[Place Collection Abstract for Context Here.] [Place Collection Abstract for Scope and Content Here.]

Collection contains a ledger, a daybook, a cashbook, and an account book relating to a firm involved in the importation and sale of sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, corn, and other products. The books record shipment of goods from various ports in the West Indies and the South. Craven Ashford may have been a business partner. Several items are laid in.

The papers of the Blunt family, an African American family originating in the tidewater region of Virginia, span the years 1943-1965. The collection consists of seven series: Correspondence, Financial Papers, Genealogy, Miscellaneous, Clippings, Printed Material, and Photographs. The Correspondence Series has been divided into subseries by the following addressees:

• Norma(n) Blunt
• Barbara Blunt
• Bertha Blunt
• Ella Blunt
• Junior Green
• Malachi Blunt
• Marion Jacobs
• Martha Blunt
• Mary Blunt
• Unknown

In the case of Norma(n) Blunt, correspondence has been further divided by addresser. Thus there are also the following subseries:

• Norma(n) Blunt from Guy Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Annie Wood
• Norma(n) Blunt from Louise Boone
• Norma(n) Blunt
• from Barbara Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Bertha Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Ella Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Elmo Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt
• from John Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Marion Nash
• Norma(n) Blunt from Martha Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt from Sarah Blunt
• Norma(n) Blunt
• from "Old Pal Chris"
• Norma(n) Blunt from various and unknown

The collection contains several letters from the Blunt sons to their mother, Norma(n) Blunt. The bulk of the Blunt family papers, however, consists of correspondence between Norma(n) Blunt and her daughters who have left home and moved to various points along the east coast and to the west. In the main, these letters address domestic issues. The letters to the elder Blunt from her daughter Bertha, for example, focus on the problems faced by a young woman who sets up house far from any kin. Taken as a whole, the letters of the Blunt daughters reveal the bonds of exchange and support that tie the women to their mother and to each other even when all are otherwise separated by many miles. When Sarah Blunt makes new starts in new places, for example, she entrusts several of her children to the care her mother. At times, other daughters do the same. And few are the letters between daughters and mother that do not either ask for, offer thanks for, enclose, or alert that future missives will contain money. The Correspondence Series allows insight into the sorts of in-kind and monetary exchanges that sustained various segments of the large and scattered Blunt extended family.

Also emergent in the letters to Norma(n) Blunt are discussions of a number of health issues. Blunt's daughters sometimes refer to their children's health, the trials of pregnancy, and the costs and burdens of health care. In a letter between Norma(n) Blunt and her sister Louise Boone, for example, the former broaches the topic of illegal abortions (May 15, 1962).

Letters to Norma(n) Blunt from her sister Louise Boone detail the workings of a black women's voluntary association, the Household of Ruth Lodge of Branchville Virginia. Norma(n) Blunt was active in the lodge even though she did not reside in Branchville. Through her sister, the elder Blunt kept her dues current and stayed abreast of the lodge's inner workings. The monetary and in-kind exchanges pronounced in letters between the elder Blunt and her daughters are also evident here.

Letters addressed to the Blunt children round out the Correspondence Series. Issues concerning courtship and parent-child relationships emerge from these letters.

Blunt family papers are a collection generated by migration. The letters in the Correspondence Series reveal the strains and stresses of relocation and offer insight into how one African American family managed the exigencies of continuous settlement and resettlement.

Personal and business papers of George Hoffman Slater of "Rose Hill," Upperville, Va., but also including papers of several other Virginia families, the James Lee family, and the Deatherage and Lake families. Papers of George Hoffman Slater include personal and business correspondence, school papers, bills, and receipts.

