Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Alternate Formats

Excerpts of this collection have been digitized and are made available upon request.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Henkel Family Papers, SC 0099, Special Collections, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Placed on deposit at Carrier Library through the November 1985 contract with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.

Processing Information

A schoolbook on mathematics was withdrawn by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society on May 16, 2000. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2065.

Bio/Historical Note

The Henkel Press began as a crude printing press in the living room of Paul Henkel's house in New Market, Virginia, in 1806. Eventually, it published more Lutheran material than any other press in the country, and earned fame for its excellent children's books. Although the press began printing in German for the large Shenandoah Valley German community, it also published in English at an early date.

Scope and Content

The Henkel Collection consists of two Hollinger boxes and one flat box, and spans a period from 1783 to 1916. The bulk of the collection consists of letters, religious documents, and newspapers and advertisements published by the Henkel Press. Also included are some Henkel family history materials and business documents, and miscellaneous secular materials.

Many of the older letters in the Letters Series are in German while later ones are primarily in English. They demonstrate the dedication of the Henkel family to their faith as well as their activities within the Synod.

Also in the collection (Secular Documents Series) are several handwritten school books, some with fraktur.

The Henkel Press Publications Series (including the Oversize Series) contains a large part of the collection, and includes handwritten drafts for advertisements to be printed, pamphlets, issues of Virginische Volksberichterand Westliche Correspondenz, and a formula for the ink used in printing.

Arrangement

Partial organization by a previous researcher was maintained. The collection is arranged in five series:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Advertisements
• Clergy -- Virginia
• Family papers
• Genealogies (histories)
• German imprints -- Virginia -- New Market
• Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society
• Henkel family -- Correspondence
• Henkel, Ambrose, 1786-1870 -- Correspondence
• Henkel, Paul, 1754-1825 -- Correspondence
• Henkel, Socrates, Rev., 1823-1901 -- Correspondence
• Lutheran Church -- Virginia
• New Market (Va.) -- Genealogy -- Sources
• New Market (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• New Market (Va.) -- Imprints
• Newspapers
• Printers -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.)
• Printers -- Virginia
• Printing -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History
• Publications (documents)
• Religious literature -- Publication and distribution -- Virginia
• Religious literature, German -- Publication and distribution -- Virginia
• Rockingham County (Va.) -- History -- Sources
• Salyards, Joseph, 1808-1885 -- Correspondence
• Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- Social life and customs
• Virginia -- Church history -- 19th century
• Virginia -- History -- Sources
• Virginia -- History, Local -- Sources