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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 11.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6000 items) |
| Abstract | Blackford Family Papers document members of the white Blackford and Minor families of Virginia, as well as some of the people who were enslaved and emancipated by them, and in some cases sent to Liberia for resettlement. White people's views on slavery and their perceptions about Black people are represented throughout the collection, especially in the correspondence of Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896) with the American Colonization Society and missionaries in Liberia. Other related topics include fear of insurrection by enslaved people, the raid on Harper's Ferry, education of Black women and children, slavery in South America, racist assessments of freedmen, crime among Blacks and whites, and racist violence against Black people in Danville, Virginia. Other correspondence consists of three generations of personal letters with news of family and friends; diplomatic and personal correspndence of William Matthews Blackford as U.S. charge d'affaires in the Republic of New Granada (Bogota, Colombia); and letters written by members of the Blackford family serving in the armed services during the American Civil War and both the First and Second World Wars. There are also bills of sale for and lists of enslaved people, diaries, photograph albums, the 1856 manuscript "Recipes in the Culinary Art Together with Hints on Housewifery &c.," and family history and genealogical files. The white Ambler, Byrd, Grey, Jacquelin, McClatchey, Mason, Morris, Washington, and Willis families are also represented in the collection, as are Dewberry plantation in Hanover County, Va.; Foxleigh plantation in King William County, Va.; Airville plantation in Gloucester County, Va.; Meadows plantation, Abgingdon, Va.; Powhatan plantation, near Tigerville, Louisiana; and an unnamed plantation in Somerset, Va. Other items of note are an address in 1837 to Cherokee Indians, Red Clay, E. Tennessee, advising them of the advantages of removal; issues of a newspaper published in Cavalla, West Africa in 1854; and childrens' writings, including a newspaper created by Blackford children. |
| Creator | Blackford (Family : Blackford, Mary Berkeley Minor, 1802-1896) |
| Language | English |
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Mary Berkeley Minor was born 2 December 1802, the oldest daughter and second child of Gen. John Minor (1761-1816), and Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor (1776-1855). The Minors were a socially influential, if not wealthy, white Virginia family. They tended to be active in politics and in reform movements, such as temperance and antislavery.
Mary had five brothers, all of whom appear in the papers: John Minor (1791-1862), Fredericksburg, Virginia; Lieutenant Charles Landon Carter Minor (1805-1833); Dr. Lewis Willis Minor (1808-1872); Lucius Horatio Minor (1810-1863), Edgewood, Hanover County, Virginia; Rev. Lancelot Byrd Minor (1813-1843); and Dr. James Monroe Minor (1815-1879), Brooklyn, N.Y. Rev. Lancelot Byrd Minor, an Episcopal minister, went to Liberia as a missionary in 1837. In 1840, while visiting the United States, he married Mary Stewart of Baltimore, Md. He returned to Liberia, where he died in 1843. They had no children.
Mary and her husband, William Matthews Blackford, corresponded frequently with her cousins, including John Barbee Minor, law professor at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.; Lucian Minor, temperance crusader, Louisa Court House, Virginia; Ann (Minor) Truehart, Galveston, Tex.; Richard Maury; and his son, Matthew Fontaine Maury. Mary was also close to Elizabeth G. "Cousin Betty" Hill, Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va., who was the stepdaughter of Mary's aunt, Eliza (Minor) Hill.
William Matthews Blackford was born 19 August 1801, the third son of Benjamin Blackford (1767-1855), and Isabella (Arthur) Blackford (1765-1837). There is very infrequent correspondence from William's father, Benjamin, and his two brothers, Thomas and John. William's sister, Jane Agnes, married William Leeper and their child, Mary Caroline (b. 1820) remained close to the Blackford family. William Matthews Blackford, a lawyer, newspaper editor, diplomat, and banker, took an active interest in Whig politics, although he never ran for office.
Mary Berkeley Minor married William Matthews Blackford 12 October 1825. Most of the material in the collection dates after their marriage. From 1825 until 1846, the Blackfords lived with Mary's mother and brother John in Fredericksburg, Va., where William edited the Fredericksburg Arena. Mary opposed slavery and favored resettlement (contemporaneously known as "colonization") in Africa of people formerly enslaved in the United States. Through the 1830s, much of the correspondence deals with activities of the American Colonization Society and settlement in Liberia.
The Blackfords always depended on William's father for financial assistance. When in the early 1840s, Benjamin Blackford ran into financial difficulties himself, William was forced to find a job that would pay him enough to support his family adequately. He used his political connections in an unsuccessful attempt to secure an appointment as naval agent in Washington, D.C. Instead, he was appointed charge d'affaires in Bogota, New Granada. He left Fredericksburg in June 1842, taking his oldest son William Willis with him. They arrived in Bogota in September.
At the time of his departure, Blackford expected his wife and other children to follow him soon. Mary, however, kept delaying the journey because of her poor health. (She complained of ill health until her death at the age of 94.) According to one source, while in New Granada, Blackford "at least did the spade-work" for the United States' 1846 treaty with New Granada, known as the Bidlack Treaty. The treaty provided that the United States would protect New Granada's sovereignty over Panama in exchange for "free and open transit" across the isthmus.
Blackford left Bogota in December 1844, arriving in Fredericksburg in February 1845. He spent the next year looking for a job, eventually accepting a position as editor of the Lynchburg Virginian. He moved to Lynchburg in April 1846, and was joined by his family in July. In 1850, he was appointed Lynchburg's postmaster. In 1853, he became cashier of the newly organized Office of Exchange Bank, the position he retained until his death in 1864. Mary Blackford stayed in Lynchburg until 1870, when she went to live with her son, Launcelot, at the Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va. She died in 1896.
The Blackfords had seven children who lived to adulthood: Lucy Landon, William Willis, Charles Minor, Benjamin Lewis, Launcelot Minor, Eugene, and Mary Isabella.
Born 6 November 1826, Lucy Landon was always her father's favorite. Although she is mentioned frequently, there are only a few of her letters in the collection. Lucy married Dr. John Staige Davis of Charlottesville, Va., on 10 July 1847, and they had three children: William Blackford, born 1848, who married Kentie Howland in 1871; Mary Jane, born 1851, who married James P. Harrison in 1879; and Lucy Landon, who died in infancy. Lucy Landon Blackford Davis died 18 February 1859. Although John Staige Davis later remarried, he remained a close friend of the Blackford family.
William Willis "Willie" Blackford was born 23 March 1831. He accompanied his father to South America, and during this period he signed his letters William Wilberforce Blackford, apparently in admiration of the British statesman and abolitionist. He began working as a civil engineer in 1848, interrupting his career later for a year's study at the University of Virginia. In 1856, he married Mary Trigg Robertson (1835-1866), daughter of former Governor Wyndham Robertson. From June 1861-January 1863, he served in the American Civil War with General Jeb Stuart, first as adjutant, later as chief engineer and staff member at headquarters. His memoirs, War Years with Jeb Stuart, were edited by Douglas Southall Freeman and published in 1945 by Charles Scribner's Sons.
After the war, William worked for the Lynchburg and Danville Railroad, then moved to Powhatan, a sugar plantation near Tigerville, Louisiana. When a flood in 1874 destroyed his crop and ruined him financially, he returned to Virginia, and in 1880 accepted a professorship of Mechanics and Drawing at the agricultural college, now Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in Blacksburg. After resigning in 1882, he went to work as a construction engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He retired in 1890 and purchased an oyster farm on Lynnhaven Bay, Princess Anne County, Va. He died of apoplexy 1 May 1905. William and Mary Trigg (Robertson) Blackford had four children: Lizzie Robertson (b. 1856); Wyndham; Pelham; and Gay Robertson (b. 1866?).
Charles Minor "Charley" Blackford was born 17 October 1833. As a child he lived for a while with Elizabeth G. "Cousin Betty" Hill, who ran a school at Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va. In the early 1850s, he attended the University of Virginia, and after graduation began practicing law in Lynchburg. He married Susan Leigh Colston in 1856, and they had three children: Nannie Colston, Charles Minor, and Raleigh Colston. Like his brothers, he served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; a member of the Second Virginia Cavalry until 1863, when he became Judge Advocate of the Military Court of the Second Corps (Longstreet's) of the Army of Northern Virginia. In the 1890s, Susan Leigh (Colston) Blackford had her memoirs of the war (based largely on Charles's letters) privately printed. This was later published as Letters from Lee's Army (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947). When the war ended Charles resumed his law practice in Lynchburg. He died in 1903.
Benjamin Lewis Blackford was born 5 August 1835, and as a child, was called "Benny." At some point, he began to be called Lewis. Lewis attended school at Mount Airy and at the University of Virginia. Before entering the Civil War as a private in Samuel Garland's regiment, Eleventh Virginia Infantry, he had worked as a civil engineer. Later he was a lieutenant of engineers, stationed in Wilmington, N.C. After the war, Lewis went into the insurance business in Washington, D.C., and in 1869, married Nannie Steenberger (d. 1883). They had four daughters: Elizabeth Padelford "Lily"; Mary Berkeley "Daisy"; Alice Beirne; and Lucy Landon Carter. Lewis died in 1908.
