Afro-American Sources in Virginia: A Guide to Manuscripts

296 items, 1680-1907
Business, personal correspondence, and accounts of these families of Gloucester, Cumberland, and Henrico counties. There are scattered slavery references such as a September 28, 1790, letter from John Napier asking about a fugitive slave.
(Acc. 65 Ar6)

7. AUSTIN-TWYMAN PAPERS

10,706 items, 1765-1937
Family correspondence, accounts, legal papers, and manuscript volumes of the Austin and Twyman families of Buckingham County. Includes the papers of Archibald Austin and his son-in-law, Iverson L. Twyman. Of interest are bills of sale for slaves, letters from slaves, and the slave time book for Gwynn Dam & Lock, 1855-56.
(Acc. 69 Au7)

8. BARKER-COOKE PAPERS

182 items, 1820-82
Business and personal correspondence and accounts of David Barker of Fluvanna County and James E. Cooke of Powhatan County. Included are letters pertaining to the hiring out of slaves and instructions regarding the management of plantations.
(Acc. 65 B24)

9. BLOW FAMILY PAPERS

42,652 items, 1732-1890
Personal, business, and legal papers and accounts of this family from Tower Hill, Sussex County. In addition to the plantation records and authenticated typescript history of Tower Hill are lists of white deaths and blacks executed in the Nat Turner Rebellion and an 1843 memorandum book containing a "List of Negroes."
(Acc. 65 B625)

10. BRITT FAMILY PAPERS

38 items, 1801-60
Legal documents and accounts mainly from Pasquotank County, North Carolina. Included are bills of sale for slaves.
(Acc. Small Collections)

11. ALEXANDER BROWN PAPERS

5,817 items, 1774-1910
Business and personal papers of this merchant and novelist (1843-1906) from Nelson County. Included are plantation management ledgers for Belmont and Benvenue plantations.
(Acc. 65 B83)

12. CHARLES BROWN PAPERS

896 items, 1792-1888
Business, personal, and legal papers of this sheriff and physician of Albemarle County. Many of the personal letters concern individual slaves and their treatment including medical care.
(Acc. 39.1 B84)

13. BROWN, COALTER, AND TUCKER FAMILY PAPERS

4,276 items, 1769-1919
Personal, family, business, and legal correspondence of these families revealing life in Williamsburg, Staunton, Petersburg, and Fredericksburg. A December 30, 1814, letter from Samuel Brown relates the beating of a slave, Sarah, for insolence and of her husband Daniel who grabbed an axe to defend her. Of interest is material on plantation life in Bedford County. A September 26, 1831, letter describes the Nat Turner Rebellion.
(Acc. 65 B85)

14. BYERS FAMILY PAPERS

884 items, 1820-1906
Personal, business, and legal correspondence and accounts of this family of Augusta County. Included are materials of 1830-39 on the hiring of slaves. A January 1, 1839, letter from Briscoe G. Baldwin concerns the hiring of a slave of his to Mr. Shumate as a blacksmith.
(Acc. 65 B99)

15. CABELL FAMILY PAPERS

3,491 items, 1719-1839
Business, legal, and personal papers of this family of Nelson and Albemarle counties consisting mainly of the correspondence of Dr. William Cabell and his sons, Colonel William Cabell, Joseph C. Cabell, and William Cabell, Jr. Included are plantation papers such as slave lists.
(Acc. 65 C12)

16. CHARLES CAMPBELL PAPERS

5,144 items, 1743-1896
Personal and collected papers of this Virginia historian of Petersburg. There are infrequent references to family slaves in the personal papers. A March 5, 1855, letter from Anna Campbell discusses the work of household servants, and a February 3, 1856, letter from Callaway Campbell mentions the illness of a slave.
(Acc. 65 C17)

17. CARTER FAMILY PAPERS

8,604 items, 1667-1862
Business, personal, and legal correspondence of the James River-area and Sabine Hall, Richmond County, Carter families. Principal correspondents are Robert "King" Carter, Robert Carter II, George Carter, Charles Carter, and Robert Wormeley Carter. Included are significant materials on slavery and the plantation economy.
(Acc. 39.1 C24)

18. CIVIL WAR COLLECTION

623 items, 1856-65
Collected military and private documents, accounts, and correspondence concerning the Civil War. Two letters of July and September 1864 from M. Strickler of Botetourt County mention runaway slaves and a slave that needed medical treatment.
(Acc. 39.1 C76)

19. COLES FAMILY PAPERS

30 items, 1814-57
Typescript copies of letters of Edward Coles, secretary to President James Madison and later governor of Illinois. Slavery is among the subjects discussed. Several of the letters have been published in the William and Mary Quarterly, 2d ser., 7 (1927): 32-41.
(Acc. 39.2 C68)

20. JOHN DIXON PAPERS

605 items, 1760-1829
Personal, legal, and business correspondence and accounts of John Dixon, Jr., of Airville, Gloucester County. There is scattered slavery material, such as an 1807 deed authorizing Morgan Tomkies to sell slaves.
(Acc. 39.1 D64)

