes, and was co-writer of the catalogue of the art gallery of
Randolph-Macon Woman's College.
In addition to articles written for The Iron Worker, Mrs. WATSON also contributed
numerous articles reflecting her interest in antiques and collectibles to the magazine,
Antiques. She was also a member of the Bibliographic Society of the University of
Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Early American
MS1502
(Continued)
LUCILLE McWANE WATSON (1893-1988)
(Continued)
Industries Society, and the Kenmore Association. She was elected to the American
Institute of Social Sciences, was awarded a Medal of Honor by the National Society,
Daughters of the American Revolution, and was presented with an honorary degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters by Lynchburg College.
Lucille (McWANE) WATSON died on 28 November 1988 in Lynchburg and was
buried in Spring Hill Cemetery.
[E.A. Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers, Mss, MS1502, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg,
VA; "Marriage of Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane," Lynchburg News, 24 October 1926, p. 9
col. 1; Lucille McWane, "The Red Cross Canteen Service in Lynchburg in War Time," in Arthur Kyle
Davis, ed., Virginia Communities in War Time, Second series, Source Vol. VII (Richmond: Virginia War
History Commission, 1927), p. 125; Editor's note, Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association, The Saga of a
City (Lynchburg: The Association, 1936), n.p.; A. N. Marquis Co., Who's Who of American Women, 5th
ed., 1968-1969, (New York: Marquis, 1969), p. 1281; Obituary, Lynchburg News, 29 November 1988,
Sect. B., p. 2 col. 2.]
MS1502
Dublin Core
Title
Finding Aid to the Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers
Subject
Finding aids
Watson, Edwin Alban, 1883-1960
Watson, Lucille McWane, 1893-1988
Point of Honor (Lynchburg, Va. : Dwelling)
Description
Finding aid to the Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers held at Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia. The papers include letters, genealogical materials, and photographs, including a refurbishing plan for Point of Honor in Lynchburg.
Creator
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Publisher
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Date
2023
Rights
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Format
pdf
Language
English
Identifier
MS1502FA
Collection
Citation
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.), “Finding Aid to the Edwin Alban Watson and Lucille McWane Watson Papers,” Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, https://digitaljones.omeka.net/items/show/555.