ANS. Accepts invitation.

Although filed under the name Leckie, the collection primarily consists of the papers of two individuals: W. Robert Leckie, and his son-in-law, William Hendrick. The papers of Leckie, who was educated in Scotland, are concerned with construction of public buildings, canals, arsenals, aqueducts, fortifications, masonry of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and surveying and building of walls in the District of Columbia. The papers of Hendrick and those of his wife, after his death, constitute a long record of the sales of plantation products and the purchase of supplies from commission merchants in Petersburg, Virginia, and the operation of a series of corn and grain farms.

The collection is divided into two series: Correspondence and Papers, and Ledgers. The papers of W. Robert Leckie and William Hendrick overlap; both series contain records of Hendrick's ancestors. Both series are arranged chronologically by year.

In the Correspondence and Papers series, the papers of W. Robert Leckie are concerned with the construction of public buildings, canals, arsenals, aqueducts, fortifications, masonry of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and surveying and building of walls in the District of Columbia. The papers focus primarily on the prices of commodities used in construction work, rather than on qualities of military architecture itself. Also included are the records of a lawsuit between Leckie and James Couty; papers relative to experiments in the production of lime, cement, and bricks; nine letters from Isaac Roberdeau revealing practices of engineers of the period; and a 91-page bound report of the commissioners appointed by the president for planning the defense of the United States. This report, though undated, was probably made after the War of 1812 and includes extensive details relative to the problems of defense, including topography, waterways, roadways, population, distances, and probable expenses of constructing forts. Some of Leckie's papers reflect his efforts to obtain contracts for the construction of such buildings at the Augusta Arsenal.

The papers of William Hendrick and Mary Ann Leckie, his wife, constitute a long record of the sales of plantation products and the purchase of supplies from commission merchants in Petersburg, Virginia, and the operation of a series of tobacco and corn farms. In addition, Hendrick's children wrote letters from Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; Virginia Military Institute, Lexington; and various other academies. Also includes two writing exercise books for children.

In the Ledgers series, among the volumes from Leckie are the following: diary and accounts, 1828-1829, of engineering contracts and cement stone quarries at Shepherdstown, Va., Seneca, Md., Baltimore, and a point near the Monocacy River; a memorandum book containing data for surveying water lines, leveling streets, and building aqueducts in Georgetown and Washington, D.C.; and a memorandum book of John Leckie, associated with his father, W. Robert Leckie. Among the volumes from Hendrick are several plantation account books, a memorandum book, and accounts of a mercantile firm. The account books dated 1799 and earlier were kept by Hendrick’s forbears.

Family of Quaker merchants and millers residing in Guildford County, North Carolina, with relatives in Indiana and Montana Territory. Collection comprises a rich array of business and personal correspondence and other papers (chiefly 1835-1887) relating to Newton D. Woody, merchant and miller of North Carolina, his Civil War service, and his flight to Indiana in 1865 and eventual return to N.C.; the activities of Frank H. Woody, who traveled to and described life in the territories of Washington and Montana before and after the Civil War. There are also important materials regarding the Civil War and its aftermath, including descriptions of camp life by Confederate soldiers, one of whom was in the 21st North Carolina Regiment; experiences of Confederate soldiers in Union prisons at Johnson's Island, Ohio, and Elmira, New York, during the war; accounts of Reconstruction in Augusta, Georgia, given by a Union sympathizer, 1867-1868, as well as economic conditions in North Carolina before, during, and after the Civil War. There are also some documents and letters concerning African American life in the South before, during, and after the war. Printed matter in the collection relates to the activities of Unionists in North Carolina during the Civil War and opposition to Ulysses S. Grant and the Radicals. Other topics include the activities of Woody relatives who had migrated to Indiana; the activities of the children of Newton and of his brother, Robert Woody, postmaster, miller, and merchant; and the history of the Society of Friends in antebellum North Carolina. Includes legal documents, business records, and minutes of the Orange Peace Society, Orange County, N.C.

Papers of Robert Woody, Newton Dixon Woody, and other members of the Woody family include a rich trove of business and personal correspondence; legal and financial papers; printed materials; and manuscript volumes. The papers of this family concern the mercantile and milling businesses of Robert Woody in Chatham County, North Carolina, and Newton Dixon Woody in Guilford County, North Carolina, in the 1850s; the decision of Newton D. Woody to leave North Carolina during the Civil War and his return in 1865; experiences of Frank H. Woody, a lawyer and clerk, in the Washington and Montana territories in the 1860s and 1870s, in which he mentions clashes with Native Americans and settlers, and reports seeing Sherman in 1878. There are also letters with news from relatives living in Indiana.

Other papers include information about temperance meetings, including the General Southern Temperance Conference at Fayetteville, North Carolina, 1835; hog droving; commodity prices in the last half of the 19th century; general economic conditions in North Carolina and the United States in the 19th century; the upkeep of roads in Guilford County; and the experiences of Mary Ann Woody as a student at New Garden Boarding School, Guilford County, 1852-1853. In addition, there is a bill of sale for slaves and a letter from Alabama describing African American celebrations at Christmas, 1857.

There are also important materials regarding the Civil War and its aftermath, including descriptions of camp life by a soldier in the 21st North Carolina Regiment during the Civil War; experiences of Confederate soldiers in Union prisons at Johnson's Island, Ohio, and Elmira, New York, during the war; and accounts of Reconstruction in Augusta, Georgia, given by a Union sympathizer, 1867-1868. Printed matter in the collection relates to the activities of Unionists in North Carolina during the Civil War and opposition to Ulysses S. Grant and the Radicals. There is also a May 1865 letter saying that John Gilmore of N.C. was dividing land with freed African Americans, and a letter mentioning African American violence during elections in an unspecified state in Dec. 1870.