Launcelot Minor "Lanty" Blackford was born 23 February 1837. Named after his uncle, Lancelot Byrd Minor, as an adolescent Launcelot added the "u" to his name. He attended the University of Virginia and became a schoolteacher. During the Civil War, he served as a private in the Rockbridge Artillery, as a clerk of the Military Court of the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and finally as Adjutant of the Twenty-Fourth Virginia Infantry, William R. Terry's brigade, Pickett's division. After the war, Launcelot resumed teaching and in 1870, he became principal of the Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va., a position he held until his death in 1914. Launcelot married Eliza Chew Ambler (1856-1935), a descendant of Virginia patriot George Mason, in 1884. Many of her letters are in the collection, as well as some material relating to Mason and his descendants. Launcelot and Eliza had six children: John Minor (1887-1945), doctor in Seattle, Washington; Ambler (b. 1888), Episcopal minister in Virginia and South Carolina; Randolph Fairfax (b. 1890), Episcopal minister in North Dakota and Florida (the later papers in the collection are his); Anna Mason (1892-1893); Launcelot Minor (L. Minor, b. 1894), teacher of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; and Staige Davis (1898-1949), teacher of medicine at the University of Virginia.
Eugene Blackford was born 11 April 1839. After attending the University of Virginia, he accepted a teaching position in Alabama and when the Civil War started, became a major in the Fifth Alabama Infantry. After the war, Eugene became a dairy farmer at Cleve, Pikesville, Md. He married Rebecca Chapman Gordon and they had three children: Emily Chapman, Eugene (d. 1907), and William Gordon.
The youngest of the Blackford children, Mary Isabella "Mabelle," was born in 1840. During the late 1850s, she attended the Southern Female Institute, Richmond, Va., and in 1865, married James Cooke, a farmer. They lived alternately at Dewberry and Foxleigh, both near Richmond. The Cookes had five children: Lucy Landon, James Churchill, Mary Minor, Eugene Blackford, and Edmonia Churchill. Mary Isabella died in 1928.
For further information see: L. Minor Blackford, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Story of a Virginia Lady Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford 1802-1896 Who Taught Her Sons to Hate Slavery and to Love the Union. (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1954); Susan Leigh (Colston) Blackford, Letters from Lee's Army: Memoirs of Life In and Out of the Army in Virginia During the War Between the States: Edited and abridged for publications by Charles Minor Blackford, III. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947); William Willis Blackford, War Years with Jeb Stuart. Edited and with an introduction by Douglas Southall Freeman. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1945).
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Scope and Content
The Blackford collection consists of correspondence and other papers that document three generations of the Blackford family, a socially influential, although not wealthy, white Virginia family, and several people--Peggy Dean, Abram, Abraham, Minor, and Maria West--who were enslaved and later emancipated by the Blackfords and their extended family. There are two additional lists of people enslaved by these families. Most of the material in the collection relates to Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896), and her husband, William Matthews Blackford (1801-1864), of Fredericksburg, Va., Lynchburg, Va., and Alexandria, Va. Later correspondence is that of their son, Launcelot Minor Blackford (1837-1914), his wife, Eliza Chew Ambler Blackford (1856-1935), Alexandria, Va., and their son, Randolph Fairfax Blackford (b. 1890), Homestead, Fla. Most of the correspondence is personal, containing news of the activities of the Blackfords, and their white relatives and friends.
Much of the correspondence of 1824-1841 relates to the activities of the American Colonization Society and its counterpart in Great Britain, and documents the Blackford family's antislavery sentiments and their attempts to organize a colonization society in Fredericksburg. Most frequent are letters from Ralph Randolph Gurley, Washington, D.C., the Society's corresponding secretary, about American Colonization Society business and the antislavery movement. There are also letters from other American Colonization Society members in various locations, as well as a few letters from missionaries in Liberia.
Additional examples of the Blackfords' and other white people's personal views on slavery and perceptions about Black people can be found throughout the collection:
There is also an address of James Murray Mason, U.S. Congressman from Virginia, to Cherokee Indians, Red Clay, E. Tennessee, advising them of the advantages of removal (1837).
While the 1824-1841 correspondence deals primarily with colonization activities, during the latter part of this period, American Colonization Society correspondence decreases and personal correspondence from the Blackfords' relatives and friends in Virginia giving news of themselves, their families, and their neighbors increases. There is scattered correspondence of Mary Blackford's mother, Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor, of Fredericksburg, Va. Also of note is the Home Gazette, a newspaper compiled by the Blackford children, including poetry, family news, sketches.
The majority of the 1842-1844 material relates to William Matthews Blackford's service as United States charge d'affaires in Bogota, New Granada (now Colombia). The correspondence is divided into two groups: letters between Blackford and other diplomats in South America relating to his official duties, and his "diary letters," addressed to Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford in Fredericksburg, Va., containing descriptions of his activities, his observations of South American customs, and comments on politics both in the United States and New Granada. During this period there is also scattered personal correspondence of Mary Blackford with friends and relatives in Virginia and elsewhere. William Blackford returned to Fredericksburg in 1845. However, he maintained his correspondence with diplomats in South America and American officials in Washington about his work in New Granada for a few years.
In 1846, the Blackfords moved to Lynchburg, Va. The 1845-1860 material is predominantly personal correspondence of William and Mary Blackford, especially with their seven children as they left home for school and careers. The five Blackford sons wrote frequently from the school run by their cousin, Elizabeth G. "Betty" Hill, at Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va.; the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.; and elsewhere. These letters deal with family matters and neighborhood news--births, deaths, marriages, illnesses, social activities, with occasional comments on contemporary politics. As the American Civil War approached in the late 1850s, discussions of slavery, abolition, and the national political situation became more frequent.
During this period Mary Blackford continued to receive occasional correspondence about American Colonization Society activities, including a few letters from missionaries and formerly enslaved people who had resettled in Liberia. From 1846 to 1848 there are scattered letters to William M. Blackford from United States army officers in Mexico and Texas about the Mexican War.
In early 1861, the Blackfords' correspondence reflected their concern about the worsening national crisis. When the war started, all five Blackford sons enlisted in the Confederate Army. All served throughout the war, mostly in Virginia, but also in North Carolina and Tennessee. The 1861 correspondence includes letters from all five sons to their parents and each other about life in the Confederate Army. Although letters written 1862-1865 have been preserved, many are faded and virtually illegible. Most of the later correspondence that is legible is from Benjamin Lewis Blackford, with the engineering corps in Wilmington, N.C., to his parents about his social activities and romantic entanglements. These letters shed little light on military affairs and war life. Occasional letters to Mr. and Mrs. Blackford from John Minor, Fredericksburg, Va.; John B. Minor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia; and Mary Trigg Robertson Blackford, The Meadows plantation, Abingdon, Va., give a few glimpses of life on the home front. The 1865 correspondence deals with the effects, especially economic, of the war on individuals.
Most of the material from 1866 to 1892 consists of letters to Mary Blackford, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1866-1870, and Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va., 1870-1892, from her children, grandchildren, other relatives and friends in Virginia, Louisiana, Washington, D.C., Texas, and elsewhere. The letters are personal, dealing with daily activities and news of friends and family. Most frequent are letters from Mrs. Blackford's daughter, Mary Isabella (Blackford) Cooke, writing from her husband's plantations, Dewberry and Foxleigh, in Virginia, about her domestic routine and the activities of her husband and children. There is also scattered correspondence of Launcelot M. Blackford, Alexandria, Va., both personal and related to his job as principal of the Episcopal High School in Alexandria.
From 1893 to 1932, the collection consists of the personal correspondence of Launcelot M. Blackford, his wife, Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford, and their son, Randolph Fairfax Blackford about their own activities and those of their relatives and friends. Between 1893 and 1905, Launcelot M. Blackford took several trips to Europe, visiting England, Switzerland and France. His letters to his wife in Alexandria describe his travels. After 1910, there are several letters from Ambler Blackford in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, and Randolph Blackford in North Dakota, Tennessee, and Florida, about their experiences as Episcopal ministers. In addition, there are a few letters from Randolph Blackford to his mother written while he served as a chaplain with the American Expeditionary Force in France, 1917-1919.
The last group of papers, 1936-1953, includes miscellaneous correspondence of Randolph Fairfax Blackford, Florida, principally concerned with Blackford genealogy and family papers.
Non-correspondence includes: four pamphlets (three dealing with the Confederacy and the Lost Cause, and one about the life of Liberian missionary Lancelot Byrd Minor); genealogical information and obituaries of the Blackford, Ambler, Mason, Minor, Carew (Carey), Johnston, Brewster, DeWolfe, Lloyd, Richardson, Robins, Tilghman, and Young families; miscellaneous belles-lettres by William W. Blackford, Randolph R. Blackford, and others; unidentified photographs; and letters and articles written by Launcelot M. Blackford for the Southern Churchman, 1888-1903.
The volumes include an account book, 1850-1855; a recipe book, 1852; a University of Virginia alumni bulletin, 1914; and a "Sample Book" from Saint John's Episcopal Church, Homestead, Fla., 1940.
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Series 1. Original Deposit.
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Subseries 1.1. Correspondence.
Most of the material in the collection dates from 1824, when Mary Berkeley Minor and William Matthews Blackford became engaged. The few papers prior to 1824 are scattered legal documents, commissions, accounts, and an 1819 school girl's letter from George Town [D.C.?].
