Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Sallie S. Billmyer Lemen Papers #5137, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased from Carmen Valentino of Philadelphia, Pa., in Novmeber 2003 (Acc. 99666).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: Valerie Gillispie, June 2005

Encoded by: Valerie Gillispie, June 2005

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Billmyer family.
• Dating (Social customs)--United States--History--19th century.
• Diaries.
• Family--Maryland--Social life and customs.
• Family--West Virginia--Social life and customs.
• Hagerstown (Md.)--Social life and customs.
• Hagerstown Female Seminary (Hagerstown, Md.)
• Lemen family.
• Lemen, Sallie S. Billmyer, b. ca. 1852.
• Marriage--United States--History--19th century.
• Recipes--History--19th century.
• Shepherdstown (W.Va.)--Social life and customs.
• Travelers--United States--Diaries.
• Women travelers--United States--History--19th century.
• Women--Health and hygiene--History--19th century.
• Women--Maryland--Social life and customs.
• Women--West Virginia--Social life and customs.
• Young women--Maryland--History--19th century.
• Young women--West Virginia--History--19th century.

Sallie S. Billmyer Lemen grew up in Shepherdstown, W.Va., in Jefferson County. She was the daughter of David Billmyer, who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1867 and 1868. Her brother, William H. Billmyer, attended Georgetown College. Sallie Billmyer attended Hagerstown Female Seminary in Hagerstown, Md., from approximately 1868 to the early 1870s. While there, she made many friends with whom she continued to correspond for at least a decade.

Around 1878, Sallie met and began dating W. L. "Newt" Lemen, a Shepherdstown businessman. At some point before 1881, the two married and settled in Shepherdstown. Newt Lemen became a founding partner in the Shepherstown Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company in 1891.

The Sallie S. Billmyer Lemen papers include correspondence, a travel diary, and other materials related to her early life. The collection is divided into two series. The first series, Correspondence, chiefly contains letters sent to Lemen from friends and family, 1866-1890, especially letters from young women friends. Topics include Lemen's schooling at the Hagerstown Female Seminary; the lives of family and friends in Hagerstown, Md., Shepherdstown, W.Va., and elsewhere; dating, marriage, and children; health and sickness; parties and events; and the recreational travels of friends. The second series, Other Materials, includes an 1876 travel diary, a recipe, a report card, and a few miscellaneous writings.