Volumes in the collection include minutes of meetings of the Orange Peace Society, Orange County, North Carolina, 1824-1830; memorandum books; an account book kept during the construction of a Quaker church at High Falls, North Carolina, 1905-1909; minute book of meetings of the Friends of Prosperity, 1913-1914. Other papers in the collection mention camp meetings and religious revivals in North Carolina and their effect on Quakers. There are also financial record books of Robert Woody and Newton Dixon Woody.

Collection contains personal and business correspondence, papers, and volumes, mainly of John Winn (d. 1844), farmer, lawyer, and postmaster, and his son, Philip James Winn, physician and postmaster of Fluvanna Co., Va., and of the Winn (Wynn) family. The papers of the elder Winn relate to bounty claims of Revolutionary veterans, personal and business affairs, and include information about "Bremo," the plantation of Gen. John Hartwell Cocke. The papers of Philip James Winn relate to his education at the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia, his career in medicine, the service of his brothers in the Confederate Army, and family activities, and include a description of the religious service of the Dunkards, records of the invention and patenting of a "new gate latch," and a letter of William H. Winn describing the battles of Bethel (1861) and Gettysburg (1863). More than half the collection consists of receipts and bills connected chiefly with John Winn's work in Revolutionary bounty lands and with Philip James Winn's invention. Twenty-seven volumes include post office accounts of John Winn and of his successor, Philip James Winn; a letter book concerning the "New Gate Latch"; accounts of the estate of Samuel Kidd; letter books; ledgers; medical notes; and records of births and deaths of slaves.

Family and business correspondence of John Winn (d. 1844); of his wife Lucy Winn; and of their numerous children, including Philip James Winn. The correspondence of John Winn, farmer, lawyer, postmaster at Winnsville, captain in the War of 1812, and agent for General John Hartwell Cocke, includes information on Bremo, the plantation of the latter, including also a list of periodicals subscribed to by Cocker and legal cases relative to Revolutionary bounty land.

Correspondence centering around Philip James Winn includes information on the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, both of which he attended; one letter with a description of the unusual religious services of the Dunkards; a deed for land purchased by a free Negro; records of the invention and patenting of a 'New Gate Latch' by Philip J. Winn; and the interest of various members of the family in law, medicine, agriculture, mechanics, business, religion, and the operation of a stagecoach line between Richmond and Staunton, Virginia.

Collection also Includes a letter of William H. Winn containing detailed descriptions of the battles of Bethel, 1861, and Gettysburg, 1863, in which he participated as a Confederate soldier. More than half the collection consists of receipts and bills connected chiefly with John Winn's work in Revolutionary bounty lands and with Philip James Winn's invention. Twenty-seven volumes include post office accounts of John Winn and of his successor, Philip James Winn; a letter book concerning the 'New Gate Latch'; accounts of the estate of Samuel Kidd; letter books; ledgers; medical notes; and records of births and deaths of slaves.

Rev. William Young, was an itinerant Methodist preacher. Collection of 77 manuscript sermons (246 pages) that were written and used by the Reverend William Young, delivered at irregular intervals between December 1835 and January 1848.

Collection of 77 manuscript sermons (246 pages) that were written and used by the Reverend William Young, delivered at irregular intervals between December 1835 and January 1848. Each sermon is identified by a date and place and is signed by Young. They approximately follow the chronology of Young's circuit appointments. The text is followed by an index in which there is a brief thematic description of each sermon, along with the Bible verse upon which it is based.

William W. Renwick was an enslaver and cotton planter from Newberry and Union counties, S.C. Collection includes correspondence and other papers of Renwick, his wife, Rosannah Rogers Renwick, and related members of the Beard, Bothwell, Lyons, Renwick, and Rogers families, including material on South Carolina cotton planting, slavery, politics, social life, and customs; U.S. Representative James Rogers; and the Renwick and Rogers families.

Collection includes correspondence and other papers of Renwick, his wife, Rosannah Rogers Renwick, and related members of the Beard, Bothwell, Lyons, Renwick, and Rogers families, including material on South Carolina cotton planting, slavery, politics, social life, and customs; U.S. Representative James Rogers; and the Renwick and Rogers families.

William Woods Holden was a journalist and Republican governor of North Carolina during Reconstruction. He was the owner and editor of the North Carolina Standard newspaper from 1843 to 1860, during which time he and the paper were affiliated with the Democratic Party. He was elected governor as a Republican in 1868, but was impeached by the Democratic state legislature in 1870 for his efforts to combat the Ku Klux Klan. Collection consists of correspondence, memoirs, business papers, legal documents, poems, and other papers. Of note are depositions and other evidence gathered by Holden and his supporters of various members of the Ku Klux Klan, documenting their membership and activities during 1869-1870. Also includes Holden family papers, including scrapbooks and account books kept by Holden's wife and daughters.

The collection documents Holden's career as a journalist and politician, including his shift in party allegiance from Democrat to Republican during the Civil War. He served as the 28th and 30th governor of North Carolina.

Pre-Civil War letters deal mainly with personal and legal matters and with the Democratic convention in Charleston, S.C., 1860, and presidential election of 1860. Post-war materials concern the history of journalism in North Carolina; Holden's appointment by Andrew Johnson as provisional governor of North Carolina in 1865; his election as governor in 1868; Reconstruction policies; Ku Klux Klan activity in the state; the Kirk-Holden War; the "Ferrell Matter," a debt case in which Holden was the guarantor; Holden's impeachment as governor in 1870; his conviction by the N.C. Senate in 1871; his appointment as postmaster by Ulysses S. Grant in 1873; and life and politics in Washington during the period of Radical control. Of note are depositions and other evidence gathered by Holden and his supporters of various members of the Ku Klux Klan, documenting their membership and activities during 1869-1870.