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 1742-1829 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1743-1829" Folder 111 June 1743: Statement of debt owed by Thomas Barber to Benjamin Rush. 11 February 1790: Mary Lane to Robert Carter, asking permission to remove dead trees from his forest. 16 August 1797: "Copy of a Letter of Attorney from Jn. Swanwick [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] to Phillip Janne [Leghorn, Pennsylvania]." 30 October 1798: Statement of account from December 1794-30 October 1798. 1814: "Leigh's Recd Code . pa. 164c51 sec 32" extract from a state constitution about rights to freedom of speech for assemblymen and state legislators. 14 April 1819: Nannie Martin, George Towen [D.C.?] to "Dear Cousin Ben," a school girl's letter describing her activities. 1820: Copy of a prayer of dedication. 11 October 1825: William Matthews Blackford to Major John Graham, Rose Hill (near Frederick, Md.), announcing his forthcoming marriage to Mary Berkeley Minor, and describing his fledgling law practice in Fredericksburg. 1828: Charles Fenton Mercer, Washington, D.C. to William M. Blackford, describing his role in sponsoring public education in the Virginia legislature (1810-1817). |
| Separated Folder SEP-1912/1 |
Commission of John Mason, Jr. as secretary of U.S. Legation in Mexico, signed by President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, 27 January 1823 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1743-1829" SEP-1912/1Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
Correspondence of William Matthews Blackford and his wife Mary Berkeley (Minor) Blackford of Fredericksburg, Va., mostly dealing with the activities of the American Colonization Society and its counterpart in Great Britain. Most of the letters are addressed to Mrs. Blackford, who apparently attempted to organize a colonization society in Fredericksburg. Correspondents include Ralph Randolph Gurley, secretary of the American Colonization Society, Washington, D.C.; Beulah Sansom, Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1835-1837; Amelia Davidson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1835-1837; Elliott Cresson, England and Scotland, 1833-1838; and others.
Other materials documenting the Blackfords' and other white people's views on slavery and perspectives about non-white people include a letter discussing fears of a large-scale insurrection of enslaved people in the southern states, 1831; a letter discussing the problem of educating Black women to be teachers, 1836; and an address of James Murray Mason, U.S. Congressman from Virginia, to Cherokee Indians, Red Clay, E. Tennessee, advising them of the advantages of removal.
Other correspondence includes letters to William Matthews Blackford from Charles Fenton Mercer, James Barbour, John Mercer Patton, and others, and copies of Blackford's letters to Lucian Minor, discussing current political issues. Scattered correspondence from various relatives of the Blackfords, and a few letters between William and Mary, written on the infrequent occasions when they were apart.
| Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1830-1831 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1830-1838" Folder 29 November 1831: Lieutenant Charles Landon Carter Minor, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, to John Minor, Fredericksburg, Va., discussing fears of a large-scale insurrection of enslaved people in the southern states. |
| Folder 3 |
Correspondence, 1832-1833 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1830-1838" Folder 3 |
| Folder 4 |
Correspondence, 1834-1836 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1830-1838" Folder 413 December 1836: S. Teague [?] Monrovia, Liberia, to Mary B. Blackford, discussing the problem of educating Black women to be teachers and the life of missionaries in Liberia. |
| Folder 5 |
Correspondence, 1837-1838 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1830-1838" Folder 57 August 1837: Address of James Murray Mason, U.S. Congressman from Virginia, to Cherokee Indians, Red Clay, E. Tennessee, advising them of the advantages of removal. |
Includes a letter concerning the emancipation of enslaved people to send to Liberia (1841), and miscellaneous business and personal correspondence of William Matthews Blackford and Mary Berkeley (Minor) Blackford, Fredericksburg, Va., including copies of Blackford's letters to Lucian Minor, Charlottesville, Va., about political news; scattered personal correspondence of Mary's mother, Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor, Fredericksburg, Va.; letters, 1841, from various national political office-holders, including Vice President John Tyler, to the secretary of the Navy recommending William M. Blackford for the post of naval agent at Washington, D.C.; and correspondence between Mrs. Blackford and Elizabeth G. Hill and Charles Minor Blackford, Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va.
Also of note is the Home Gazette, a newspaper compiled by the Blackford children, including poetry, family news, and sketches.
| Folder 6 |
Correspondence, 1839-1840 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1839-1841" Folder 630 November 1839: "Home Gazette," a newspaper compiled by the Blackford children, including poetry, family news, sketches. 5 December 1839: "Home Gazette" |
| Folder 7 |
Correspondence, 1841 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1839-1841" Folder 77 January 1841: Mary B. Blackford to Lancelot Byrd Minor, Cape Palmas, West Africa [Liberia] about family news, emancipation of enslaved people to send to Liberia, the low state of the religion. |
| Separated Folder SEP-1912/2 |
Letter, Vice President John Tyler to the Secretary of the Navy recommending William M. Blackford for the post of naval agent at Washington, D.C., 12 March 1841 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1839-1841" SEP-1912/2Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
Includes a letter about Abram, a person who had been enslaved, manumitted, and outfitted with tools by the Blackfords.
Predominantly material relating to William Matthews Blackford's position as U.S. charge d'affaires in the Republic of New Granada (Colombia). Blackford and his oldest son, William Willis, lived in Bogota from September 1842 until December 1844, while Mrs. Blackford and the rest of the children remained in Fredericksburg, Va. Most of the correspondence is between Blackford and other diplomats, primarily Colombian, American, and British, in South America and is related to his official duties. Some of this material is in Spanish and has not been included in this description.
Also included, although filed separately from the diplomatic correspondence (see folder list), are Blackford's detailed "diary letters" to his wife, June 1842-December 1843, containing descriptions of his activities in Bogota, his observations of South American customs, and comments on politics, both in the United States and New Granada. The letters from June to August 1842, describe his journey to Bogota, first aboard the USS Falmouth, and in July and August, by land. Blackford was especially interested in observing slavery in South America, and included his observations in his letters to his wife, with some comparisons between slavery in South America and the United States.
There is also some personal correspondence to Mary B. Blackford and Lucy Landon Carter Minor from friends and relatives in Virginia and elsewhere. A letter, 1844, expresses antislavery views and opposition to annexation of Texas as a proslavery plot to enable the South to secede.
Folder 8-9
Folder 8Folder 9 |
Correspondence, 1842 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1842-1844" Folder 8-9 |
| Folder 10 |
Correspondence, 1842 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1842-1844" Folder 10Diary letters. |
Folder 11-13
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13 |
Correspondence, 1843 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1842-1844" Folder 11-1328 February 1843: Mary Stewart Minor, Tabbo River, Liberia, to Lucy Landon Carter Minor, Fredericksburg, Va., discussing the Reverend Lancelot Byrd Minor's work with a school in Liberia, his students, and a recent illness. Reverend Minor, Mary Blackford's brother, and his wife Mary were missionaries. 12 June 1843: Diary letter. William M. Blackford, Bogota, New Granada, to Mary B. Blackford, comments on U.S. Whig party politics; election of new Episcopal bishop in Rhode Island; description of celebration of festival of Corpus Christi; discussion of his opposition to the Catholic Church and his detestation of persecution of Catholics in the United States. |
Folder 14-22
Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22 |
Correspondence, 1843 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1842-1844" Folder 14-22Diary letters. |
Folder 23-31
Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31 |
Correspondence, 1844 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1842-1844" Folder 23-3131 March 1844: E. Atkinson, Richmond, Va., to Lucy (Landon) Carter Minor, Fredericksburg, Va. News of neighborhood interlaced with her antislavery views; opposition to annexation of Texas as a proslavery plot to enable the South to secede. 30 April 1844: Allen A. Hall, Caracas, Venezuela, to William M. Blackford. Summary of U.S. political news and highlights of international news. Hall, another American diplomat, wrote Blackford frequently and his letters are usually filled with news items of this sort, as well as his opinions on current issues. 1 June 1844: Lucius H. Minor, Edge Wood, Hanover County, Va., to "My Dear Sister" [Mary B. Blackford?] about outfitting Abram, a person who had been enslaved and manumitted by the Blackfords, with tools of his trade, including an itemized list of what he would need and the cost. 1 July 1844: John B. Minor, Charlottesville, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Comments on decline of temperance organization in Fredericksburg. 20 July 1844: William M. Blackford to Lucian Minor. Comments on U.S. politics; comparion of English and American literacy and scientific achievement. |
Includes a letter, 1845, about Abraham, who was formerly enslaved by the Blackfords, and a typescript copy of the bill of sale for Peggy [Dean?], an enslaved girl who had been purchased by William Blackford in 1846.
Personal and business correspondence of William Matthews Blackford, Mary Berkeley (Minor) Blackford, and their children, Fredericksburg, Va., and, after 1846, Lynchburg, Va. Much of the material is from diplomats in South America, relating to Blackford's assignment in New Granada. There are also letters from James Buchanan, John Young Mason, and William A. Hunter regarding Blackford's request for back pay. Occasional letters to Mary B. Blackford about the American Colonization Society from E. M. Lyle, New York, N.Y.; G. Wilson McPhail, Fredericksburg, Va.; and W. McLain, Washington, D.C., as well as one from John Payne, Cavalla, Liberia.
Most of the correspondence is between William, Mary, and their children, especially Charles Minor Blackford, Benjamin Lewis Blackford, and Launcelot Minor Blackford, all of whom spent some time at the home of their cousin, Elizabeth G. "Betty" Hill, Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va., and deals with family matters and neighborhood news. In April 1846, William M. Blackford moved to Lynchburg, Va. The rest of the family remained in Fredericksburg until July, so there are some letters from Mary B. Blackford and the children to William M. Blackford. After July 1846, the group contains letters from Mrs. Blackford and the children to her mother, Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor, Fredericksburg, Va., and a few letters to the Blackfords from Minor. The letters from Minor, who was blind, were written by Maria West, a woman enslaved by Minor. West occasionally included personal notes of her own.