Journalist, businessman, Poe scholar and editor, and an avid collector of Poe memorabilia; resided in Richmond, Virginia. The James Howard Whitty papers include letters, drafts of books and articles, research notes, newspaper clippings, and other papers, all relating to Whitty's writings on Edgar Allan Poe's life and career, his editorship of Poe's poetry, and his relationship with other literary scholars. The numerous clippings are found both loose and mounted in three scrapbooks. There is also a manuscript volume containing a Richmond, Virginia book seller's accounts. Other research materials on Poe consist of transcripts of Poe's letters and over 600 images related to Poe's life. There is voluminous correspondence from Poe scholars and other literary critics, including George Woodberry, Mary E. Phillips, and Thomas O. Mabbott. Whitty's research papers also contain copies of letters from John C. Frémont to Joel Poinsett in 1838, research material and correspondence relating to Virginia planter and early Congressman John Randolph of Roanoke, and the history of Richmond, Virginia.

Papers of James Howard Whitty, author and authority on the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe, are chiefly comprised of correspondence, research writings and notes, printed material such as clippings and engravings, and copies of 19th century correspondence, all relating to Whitty's writings on literary figures and Virginia history.

Whitty's research materials on Edgar Allen Poe include copies of a large number of letters by Edgar Allan Poe and members of his family; documents concerning the events surrounding Poe's death; a large amount of correspondence with other Poe scholars, particularly George E. Woodberry, Mary E. Phillips, and Thomas Ollive Mabbott; and research notes made by Whitty, including material for a complete Poe bibliography, and rough drafts of Whitty's writings on Poe. There are also over 600 images, chiefly engravings, including portraits of Poe and his family, images of the places where Poe lived, and the museums and shrines dedicated to him. In addition, there are letters relating to Whitty's work as organizer and first president of the Edgar Allan Poe shrine in Richmond, Virginia, and to Whitty's quarrel with the directors of the shrine in 1924.

The hundreds of clippings included in this collection consist of what seems to be almost every article or mention of Poe from 1900-1935. Many of the articles are in duplicate and many of them contain notations by Whitty. There are also three scrapbooks of clippings.

Other materials center on Whitty's interest in the history of Richmond, Virginia; business correspondence pertaining to Whitty's work on the staff of the Richmond Times; notes on and copies of correspondence of John Randolph of Roanoke, 1814-1816 (Virginia planter and Congressman) to Ann Morris, in which he accuses her of being a common prostitute and the murderess of her child and of his brother. Copies of her answers to his accusations are also included. Whitty was interested in writing on John Randolph of Roanoke, but apparently never did so. Additional research materials include notes on and copies of letters from John Charles Frémont to Joel R. Poinsett, 1838; and other printed material, including reviews, copies of sections of books, publication notices, and advertisements. There is also a manuscript volume containing the accounts of a Richmond bookseller, 1929-1936.

James Luther Kibler (1867-1950) was a public school teacher, prominent Lutheran layman, and active member of the Socialist Party of Virginia. Collection comprises correspondence, printed material, writings, clippings, and photographs, pertaining to Kibler's interest in the history of Virginia, Lutheran issues, his work with the Socialist Party of Virginia, his newspaper column Kibler's Kolumn, and other topics. Also included are over forty scrapbooks compiled by Kibler dating from 1913 to 1953, in which are mounted clippings (including his column), letters, notations, royalty receipts, postcards, and photographs.

Collection comprises correspondence, printed material, writings, clippings, and photographs, all pertaining to Kibler's interest in the history of Virginia, Lutheran issues, his work with the Socialist Party of Virginia, his newspaper column "Kibler's Kolumn," and other topics. Also included are over forty scrapbooks compiled by Kibler dating from 1913 to 1953, in which are mounted clippings (including his column), letters, notations, royalty receipts, postcards, and photographs.

