Vivian Coleman Bear Papers

This collection contains the papers of Vivian Coleman Bear, a resident of Roanoke, Virginia in the early twentieth century. The collection contains such materials as correspondence, financial documents, photos and ephemera relating to Bear and her ancestors.

The correspondence within the collection largely consists of letters written by H. Ferd Weigand, a Baltimore attorney and a suitor of Vivian Coleman. Weigand's letters, written between 1912 and 1914, relate mostly to personal matters. He seems to have overstepped the bounds of propriety while expressing his desires in a letter dated March 12, 1912; in his next letter, dated March 28, Weigand apologizes for the transgression. Another letter is accompanied by a poem and illustration. Weigand makes frequent promises to visit Roanoke but complains of an increasingly heavy workload. Other correspondents and apparent would-be suitors are C. O. Pugh of Newport News and Harry G. Holbrook. The collection also contains a few letters between other family members, including a letter from John Marshall Clemens to his aunt, Elizabeth Pollard, regarding Clemens family genealogy.

Included among the small set of financial documents are an 1844 receipt issued by E. Jackson to D. Staley for the payment of tuition for three students and an 1859 receipt for goods purchased by Captain Jack Pollard of Jones & Steptoe (Lynchburg, Virginia); as well as other receipts.

An 1882 New Testament Bible in the collection includes several genealogical notes and newspaper clippings. Several of these items relate to Mark Twain, Bear's cousin. Removed from the Bible and now housed in a separate folder are notes from various Bible lessons.

The collection also contains a few family photographs and a small set of ephemera, which includes business cards for H. Ferd Wiegand, a calling card for L. W. Coleman, an ink blotter for the Lumbermen's Credit Association, and an unidentified lock of hair.