John Richardson Kilby papers, 1680-1919 and undated bulk 1840-1889

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Summary

Creator:
Kilby, John Richardson, 1819-1878
Abstract:
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.
Extent:
14 Linear Feet
Approx. 39,509 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00778

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Acquisition information:
The John Richardson Kilby papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from 1942-1952.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff

Encoded by Paula Jeannet and Jennifer Snow, November 2013

Accessions acquired from 1942-1952 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Other Indexes

Indexes:

Partial List of Wills in Collection by Name, County, and Date (mostly copies of original wills)

These can be found in the Legal Papers Series.

Transfer, Katharine, widow of Philemon Haywood, quoting will of Henry Lowe, Sr., 1747 Oct. 13
Extract, William Crawford, 1762 Jan. 27
Extract, George Veale, 1776 Jan. 16
Extract, Samuel Veale, 1793 Mar. 12
Wm. Garrison, Jr., 1776, Accomack Co., Va.
Jonathan Garrison, 1789, Accomack Co., Va.
George Garrison, 1789, Accomack Co., Va.
George Garrison, 1788 Mar.
John Garrison, 1795, Accomack Co., Va.
Rachel Garrison, 1801, Accomack Co., Va.
Extract, George Hall, 1823 May 7
Extract, William Deams, 1825
Thomas Radwell, 1819 Jan. 2, Mansemone [Nansemond?] Co., Va.
John Glazebrook, 1824 July 13, Hanover Co. Va.
Legal document on this will, 1847 Oct.
Sarah Shivers, 1827 Nov. 28, Isle of Wight Co. Va.
Extract, Alfred Ames, 1830 Jan. 19
Extract, Josiah Riddick, 1838 Sept. 16, Nansemond Co., Va.
Extract, John Harrell, 1840 Mar. 2
Joseph Wright, 1840 May 29, Nansemond Co., Va.
Extract, William Addison, 1841 Mar. 21
William Murphrey, Nansemond Co., 1841 July 31
James Parker, 1843 Jan. 23, Nansemond Co.
Joseph Corbell, 1809 May 19
Joseph Vaughan, 1855 Aug. 3, Nansemond Co.
Thomas Tartt, 1856 Feb. 11, Norfolk Co.
Robert H. Tatem, 1856 May 21, Norfolk Co.
William Green, 1857 Jan. 5, Isle of Wight Co.
Exum Jenkins 1857 Nov. 20, Nansemond Co.
Richard Riddick, n.d., Beaufort Co., revoked in favor of later will (1857 Nov. 13?), original
Richard Riddick, 1857 Dec. 13, Beaufort Co., original
John Gray, 1858 May 25, original
Excerpts, Theoderick Robertson, 1853 July 21
Drewry Waller, 1859 May 28, Southhampton Co.
Extract, Mrs. Bunch, 1861 Aug. 12
James Majitt, 1861 Apr. 4, Va.
Lumuel Vaughan, 1862 Nov. 10, Hanover Co.; codicil, 4 June 1864
Archie C. Godwin, 1863 June 13, N.C., original
Thomas Hall, 1863 Nov. 2, Isle of Wight
William H. Goodwin, 1864 Aug. 31, Nansemond Co.
Nancy Barrett, 1855 Nov. 17, Isle of Wight, original
William H. Summerell, 1864 Nov. 14, Southampton
Ro. Laurence, 1865 Oct. 28, Nansemond
Jesse Perry, 1863 Aug 8, Nansemond

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John Richardson Kilby Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.