Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The Reynolds Family Papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Michael Reynolds on June 5, 1990. The collection consists of 3.5 cubic feet of family correspondence, photographs, and negatives. Much of the correspondence documents family members in the military during World War II and the Korean War.

The collection was processed and finding aid prepared by Paul Buckingham in October 1993.

Biographical Sketch

Genealogical charts in this collection trace the Reynolds Family history back to John Reynolds and Eliza Kerr, both of whom were part of the first settlers of Wood County, Ohio. The donor of these papers resides in the homestead of John and Eliza on Jerry City Road. Other documents in the collection suggest that the family originated in Ireland under the name McReynolds and MacReynolds. The bulk of this collection is centered upon the Reynolds line especially following the family of Robert Reynolds (1881-1954), son of John Reynolds (1835-1902), son of John Reynolds and Eliza Kerr. Contained within the collection also are significant tracings of the Fry Family (Helen Fry married Robert Reynolds). The photograph collection also depicts relatives from the families of Bockover, Cole and Graham. A detailed listing of the Lee and Craig families is contained within the genealogy file.

Scope and Content

This collection primarily focuses on the lives of Robert Kerr Reynolds, his wife, Hazel Fry Reynolds, and their children. The majority of the documents are in the form of correspondence and photographs.

The largest series of correspondence belongs to Wade Reynolds (1929-1961), son of Robert and Hazel. It covers the period 1951-1953, when Wade served in an Army transportation unit stationed primarily in Texas. The letters begin with his basic training and cover his stay in Texas as well as a short trip to Korea and Japan. Another set of letters follows the service of John Reynolds as an Army Air Corps mechanic between 1941 and 1945. Additional correspondence documents the lives of other family members and also details genealogical research conducted on the Reynolds Family.

Throughout the letters of Wade Reynolds and Hazel Reynolds, there is mention of a religious group called The True Way to which some Reynolds family members belonged. There is also a separate subject file with more information on this group.

Finally, this collection contains a large set of photographs and negatives including two photograph albums. These photographs depict members of the Reynolds family as well as agricultural scenes and date from early tintypes to photographs taken in the 1970s.

Series Description

CORRESPONDENCE

WADE REYNOLDS CORRESPONDENCE
1951-1953
Arranged chronologically
Collection of letters written by Wade Reynolds to his family during Korean War when he served in a transportation unit stationed in Texas with a few letters from Korea and Japan

JOHN REYNOLDS CORRESPONDENCE
1941-1945
Arranged chronologically
Letters written home by John Reynolds during WWII when he served As a Army Air Corps mechanic taking care of B-26 medium bombers. The letters are written from California and later in the War, from Iwo Jima

NANCY MARKS CORRESPONDENCE
1980-1986
Arranged chronologically
Correspondence between Nancy Marks in northern Ireland, with Don Reynolds concerning Reynolds family history.

REYNOLDS FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE
1879-1975
Arranged alphabetically and then chronologically
Correspondence of other family members including Lottie Graham, Don, Hazel and Robert Reynolds

SUBJECT FILES

GENEALOGICAL FILES
Various dates
Includes newspaper clippings, official documents, letters and a description of the Lee family and descendants.

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

THE TRUE WAY
1934-1976
Arranged by type of document
Includes poems, sermons and hymnals from this religious group to which many Reynolds family members belonged. Also includes a list of the various meetings of the group, mainly those in Ohio

AUTOGRAPH ALBUM
c. 1880s
Lottie Graham's autograph album

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

LEGAL PAPERS
1874-1984
Arranged chronologically
Includes land deeds and a letter designating the William Graham House as on the National Register of Historic Places

FINANCIAL RECORDS

ACCOUNT LEDGER/ATTENDANCE BOOK
1875-1901
Two ledgers of farm accounts, one of which includes the attendance records of classes taught by Lottie Graham

PRINTED MATERIALS

BOOKS
1834, 1879, 1937
Includes Lottie Graham's English lesson book, a German catechism a family Bible, journal articles, Portage Twp. High School annual.

AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS

PHOTOGRAPHS
c. 1870s-1940s
Arranged by name of family member and then chronologically
Includes portraits of various family members, agricultural scenes, depictions of natural disasters, school pictures. Most are loose photographs, some are in photograph albums, and a few are oversize

POSTCARDS
1907-1950s
Arranged chronologically
Includes postcards from various countries, a set from the 1939 New York World's Fair, and some birthday cards

NEGATIVES
n.d.
Includes negatives of some of the already described photographs

Inventory

Box 1

1. Correspondence-Wade Reynolds, 1951
2. Correspondence-Wade Reynolds, 1952
3. Correspondence-Wade Reynolds, 1953, n.d.
4. Correspondence-John Reynolds, 1941-1945
5. Correspondence-Nancy Marks, 1980-1986
6. Correspondence-Lottie Graham, 1879-1881
7. Correspondence-Don Reynolds, 1971-1980
8. Correspondence-Hazel Reynolds, 1940-1975
9. Correspondence-Robert Reynolds, 1940-1945
10. Correspondence-miscellaneous, 1934-1961, n.d.

Box 2

1. Genealogy and family history documents, 1870s-1970s
2. Documents-Hazel and Robert Reynolds, 1909-1954 (scattered)
3. Documents-Hugh Reynolds, 1950
4. Documents-John Reynolds, 1934-1970 (scattered)
5. Documents-Robert Reynolds, 1896
6. Documents-Robert Bruce Reynolds, 1932, 1945
7. Documents-Wade Reynolds, 1947
8. Documents-The True Way, 1940s-1970s
9. Hymnals-The True Way, 1951
10. Legal Papers, Deeds, 1847-1984 (scattered)
11. Account Ledgers and Attendance book-Lottie Graham 1875-1885

Box 3

1. Farm Ledger, 1887-1897
2. Farm Ledger with scattered entries and recipes, 1910-1928
3. Farm Ledger with scattered entries and recipes, 1917-1948
4. Financial Documents-tax receipts, 1870-1971
5. Autograph Album-Lottie Graham, c. 1880s
6. Lesson Book-Lottie Graham, 1879
7. Umble, John "Extinct Ohio Mennonite Churches, II, Wood County," The Mennonite Quarterly Review, p. 89-116
8. The Reflector, Vol. 1, Portage Twp. High School Annual, May 21, 1937
9. Holy Bible of the Robert K. Reynolds Family

Box 4

1. John and Eliza Reynolds
2. John and Margaret Reynolds
3. Children of John Reynolds
4. Robert Kerr and Hazel Fry Reynolds
5. Bruce Reynolds
6. John W. Reynolds
7. John W. Reynolds
8. Glenn Reynolds
9. Wade Reynolds
10. Don Reynolds
11. Judy Reynolds
12. Ray Reynolds
13. Roy Reynolds
14. John Olen Reynolds
15. Oral and Hazel Carnes
16. Maebelle David
17. Ralph and Nora Estep Holly
18. Lizzie Johnston
19. Lena Kelly
20. Carrie Maddex
21. Delmar and Betty and Mary Elizabeth Smith
22. Josephine Snope
23. George and Sade Sterns
24. Mary, Lou and Frank Whitacre
25. Hazel Wirebaugh
26. Unidentified portraits
27. Unidentified portraits
28. Bockover family
29. Cole family
30. Fry family
31. Fry family
32. Graham family

Box 5

1. Reynolds family
2. Reynolds farm-agricultural scenes
3. Reynolds farm-natural disasters
4. Miscellaneous scenes (both negatives and prints)
5. School pictures
6. Postcards-Reynolds/Fry, 1907-1908
7. Postcards-Reynolds/Fry, 1909-1910
8. Postcards-Reynolds/Fry, 1907-1912
9. Postcards-Reynolds/Fry and World's Fair, 1911-1912, 1939
10. Postcards and Birthday cards-Reynolds/Fry, n.d.
11. Coffin Plates (Glenn Reynolds ?), 1940
12. Catechism Book (in German), 1834
13. Reynolds home with members of Fry family, 1897-98
    Jonas Fry home in Bloom Township, 1880
    Margaret McKaig Reynolds home, Mermill Road, c. 1890s
    Margaret McKaig Reynolds home, c. 1880s
    
14. Reason W. Kelly home, West Millgrove, 1890
    Hall School (2 photographs), c. 1890s
    Margaret MacReynolds and dog
    