The collection also includes Holden family papers, including scrapbooks and account books kept by Holden's wife and daughters; Holden's memoirs, recorded by his daughter Mary Holden Sherwood and edited by W.K. Boyd as part of the Trinity College Historical Society; some family photographs and materials related to the Holden homestead in Raleigh, N.C.; writings and poetry by Holden and his son, Joseph Holden; obituaries and clippings about Holden and his legacy; and other assorted personal and financial papers. Though removed from public life, Holden continued to write about public policy and government, sometimes critical of both parties, until his death in 1892.

Political and personal correspondence of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), member of the House of Commons. Many letters relate to his leadership in the movement for Britain's abolition of the slave trade. Correspondence discusses the evils of the slave trade; the slave trade in Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish colonies; slavery, especially in the West Indies; the composition and distribution of pamphlets on the slave trade; the attendance of Thomas Clarkson at the Congress of Vienna against Wilberforce's advice; William Pitt's (1759-1806) support of the abolition movement; efforts to interest the Roman Catholic Church in the abolition cause; the determination as to whether abolition could be enforced; and noted English and French leaders and their position on the abolition question. Other topics discussed include British foreign relations; the Church of England; Roman Catholicism in Ireland; politics and government in England, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Trinidad, and Venezuela; elections; French colonies; free trade versus protection; the French Revolution; Greek Independence; Haiti; South Africa; the Society of Friends; the Royal Navy; parliamentary reform; need to reform the penal code; and personal matters including Wilberforce's failing health. Correspondents include British politician William Pitt (the younger); Thomas Harrison, a close friend and a member of the Duke of Gloucester's West India Committee; Hannah More, an English writer and philanthropist; his close friend John Scandrett Harford, Jr. of Blaise Castle (near Bristol, England); George Montagu, Fourth Duke of Manchester; Lord Brougham; Spencer Perceval; Thomas Chalmers; George Canning; and John Bowdler (d. 1815).

Collection consists largely of correspondence to and from William Wilberforce, with subjects ranging across abolitionist politics in Great Britain, business correspondence about the West India Committee, and personal family news and health. Correspondents include British politician William Pitt (the younger); Thomas Harrison, a close friend and a member of the Duke of Gloucester's West India Committee; Hannah More, an English writer and philanthropist; his close friend John Scandrett Harford, Jr. of Blaise Castle (near Bristol, England); George Montagu, Fourth Duke of Manchester; Lord Brougham; Spencer Perceval; Thomas Chalmers; George Canning; and John Bowdler (d. 1815).

Letters from this collection, particularly in the 1810s, often reference slavery and Wilberforce's work with abolitionists. In one letter of Aug. 10, 1814, Wilberforce wrote Harrison that he had been able to persuade Thomas Clarkson not to attend the Congress of Vienna. Articles appeared in The Edinburgh Review during 1814 which questioned William Pitt's motives in supporting the abolitionists. Wilberforce (Oct. 22, 1814) wrote Harrison concerning his relations with the younger Pitt (d. 1806), and stated that his belief was that Pitt had been a "sincere friend" of the abolition movement. Other letters for 1814 mention such things as the West India Committee and its membership, including the Duke of Gloucester, Lord Grey, Marquis Lansdowne, and Lord Grenville (Mar. 20 and Apr. 20), and the planned composition and distribution of pamphlets describing the evils of the slave trade and advocating its abolition (Apr. 26 and Oct. 3). The letter of Apr. 26 suggests the establishment of a special board, sanctioned by the King, to see to the composition of such works. Other letters from this period are between Wilberforce and Harford. One letter of Oct. 12, 1814, speaks of French publications which favor abolition and mentions Chateaubriand, Humboldt, Sismondi, and Madame de Staël. It also tells of the Duke of Wellington, the King of France (Louis XVIII), Prince Talleyrand, and the English Prince Regent (later George IV) as being favorable to abolition. A letter of Nov. 23, 1814, continues to speak of abolition in the light of world events, and Wellington and Tallevrand's correspondence with him. One fragment of a strong letter, dated 1815, gives a graphic account of two slave ships. This letter also asks Harford to try to interest the Roman Catholic Church in banning the slave trade. Wilberforce also mentions trying to interest Sir Thomas Acland and Lord Castlereagh in making an attempt to interest the Pope in the abolition of the slave trade. In 1817, Wilberforce was bothered by the hostile pamphlets of one of his opponents, the anti-abolitionist Joseph Marryat. Wilberforce wrote to Harrison concerning this matter on Aug. 4, 1817, and discussed the urgency of having one of James Stephen's speeches in answer to Marryat printed and distributed as soon as possible. Wilberforce recognized the need for much printed material to educate the peoples of all countries, and especially the "unprincipled Frenchmen" (letter of Aug. 5, 1821), in support of abolition of slavery. A July 9, 1816, letter speaks of Zachary Macaulay; and a May 7, 1817, letter tells of a Macaulay letter falling into the hands of Joseph Marryat. Wilberforce also speaks bitterly of Marryat's attack on himself.

The collection also includes letters about conditions and religion in Ireland. A Sept. 8, 1812, letter asks Harford (during his bridal tour of Ireland) to try to ascertain the comparative moral effects of the Catholic and Protestant religions on the peasant and servant classes of Ireland. A Feb. 7, 1827, letter from Charles Forster to Harford tells of the efforts of the Church of England clergy to convert the Roman Catholics in Ireland.

These letters often mention charities, especially the Bible Society. A May 2, 1821, letter speaks of investigating and learning about colleges. Wilberforce speaks of the "experiment" in education being conducted by Harford. This is leading up to Harford's giving land and helping found St. David's College in South Wales in 1822. A Nov. 9, 1827, letter speaks of St. David's College. There is also an 1819 pamphlet for the "House of Protection for the Maintenance and Instruction of Girls of Good Character."

