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WVRHC Subject Guides: Immigration

Archival Collections

Sabraton Housing Study, Scrapbook and Photographs Scrapbook with text and photographs which was prepared by the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company in order to show living conditions in Sabraton, West Virginia

Perry Family Papers Materials pertaining to the Perry (Perri) family of Star City, West Virginia, an immigrant family originally from Italy

Helvetia Reformed Church Records The records and papers of a Randolph County church the Helvetia German Evangelical Reformed (later Zion Presbyterian), containing minute books, treasurer records, newsletters, correspondence and photographs. The early records of the Helvetia church are in German, the original language of the immigrant Swiss pioneers and founders of the church and Helvetia.

West Virginia Naturalization Records Eighty-seven (87) reels of microfilm documenting naturalization in West Virginia counties. Bulk of material dates from 1900-1940.

Harry Johnson, Glassworker, Apprentice and Naturalization Papers Papers of Harry Johnson (b. 1898), glassworker in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, from 1920. Includes note certifying Johnson's glass work apprenticeship in England and a United States Declaration of Intention from his emigration to the United States from Liverpool, England.

Oral History Collection

84. PATSY GRECO. Coketon, Tucker County, WV, 12 June 1967. An interview with Greco, a retired coal miner, conducted by John E. Stealey III as part of an oral history project for the West Virginia Collection of West Virginia University. The interview concerns Greco's life as an immigrant and his experiences in the coalfields. Partial reel (5") 1 7/8 ips. (R68)

107. JOHN V. STEWART. Haywood, Harrison County, WV, 30 June 1967. An interview with Stewart, a retired coal miner and logger, conducted by John E. Stealey III as part of an oral history project for the West Virginia Collection of West Virginia University. The interview concerns the life of immigrant laborers in logging camps and coal mines. (Three) partial reel(s) (5") 1 7/8 ips. (R78‐80)

275. MARGARET SCHNEIDER KOERNER. Helvetia, Randolph County, WV, 26 September 1979. An interview with Mrs. Koerner, a German immigrant born in 1900, conducted by David Sutton concerning her decision to visit the United States, her life on a farm during the depression and her feelings during World War II. Two cassettes, quality good. (R315‐316)

329. IDA MARINO. Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV, 22 July 1974. An interview with Mrs. Marino, the daughter of an Italian immigrant coal miner, born in 1921, conducted by Keith Dix. Mrs. Marino discusses her early family life and the story of her father's emigration and employment in coal mines in Pennsyvania and Gary, WV. She also talks about living conditions in coal camps in the 1930s and 1940s, their ethnic composition, religious life, and union activity. Finally she discusses her education, career as a teacher and and her "mountain heritage". One reel (7") 3 3/4 ips. (R401)