21. DORSEY-COUPLAND FAMILY PAPERS

413 items, 1840-76
Personal correspondence of John R. Coupland of Williamsburg, Richmond, and Petersburg. There is very little material on slavery except a November 13, 1851, statement by Juliana Dorsey regarding slaves.
(Acc. 39.1 D73)

22. GALT FAMILY PAPERS

ca. 10,000 items, 1755-1889
Personal and professional papers of John Minson Galt I, his son Alexander Dickie Galt, and his grandson John Minson Galt II of Williamsburg, associated with Eastern Lunatic Asylum in an official capacity for 100 years. Included are scattered references to the hiring, purchase, sale and treatment of slaves.
(Acc. 78 Gl3)

23. GARTH FAMILY PAPERS

1,259 items, 1800-1854
Personal, legal, and business correspondence and accounts of the Jesse Garth family of Albemarle County. Bills of sale for 1798-1833 indicate purchases of various slaves.
(Acc. 65 G19)

24. HOLLAND FAMILY PAPERS

4 items, 1795-1835
Genealogical and personal accounts of this family of Nansemond County, Virginia, and Jasper County, Georgia. Included in an arithmetic notebook are 1817-40 records of slaves' births.
(Acc. 65 H72)

25. PHILIP HOWERTON PAPERS

148 items, 1812-70
Business and personal correspondence of this tobacco trader and sheriff of Halifax County. Included is a contract for work with a former slave in 1866.
(Acc. 65 H84)

26. ROBERT WILLIAM HUGHES PAPERS

103 items, 1818-1900
Personal, political and journalistic correspondence and accounts of this Abingdon and Norfolk resident (1821-1901). Included is a January 16, 1862, receipt from John Fraser to Hughes for the purchase of two slaves.
(Acc. 39.2 H87)

27. JERDONE FAMILY PAPERS

2,630 items, 1720-1918
Business, legal, and personal correspondence and accounts of this family of York, Charles City, and Louisa counties. Included is material on slavery, such as a list of slaves on the Forge estate in 1823. Letters of 1800 refer to the deaths of slave children, and a November 12, 1800, letter from George Breckenridge to Francis Jerdone mentions a planned slave insurrection in Virginia.
(Acc. 39.1 J47)

28. WARNER THROCKMORTON JONES PAPERS

2,674 items, 1807-91
Business and personal correspondence of Judge Warner T. Jones of Warner Hall, Gloucester County. Letters in 1855 concern the hiring out of Jones's slaves by an agent in Richmond. Also included is an 1887 list of black and white teachers by counties.
(Acc. 39.1 J75)

29. KENTUCKY SLAVE LEDGER

1 item, 1820-58
List of slaves owned by [Mathew Thompson?] of Clark County, Kentucky.
(Acc. MsV Ap38)

30. I. de COURCY LAFFAN LETTER

1 item, May 27, 1841
Letter to [Thomas Ritchie] describing living conditions of the slaves at Brandon, Prince George County.
(Acc. SI Laffan)

31. DANGERFIELD LEWIS PAPERS

1,173 items, 1799-1854
Personal, legal, and business correspondence and accounts of this planter of Marmion and Chatterton, King George County. The plantation management papers include inventories containing lists of slaves and bonds for the hire of slaves. Two 1818 documents concern a runaway slave.
(Acc. 39.1 L58)

32. WILLIAM MEADE PAPERS

116 items, 1807-61
Personal and business correspondence of this minister of the Protestant Episcopal church who was elected the third bishop of Virginia in 1841. Meade referred occasionally to his concern for the religious instruction of slaves, such as in an October 4, 1840, letter to [W.] R. Whittingham.
(Acc. 74 M46)

33. OVERTON FAMILY PAPERS

3,268 items, 1747-1800
Personal and business correspondence and accounts of this Louisa County family, consisting primarily of the business papers of Samuel Overton. There are scattered references to slavery, such as an April 1, 1756, receipt for a slave.
(Acc. 65 Ov2)

34. POWELL FAMILY PAPERS

684 items, 1785-ca. 1900
Personal letters of this family of Loudoun County, Winchester, Alexandria, and Henry, Illinois. There is no significant material on Afro-Americans except for a January 3, 1849, letter mentioning the hiring of a slave and a March 12, 1866, letter from Richmond mentioning the difficulty of living with freedmen.
(Acc. 65 P875)

35. LEVEN POWELL PAPERS

93 items, 1774-1806
Personal, military, and political letters of this soldier and politician from Middleburg. In the personal letters are mentions of slaves including a June 9, 1797, letter from Leven to Burr Powell in Kentucky explaining that Leven's slave John was put in jail "because he was making wild threats and drinking too much." There is also a mention of Blacks in Lord Dunmore's army in 1776.
(Acc. 65 P87)

36. PRESTON FAMILY PAPERS

90 items, 1755-1826
Personal, legal, and business correspondence and accounts of this family of western Virginia. There is very little material on Afro-Americans except for a September 20, 1793, emancipation certificate for John Broady, a slave of William Campbell.
(Acc. 39.1 P91)