The collection also includes two volumes which record Wilberforce's account with the London banking house of Smith, Payne, and Smiths during 1829-1833. The itemized transactions provide details about his expenditures, including investments and benevolences.

Other topics discussed include the African Institute; agriculture; economic panic among farmers, 1830; the Corn Laws; American Friends; the Treaty of Amiens; the Army Training Bill; the Waterloo campaign; conditions in New South Wales, Australia; British relations with Austria, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United States, and the Vatican; economic conditions in Austria; Baptists; Baptist missions in India; the Church of England in England, Ireland and other British colonies; patronage and tithes of the Church of England; the Methodist Church; the Moravians, the Church Missionary Society; the Church of Scotland; the Blagdon Affair; censorship of books; emigration to Canada; the Congress of Vienna; the coal trade; economic conditions in England and Scotland; education; St. David's College, South Wales; politics and government in England, France, Ireland, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Trinidad, and Venezuela; elections; French colonies; free trade versus protection; the French Revolution; Greek Independence; Haiti; South Africa; the Society of Friends; labor; landlords and tenants; manufacturers in Scotland; the textile industry; the Royal Navy; Black officers in the Royal Navy; parliamentary reform; prisons; need to reform the penal code; the use of capital punishment; the poor laws and poor relief; Socinianism; the New Rupture Society; and personal matters, including Wilberforce's failing health.

William Weaver was the owner of the Bath Iron Works (Buffalo Forge, Va.), which made use of enslaved laborers. Collections includes correspondence and business papers documenting the iron industry in antebellum Virginia; the use of enslaved laborers, including lists of enslaved persons; life among laborers; the supply of iron to the Confederate government; the iron industry in the Confederacy; and industrial conditions in Virginia during Reconstruction. Personal correspondence discusses the progress of the Civil War in Virginia and Confederate politics.

Collection contains business papers of William Weaver (1781-1863?), owner of the Bath Iron Works, dealing with the iron industry in Virginia, and containing information on types of items in demand; collection of debts; prices of iron, land, crops, and livestock.

Materials document the hiring and use of enslaved labors in the iron industry, including diet, clothing, wages, and prices of enslaved laborers. There are several lists of enslaved persons with brief physical descriptions and comments on their reliability as workers.

Personal correspondence discusses cholera in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, 1832; smallpox in Lexington, Virginia; typhoid in Texas, 1853; the activities and pension of a Revolutionary soldier; state and national politics, especially under Andrew Jackson; the completion of the canal from the mouth of the Brazos River to Galveston, Texas, 1853; the election of 1860; vigilance committees in Virginia; the use of substitutes; troop movements through Lynchburg and Richmond, Virginia; food prices; the death of Thomas Jonathan Jackson; and the iron industry during the war.

Letters, 1861-1863, from John Letcher (1813-1884), U. S. congressman, 1851-1859, and governor of Virginia during the Civil War, discuss his message to the Virginia General Assembly concerning state and Confederate affairs in 1861; rumors; the failure of the legislature to provide replacement troops; military actions at Gordonsville and Fredericksburg, Virginia; various Confederate and Union generals; the unlikelihood of European intervention; military activity in North Carolina; and public opinion in the North.

Newspaper editor and author. Collection houses personal and political correspondence, financial and business papers, speeches, editorials, notes, printed materials, account books, a diary, photographs, and scrapbooks, documenting William Watts Ball's activities as editor of several South Carolina newspapers, including The State and the News and Courier, both of Columbia. Topics referred to include American and South Carolina politics in the 20th century; the South Carolina textile industry; African Americans in the South; the Great Depression and the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration; newspapers and the newspaper business; education in South Carolina; conditions and problems stemming from both World Wars; prohibition; states' rights; South Carolina social life and customs; Roman Catholicism in South Carolina; international issues; and business and family matters. Correspondents include J. J. McSwain, D. C. Heyward, John Gary Evans, John Hays Hammond, M. F. Ansel, David D. Wallace, James C. Hemphill, Ambrose E. Gonzales, Thomas R. Waring, Nathaniel B. Dial, James F. Byrnes, Ulrich B. Phillips, Josephus Daniels, Bernard M. Baruch, Warrington Dawson, Ellison D. Smith, Max Fleischman, Nicholas Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, Frederick H. Allen, and Archibald Rutledge.

Collection consists of personal and political correspondence, diaries, business papers, speeches, editorials, notes, printed matter, personal account books, memorandum books, photographic materials, and scrapbooks. The papers document a long period in Southern history, and reflect Ball's activities as editor of several newspapers, including The State, of Columbia, S.C., and the News and Courier, also of Columbia, S.C. The main group is concerned with national and South Carolina history for the first half of the 20th century. Topics referred to include American politics; the South Carolina textile industry; African Americans in the South; the depression and the F. D. Roosevelt administration; newspapers and the newspaper business; education in South Carolina; conditions and problems stemming from both World Wars; prohibition; states' rights; South Carolina social life and customs; Roman Catholicism in South Carolina; international issues; and general business and family matters.

A substantial portion of the papers consists of family correspondence containing information on school and college life; Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s; social life and customs in Laurens, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina; and England, the Italian battlefront, and a journey across the Atlantic during World War II. Other letters come from editors, publishers, educators, politicians, financiers, and industrialists, principally from South Carolina, although some national figures are found. These correspondents include J. J. McSwain, D. C. Heyward, John Gary Evans, John Hays Hammond, M. F. Ansel, David D. Wallace, James C. Hemphill, Ambrose E. Gonzales, Thomas R. Waring, Nathaniel B. Dial, James F. Byrnes, Ulrich B. Phillips, Josephus Daniels, Bernard M. Baruch, Warrington Dawson, Ellison D. Smith, Max Fleischman, Nicholas Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, Frederick H. Allen, and Archibald Rutledge.

