William Elton Beale, Sr., Photograph Collection
Scope and Contents
This is the personal photograph collection of William Elton Beale, Sr., which includes photograph prints he captured of various scenes in the Hampton Roads region and beyond. The initial donation of six photograph prints received on July 30, 2025 includes images that depict the Norwegian Lady masthead at the Virginia Beach oceanfront sometime in the early 1910s; Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia in the 1910s; a Curtiss Golden Flyer in-flight in the 1900s; construction of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel in the mid-1950s; and imagery that documents the escort of the USS Maine off of the coast of Havana to be ceremoniously sunk with military honors in 1912.
An accretion to the collection was received soon after on August 6, 2025 that includes nine additional photograph prints. These prints depict people enjoying a recreational day at the beach from the early 1910s; the steamboat The Cherokee; sailors and their partners in a garden during the 1940s; and scenes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the 1960s.
Dates
- created: 1900s-1960s
- Other: Acquired - 07/30/2025; Accrual date acquired - 08/05/2025
Creator
- Beale, William E., Sr. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to all researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
The status of copyright for these materials is goverened by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.
Full Extent
0.03 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
Chronological order.
Source of Acquisition
Mary Beale Reese, by donation
Accruals
Accrual of 9 additional photograph prints received August 6, 2025.
Processing Information
Six photographs processed August 6, 2025.
Geographic
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (Va.)
- Fort Monroe (Va.)
- Hampton Roads (Va. : Region)
- Virginia Beach (Va.)
Topical
- Chesapeake Bay (Md. and Va.)
- Curtiss aircraft
- Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Va.)
- Maine (Battleship No. ACR-1)
- Naval ceremonies, honors, and salutes
- Sailors
- Ships
- Shipwrecks
- Steamboats
Uniform Title
- Title
- Guide to the William Elton Beale, Sr. Photograph Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Ashlee Jordan
- Date
- 08/06/2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- eng
Revision Statements
- October 16, 2025: The William Elton Beale, Sr. Photograph Collection was initially acquired July 30, 2025 with the finding aid complete on August 6, 2025. An accretion to the collection by the same initial donor was acquired on August 5, 2025 and incorporated into the finding aid on October 16, 2025. Materials from the accretion have been interfiled with the initial collection to maintain temporal integrity of the collection's structure. The items received as accruals are denoted in the finding aid as an accrual with a date of receipt.
Repository Details
Part of the Sargeant Memorial Collection Repository
Norfolk Public Library
235 East Plume Street
2nd Floor
Norfolk VA 23510 US
757-431-7429
localhistory@norfolk.gov