Other correspondents include:
Folder 32-35
Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35 |
Correspondence, 1845 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1845-1847" Folder 32-354 January 1845: W. McLain, American Colonization Society, Washington D.C., to Mary B. Blackford. News of Abraham, who was formerly enslaved by the Blackfords, and the colony in Liberia. 30 April 1845: E. M. Lyle, New York, N.Y., to Mary B. Blackford, news of missionary work in Liberia. 28 May 1845: John B. Minor, Charlottesville, Va., to William M. Blackford. Possibility of a job at University of Virginia; writing of a biographical sketch of the Reverend Lancelot Byrd Minor. 11 July 1845: John B. Minor, to William M. Blackford. Objections raised to his appointment as professor of law at the University of Virginia. 29 July 1845: John B. Minor to William M. Blackford, announcing his appointment to chair of law at University of Virginia. 20 November 1845: John Payne, Cavalla Station, Near Cape Palmas, West Africa, to Mary B. Blackford. Reply to her request for a memoir of Lancelot Byrd Minor; description of Minor's work; his dying words. |
Folder 36-37
Folder 36Folder 37 |
Correspondence, 1846 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1845-1847" Folder 36-3711 March 1846: Typescript. Bill of sale for Peggy [Dean?] an enslaved girl who was purchased by William M. Blackford from Henry U. Miatt. |
Folder 38-39
Folder 38Folder 39 |
Correspondence, 1847 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1845-1847" Folder 38-394, 14 January 1847: Julius P. Garesche [Gausche?], Camargo, Mexico, to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg, Va. Army operations in Mexico. 20 January 1847: J. C. Phelps, Camargo, Mexico, to William M. Blackford. Report on Mexican War: the weather, army life, the scenery, the Mexican people. Army life away from the fighting. Phelps and Garesche were in the army, and also served as correspondents for Blackford's paper, the Lynchburg Virginian. |
Includes a letter, 1851, about Minor, who was previously enslaved, manumitted, and sent to Liberia by the Minor family. There are several other letters that represent white people's views on enslaved people in the United States, on native Africans, and on the impact of the institution of slavery (1851, 1852, 1858, 1859, 1860).
Personal correspondence consists chiefly of the Blackford family as the children grew up and moved away from home.
Lucy Landon Blackford married Dr. John Staige Davis in 1847 and moved to Charlottesville, Va., but there are no letters from her in the collection.
William Willis Blackford began working as a civil engineer in 1848. His frequent letters to his family from various places in Virginia describe his work, social life, and living conditions. He also wrote often while he was a student at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, fall 1849-June 1851.
Charles Minor Blackford attended school at Minor's Folly, Louisa Court House, Va., in the spring of 1850, then attended the University of Virginia from the fall of 1850 through 1854. His letters deal with his health, studies, and extracurricular activities, especially his work with the Sons of Temperance. Charles' correspondence becomes more infrequent after he begins practicing law in Lynchburg.
Launcelot Minor Blackford remained in Lynchburg until 1854, when he accepted a teaching job at Powhatan Court House, Va. He entered the University of Virginia in 1856, and remained there until June 1860.
Letters to and from Benjamin Lewis Blackford and Eugene Blackford are infrequent. Lewis was in Jonesborough, Tennessee in 1854 and at the University of Virginia 1856-June 1857. He returned to Lynchburg when he left the University. Eugene attended school at Edgehill, in Albemarle County, Va., in 1854-1855, and the University of Virginia 1857-1859.
Mary Isabella Blackford spent time at Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va.; Edgewood, Hanover County; she attended Southern Female Institute, Richmond, Va., 1857-1858.
Mary B. Blackford made annual visits to friends and relatives in Charlottesville, Edgewood, Mount Airy, and Fredericksburg. In addition, she made longer trips to Philadelphia (October 1853-August 1854) and Florence Water Cure, Northampton, Massachusetts (December 1859-August 1860) for her health.
There are also letters to and from the Blackfords and other relatives and friends. Most of the correspondence deals with family news and neighborhood events--births, deaths, marriages, illnesses, social activities--with some discussion of contemporary politics. As the Civil War approached in the late 1850s, comments on slavery, abolition, and the national political situation became more frequent. Also of note is a letter, 1851, with a description of riots in Lynchburg by Irishmen working on the railroad and canal. Correspondents include:
Folder 40-43
Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43 |
Correspondence, 1848 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 40-4329 February 1848: Julius P. Garesche, Camargo, Mexico, to Mary S. Blackford. Disparaging comments on people of Mexico; "moral debasement" of Americans in Mexico; description of trips through countryside; climate; rumors of peace. |
Folder 44-46
Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46 |
Correspondence, 1849 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 44-464 January 1849: E. G. Hill, Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Personal, family, and neighborhood news; judgmental description of people who converted to Christianity and took the temperance pledge in the local Methodist chapel. 24 February 1849: Charles D. Drake, Washington, D.C., to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg, Va. Speculations on Zachary Taylor's choices for his cabinet. Drake was an employee of Indiana Congressman Caleb W. Smith. 12 March 1849: Helen Guinan, Fredericksburg, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. News of work for colonization in Fredericksburg and nationally; opposition to abolitionists. 18 July 1849: William Cabell Rives, Cobham, Va., to William M. Blackford. His appointment as junior minister to France; problems of negotiating a treaty with the French; portions of this letter are missing. |
Folder 47-50
Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50 |
Correspondence, 1850 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 47-501850: John B. Minor, University of Virginia, to William M. Blackford. His views on slavery and colonization. 1 February 1850: Ramon Leon Sanches, Cartagena, to William M. Blackford. Descriptions of new charge d'affaires, Thomas M. Foote; domestic politics in New Granada; cholera epidemic; apprehension over slavery extension as a divisive issue in the United States. 7 February 1850: Mary B. Blackford to William M. Blackford, Washington, D.C. News of herself and the children; her support of Blackford's proposed move to Cincinnati: "Virginia is a great place to be born in, but not to live in." 11 May 1850: Jeremiah Martin, Washington, D.C., to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg. Announcement of Blackford's appointment as Lynchburg postmaster. 23 August 1850: John B. Minor, University of Virginia to William M. Blackford. University news; comments on sectionalism and his fears of civil strife. 1 December 1850: Lucian Minor, Lochaven, Va., to William M. Blackford. Organization of the Sons of Temperance; opinion on slavery and the Compromise of 1850. |
Folder 51-54
Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54 |
Correspondence, 1851 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 51-547 January 1851: Mary B. Blackford to Matthew Maury. Rough draft of her response to his plan to send enslaved people to the Amazon Valley. 3 October 1851: Benjamin Blackford, Lynchburg, to John A. Blackford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Description of riots in Lynchburg by Irishmen working on the railroad and canal. 17 October 1851: James Cephas Minor, Monrovia, Liberia, to Mary B. Blackford. Personal and family news of Minor, who was enslaved by the Minor family and then freed and sent to Liberia. |
Folder 55-58
Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57Folder 58 |
Correspondence, 1852 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 55-581852: John Payne, Port Conway, Va., to Launcelot M. Blackford, Lynchburg. His work as missionary in Liberia. May, June 1852: "Several Compositions" by Launcelot M. Blackford on varied topics, including health, mathematics, and poetry. Also letters from William M. Blackford at Washington D.C.; Baltimore, Md.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Batavia, N.Y.; and Niagara Falls, N.Y.; describing places he visited and people he met on travels. 1852: James Cephas Minor, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. Description of a shipwreck; comments on Liberian relations with Great Britain and Brazil; and on people native to Africa. |
Folder 59-62
Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
Correspondence, 1853 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 59-6215 January 1853: James C. Minor, Monrovia, Liberia, to John Minor, Fredericksburg, Va. Formation of Masonic Lodge; political news. 18 January 1853: Charles M. Blackford, University of Virginia, to Mary B. Blackford. Possibility of his moving to a free state. 4 May 1853: Charles M. Blackford to Mary B. Blackford. His opinion of Uncle Tom's Cabin. 11 October 1853: James C. Minor, Monrovia, Liberia, to Mary B. Blackford. Political and personal news. |
Folder 63-65
Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65 |
Correspondence, 1854 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 63-651854: The Reverend H. R. Scott, Cavalla, West Africa, to Mary B. Blackford. News of welfare and work of mission. 25 January 1854: John Minor, Fredericksburg, to Launcelot M. Blackford, Powhatan Court House, Va. Growth of Know-Nothingism in Fredericksburg. December 1854: Letters concerning the death of Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor. |
Folder 66-68
Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68 |
Correspondence, 1855 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 66-685 November 1855: John B. Minor, University of Virginia, to Willaim M. Blackford. Comments on Democrats, Fillmore, Freemont; fear of dissolution of Union accompanied by civil war and anarchy. |
| Folder 69 |
Correspondence, 1856 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 69 |
Folder 70-71
Folder 70Folder 71 |
Correspondence, 1857 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 70-71 |
Folder 72-73
Folder 72Folder 73 |
Correspondence, 1858 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 72-738 July 1858: "Copy of Charles Minor's letter to his brother John, containing an account of his brother Lucian's death in Williamsburg" made by Mary B. Blackford for John Minor, Fredericksburg. 21 October 1858: V. M. Randolph, Forkland, Alabama, to Richard Randolph, Zenia, Ohio. Proslavery argument and description of his treatment of the people he enslaved. |
Folder 74-75
Folder 74Folder 75 |
Correspondence, 1859 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 74-751859: Launcelot M. Blackford, University of Virginia, to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg. Death of Lucy Landon (Blackford) Davis. March-April 1859: Scattered correspondence from Whitelaw Reid, Zenia, Ohio; John Minor, Fredericksburg; and V. M. Randolph, Forkland, Alabama, to William M. Blackford, about the life, death, and philosophy of Richard Randolph, a Virginian who manumitted the people he enslaved and then moved to Ohio. 20 November 1859: W. C. Rives, Castle Hill, Va., to William M. Blackford. Comments on his recently published historical work (probably History of the Life and Times of James Madison, v. 1); response to criticism of historian Hugh Blair Grigsby. 25 November 1859: [William M. Blackford] to Launcelot M. Blackford, University of Virginia. "Military spirit" in Lynchburg; drills of Home Guard. 16 December 1859: Mary B. Blackford, Florence Water Cure, near Northampton, Massachusetts, to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg. Description of her journey from Virginia. |
Folder 76-78
Folder 76Folder 77Folder 78 |
Correspondence, 1860 #01912, Subseries: "1848-1860" Folder 76-7815 February 1860: Alex. Hugh Holmes Stuart, Richmond, Va., to William M. Blackford. Reply to Blackford's praise of Stuart's stand on John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry. |
Includes a letter, 1865, from Maria West Campbell, a woman who had been enslaved and manumitted by Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor.