Ball's financial papers, scattered throughout the collection, generally relate to real estate investments, stock holdings in textile mills, and the Depression as it affected his financial situation. A major part of the correspondence pertains to state and national politics. Letters discuss Tillmanism and Bleasism; the state primary system and election reform; state and national elections; opposition to the New Deal and the formation of the Southern Democratic Party; and other local, state, and national issues.

Material on race relations begins as early as 1916, but is particularly abundant from the 1930s onwards. Involved with the issue of states' rights versus federal control, the "Negro problem" includes the anti-lynching movement, enfranchisement and control of the African American vote, racial unrest, segregation, and other matters. The papers reveal Ball's interest in education, especially the development of schools of journalism, the expansion of the state-supported college system, the University of South Carolina, and the South Carolina School for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind.

Other papers relate to Ball's editorship of various South Carolina newspapers, principally The State and the News and Courier, and to his publishing efforts. There is also material on the textile industry in South Carolina, labor unrest and unionization, prohibition, women's suffrage, the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, recollections by Ball and others of social life, customs and politics during the 1870s through the 1890s, the economic and industrial development of South Carolina, genealogy of the Watts and Ball families, and drafts and copies of speeches and editorials.

The photographic items include 34 black-and-white photographs (ca. 1840-1940), chiefly consisting of group and individual portraits of W. W. Ball's family, friends, and colleagues in journalism. There are several views of the Ball family's ancestral plantation home in Laurens, S.C. Volumes include family account books, 1911-1942, a memorandum book beginning in 1901; scrapbooks, 1893-1951; a digest of the military service of Frank Parker, 1894-1945; and Ball's diaries, 1916-1952.

Merchant in Augusta, Georgia. Chiefly correspondence of William T. Richards and his family and friends. Richards was a New England native, and three early letters from the 1840s are from a sister in Danbury, Connecticut. One letter from Chattooga County, Georgia (1865 Aug. 31) speaks of the devastation in that area from the Civil War. An early item is a power of attorney of 1833 from the merchant Joseph Ganahl to Francis Ganahl. Also includes a bill for goods bought in New York, N.Y. in October, 1865; invitations; announcements; and clippings which relate to William Hill, once Secretary of State for North Carolina. One item is an announcement of William T. Richard's retirement in 1903 as treasurer and paymaster of the Georgia Railroad. Some materials relate to the Hill and Thomas families in N.C., but their relation to the Richards family is unknown.

Chiefly correspondence of William T. Richards and his family and friends. Richards was a New England native, and three early letters from the 1840s are from a sister in Danbury, Connecticut. One letter from Chattooga County, Georgia (1865 Aug. 31) speaks of the devastation in that area from the Civil War. An early item is a power of attorney of 1833 from the merchant Joseph Ganahl to Francis Ganahl. Also includes a bill for goods bought in New York, N.Y. in October, 1865; invitations; announcements; and clippings which relate to William Hill, once Secretary of State for North Carolina. One item is an announcement of William T. Richard's retirement in 1903 as treasurer and paymaster of the Georgia Railroad. Some materials relate to the Hill and Thomas families in N.C., but their relation to the Richards family is unknown.

William E. Tolbert was a Union soldier and businessman of Chambersburg, Pa. Collection includes correspondence and business, personal, and legal papers of Tolbert and several members of the Tolbert (Talbot) and Huber families of Chambersburg, Pa., containing information about family affairs, Republican Party affairs in Chambersburg, and William E. Tolbert's activities with the Chief Engineer's Office of the U.S. Military Railroad in the Division of the Mississippi. There are a number of letters (1883-1922) to Emma Tolbert from her friend Elizabeth Russell, who was a Methodist missionary in Nagasaki, Japan.

Collection includes correspondence and business, personal, and legal papers of Tolbert and several members of the Tolbert (Talbot) and Huber families of Chambersburg, Pa., containing information about family affairs, Republican Party affairs in Chambersburg, and William E. Tolbert's activities with the Chief Engineer's Office of the U.S. Military Railroad in the Division of the Mississippi. There are a number of letters (1883-1922) to Emma Tolbert from her friend Elizabeth Russell, who was a Methodist missionary in Nagasaki, Japan.

Papers concerned with Tilghman's law practice in Chestertown, Md., and his service in the Maryland legislature (1788-1793). Includes genealogical information about Maryland's Eastern Shore, information about economic and agricultural conditions in Maryland in the late 18th century, Tilghman's vicissitudes because of his Loyalist sympathies during the Revolution, his efforts to advance the interests of his constituents while he served in the legislature, and the Tilghman family. Volumes include a digest of legal cases in which Tilghman participated, legal notes, court dockets, and a summary of estate laws in Maryland. Includes three letters from Henry Pearce. Two of these letters are to James Tilghman, William's father, regarding the purchase of Pearce land, slaves, stock, etc.

This collection houses the papers of William Tilghman (1756-1824), lawyer and chief justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. They relate chiefly to his law practice in Maryland, 1783-1793, and to his service in the Maryland general assembly, 1788-1793, and include legal papers dealing with litigation, land sales, the collection of debts, notes, the settlement of estates, and other legal matters. Included are deeds, indentures, wills, estate records, court records, and other legal papers relating chiefly to Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne counties, a roster, 1818-1819, of the citizens of Charles County, scattered papers pertaining to the Church of England in Maryland, occasional references to personal matters, and legal and business papers concerning the family, including papers dealing with loan transactions and with the settlement of the estate of William Tilghman.