Jesse Pyrant Andrews is an American photographer based in rural southern Virginia. Collection comprises 291 black-and-white photographs and 46 oral history interviews by photographer Jesse Pyrant Andrews, documenting rural and small-town life in the Piedmont region of Virginia and North Carolina. Major themes center on the landscapes and people of the region; tobacco cultivation; the lives of farmers, war veterans, small business owners, and laid-off workers; local architecture and historic sites; traditional crafts and music; and new patterns of economics and society in rural Virginia. Andrews's Veterans Project has become a larger focus over the years; it now comprises over 30 portraits and associated audio interviews, chiefly with veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Additional projects include materials related to the Carter-Wooding families of southern Virginia; views from an Amtrak train; views of an historic plantation home, Mountainview; and street scenes and portraits taken in New York City, California, and Massachusetts. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Collection comprises 291 black-and-white photographs and 46 oral history recordings by Jesse Pyrant Andrews documenting rural and small-town life in the Piedmont plateau of central southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. Most of the images are portraits of local people, along with scenes from homesteads, small towns, farms, and grave sites. Major themes include tobacco cultivation; the lives of farmers, migrant workers, war veterans, small business owners, and laid-off textile workers; regional architecture; historic sites; and traditional activities such as music-making, constructing handmade firearms, and working with leather. Together, the images and interviews speak to significant changes in this rural Piedmont region's cultures and economies as it has transitioned into the 20th and then the 21st centuries.

In the Veterans Project series, Andrews documents through portraits and in-depth audio interviews the experiences of U.S. military veterans, primarily in the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, but also in World War II. The series includes a Vietnam War veteran's manuscript memoir and a tribute essay to one veteran, written by Andrews. Some of these resources may contain disturbing content.

The Carter-Wooding Project, also comprising photographs and several oral histories, documents two Halifax County, Virginia families, the Carters and the Woodings, and their rural property dating back to an 18th-century Huguenot land grant. This project forms part of the Portraits series in this collection. Interior and exterior shots of a former plantation, "Mountain View," in Tightsqueeze, Virginia (sold at auction in 2020) are featured in the series Life At Large.

Photographs from the series 13-Month Crop, documenting tobacco farming, were featured in a solo exhibit of Andrews' work hosted by the Rubenstein Library at Duke University in 2002.

Portraits and oral histories in the Burlington Mills series document the experiences of former southern Virginia textile workers.

Another series documents a trip on an Amtrak train. Rounding out the collection are images of street life and people in New York City, California, and Massachusetts, and a few of patterns in plants and ice.

Most of the photographs are accompanied by captions written by the photographer, commenting on the individuals, their life experiences, and aspects of local culture and society. Captions for the Veterans series include biographies as well as historical details related to several wars in which the U.S. was involved.

A large selection of photographs from the Andrews collection has been digitized and is available on the Duke Digital Collections website; links to this content are included in this inventory for corresponding prints.

African American farmer and family of Meadowview (Washington County), Virginia. Correspondence, legal, and financial papers of several generations of a rural black family in Washington County, Va., concerning personal and family matters, men working away from home, county taxes, black societies, religious activities, insurance and other topics.

Correspondence and legal and financial papers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries of several generations of a rural black family in Washington County, Virginia. Topics concern personal and family matters, men working away from home, county taxes, black societies, religious activities, insurance and other topics. The financial papers in the collection document insurance investments, rental contracts, and the extent of the Smith family's land holdings in Washington County. Smith held an insurance policy with the Southern Aid Society of Virginia, and a death benefit with the Sons of Zion Benevolent Society. Letters in the collection touch on emigration, long-distance courtship, and itinerant labor.

Kilby and his son, Wilbur John Kilby (1850-1907), were both lawyers of Suffolk, Virginia, and of members of the Riddick family. Correspondence and legal and other papers of Kilby and of his son, Wilbur John Kilby (1850-1907), both lawyers, of Suffolk, Va., and of members of the Riddick family. The bulk of the collection concerns such legal activities of the Kilbys as administration of estates, collection of bills, and adjustments of property. The collection is important in part for its early records of families and references to politics and social conditions of Nansemond County, Virginia, but also for its references to slavery, the American Colonization Society and conditions in Liberia, and for its slave lists from the Riddick and Glazebrook families. There are many wills, one of which refers to the manumission of slaves. Other items refer to the legal affairs of the Riddick family, Richard H. Riddick, merchant of Pantego, N.C., and agent of the Albemarle Swamp Land Company; pro-Civil War activities of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Southampton Insurrection of 1831; Civil War action near Shepherdstown and Fredericksburg; African American soldiers during Reconstruction; the Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia; the gold rush of Pike's Peak, Colorado; a Suffolk, Va. cholera epidemic; and the Panic of 1857.

