Finding Aid to the Mrs. and Miss Martha Rivers Adams Papers

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
MRS. AND MISS MARTHA RIVERS ADAMS PAPERS
The collection includes the papers of two women, both of whom were named Martha
Rivers ADAMS. Mrs. ADAMS, the mother, was editor of the Women's Page of the
Lynchburg, Virginia, News. The collection contains four stories written by Mrs.
ADAMS, lists of men from Lynchburg who served in World War I, lists of men
registered with the Draft Board, a letter from James Southall WILSON, and copies of her
newspaper column, "Browsings." Miss ADAMS, the daughter, kept scrapbooks of
mementos of various parties and plays in Lynchburg, as well as a scrapbook of her senior
year in high school (1925-1926).
BOX 1

1-1
1-2
1-3
1-4
1-5

BOX 2

2-1 "Browsings" 1956
2-2 "Browsings" 1957
2-3 "Browsings" 1958
2-4 "Browsings" 1959
2-5 Casualties (World War I)
2-6 Induction Lists (World War I)
2-7 Newspaper Clippings (World War I)
2-8 Registration Lists (World War I)
2-9 Service Records (World War I)
2-10 Student/Alumni Lists (World War I)

BOX 3

3-1 "Did You Know" Advertisements, Martha Rivers
ADAMS (1907-1971)
3-2 Scrapbook (1919-1922)
3-3 Scrapbook (1923)
3-4 School Scrapbook (1916-1926)

ADAMS, Martha Rivers (1882-1959)
"Buttermilk Josh"
1-6 "Browsings" 1952
Correspondence
1-7 "Browsings" 1953
Short Stories
1-8 "Browsings" 1954
"Browsings" 1951
1-9 "Browsings" 1955

MS1876

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
MARTHA RIVERS ADAMS (1882-1959)
Martha RIVERS, daughter of James W. RIVERS and Mary FLOURNOY, was born
10 November 1882 at Conway, Giles County, Tennessee. She was graduated from
Athens College, Athens, Alabama, and from Martin College, Pulaski, Tennessee. She
also attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, for two years,
a member of the class of 1904.
On 12 January 1904, Martha RIVERS married William Duval ADAMS, Jr., son of
William Duval ADAMS and Elizabeth Victorine MULLAN, of Lynchburg.
Martha Rivers ADAMS was employed by The News of Lynchburg, first as a substitute
for the society editors. During a career that spanned 45 years at the newspaper, she
worked in almost every department as a reporter, covering courts, municipal offices, and
"activities of military units and individuals during and after World War I." She also
reported on numerous groups, "including all women's organizations." She eventually
became Women's Editor of The News.
In 1951, Martha Rivers ADAMS began a weekly column entitled "Browsings." This
column covered a variety of topics, but concentrated on local history. The column
continued until her death in 1959.
Martha Rivers ADAMS was a director of the Travelers Aid Society from 1914 until
1950. She was an honorary member of the Woman's Club of Lynchburg, a member of
Kirkwood Otey Chapter, UDC, and a member of the Lynchburg Art Club. She died 28
June 1959 and was buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg.
[Phillip Wayne Rhodes, "The Adams Family of Lynchburg, Virginia," Mss., FF1985, Jones Memorial
Library, Lynchburg, VA.]

MS1876

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
MARTHA RIVERS ADAMS (1907-1971)
Martha Rivers ADAMS, daughter of William Duval ADAMS, Jr., and Martha
RIVERS, was born 23 June 1907 in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was graduated from
Lynchburg High School in 1926, where she was alumni editor and literary editor of The
Critic, a member of the Wilsonian Literary Society, and assistant editor-in-chief of The
Critic-Crest. She was also graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in 1930.
"Always interested in civic and cultural activities," she was a member of the Junior
League of Lynchburg, the Dogwood Garden Club, the Fine Arts Center, the Sarah
Winston Henry Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities,
and the Lynchburg Historical Society.
Martha Rivers ADAMS died 26 May 1971 and was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in
Lynchburg.
[The Critic-Crest, 1926 (Lynchburg: Lynchburg High School, 1926), p. 11; Directory of Graduates and
Former Students 1893-1958 (Lynchburg: RMWC Alumnae Assoc., 1958), p. 8; Obituary, Lynchburg
News, 27 May 1971, Sect. B, p. 5 col. 1; Burial record, Diuguid Funeral Home, Lynchburg, VA, Book 61
p. 19.]

MS1876