The collection also has scattered papers of Tilghman's father, James Tilghman, a lawyer, several bills and accounts of St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, and Charlotte Hall School, Charlotte Hall, Maryland, petitions and acts relating to Tilghman's career in the general assembly chiefly dealing with the settlement of local affairs, including the disposal of reserved lands, an evaluation of land in various counties, and an estimate of the cost of building a turnpike between Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D. C., and other papers dealing with legal and business matters.

The volumes are a digest, 1747-1760, of cases at law in which James Tilghman was an attorney, a System of Law concerning Estates by Richard Tilghman IV, legal notes kept by William Tilghman as a young man, and dockets of William Tilghman in the Kent County court for the March 1794 term.

Collection contains the papers of W. T. Leavell and of his son-in-law, Edward Allen Hitchcock McDonald, Confederate officer, attorney, and businessman. Leavell's papers contain correspondence with leaders of the Episcopal Church concerning church business, doctrinal disputes within the church, and debates between the Episcopal Church and other Protestant denominations; along with family letters and papers which provide information on the salaries, duties, and home life of a minister. The papers of Edward Allen Hitchcock McDonald contain letters from Civil War veterans of McDonald's regiments, the 11th Virginia Cavalry and the 77th Virginia Militia, concerning battles and skirmishes in which they participated; a manuscript copy of McDonald's "The History of the Laurel Brigade," and letters, 1870-1890, pertaining to the Louisville Abstract and Loan Company and general business conditions in Louisville, Ky.

Collection comprises the papers of W. T. Leavell and of his son-in-law, Edward Allen Hitchcock McDonald, Confederate officer, attorney, and businessman. Leavell's papers contain correspondence with leaders of the Episcopal Church concerning church business, doctrinal disputes within the church, and debates between the Episcopal Church and other Protestant denominations; and family letters and papers which provide information on the salaries, duties, and home life of a minister.

The papers also contain material pertaining to the economic and agricultural conditions in Leavell's parishes in Virginia and West Virginia and genealogical material on many of his parishioners; letters while a student at Bristol College, Bristol, Pa., 1833-1836, and at Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary, 1836-37; letters from brothers and sisters in Spotsylvania and Culpeper counties, Va., discussing agriculture; correspondence between daughter Anne Leavell and John M. Daniel in the 1870s, both before and after their respective marriages; and over 200 sermons. Leavell was a teacher at Fairfax Institute, 1837-39. Box 9 contains a diary in which Leavell included much autobiographical information.

The papers of Edward Allen Hitchcock McDonald contain letters from Civil War veterans of McDonald's regiments, the 11th Virginia Cavalry and the 77th Virginia Militia, concerning battles and skirmishes in which they participated; a manuscript copy of McDonald's "The History of the Laurel Brigade," and letters, 1870-1890, pertaining to the Louisville Abstract and Loan Company and general business conditions in Louisville, Ky.

Collection consists largely of correspondence between family members, friends, and business associates spanning three generations, as well as some Civil War and early Reconstruction letters relating to Hopkins' activities in New Orleans. Correspondents include Hopkins' daughter, Elizabeth; her husband Alfred Lawrence Aiken, a prominent banker in Boston; the Gadsden family of Charleston, S.C.; and the Peck family, relatives of Hopkins' wife, Lizzie. An information folder chronologically lists a portion of the collection. Also included in this collection are a few legal papers, financial papers, addresses and writings, pictures, and a miscellaneous folder that includes some genealogy. Subjects mentioned in the letters include travel in the U.S. and Europe, marriage and family life, illness, Williams College, Yale College, politics, law,"bloodletting with leeches," Civil War activities, and The Worcester Continentals.

Correspondence, writings, and printed materials relating to Smith's advocacy for the abolition of slavery in Great Britain and in Britain's colonies in the West Indies. Collection contains notes, statistics, and research on the slave trade between Africa and the British West Indies; slave revolts and the conditions on sugar plantations in the Caribbean; abolitionist tracts discussing moral, economic, and religious opposition to slavery; and diagrams of slave ships documenting conditions for enslaved people and casualty rates during transport. The bulk of the collection's correspondence is addressed to Smith. Letters of William Wilberforce and the Wilberforce family discuss personal affairs, politics, abolition, and other matters. Letters from Thomas Clarkson discuss the antislavery movement. Letters from Smith's constituents discuss politics, social conditions, parliamentary reform, British foreign trade, slavery in the West Indies, and economic conditions. Correspondents include Priscilla Buxton, Thomas Fowell Buxton, and Zachary Macaulay. Also contains a partially unpublished poem of Robert Southey entitled To the Exiled Patriots.

This collection consists of letters and writings to and from William Smith, as well as collected printed materials largely related to Smith's work opposing the slave trade and the abolition of slavery in British colonies in the early 1800s. Outstanding are the 24 letters of William Wilberforce (1759-1833); these discuss such topics as: religion, sickness in the family, his sickness which forced him to leave the House of Commons, his family and his desire for more private life with them, his relatives, political disappointments, trips and engagements, publishers, criminals in Great Britain and their punishment, resolutions and plans for the abolition of slavery, the antl-slavery society, the Jamaica Law, Spanish slave trade, Spanish abolition, William Pitt, Lord Grenville and his estate Dropmore, Dr. Channing, Robert Hall, and Thomas Buxton.