Correspondence and legal and other papers of Kilby and of his son, Wilbur John Kilby (1850-1907), both lawyers, of Suffolk, Virginia, and of members of the Riddick family. The bulk of the collection dates from 1840-1889 and concerns such legal activities of the Kilbys as administration of estates, collection of bills, and adjustments of property. The collection is important in part for its records of families and social conditions of Nansemond County, Virginia.

Other important subjects include genealogical information for other families; the case of Harriet Whitehead, whose mind was impaired by the loss of her family in the Nat Turner Southampton Insurrection, 1831; freedom for slaves, with references to the work of the American Colonization Society and to life and conditions in Liberia; legal affairs of the Riddick family, Richard H. Riddick, merchant of Pantego, N.C., and agent of the Albemarle Swamp Land Company; pro-Civil War activities of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the Suffolk, Va. cholera epidemic (1849); the Panic of 1857 and the Pike's Peak, Colorado gold rush in 1859; action around Fredericksburg and Shepherdstown during the Civil War; African American soldiers in Charleston, S.C. during Reconstruction; Nansemond County, Virginia politics, especially during W. J. Kilby's career; and the Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia.

Several slave lists date from 1839-1858. The most extensive is of the Riddick family in undated legal papers. As the Office of Clerk of County burned in 1866, the legal, financial, and genealogical records are valuable for their information. A partial list of wills also exists, including the wills of Josiah Riddick, Richard Riddick, and John Glazebrook. One will, later contested, stipulates the manumission of a slave. Volumes include daybooks, memoranda, account books, notebooks, both professional and personal, as well as broadsides of land sales in Nansemond County, Virginia. The genealogical records are a photocopy of the printed genealogy of the Kilby, Jynes, Riddick, and Glazebrook families.

Collection includes papers of Johnston and of his wife, Nicketti Virginia (Floyd) Johnston, of her parents, John Floyd, governor of Virginia, and Letitia (Preston) Floyd, Letitia's brother, Francis Smith Preston, and other members of the Preston family. Includes letters, fictional and political writings, and other papers, including many references to plantation life, Virginia and national politics, pioneers of southwestern Virginia and genealogical material on the Breckinridge, Buchanan, Floyd, Preston, and other Virginia families.

This collection contains papers of John Warfield Johnston, United States Senator from Virginia, his wife, Nicketti (Floyd) Johnston, and other members of the Johnston, Preston, and Floyd families. The papers of John Warfield Johnston and Nicketti (Floyd) Johnston contain personal correspondence and letters from their children, including letters, 1886, from Joseph Beverly Johnston who was with the Alaska Commercial Company in Ounalaska [Unalaska], Alaska. There are several manuscripts of John Warfield Johnston, including an autobiography, reminiscences of his senatorial career, short stories, and essays on the period of the American Revolution, the Republican Party, General Joseph Eggleston Johnston, and currency problems.

The collection also contains the papers of Francis Smith Preston (1765-1835) and his sister, Letitia (Preston) Floyd concerning pioneer life, plantation management, politics in Virginia and the nation, and family and personal affairs, the papers of the children of John Floyd and Letitia (Preston) Floyd relating to family matters, Roman Catholicism, the experiences of George Rogers Clark Floyd as a territorial official in Wisconsin in the 1840s, and the early career of George Frederick Holmes, the husband of Eliza Lavalette Floyd. It also has a letter, 1863, of Joseph Eggleston Johnston to his wife, Lydia (McLane) Johnston, justifying his actions in the Vicksburg campaign and letters of John Warfield Johnston, father of John Warfield Johnston, and his wife, Louisa (Bower) Johnston, including personal and family correspondence and a few letters to Johnston from John Peter Mettauer.