37. RITCHIE-HARRISON FAMILY PAPERS

856 items, 1807-1938
Personal, business, and legal correspondence and accounts of Thomas Ritchie (1778-1854) and family members of Richmond, Washington, and Brandon, Prince George County. There is much discussion of the issue of slavery in the professional papers of journalist Ritchie, and the family papers contain scattered references to Afro-Americans, such as letters of November 1 and 2, 1865, mentioning the desire of former slaves to acquire land.
(Acc 65 R51)

38. ABSALOM WILLIS ROBERTSON PAPERS

Ca. 200,000 items, 1921-71
Business, personal, legal, and political correspondence of this United States senator from Virginia. Among the topics covered in the correspondence is civil rights legislation. The collection carries a restriction that there be no publication of any material by, to, or about a living person.
(Acc. 66 R54)

39. ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY FREE BLACK REGISTER

1 item, 1811-28
Legal record kept by Andrew Reid, county clerk, which includes information on physical description, age, and previous owner.
(Acc. MsV Levl3)

40. THEODOCIUS JOSHUA SCURLOCK PAPERS

116 items, 1855-88
Personal letters of Scurlock and family members of Texas and Alabama. A January 8, 1856, letter from Dan Scurlock to Theodocius mentions the uncovering of a planned slave revolt in Clarksville, Alabama.
(Acc. 81 Scu4)

41. SKIPWITH FAMILY PAPERS

ca. 6,500 items, 1760-1977
Business, legal, and personal correspondence and accounts of Sir Peyton Skipwith and family members of Prestwould, Mecklenburg County. A number of items document plantation slavery, such as a November 2, 1787, account of slaves and labor contracts with free Blacks.
(Acc. 65 Sk3)

42. SMITH-WALKER FAMILY PAPERS

3,098 items, 1764-1916
Business and personal correspondence and accounts of these families of Smith's Cross Roads, Mecklenburg County. A December 28, 1806, manuscript discusses transporting slaves across state lines.
(Acc 39.1 Sm8)

43. SOUTHALL FAMILY PAPERS

ca. 23,500 items, 1807-1904
Personal, business, and legal papers and accounts of the Southall family of Williamsburg, chiefly those of Peyton Alexander Southall and George Washington Southall. The papers are mainly legal in nature and not pertaining to Afro-Americans or slavery, but there is a separate section of slave passes in the legal papers.
(Acc. 39.1 So8)

44. TALIAFERRO-SANDERS PAPERS

7,552 items, 1775-1954
Primarily the business, legal, military, and personal papers of General William Booth Taliaferro (lawyer and Confederate officer of Gloucester County). Included is an account of his experiences with the Virginia militia during the John Brown Raid.
(Acc. 65 T15)

45. TUCKER-COLEMAN PAPERS

ca. 30,000 items, 1680-1959
Personal, business, and educational papers of St. George Tucker, Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, and Henry St. George Tucker. Included are manuscript studies of slavery, letters by slaves and letters about treatment of slaves.

46. TYLER FAMILY PAPERS

ca. 50,000 items, 1664- 1935
Personal papers of United States President John Tyler, his second wife Julia Gardiner Tyler, and children, including Lyon G. Tyler, president of the College of William and Mary. A number of references to slave life at Sherwood Forest plantation in Charles City County are found in the letters of Julia Gardiner Tyler.
(Acc. 65 T97)

47. VIRGINIA COUNTIES COLLECTION

A large collection of documents pertaining to individual Virginia counties arranged by the name of the county. Among the many items pertaining to slavery are the Warwick County Order Book, 1699-1701, listing certificates for the return of runaway slaves; Albemarle County receipts for taxes paid on slaves in 1822 and 1824; and an 1807 Botetourt County bill of sale for a slave sold to John Robinson of Rockingham County.
(Acc. 39.4 V82co)

48. NATHANIEL V. WATKINS PAPERS

528 items, 1852-89
Personal correspondence with his brother and sister of Prince Edward Court House. Among the topics discussed is the condition of blacks after the Civil War.
(Acc. 39.1 W32)

49. CONWAY WHITTLE PAPERS

2,157 items, 1773-1911
Personal, business, and legal papers of this lawyer from Norfolk. A will, December 19, 1837, of Eliza Bray Johnson Tyler manumits a slave.
(Acc. 76 W61)

50. WILLIAMSBURG PAPERS COLLECTION

1 item, July 8, 1868
A letter from a former slave, Milly Richard of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Captain Thomas Russell of Williamsburg inquiring about members of her family and relating detailed genealogical information.
(Acc. 39.4 V82c1)

51. WOOLFOLK FAMILY PAPERS

9,980 items, 1775-1893
Business, and personal correspondence and accounts of this family of Mulberry Place, Caroline County. There are scattered materials about slavery including a list of slaves vaccinated in 1829 and 1837.
(Acc. 39.1 w88)

University of Virginia Library

COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY

6. ARMISTEAD-COCKE FAMILY PAPERS