The papers for early 1861 are letters among John Minor, Fredericksburg, Va.; Launcelot M. Blackford, Staunton, Va.; William M. Blackford, Lynchburg, Va.; John B. Minor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.; and V. M. Randolph, Montgomery, Alabama, about secession crisis and preparations for war. Subsequent correspondence for that year consists for the most part of letters from the Blackford sons to their parents and each other about life in the Confederate Army. After 1861, most of the letters are from Benjamin Lewis Blackford to his parents, and shed little light on military affairs and war life. William and Lewis were in the engineering corps; William served from 1861-1863 on the staff of General Jeb. Stuart. Charles served as judge advocate with Longstreet's Corps. Launcelot served first with the Rockbridge Artillery then, after 1863, as clerk of the military court, Longstreet's Corps. Eugene was in the Fifth Alabama Regiment. All five spent most of the war in Virginia. Also occasional correspondence from John Minor, Fredericksburg; John B. Minor, University of Virginia; Mary Trigg (Robertson) Blackford, The Meadows plantation, Abingdon, Va.
Many of the letters from 1862 are faded and virtually illegible.
Folder 79-82
Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82 |
Correspondence, 1861 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1861-1865" Folder 79-8216 April 1861: John B. Minor, University of Virginia, to Mary B. Blackford. On secession crisis; his aversion to both the cotton states and Lincoln; the role of women as moral exemplars in social crises. April-June 1861: Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Richmond; Manassas Junction; Norfolk; to William M. Blackford, and Mary B. Blackford, on army life, rumor of military plans. 4 May 1861: H. Allen Johnson, New York, to William M. Blackford. Trip from Maryland to New York; problem of getting out of the South; troops and military preparations in New York; favorable description of Lincoln by a man from Illinois; mood and views of North regarding secession. 15 May 1861: George W. Bethune, New York, to Mary B. Blackford. Northern response to Fort Sumter; why the North must fight to save the Union. 27 July 1861: William W. Blackford, Fairfax Courthouse, to John M. Minor, Fredericksburg, about the Battle of Manassas. 6, 9 December 1861: Launcelot M. Blackford, Martinsburg, Va., to William M. Blackford and Mary B. Blackford. Detailed description of troop movement and activities. |
| Folder 83 |
Correspondence, 1862 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1861-1865" Folder 8312 July 1862: Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Camp in Chesterfield [Va.?], to Mary B. Blackford. Describes Northern working class view of the war and slavery, based on a number of letters, apparently from Northern workers he came across while doing a survey. He was following immediately behind scenes of battle. 11 August 1862: Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Camp at Port Walthall Junction [Va.?], to William M. Blackford. Description of Jefferson Davis, who he had seen at church recently; army life (diet). |
Folder 84-85
Folder 84Folder 85 |
Correspondence, 1863 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1861-1865" Folder 84-8512 January 1863: Charles M. Blackford, Headquarters, First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, to Mary B. Blackford. Excerpts from his diary, December 1862; description of Battle of Fredericksburg. 23 January 1863: William W. Blackford, near Orange Court House, Va., to William M. Blackford. His regrets at leaving Jeb Stuart's staff. 27 March 1863: John B. Minor, University of Virginia, to William M. Blackford. Life on the home front: price of tobacco, kerosene, bees' wax for candles; investments. 10 July 1863: John B. Minor, University of Virginia, to William M. Blackford. War news; conditions at the University. 5 October 1863: Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Wrightsville, N.C., to Mary B. Blackford. Comments on his work; North Carolina and its people; prices and scarcity. 17 December 1863: Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Camp on Topsail Sound, to Mary B. Blackford. His disgust with Wilmington residents, who have been demoralized by blockade running; description of Kidder family in Wilmington. Much of his subsequent wartime correspondence deals with his ill-fated courtship of Miss Kidder. |
Folder 86-87
Folder 86Folder 87 |
Correspondence, 1864 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1861-1865" Folder 86-87Mostly personal letters from Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Wilmington, Fredericksburg, Richmond. A few letters from Charles M. Blackford, Greenville, Tennessee, and Richmond. Rare letters from Launcelot M. Blackford and William W. Blackford in Virginia. Undated poem, "The Battle of the Cows: A True Story of the War," about Hunter's raid into Virginia during the summer of 1864; probably written by Mary Isabella Blackford. |
| Folder 88 |
Correspondence, 1865 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1861-1865" Folder 881865: Mary Isabella Blackford married Churchill Cooke on 15 March 1865, and subsequently there are frequent letters from her at her husband's plantations, Dewberry and Foxleigh, to her mother in Lynchburg. 11 June 1865: Charles M. Blackford, Lynchburg, to Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Richmond. His financial losses because of the war. 15 June 1865: William W. Blackford, Abingdon, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Description of his daily routine; problems with robbers and freedmen. 27 August 1865: Launcelot M. Blackford, Lynchburg, to Benjamin Lewis Blackford, Richmond, persuading him to emigrate to Brazil or Mexico. 1 November 1865: Maria West Campbell, Staunton, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Personal; inquiry about Mrs. Blackford's sons. Maria West Campbell was previously enslaved by Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor, but had been freed long before the war. 14 November 1865: R. R. Gurley, York, Pennsylvania, to Mary B. Blackford. News of Liberia; hopes that people emancipated from slavery in the United States would settle there. |
Includes a few examples of white people's views of Black and North American Indian people. A letter, 1866, written by William W. Blackford, relates his problems with obtaining employees, presumably Black people, to work in the house, and his perceptions of thievery among Black and white people. The letter also expresses his racist assessments of freedmen. In letters, 1879, M. Payne describes her experiences teaching Black children and William Davis writes about the Sioux Indians. Lastly, a letter, 1883, describes an incident of racist violence against Black people in Danville, Va.
Also of note is a copy of a letter taken from the body of Dr. Ambler, the last survivor of the ill-fated U.S. S. Jeanette. The letter includes his last messages to his family and a description of the hardships he is suffering. Dr. Ambler was part of the U.S. Arctic Expedition that sought to reach the North Pole by setting a route from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait. The ship became trapped by ice and drifted for two years before survivors reached land and were rescued in Siberia.
Letters to Mary B. Blackford, Lynchburg, 1866-1870, and Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va., 1871-1892, from her children, grandchildren, other relatives and friends. The correspondence is personal, dealing with daily activities, news of friends and family. Most frequent are letters from Mary Isabella (Blackford) Cooke, writing from Dewberry and Foxleigh plantations of her domestic routine and news of her husband and children.
Other correspondents include:
There are also occasional letters to Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford, from relatives and scattered correspondence of Launcelot M. Blackford, Alexandria, Va., both personal and related to his job as principal of Episcopal High School, including letters from Col. L. Hoxton, Baltimore, Md., 1871; Richard L. Maury, Lexington, Va.; James C. Stansbury, Baltimore, Md., 1872-1873.