Born in 1835 in area of Virginia that is now West Virginia; Confederate officer during the U.S. Civil War, and U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries from 1879-1895. The collection concerns early history of the fur trade and the French-Indian War; events during the Civil War, including McDonald's position as ordnance officer at Vicksburg, Miss. for the Departments of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana; his appointment in 1879 as Fisheries Commissioner; the organization and work of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and to a lesser extent the Sons of the American Revolution. The Civil War papers are particularly substantive, giving details on the Vicksburg Campaign, the role of African Americans in the war, and topics such as supplies, movement of troops, and other logistics. Letters from the 1820s written by his grandfather, A. W. McDonald, a colonel in the French and Indian War, touch on the fur trade and related topics; and early letters of the Reverend Robert T. Berry and the Griggs family, of Virginia, contribute to the genealogy of those families. Marshall's correspondents include Virginia politicians and U.S. scientists. Includes correspondence of McDonald's wife, Mary Eliza McCormick McDonald, who served as a leader in the DAR.

Correspondence, invoices, receipts, requisitions, and other personal and military papers of Marshall McDonald and others, dating chiefly from 1819-1896. The collection concerns early history of the fur trade and the French-Indian War; events during the Civil War, including McDonald's position as ordnance officer at Vicksburg, Miss. for the Departments of Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana; his appointment in 1879 as Fisheries Commissioner; the organization and work of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and to a lesser extent the Sons of the American Revolution.

Early items include two letters from the 1700s: one is a copy of a letter dated Mar. 16, 1777, from George Washington, urging McDonald's grandfather, Angus McDonald, to accept an appointment as lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army; the other letter of 1798 is from a John Henry. The letters from the 1820s belong to Angus McDonald and primarily concern the career as colonel during the French and Indian War, and his occupation as a fur trader and partner in the Missouri Fur Company, which dissolved in 1824. There are descriptions of several Plains Indian tribes including the Sioux and the Aricaras.

Marshall McDonald's Civil War papers include a small handwritten volume that notes military tactics, supplies, and the organization of the First Army Corps of the Confederate Army. Other Civil War papers include letters and orders from Gen. Martin Luther Smith and other army officers; slave rolls from 1862-1863 which indicate the payment to the owner for the use of slaves at the Vicksburg Arsenal; a list of free African Americans turned over to the engineers at Fort Anderson; and a report of enemy operations in West Virginia in 1864. There are good accounts of the First Battle of Bull Run and the Vicksburg Campaign. The Civil War papers from 1863 were also microfilmed and a negative reel is available in the library.

Includes family correspondence of McDonald's wife, Mary Eliza McCormick McDonald, who served a leading role in the DAR, and his grandfather, A. W. McDonald, a colonel in the French and Indian War; and early letters from the 1830s of the Reverend Robert T. Berry and the Griggs family, of Virginia. There are letters sent to Mary from prominent women of the time such as Flora (Adams) Darling and Mary Desha. The original spelling of the family name was MacDonald, which Marshall shortened to McDonald, but his wife Mary continued to sign her letters with the original spelling.

Marshall's later correspondents include scientists F. Baird and William Stimpson, and Fred Mather, editor of Fish and Stream, George A. Anderson, John Warwick Daniel, John M. Forbes, Frederick W. M. Hollyday, James Wilson Alexander McDonald, Charles Triplett O'Ferrall, James L. Pugh, William Lyne Wilson, and George D. Wise. There is a large amount of correspondence from the 1870s on McDonald's patented fish ladder, which won a gold medal at the International Fisheries Exhibition in London; McDonald traveled to and received letters from European persons about fish conservation and the use of fish ladders. The letterpress volume listed at the end of the collection consists of McDonald's correspondence while U.S. Fish Commissioner, chiefly concerning his inventions.