A number of the letters from Smith's many correspondents stand out. There are a number of letters around 1790 from various societies and committees discussing the abolition of slavery and approving Smith's actions; some of them also mention Wilberforce. A letter from J. Yule in Edinburgh of August 13, 1792, tells of the poor Scottish peasants who are being driven from their lands to make room for sheep which are more profitable. Three letters from James Muir between 1793 and 1797 discuss the case of his son who has been banished for fourteen years for Joining the Society for Parliamentary Reform. A letter from John Longley on January 31, 1796, tells of a book which he has just published on parliamentary reform and discusses various aspects of the English government from the viewpoint of a reformer. Thomas Coke on March 16, 1809, writes of the different slavery laws in Jamaica. A lengthy 1813 letter from Andrew Wedderburn, a Jamaica plantation owner, discusses the condition of the enslaved people after a storm, their food supplies, sickness and death, his attitude toward their care, the various uses of the land, the crops raised, the market for produce, the purchase and hiring of slaves. A number of letters from Bermuda, Nevis, St. Vincent, Barbados, and Berbice contain similar discussions. An unusually good letter comes from a planter in St. Vincent, April 4, 1816. Some of these planters' letters give in rather emphatic terms the case of the planters against the abolition of slavery. There is copy of a sermon preached at Port Royal, Jamaica, June 7, 1822, on the anniversary of the great earthquake (1692) which contains a very frank and oven criticism of the moral life of Port Royal.

One significant in the collection is a letter in very tiny handwriting from John Horseman, July 15, 1817, which includes the text of Robert Southey's poem entitled "To the Exiled Patriots." The only known publication of the poem is in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Essays on His Own Times, (1850) I, 19-20. Horseman's edition of the poem contains sixteen stanzas as compared to Coleridge's ten. In addition eight of the lines are different in the two editions.

Several letters from Thomas Clarkson between 1825 and 1827 discuss the methods to be used in the drive for complete abolition of slavery. A letter from T. Gisborne in 1829 accuses Smith of being a Papist. A lengthy petition in 1829 signed by 95 principal native inhabitants of Bombay, India, protests to the House of Commons against certain grievances and asks redress. A letter of Gilbert Shelton in Bermuda in 1832 comments with keen insight on the recent Reform Act, on Irish independence, and on the types of Christian missionaries in the West Indies; later letters from him give considerable details regarding the purchase of a life insurance Policy in England. Different letters in 1833 tell of the methods and problems involved in the abolition of slavery. A letter from James Stephen announces Wilberforce's death, July 29, 1833; also a letter from Wilberforce's son, Robert, tells of the death. There is a copy of a petition to Rev. H. W. Wilberforce signed by 127 members of both houses of Parliament requesting that William Wilberforce be buried in Westminster Abbey and that they be granted permission to attend the funeral. Several letters between the Clarksons and William Smith shortly offer Wilberforce's death concern Robert Wilberforce's proposed life of his father and his ideas of attacking some of Thomas Clarkson's claims for himself in the abolition movement.

The correspondents in this collection include: M. Babington, J. Barham, Richard Bickell, Henry Bright, Richard Brodbelt, Priscilla Buxton, Thomas Powell Buxton, Catherine Clarkson, Thomas Coke, Benjamin Cooper, John Frederick Garling, T. Gisborne, Andrew Grant, Robert Grosvenor, George Hibbert, John Horseman, Robert Harry Inglis, John Longley, Men Leith, Zachary Macaulay, A. Mavrocordato, James Muir, J. Plymley, D. Power, William Rathbone, Gilbert Salton, Philip Sansom, John Scott, B. Shank, Granville Sharp, E. Sharpe, James Stephen, W. Villers, Andrew Wedderborn, James Weeker, Barbara Ann Wilberforce, Robert I. Wilberforce, William Wilberforce, John Wright, and J. Yule.

In addition to the letters mentioned above, there is extensive evidence in the miscellaneous papers and the printed material on slavery. It includes Smith's notes and research on: spies in the slave trade, deaths (of crew and captives) on slave ships, food carried on slave ships, methods of obtaining slaves in Africa, conditions of Africans in Africa, British exports to Africa, eyewitness accounts and lists of witnesses, general information on the West Indies, estates and plantations, diseases and epidemics, population, mistreatment of slaves, breeding of slaves versus importation, description of a riot in Barbados in 1823 and the destruction of a Methodist chapel, printed petitions from the West Indies showing the increasingly difficult financial position of the sugar planters due to high taxes, shipping costs, and low prices, lists and copies of British Laws concerning slavery in the colonies, a planter's plan for the emancipation of slaves over a period of 34 years, conditions of slaves in French colonies, papers comparing the raising of sugar cane in the West Indies and in the East Indies and India, letters regarding the abolition of slavery in Ceylon, speeches in Parliament or manuscripts of books, Parliamentary resolutions, printed statements for and against slavery, history of the movement for abolition, newspaper excerpts, and magazine articles.

Correspondence, financial papers, and legal documents, concerning William Sims' extensive plantation holdings in South Carolina. Includes two account books. Correspondence is primarily related to business matters, including cotton trade and prices; the price and availability of slaves; and the beginnings of a textile industry on the plantation. Local and state politicians in South Carolina are often mentioned, as is the general economic plight of the Southern planter in the period (ca. 1819-1830), and currency problems in the state (ca. 1826-1830). One personal letter effusively describes newly settled land in Mississippi and the quality of the cotton grown there.

Detailed financial papers form the bulk of the collection, and concern the cotton trade (including weights, bale numbers, shipping, prices, and sales), and household and plantation expenses. Legal papers are confined to deeds, documents of land litigation, military commissions, and documents relating to slaves, such as indentures and lists of slaves on the plantation. Also includes genealogical information on the Sims family.

Resident of Mount Jackson, Va. Collection contains personal correspondence, business papers, and receipts relating to William Sigler. Some correspondence concerns local politics and economic conditions. Sigler sometimes corresponded with prominent merchants in Baltimore, Md.