Folder 89-90
Folder 89Folder 90 |
Correspondence, 1866 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 89-9014 January 1866: William W. Blackford, Somerset, Va., to Mary B. Blackford, Lynchburg. Problems with obtaining employees to work in the house; perceptions of idleness of freedmen and thievery among Blacks and whites; personal and family news. 14 June 1866: W. McLain, Washington, D.C., to Mary B. Blackford. Death of a Liberian leader. |
| Folder 91 |
Correspondence, 1867-1870 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 91 |
| Folder 92 |
Correspondence, 1871 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 92 |
Folder 93-94
Folder 93Folder 94 |
Correspondence, 1872 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 93-94 |
Folder 95-97
Folder 95Folder 96Folder 97 |
Correspondence, 1873 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 95-9714 April 1873: William W. Blackford, Powhatan Plantation, near Tigerville, Louisiana, to Sue Colston Blackford, Lynchburg. His experiments with white, French-speaking tenant farmers on his plantation. |
Folder 98-99
Folder 98Folder 99 |
Correspondence, 1874 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 98-9919, 29 April 1874: William W. Blackford, Powhatan Plantation, near Tigerville, Louisiana, to [?] and Mary B. Blackford. About the flood that ruined his plantation and sugar crop. |
Folder 100-101
Folder 100Folder 101 |
Correspondence, 1875 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 100-101 |
Folder 102-103
Folder 102Folder 103 |
Correspondence, 1876 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 102-103 |
Folder 104-105
Folder 104Folder 105 |
Correspondence, 1877 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 104-105 |
| Folder 106 |
Correspondence, 1878 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 106 |
Folder 107-110
Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109Folder 110 |
Correspondence, 1879 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 107-1101879: William Davis, Fort Totten, Dakota Territory to Mary B. Blackford, Alexandria, Va. His experiences with Sioux Indians in the West. 6 May 1879: M. Payne, Petersburg, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Her experiences with teaching Black children. 1879: Charles S. Minor, Paris, France, to Mary B. Blackford. His impressions of France and the French, including sketches of French clothing. |
Folder 111-113
Folder 111Folder 112Folder 113 |
Correspondence, 1880 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 111-113 |
Folder 114-117
Folder 114Folder 115Folder 116Folder 117 |
Correspondence, 1881 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 114-11720 October 1881: J. M. Ambler to Edward Ambler. Copy of letter "taken from the body of Dr. Ambler, the last survivor of the ill-fated U.S. S. Jeanette." Last messages to his family; description of the hardships he is suffering. Dr. Ambler was part of the U.S. Arctic Expedition that sought to reach the North Pole by setting a route from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait. The ship became trapped by ice and drifted for two years before survivors reached land and were rescued in Siberia. 20 November 1881: Charles M. Blackford, Lynchburg, to his son, Charles. Explanation of the state debt. |
Folder 118-120
Folder 118Folder 119Folder 120 |
Correspondence, 1882 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 118-120 |
Folder 121-123
Folder 121Folder 122Folder 123 |
Correspondence, 1883 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 121-1231883: James P. Harrison, Danville, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Description of racist violence against Black people in Danville. |
Folder 124-127
Folder 124Folder 125Folder 126Folder 127 |
Correspondence, 1884 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 124-127 |
Folder 128-129
Folder 128Folder 129 |
Correspondence, 1885 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 128-129 |
| Folder 130 |
Correspondence, 1886-1892 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1866-1892" Folder 130 |
Correspondence of Launcelot M. Blackford and his wife, Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford. During this period Blackford went to Europe several times, visiting London; Mainx; Chavenna, Switzerland; Paris; Leamington Spa, England; Melrose, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Durham, England; and York, England. He wrote descriptions of his travels to his wife, who remained in Virginia, at the Episcopal High School, Alexandria, and occasionally, Orkney Springs, and Parkersburg, West Virginia. Her infrequent letters to him describe events at home.
| Folder 131 |
Correspondence, 1893-1899 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1893-1905" Folder 13123 March 1896: Circular to descendants of George Mason asking for contributions to erect a monument on Mason's grave. |
| Folder 132 |
Correspondence, 1901-1902 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1893-1905" Folder 132 |
| Folder 133 |
Correspondence, 1903-1905 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1893-1905" Folder 133 |
Correspondence of Launcelot Minor Blackford, Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford, and their son, Randolph Fairfax Blackford, containing personal news of family and friends. Between 1909 and 1914, letters are primarily from Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford, Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va., to Randolph Fiarfax Blackford, Rockville, Md.; Ivy Depot, [Va.?]; and University of Virginia, Charlottesville, containing family news and news of life at the high school.
From 1915 to 1916, significant correspondents include Eliza C. A. Blackford, Charlottesville, Va.; Randolph F. Blackford, Fargo, North Dakota; Grand Forks, North Dakota; and Minnewauken, North Dakota; Ambler Blackford, Columbia, Va.; Virginia Mason, Charlottesville, Va.; and John Minor Blackford, Seattle, Washington. Both Randolph F. Blackford and Ambler Blackford were Episcopal ministers. A few of their letters to their mother, Eliza C. A. Blackford, and to each other, discuss their ministries, especially Ambler's work with a newly-formed Boy Scout troop
From 1917 to 1919, the chief correspondent is Eliza C. A. Blackford, Charlottesville, Va. Her correspondence includes Randolph F. Blackford's letters to her from France, where he served with the American Expeditionary Force.
From 1920 to 1932, chief correspondents are Eliza C. A. Blackford, Charlottesville, Va., and Randolph F. Blackford, Hartsville, S.C. (1920); Sewannee, Tenn. (1922); Panama City, Fla. (1926-1930); Leesburg, Fla., (1931-1932). Correspondence in late 1932 is chiefly among Randolph F. Blackford and his brothers, Dr. Staige D. Blackford, University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Ambler M. Blackford, Tallahassee, Fla.; and L. Minor Blackford. The brothers discussed future living arrangements for their mother, Eliza C. A. Blackford.
| Folder 134 |
Correspondence, 1906-1907 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 134 |
| Folder 135 |
Correspondence, 1908-1909 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 135August, September 1908: Letters from Launcelot M. Blackford and Eliza Chew (Ambler) Blackford on a trip to England, to their children, Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va. 18 November 1908: Walter A. Montgomery, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. Announcement of Blackford's election to Phi Beta Kappa. 28 December 1908: Invitation to a dance at the White House, addressed to Randolph Fairfax Blackford. |
Folder 136-137
Folder 136Folder 137 |
Correspondence, 1910 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 136-137November, December 1910: Material relating to Randolph Fairfax Blackford's unsuccessful application for a Rhodes Scholarship. |
| Folder 138 |
Correspondence, 1911-1914 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 138 |
Folder 139-141
Folder 139Folder 140Folder 141 |
Correspondence, 1915 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 139-1417 February 1915: Harrold S. Shipps, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, to Eliza C. A. Blackford, praising evangelist Billy Sunday. |
Folder 142-143
Folder 142Folder 143 |
Correspondence, 1916 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 142-143 |
| Folder 144 |
Correspondence, 1917-1919 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 1448 March 1918: (illegible), Wuchang, China, to Eliza C. A. Blackford. Writer, a former Episcopal High School student, describes unsettled conditions in China. |
| Folder 145 |
Correspondence, 1920-1926 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 145 |
| Folder 146 |
Correspondence, 1927-1931 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 146 |
| Folder 147 |
Correspondence, 1932 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1906-1932" Folder 147 |
Miscellaneous correspondence of Randolph F. Blackford, Leesburg, Fla.; Homestead, Fla.; and Thomasville, Georgia. Primarily concerning Blackford genealogy and family papers.
| Folder 148 |
Correspondence, 1936-1953 #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1936-1953" Folder 148November 1939: Several items relating to Randolph F. Blackford's taking an army extension course on Practical Duties of Chaplains. |
Folder 149-153
Folder 149Folder 150Folder 151Folder 152Folder 153 |
Correspondence, Undated #01912, Subseries: "Correspondence, 1936-1953" Folder 149-153 |
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Subseries 1.2. Pamphlets.
| Folder 154 |
Pamphlets #01912, Subseries: "1.2. Pamphlets." Folder 1547 November 1864: "Message of the President to the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America." 30 May 1893: "'He Comes Again' Lines by a daughter of Virginia, Upon the Arrival of the Remains of Jefferson Davis at Richmond, May 30, 1893," by Lucy Ambler Mason. Undated: "A New Sir Lancelot," by Julia C. Emery. Biographical sketch of the Reverend Lancelot Byrd Minor, missionary to Liberia. Undated: "The Honor Roll. Names of Students Who Were Killed, Died, or Lost in Actual Military Service of the Confederacy." 1850(?)-1855: Small account book, listing amounts of money Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor paid her grandchildren for memorizing Bible verses. |
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Subseries 1.3. Genealogy.
Genealogical information on the Blackford, Ambler, Carew (Carey), and Johnston families. Notes on genealogy of several original Massachusetts Bay families, including Brewster, DeWolfe, Lloyd, Richardson, Robins, Tilghman and Young. Handwritten obituary of Mrs. James Murray Mason, died 14 February 1874. Scrapbook is microfilm only (M-1912/1).
| Folder 155 |
Genealogy #01912, Subseries: "1.3. Genealogy." Folder 155 |
Reel M-1912/1-2
M-1912/1M-1912/2 |
Scrapbook #01912, Subseries: "1.3. Genealogy." Reel M-1912/1-2Microfilm. |
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Subseries 1.4. Belles-Lettres.
Miscellaneous essays, short stories, and poems, most undated, by William W. Blackford, Randolph F. Blackford, and others. Several of the items are unsigned. Typescripts of short works by Jefferson Davis, Col. Shippen, and Clara Minor Lynn. An undated, handwritten booklet of advice to a newly-married woman.
Folder 156-157
Folder 156Folder 157 |
Belles-Lettres #01912, Subseries: "1.4. Belles-Lettres." Folder 156-157 |
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Subseries 1.5. Miscellaneous and Pictures.
Unidentified photographs; crochet patterns; bookmarks.
| Folder 158 |
Miscelleaneous #01912, Subseries: "1.5. Miscellaneous and Pictures." Folder 158 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/1 |
Randolph Fairfax Blackford, Mrs. J. Ambler Blackford, and John Minor Blackford, 1915, 1921, and undated #01912, Subseries: "1.5. Miscellaneous and Pictures." PF-1912/16 images. Black-and-white prints.
|
| Image Folder PF-1912/2 |
Portraits, undated #01912, Subseries: "1.5. Miscellaneous and Pictures." PF-1912/23 images. Black-and-white prints.
|
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Subseries 1.6. Newspaper Clippings.