15. Cattle drive to Prairie Depot (Wayne), c. 1880s-90s
    Nancy Reynolds Hutton home, c. 1880s-90s
    Log Cabin Hotel (postcard), Bascom, Ohio, February 28, 1907
    Margaret MacReynolds farm, c. 1890s
    
16. Addison Fry and family, Bloom Twp., c. 1890s
    Adam Graham and wife, Mary Jane and children, c. 1890s
    Jonas and Elizabeth Fry and children, c. 1890s
    
17. Relative of Elizabeth Fry (possibly sister), c. 1880s
    Possibly Charles Fry and wife
    Elizabeth Fry, Bloom Twp., c. 1890s
    
18. Mabel and Edna Graham, c. 1880s-1890s
    Edna, Mary Jane and Mabel Graham, c. 1880s-1890s
    Mimie Warner, c. 1880s-1890s
    Jonathan and Charlotte Fry, Portage Twp., c. 1880s-1890s
    
19. Orrin, Edan and Elpha (Baird) Graham, c. 1880s-1890s
    John and Margaret Reynolds and children, c. 1880s
    Frederick Halbeth, c. late 1880s
    
20. William Graham, c. 1870s
    William Graham, c. 1870s
    Two women with hats, one is Charlotte Graham, c.1870s
    Man with flag tie, c. 1860s
    
21. Adam Graham, c. 1860s
    Elizabeth Graham (wife of William), c. 1870s
    Mary Jane Graham (wife of Adam), c. 1860s
    Adam and Mary Jane Graham (pregnant), c. 1860s
    
22. Ione Adams, c. 1910
    Charles Fry and family, n.d.
    Augusta Halbeth and family home, North Baltimore, September 1908
    
23. Aerial view of Reynolds farm, Montgomery Twp., c. 1957
    Reynolds farm-horses pulling hay, c. 1945
    Reynolds farm-harvesting, c. 1940s
    Reynolds farm-tractor with pulley, c. 1945
    
24. Reynolds farm-harvesting, c. 1945
    Reynolds farm-corn binder, c. 1945
    Reynolds farm-John Deere tractor, c. 1945
    Hazel Reynolds on farm, c. 1940s
    
25. Hazel Reynolds at summer kitchen, c. 1940s
    Hazel Reynolds and pets, c. 1940s
    Reynolds farm-winter scene with sled and car, c. 1941
    Blizzard-snow plowing on Emerson Road, 1945
    
26. Robert Reynolds and truck (radio,electric, tv), c. 1950s
    Milk truck pick up at Reynolds farm, c. 1950s
    Reynolds farm-people at car, late 1940s
    Harry Fry and Wade Iler on motorcycles, c. 1920s
    
27. Wade Reynolds and horse on farm, c. 1942
    Wade Reynolds fixing bicycle on farm, October 1942
    Child at play on farm, c. 1910s
    John Hr. and Lee Ann Reynolds in bobsled at farm, 1947
    
28. John Reynolds on tricycle at farm, 1949
    Dewey Frankfather (laborer) at farm with horse/buggy, 1913
    Charles, Wade and Hazel Reynolds at Catawba Island, late 1940s
    Church at Lumar Road (damage from wind storm), n.d.
    
29. Portage Township School picture, grades 2-3, 1928
    Portage Township school picture, grades 1-2, 1935/36
    John Fry's home in Bowling Green (S. Main and Dixie), 1920
    Pemberville School, c. 1907

Box 6

1. Photograph Album-identified in album, n.d.

Box 7

1. Bible of Mrs. R. K. Reynolds including lists of family births, marriages and deaths, n.d.
2. Small photograph album, including many tintypes, with most identified, c. 1870s-1880s

Box 8

1. Addison Fry and family, c.1890s
2. Jonas Fry Home and Farm, Bloom Twp, Wood Co., August 5, 1880
3. William Reynolds and twin sister, Sarah, n.d.
4. Kelly House (?) with many family members outside, c. 1890
5. Unidentified residence, n.d.
6. Unidentified residence, n.d.
7. Marriage Certificate of John Fry and Amelia Huber, March 18, 1913

Manuscripts by Subject | Family Collections | U. S. in Wartime