Archive Record
Images
Additional Images [2]
Metadata
Title |
Jacob A. Garber papers, photographs and books, 1880s - 1950s, bulk 1919 - 1933 |
Catalog Number |
09.15.001 |
Object Name |
Manuscript Collection |
Donor |
Winston O. Weaver and Family |
Scope & Content |
Jacob A. Garber papers, photographs and books, 1880s - 1950s, bulk 1919 - 1933 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Jacob "Jake" Aaron Garber (1879 - 1953) was a Virginia and national legislator who was also active as an educator, business leader, banker, farmer and civic leader in 20th century Rockingham County, Virginia. Garber was born in Rockingham County on January 25,1879 to Jacob B. Garber and Rebecca Early Garber. He was born near Harrisonburg (Va.) and grew up near Timberville (Va.), attending public schools. Garber's early life was marked by studies as well as his work in teaching and educational administration. Garber graduated Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Va.) in 1899. He taught at Bridgewater College (1900 - 1903). He served as the Principal of Brentsville Academy in Prince William County (Va.) (1904 - 1905) and graduated Emerson College (Boston, Ma.) in 1907. He taught at Wells Memorial Institute (Boston, Ma.) (1906 - 1907) in addition to serving as the secretary of Emerson College (1907 - 1908.) In 1910, he married Lucy Winfield Hite (1884- 1972). Garber was elected and served in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican, representive of Rockingham County, from 1920 - 1922. He lost his bid for reelection in 1922. In 1929, Garber was elected and served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives,71st Congress, from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1931. During this time, he served on the House Committee on Agriculture. His 1930s correspondence includes letters on the Englebright Forest Fire Prevention and Range Improvement Bill. He lost his reelection bid in 1930. A circa 1930 reelection campaign flyer states that while in Congress, Garber worked for expanding the mail service in the Shenandoah Valley, securing services for disabled veterans, worked to place a duty on the importation of low-grade manganese ore, supported increased duties on rayon, fought against a duty on white arsenic, and was active in other agricultural and commercial legislation. Garber was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1932. He worked in Richmond (Va) as an officer of the Internal Revenue Service from 1931 - 1935. He served as chief of the field force of U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue and two years as chief of the Processing Tax Division. Garber won a special election and served in the Virginia State Senate from 1945 - 1947, replacing the late Aubrey Weaver. Among Garber's many community roles were his work as the Cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Timberville (1908 - 1924). Later he was made a director of the bank, and from 1945 - 1953, he was a vice-president. He was Treasurer of Rockingham County from 1924 - 1929. Garber also operated commercial apple orchards, including serving as president of Spotswood Orchard, Inc. and joint owner of Rockingham Orchard Co. He was an independent broker of grain. He was the Vice-President of the Shenandoah Valley Canning Corporation. Garber served at one time as the director of the Harrisonburg Chamber of Commerce and Shenandoah Valley, Inc. Garber appears to have been an insurance agent of the Shenandoah Life Insurance Company (Roanoke, Va.) Among his papers are documents from his work as the executor of several regional estates, notably the D B. Harrison Estate, which was contested. Garber was active in the Church of the Brethren and in Sunday School promotion and teaching. He served as President of the Rockingham Sunday School Association. He was also active in the Harrisonburg/ Rockingham Kiwanis Club, serving as the club's president for one term. In addition, Garber was active in the Alumni Association of Bridgewater College, served on the staff publishing history books of Bridgewater College, was active in work against tuberculosis, and he was the first director of the Rockingham Turkey Festival (1939.) Garber enjoyed poetry and theatre. He taught dramatics as a young man in the City of Boston then directed community theatre productions in the Shenandoah Valley later in his life. Garber passed away Dec 2, 1953 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he had been living since 1935. SCOPE AND CONTENTS: Garber's papers reflect his education, political