Assorted clippings, including obituaries, related to the Blackford, Minor, Mason, and Ambler families.
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Subseries 1.7. Southern Churchman Letters.
Letters and articles written by Launcelot M. Blackford for the Southern Churchman, 1888-1903. Most are letters written from England and Europe describing his travels.
Folder 160-161
Folder 160Folder 161 |
Southern Churchman Letters #01912, Subseries: "1.7. Southern Churchman Letters." Folder 160-16113 August 1888: London 16 August 1888: London 20 August 1888: Dorchester, Oxon 25 August 1888: New Quay, Cornwall 31 August 1888: London 14 August 1889: London 19 August 1889: London 26 August 1889: London 30 August 1889: London 6 August 1891: London 7 August 1891: London 11 August 1891: London 21 August 1891: London 15 August 1892: London 20 August 1892: The Hague 25 August 1892: Brussels 7 August 1899: London 8 August 1899: London 16 August 1899: London (3 letters) 1 August 1900: Antwerp 3 August 1900: Munich 6 August 1900: Munich 25 March 1901: (article) 5 August 1901: London 12 August 1901: Bellonzono, Switzerland 19 August 1901: Bale 28 September 1901: (article) 23 March 1903: Obituary for Charles M. Blackford 5 August 1903: Paris 2 August 1903: Paris 20 August 1903: London 21 August 1903: London |
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Subseries 1.8. Volumes.
| Folder 162 |
Volume 1: Recipes in the Culinary Art, Together with Hints on Housewifery & c. Lynchburg: Blackford and Bro., First American Edition, 1852. Copyright by Launcelot Minor Blackford. #01912, Subseries: "1.8. Volumes." Folder 162Handwritten. Illustrated. Described in the introduction as an "intellectual pantry," the book contains recipes for cakes, breads, meats, vegetables, and wines, interspersed with poems and sayings. Includes typescript transcription. |
| Folder 163 |
Volume 2: "Oblation," 1 September 1882-31 August 1882 #01912, Subseries: "1.8. Volumes." Folder 163Launcelot M. Blackford's account book, listing debits and credits with notes about how money was spent, financial matters. |
| Folder 164 |
Volume 3: "Alumni Bulletin of the University of Virginia," Third Series, volume VII:2, October 1914 #01912, Subseries: "1.8. Volumes." Folder 164Contains biographical sketch of Launcelot Minor Blackford. |
| Folder 165 |
Volume 4: "Sample Book of Saint John's Episcopal Church. Homestead, Fla. to assist he(sic) salesman in selling the Church to its members," 22 November 1940 #01912, Subseries: "1.8. Volumes." Folder 165Includes letter from Randolph F. Blackford, Rector; picture of the church; history of the church; information on marriages, confirmations, transfers, within the past year; picture of choir; future plans; 1941 budget. Typescript. |
| Folder 166 |
Volume 5: "Blackford Family History," 1661-1899, 1900 #01912, Subseries: "1.8. Volumes." Folder 166Family record compiled by William Willis Blackford (1831-1905). Contains genealogical data, along with biographical and personal data concerning members of the Blackford family. Typescript copy. |
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Subseries 1.9. Photocopies.
| Folder 167 |
Photocopies (miscellaneous items) #01912, Subseries: "1.9. Photocopies." Folder 167Undated: "Old Bar" by George Kennedy: 22 typed pages: concerning Launcelot M. Blackford and other members of the family. 13 February 1948: Letter from Dr. L. M. Blackford to George Kennedy, c/o The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., concerning the above named article. 21 June 1966: Brief record of Thomas T. Blackford (1794-1863) from Dickinson College, Pennsylvania. Undated: Clipping from Scientific American: communication from William W. Blackford on aerial navigation, undated. |
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Series 2A. Additions.
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Subseries 2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 94030 and 94163
| Folder 168 |
Volume 6: Letters of Lancelot Minor Blackford #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." Folder 168Typed transcription of letters of Lancelot Minor Blackford (1837-1914), chiefly to family members. Letters dated 1855-1860 are from Blackford while he was a student at the University of Virginia. The transcriptions were made by Blackford's son L. Minor Blackford Jr., and bound into a volume called "Father's Letters, 1844-1859." |
Folder 169-170
Folder 169Folder 170 |
Volumes 7-8: Travel letters of Lancelot Minor Blackford #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." Folder 169-170Printed copies of travel letters of Lancelot Minor Blackford on trips to Great Britain, Europe, and Russia, 1880-1883. Some (perhaps all) of the clippings are from Southern Churchman of Richmond, Va. |
| Folder 171 |
"The True Gentleman," 1890s #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." Folder 171Partial typed copy of essay on Episcopal High School of Virginia letterhead, L. M. Blackford, principal. |
Folder 172-176
Folder 172Folder 173Folder 174Folder 175Folder 176 |
Miscellaneous Blackford documents #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." Folder 172-176Photocopies of family documents, including writings by L. M. Blackford, letters to and from family members, pictures, clippings, and other items, compiled by the donor. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/3 |
Peggy Dean, Launcelot Blackford Minor and family, circa 1896-1939 #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." PF-1912/36 images. Black-and-white copy prints. Peggy Dean was a woman formerly enslaved by the Blackford family. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/4 |
Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford and family, Charles Minor Blackford, and Peggy Dean #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." PF-1912/44 images. Black-and-white copy prints. Peggy Dean was a woman formerly enslaved by the Blackford family. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/5 |
Portraits, undated #01912, Subseries: "2.1A. Papers and Photographs, 1844-1883 (Additions of 1994)." PF-1912/515 images. Black-and-white prints. |
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Subseries 2.2A. Photographs, circa 1850 (Addition of 1997).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96193
Two daguerrotypes and 3 photographs of the daguerrotypes of Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896).
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/1 |
Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896) #01912, Subseries: "2.2A. Photographs, circa 1850 (Addition of 1997)." SF-P-1912/11 image. Daguerreotype. |
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/2 |
Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896) #01912, Subseries: "2.2A. Photographs, circa 1850 (Addition of 1997)." SF-P-1912/21 image. Daguerreotype. |
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/3 |
Unidentified man #01912, Subseries: "2.2A. Photographs, circa 1850 (Addition of 1997)." SF-P-1912/31 image. Ambrotype. |
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Subseries 2.3A. Genealogical Papers, 1798-1836 (Addition of April 2003).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 99500
Photocopies and typed transcription of Blackford family records from the 1798 Bible of Benjamin Blackford. Recorded are places and dates of births or deaths of family members and of Black children who were enslaved by the family.
| Folder 177 |
Photocopies and transcriptions of Blackford family papers, 1798-1836 #01912, Subseries: "2.3A. Genealogical Papers, 1798-1836 (Addition of April 2003)." Folder 177 |
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Subseries 2.4A. Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey Family History and Genealogy Papers (Addition
of August 2015).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 102302
The family history files of Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey (1922-2015) contain biographical and historical information about Blackford family members and other relatives including members of the Ambler, Chew, Mason, Minor, and Mann families. Correspondence between family members, clippings, transcriptions and copies of historical documents, family charts, photographs, memoirs, reminiscences, and other narratives comprise the bulk of the files. Also included are some original eighteenth and nineteenth-century documents, most of which are found in an autograph scrapbook kept by Launcelot Minor Blackford (1837-1914). A small photograph of Peggy Dean, a Black woman who had been enslaved by the Blackfords, is accompanied by a contemporary copy of the bill of sale when the Blackfords purchased her.
| Folder 183 |
Clippings #01912, Subseries: " Ambler, John " Folder 183 |
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/4 |
James Ambler #01912, Subseries: " Ambler, John " SF-P-1912/41 image. Ambrotype. |
| Folder 184 |
Correspondence, clippings, and census information #01912, Subseries: " "Beppy" " Folder 184 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/6 |
Wedding, 1992 #01912, Subseries: " "Beppy" " PF-1912/63 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 189 |
Letters exchanged between Charles Minor Blackford, III., and Launcelot Minor Blackford, 1947-1948 #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Charles Minor, III " Folder 189 |
| Folder 190 |
Letters exchanged between Charles Minor Blackford, III., and Launcelot Minor Blackford, 1952-1955 #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Charles Minor, III " Folder 190Also includes a 1985 letter from Louise Blackford to Staige Blackford. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/18 |
Charles Minor Blackford House #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Charles Minor, III " PF-1912/182 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 191 |
Family charts and clippings #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Elizabeth Mann " Folder 191 |
| Folder 192 |
"Crumbs of Memory, From Life in the Eighties," by Anonymous #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Elizabeth Mann " Folder 192 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/19 |
Elizabeth Mann Blackford and family, undated #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Elizabeth Mann " PF-1912/193 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/20 |
Family, undated #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Elizabeth Mann " PF-1912/201 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/21 |
House and snow, undated #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, Elizabeth Mann " PF-1912/214 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Washington state.