Collection contains personal correspondence, business papers, and receipts relating to William Sigler. Some correspondence concerns local politics and economic conditions. Sigler sometimes corresponded with prominent merchants in Baltimore, Md.

Col. William Sylvester Carter (approximately 1833-1902) was a white Confederate plantation owner, businessman, and state representative from Fairfield in Hyde County, N.C. Collection contains correspondence, legal and financial papers, and account books from the Carter, Howard, and Spencer families of Hyde County, North Carolina. The ledger books largely relate to William and David Carter's plantations and crops, particularly corn, and also contain expenses and accounts for different Hyde County residents, including enslaved and later emancipated African Americans, throughout the mid-ninteenth century. Correspondence and legal papers in the collection largely relate to the estate management, land, farming, and business or trading expenses for the Carter family. Some materials relate to the American Civil War.

Collection contains correspondence, legal and financial papers, and account books from the Carter, Howard, and Spencer families of Hyde County, North Carolina. The ledger books largely relate to William and David Carter's plantations and crops, particularly corn, and also contain expenses and accounts for different Hyde County residents throughout the mid-ninteenth century. A small amount of materials in the ledgers relate to Black people and are indicated with the headings "negro" - this material is sporadic and dates both pre- and post-emancipation.

Correspondence and legal papers in the collection largely relate to the estate management, land, farming, and business or trading expenses for the Carter family. Some materials relate to the American Civil War, including correspondence informing the family of the death of Captain James Carter in 1862. Other materials relate to the enslavement of different men, women, and children, including bills of sale, rental and lease information, and medical expenses accrued by the slaveholders for the different slaves treated on various plantations in the 1850s and 1860s. One document records the names of slaves who self-emancipated themselves following the Union Army victory at the Battle of New Bern. Following the war, most correspondence and legal documents relate to estates and other routine business transactions. There are two election certificates for William Carter in the 1860s, and a draft of a letter to the editor from David S. Carter promoting Democratic candidate Edward J. Warren. The collection also contains several dozen forms returned to the Richmond Boarding House Bureau of Information (1907) reflecting prices of room and board.

The papers of the lawyer and educator William Righter Fisher and the journalist Mary Wager Fisher consist primarily of correspondence, but also include photographs (several of them tintypes and cartes-de-visite), financial papers, diaries, clippings, printed material, and writings and speeches. Among correspondents are many journalists, physicians, educators, and other notable figures of the late nineteenth century including Lucy Abbott, Mercy Baker, Jennie Chapin, Mary L. Booth, W.S. Burke, James Gowdy Clark, M.E. Dodge, Weston Flint, P. Girard, S. D. Harris, Albert Leffingwell, Henry C. Olney, W. Trickett, George Boyer Vashon, and Frank J. Webb. The collection also includes letters from James B. Hazelton of the First Regiment, New York Artillery. Hazelton's letters describe battles and political events of the Civil War, including Lincoln's re-election campaign and the anti-draft riots. The papers are particularly rich in documentation of women in medicine and women's medical education in the second half of the nineteenth century; the Freedmen's schools in the Reconstruction South; the movement for women's rights; and friendship among American women in the late Victorian era.

The Correspondence Series includes letters from three prominent women physicians of the period (Jennie Chapin, Mercy N. Baker, and Lucy M. Abbott) to Mary Wager before her marriage to Fisher. In their letters they described their medical education, their obstetrical experience, and the high cost of tuition and living expenses at the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia. Letters prior to her marriage in 1876 also attest to Wager's numerous romantic involvements. Among her admirers was lawyer and educator Weston Flint, and the Correspondence Series includes over 100 letters from him describing his political, social, and literary interests as well as his deep affection for Mary Wager. He also wrote about his wartime travels and his interest in helping the contrabands medically and educationally. Flint detailed political events of the Civil War, including Lincoln's re-election campaign and the anti-draft riots, and mentions the Copperheads. He expressed particular interest in the moral state of soldiers, decrying their drinking of alcohol and consorting with prostitutes. Flint sometimes included poetry in his letters.

Also in the Correspondence Series are two letters (1870) from Frank J. Webb, the author of The Garies and Their Friends (1857), a daring novel about an interracial couple. In one of these letters dated May 5, he referred to a 500-page manuscript sent to Harper's for an unpublished novel, Paul Sumner, which he considered to be superior to The Garies. In a four-page letter to Wager (April 9, 1870), African American writer, attorney, and educator George Boyer Vashon provided an autobiography. The events of his life were penned on the letterhead of The New Era: A National Journal, Edited by Colored Men.

The collection offers insight into emotionally intense friendships between women of the nineteenth century. Wager's female friends sent good wishes, but expressed great jealousy at the time of her marriage to Fisher. Young women wrote of both romantic and sisterly love for Mary, and sometimes discussed such issues as women's education, women's dress, women's suffrage, and temperance.

The bulk of William Righter Fisher's letters in the collection were written between him and his parents. A small cache of letters from author and dean of Dickenson College Law School William Trickett, who lived in Germany in 1872, provide a vivid illustration of the political climate and structure of the Germany of Bismarck. Also to be found among letters to Fisher are several written in the late 1860's by agents of the Freedmen's Bureau and the Freedmen's school in Wytheville, Virginia.

While the bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, some speeches and writings by Mary Wager Fisher and Weston Flint are included. Of particular interest is a photocopy of Mary Wager's article entitled " Women as Physicians." Also, the Pictures Series includes both cartes-de-visite and tintypes.

The William Righter and Mary Wager Fisher Papers provide numerous windows through which researchers can view aspects of late Victorian America. The collection provides an unusual entree into the private and public lives of nineteenth-century men and women, and particularly provides information about the professionalization of American women, relationships between women in nineteenth-century America, and race relations in the Reconstruction South.