campaigns, work as a legislator, activities in civic organizations, businesses, and Sunday School leadership. His correspondence is arranged by years of creation and receipt. A notable series of the papers are Congressman Garber's correspondence regarding veterans' benefits, many, if not all correspondents, being Shenandoah Valley of Virginia veterans of World War I. CONTAINER LIST: Box 1, Folder 1 - Folder 30: Jacob A. Garber papers arranged by date, undated, 1901 - 1926. Correspondence, invoices and notes. Box 2, Folder 1 - Folder 6: Jacob A. Garber personal and business papers arranged by date, 1927 - 1935, 1937, 1949. Correspondence, invoices and notes. Box 2, Folder 7: A folder of empty envelopes found separated from their correspondence. Undated papers with no original order were arranged as topical files. These are mostly receipts, statements, notes and publications. Topical files are: Box 2, Folder 8: Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Va.) papers and Bridgewater College Alumni Association papers, 1902 - 1955 Box 2, Folder 9 - Folder 11: D. B. Harrison Estate records, 1916 - 1924 Box 2, Folder 12: Miscellaneous regional Estates papers, undated Box 2, Folder 13: Grain Broker papers, undated Box 2, Folder 14: Invoices and receipts, undated Box 2, Folder 15: Local publications, 1906 - circa 1922 Box 2, Folder 16: Lucy H. Garber ephemera and papers, 1906 - 1955 Box 2, Folder 17: Miscellany, undated - 1932 Box 2, Folder 18: Notes, Unspecified- undated, probably 1920s and 1930s Box 2, Folder 19: Notes for speeches and transcriptions of speeches, likely delivered by Garber, probably 1920s and 1930s Box 2, Folder 20: Personal documents, undated Box 2, Folder 21: Postcards, undated Box 2, Folder 22: Public education papers, 1920s and undated Box 2, Folder 23: Regional and Virginia matters and ephemera, probably 1920s and 1930s Box 2, Folder 24: Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Inc, Building Fund pledge cards, 1919 Box 2, Folder 25: Rockingham Orchards CO. papers and other orchard and fruit growers papers, undated Box 2, Folder 26: Congressman Garber's Rural post and mail delivery papers, 1930s Box 2, Folder 27 - Folder 28 Shenandoah Life Insurance Company (Roanoke, Va.) forms and pamphlets and possibly other insurance agency materials, 1920s Box 2, Folder 29: Oversized photographs Five files that were created and named by Jacob A. Garber were found intact and retain their original order and their original titles. They contain a variety of subjects overlapping subjects from other correspondence and topical files. They are: Box 2, Folder 30: Jacob A. Garber US Congressional and Internal Review Service correspondence in original order in a folder titled, "Berlin, Miss Grace L., "1915 - 1932, bulk, 1931 - 1932. This file contains information on local veteran's benefits and on Garber's work for the Virginia Internal Revenue Service. Box 2, Folder 31: Jacob A. Garber orchardist and other correspondence in original order in a folder titled, "Garber, Daniel B. Dec'd", 1933 - 1934. This file contains papers on a variety of Garber's work at the time. Box 2, Folder 32: Letters of congratulation on Jacob A. Garber's election to the US Congress, 1928. This file was titled "Pencil Notes" Box 2, Folder 33: Folder of papers in original order, circa 1923 - 1934. The papers were titled "Personal." The title may be misleading as they contain veterans' claims, IRS business, US Congress materials, Bridgewater College alumni materials and orchard materials. Box 2, Folder 34: Untitled folder of Congressman Jacob A. Garber correspondence with the United States Veterans Bureau in original order, 1929 - 1930. Box 2, Folder 35: Folder of miscellany from regional civic organizations, circa 1923 - 1925, 1944 and 1945. Many of the contents relate to Garber's involvement in the Kiwanis Club of Harrisonburg (Va.) There are trace materials from Harrisonburg Order of the Elks, the Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Y.M.C.A, and the Rockingham County Historical Society. There are programs from the 1942 and 1944 Lincoln Day Dinner by G.O.P. Seventh Congressional District of Virginia held at the Masonic Temple in Harrisonburg, Va. Garber was the guest speaker those years. Bridgewater College music professor Nelson T. Huffman and quartets associated with Bridgewater College performed. Box 3, Folder 1- Folder 62: Congressman Jacob A. Garber's Disabled Veterans' benefits correspondence and case files, 1929 - 1931 Box 4 and 5- Political Publications and Ephemera, 1920s - 1930s Ephemera