| Photograph Album PA-1912/1 |
Original Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album : "JMB Trip," 1919 " PA-1912/1 |
| DF-1912/1 |
Digitized Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album : "JMB Trip," 1919 " DF-1912/1PDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Photograph Album PA-1912/2 |
Original Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Seattle 1930s-1940s"" PA-1912/2 |
| DF-1912/2 |
Digitized Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Seattle 1930s-1940s"" DF-1912/2PDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Photograph Album PA-1912/3 |
Original Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Seattle 1937-'42" " PA-1912/3 |
| DF-1912/3 |
Digitized Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Seattle 1937-'42" " DF-1912/3PDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Folder 252 |
"Uncle William's Account of The Blackford Family #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, William Willis " Folder 252 |
| Folder 253 |
Miscellaneous #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, William Willis " Folder 253Includes a copy of a certificate of membership to the Huguenot Society of South Carolina. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/68 |
William Willis Blackford and Frank Robertson, undated #01912, Subseries: " Blackford, William Willis " PF-1912/682 images. Black-and-white copy prints. |
| Folder 254 |
Miscellaneous #01912, Subseries: " Chew family " Folder 254Includes family charts and a narrative titled "'Cliveden' Ancestral Home of Benjamin Chew." |
| Folder 255 |
Contemporary copy of bill of sale for Peggy Dean, a woman enslaved by the Blackfords, 1846 #01912, Subseries: " Dean, Peggy " Folder 255 |
| Folder 256 |
Estate papers, 1910 #01912, Subseries: " Dean, Peggy " Folder 256 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/69 |
Peggy Dean, undated #01912, Subseries: " Dean, Peggy " PF-1912/691 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 257 |
Correspondence concerning the Blackford diaries #01912, Subseries: " King, Wilma " Folder 257 |
| Photograph Album PA-1912/4 |
Original Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Manns-Blackfords, 1900s" " PA-1912/4 |
| DF-1912/4 |
Digitized Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album: "Manns-Blackfords, 1900s" " DF-1912/4PDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Folder 261 |
Clippings #01912, Subseries: " Mann family " Folder 261 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/75 |
Lizzie Jackson Mann, William Mann, and others, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann family " PF-1912/754 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/76 |
Gravestone and portraits of William Jackson Mann, Rev. Armistead Smith, and Martha Smith, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann family " PF-1912/764 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/77 |
Portraits #01912, Subseries: " Mann family " PF-1912/772 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/78 |
Gravestones, 1996 #01912, Subseries: " Mann family " PF-1912/787 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 262 |
Family charts and clippin #01912, Subseries: " Mann and Fontaine families " Folder 262 |
| Folder 263 |
"Genealogy of the Fontaine and Minor Families," 1940 #01912, Subseries: " Mann and Fontaine families " Folder 263Compiled by Louise Niemeyer Fontaine. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/79 |
Gravestones, 1996 #01912, Subseries: " Mann and Fontaine families " PF-1912/798 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 264 |
Family charts, clippings, and correspondence #01912, Subseries: " Mann, George " Folder 264 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/80 |
Gravestones and silhouette portraits of Harriet Mann, George Edward Mann, Jr., and Colonel Henry Mann, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann, George " PF-1912/805 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 265 |
Correspondence and clippings #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " Folder 265 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/81 |
Glen Roy, Md., 1923 #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " PF-1912/812 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/82 |
Betsy Supplee and Sally Bruce Supplee, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " PF-1912/822 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/83 |
Miscellaneous, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " PF-1912/832 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/84 |
Groups, 1970-1976 #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " PF-1912/844 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/85 |
Bruce Mann, Bill Mann, Richard Mann, and other school children. #01912, Subseries: " Mann, Thomas Armistead " PF-1912/856 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 266a |
Family charts, clippings, and copies of family bible records #01912, Subseries: " Mann, William Jackson " Folder 266a |
| Folder 266b |
"The Hill Near Upperville Virginia: A Few Reminiscences of the Civil War by W.J. Mann, 2 March 1919" #01912, Subseries: " Mann, William Jackson " Folder 266b |
| Image Folder PF-1912/86 |
Stained glass window, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann, William Jackson " PF-1912/861 image. Color print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/87 |
Interior of home, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mann, William Jackson " PF-1912/871 image. Color print. |
| Folder 269-270 |
Correspondence, clippings, and copy of "A Declaration of Rights" #01912, Subseries: " Mason, George " Folder 269-270 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/88 |
Exhibition George Mason, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mason, George " PF-1912/882 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/89 |
Portrait of George Mason, undated #01912, Subseries: " Mason, George " PF-1912/891 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 271 |
"The Recollections of John Mason" #01912, Subseries: " Mason, John " Folder 271 |
| Folder 272 |
Family records and material related to the Colonial Dames of America #01912, Subseries: " Mason, John " Folder 272 |
| Folder 273 |
Clippings and miscellaneous #01912, Subseries: " Mason, John " Folder 273Includes a narrative about the Murray family. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/90 |
John Mason and unidentified woman, circa 1910 #01912, Subseries: " Mason, John " PF-1912/902 images. Black-and-white prints. |
"Sally Bruce Blackford's prep school Vancouver Island, Canada 1930s."
| Photograph Album PA-1912/5 |
Original Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album : "Stathcona" " PA-1912/5 |
| DF-1912/5 |
Digitized Album #01912, Subseries: "Photograph album : "Stathcona" " DF-1912/5PDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Folder 279-280 |
Publications and genealogical information #01912, Subseries: " Minor family" Folder 279-280Publications include "Launcelot Minor: Pioneer Missionary in Liberia," by Maria Minor (1960) and "The Great John B. Minor and His Cousin Mary Face the War: Correspondence between the Professor of Law and the Lynchburg Blackfords, 1860-1864," by L. Minor Blackford (1953). |
| Folder 283 |
Obituary, 1935 #01912, Subseries: " Minor, Robert Berkely " Folder 283 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/108 |
Robert Berkeley Minor, undated #01912, Subseries: " Minor, Robert Berkely " PF-1912/1081 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 290 |
Clippings, publications, and narratives #01912, Subseries: " Seddon family " Folder 290Includes "Unwritten history after the Civil War concerning the arrest and imprisonment of the Honorable James A. Seddon, Secretary of War of the Confederate States." |
| Image Folder PF-1912/121 |
Gravestones and portraits of Thomas Seddon and Susan Pearson Alexander Seddon, undated #01912, Subseries: " Seddon family " PF-1912/1214 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 291-292 |
Publications, clippings, and genealogical information #01912, Subseries: " Smith, Armistead " Folder 291-292Includes information about families' coats of arms. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/122 |
Portraits of Thomas Armistead Smith and gravestones, undated #01912, Subseries: " Smith, Armistead " PF-1912/1224 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 293-295 |
Correspondence and genealogical information #01912, Subseries: " Smith, Lloyd" Folder 293-295 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/123 |
Portrait of John Murray, undated #01912, Subseries: " Smith, Lloyd" PF-1912/1231 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 296-297 |
Correspondence and genealogical information #01912, Subseries: " Smith, William Patterson " Folder 296-297 |
| Folder 298 |
"Airville: A Gloucester County, Virginia, Plantation," 1992-1993 #01912, Subseries: " Smith, William Patterson " Folder 298Written by Nancy Carter Crump. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/124 |
Glen Roy, 1975 and undated #01912, Subseries: " Smith, William Patterson " PF-1912/1247 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/125 |
Portrait of William Patterson Smith, undated #01912, Subseries: " Smith, William Patterson " PF-1912/1251 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/126 |
Gravestones, undated #01912, Subseries: " Smith, William Patterson " PF-1912/1264 images. Black-and-white prints. |
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Subseries 2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103280
| Folder 178 |
"Lee Campaigns In and Around Fredericksburg," 1937 #01912, Subseries: "2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017)." Folder 178"Lecture prepared to be delivered before Reserve Officers Association in Orlando, Fla. October 1937, by Lt. R.F. Blackford, Chap., 325th Inf." Also includes handwritten notes, a 1965 clipping from Virginia Cavalcade, and a printed map of eastern Virginia. |
| Folder 179 |
Photographic copy of bill of sale for and image of Peggy Dean, a woman enslaved by the Blackfords #01912, Subseries: "2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017)." Folder 179Peggy Dean worked for the Blackford family in Lynchburg and Alexandria. She died in 1910. |
Photographic prints of letters and documents dated 1775-1846 #01912, Subseries: "2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017)." Folder 179"Copies of LMB I's Autog[raph] Collection. Some sold by LMB II, some at U.V.A." Includes photographic copies of letters written by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. |
|
| Folder 180 |
Transcriptions of selected Blackford family letters dated 1775-1864 #01912, Subseries: "2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017)." Folder 180 |
| Folder 181 |
Scrapbook on the Civil War, circa 1862-1914 #01912, Subseries: "2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017)." Folder 181Scrapbook contains scattered, contemporaneous documents from the Civil War era, clippings, letters, photographs, and a typescript reminiscence titled "Personal Recollections of Lee's Surrender at Appomattox" by J.M. Brown. The typescript has a swatch of red cloth attached with a note "Portion of Battle Flag of Rockbridge Artillery, CSA 1861-5." Also included is a 9 April 1913 letter (on stationary for the John B. Hood Camp 103 of the United Confederate Veterans) that Brown wrote to L. M. Blackford. "I am sending with this just a little piece of our old Flag." |
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Items Separated
Processed by: SHC Staff, 1979, 1997
Encoded by: Margaret Dickson, March 2006
Updated by: Jackie Dean, October 2017; Laura Hart, December 2017, January 2018, and May 2018.
Conscious Editing Work by Nancy Kaiser, October 2020. Updated abstract, subject headings, biographical note, scope content note, and container list.
Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.
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