Dorothy Ann Twohig

Dorothy Ann Twohig

Dorothy Ann Twohig was born on May 10, 1927, in Charleston, West Virginia, to David and Nell Twohig, and died on Wednesday, October 5, 2011, in Charlottesville.

She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Morris Harvey College in Charleston in 1952; and her M.A. from Columbia University in 1954. She continued her studies at Columbia from 1955 until 1958 while working on the staff of the Dictionary of American Biography at that institution, and then worked from 1958 until 1969 as an Assistant Editor at the Papers of Alexander Hamilton, also at Columbia.

Editor-in-Chief Harold C. Syrett called her an "indispensable" member of that project. In July 1969, she joined the recently formed Papers of George Washington project at the University of Virginia as Associate Editor under then Editor in Chief Dr. Donald Jackson, and after January 1977 under Editor in Chief Dr. W.V. Abbot. Over the following years she played an instrumental role as, in Dr. Abbot's words, "de facto managing editor" of the project. She became Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Papers upon Dr. Abbot's retirement in July 1992, and served in this role until her own retirement in June 1998. During her almost 30-year tenure at the project, Dorothy Twohig managed the preparation and publication of over 30 volumes of the Papers of George Washington, covering Washington's life before and immediately after the Revolution, and the first term of his presidency.

She also taught courses on documentary editing for many years at the University of Virginia; and she edited a one-volume abridged version of Washington's Diaries, published in 1999 by the University of Virginia Press with funding from a special grant by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. In retirement, she continued her work, perhaps most notably as editor of the Magazine of Albemarle County History.

Throughout her life, Dorothy enjoyed the company of dogs, and several generations of spaniels and various smaller breeds, Yorkshire Terriers, Shih Tzus, and Papillons, formed a beloved part of her household and family. Her friends in Charlottesville felt special pleasure in being able to find a good adoptive home for Dorothy's last canine companions.

Ms. Twohig was a superb scholar and a wonderful colleague, and she will be sorely missed by two generations of historians worldwide who benefited from her work and by the host of friends across the nation privileged to enjoy her wisdom and humor.

A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday, October 10, 2011, at the Hill and Wood Funeral Home Chapel with burial to follow at Monticello Memory Gardens. Friends may sign the online register book at www.hillandwood.com.



This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.