and publications related to Jacob A. Garber's run for and election to public offices and government issued printed literature. Includes Jacob A. Garber printed campaign materials. Box 6- Music, Stories, Poems, Scripts and Clippings, 1890s - circa 1930s Writings, reports and transcriptions of prose, music and scripts Box 7- Jacob A. Garber Rockingham County Treasurer's papers and ledgers Includes ledger of taxes collected by districts, prior to 1910 and 1923 - 1927, with 1910 warrants paid and banks' amounts on deposit in 1910. Includes tax assessment forms, and cedar apple rust levies for orchards forms, 1920s. Papers include treasurer's correspondence, including information on a poll tax collected and bankruptcies. Also includes a ledger of 1924 and 1925 taxes paid, marked as and possibly associated with the Planter's Bank of Bridgewater (Va.) There are two large folios of checks for Jacob A. Garber as Treasurer of Rockingham County. One is for checks drawn on the Farmers & Merchants Bank (Timberville, Va.) The other folio is for checks drawn on The Rockingham National Bank (Harrisonburg, Va.) Box 8- Farmers and Merchants Bank (Timberville, Va) materials, circa 1913 - 1920s. Blank letterhead and checks from the 1920s, blank and partly filled check stub folios, Miss Bertie Jordan account book, Jan 13, 1913 - Aug 21, 1918. Farmers and Merchants Bank check stub ledger, Aug 25, 1924 - Jan 25, 1925. Box 9- Jacob A. Garber Sunday School organizations and church papers, 1905 - 1932 Appears to include handwritten lessons or notes on lessons as well as a few programs for events at regional churches in the 1920s. Includes published literature on religious topics. One folder contains literature on temperance with undated, 1912 and 1924 publications. The 1912 booklet is from Temperance Day NO 6 hold at Assembly Park in Harrisonburg, Va., Aug 31, 1912. It includes a number of temperance songs by J. H. Hall, W. H. Ruebush and J. H. Ruebush. The booklet was printed by The Ruebush-Kieffer Co. (Dayton, Va.) The collection includes a few booklets with minutes of regional and national Church of the Brethren annual meetings. Also included are many publications and notes on Sunday School associations including the World's Sunday School Association, District Sunday School Board, Virginia Sunday School Association, and Rockingham County Sunday School Association. Box 10- Photographs, undated, bulk late 19th century - early 20th century Dean's Studio (Harrisonburg, Va.) portraits, Bridgewater College (Bridgewater, Va.) portraits and miscellaneous photographs. Includes a number of photographs from Pennsylvania. Box 11- Photographs Photographs from Emerson College (Boston, Ma.), undated, bulk late 19th century - early 20th century Box 12- Photographs Bridgewater College and Church of the Brethren photographs, undated, bulk late 19th century - early 20th century. Of note is a December 9, 1899 photograph showing the fist intercollegiate football game played at Bridewater College. Bridgewater College played West Central Academy (Mt. Clinton, Va.). The game was played on an athletic field adjacent to the East side of what is now Memorial Hall. Jacob A. Garber was a quarterback in the game. Box 13 and Box 14- Books owned by Jacob A. Garber RESTRICTIONS: The following restrictions pertain to the disabled veterans case files in the Jacob A. Garber papers: Confidential or personally identifiable health information less than 125 years of age that may be encountered during research will not be recorded, published, publicized, or re-disclosed to any other party for any purpose. If a request for copies is made for material containing protected health information (PHI) or any other form of confidential information, it is also understood that this information will be redacted from the copies, if it is possible to do so. If redaction is not possible, the records will be withheld. Researchers must also agree that no direct or indirect contact will be made with the individuals to whom any personal or confidential information relates. Improper use and/or re-disclosure of privacy protected information is a breach of confidentiality which could result in the loss of access to the archival collections. |
Collection |
Alexander Mack Memorial Library Special Collections |
People |
Garber, J. A. (Jacob Aaron), 1879-1953. Garber, Lucy Winfield Hite Garber, 1884 - 1972. Harrison, D. B. Harrison, D. H. Sandy, H. M. |
Subjects |
Garber, J. A. (Jacob Aaron), 1879-1953. Garber, Lucy Winfield Hite Garber, 1884 - 1972. Harrison, D. B. Harrison, D. H. |