]
]
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.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 11.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6000 items) |
| Abstract | Blackford Family Papers document members of the Blackford and Minor families of Virginia, as well as some of the people who were enslaved and manumitted by them. Correspondence consists chiefly of three generations of personal letters containing news of family and friends, but it is also a rich source for their perspectives on politics, slavery, abolition, race, and other topics; correspondence of Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896) with the American Colonization Society and missionaries in Liberia; diplomatic and personal correspondence 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 Confederate Army during the American Civil War and in the armed services in both the First and Second World Wars. There are also a few letters written by enslaved, or formerly enslaved people. Other materials include 2 lists of enslaved people; diaries; photograph albums; the 1852 manuscript "Recipes in the Culinary Art Together with Hints on Housewifery &c."; and family history and genealogical files containing correspondence between family members, clippings, transcriptions and copies of historical documents, family charts, photographs, memoirs, reminiscences, and other narratives. Other items of note are a bill of sale, photograph, and estate papers for Peggy Dean, who was enslaved and later manumitted by the Blackfords; 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. The Ambler, Byrd, Grey, Jacquelin, McClatchey, Mason, Morris, Washington, and Willis families are also represented in the collection, as are several plantations in eastern Virginia and near Tigerville, Louisiana. |
| Creator | Blackford (Family : Blackford, Mary Berkeley Minor, 1802-1896) |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Processing Information
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; Davia Webb and Dawne Howard Lucas, March 2023
Conscious Editing Work by Nancy Kaiser, October 2020 and December 2023. 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.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
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.
Expand/collapse
Related Collections
Expand/collapse
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 Virginia family that was 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. In the early 1840s William sought an appointment as naval agent in Washington, D.C., but instead 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. Mary and the other children stayed behind. While in New Granada, Blackford contributed to 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 returned to Fredericksburg in February 1845, eventually gaining 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.
Lucy Landon was born 6 November 1826. 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. In 1856, he married Mary Trigg Robertson (1835-1866), daughter of former Governor Wyndham Robertson. From June 1861 to 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. William and Mary Trigg (Robertson) Blackford had four children: Lizzie Robertson (b. 1856); Wyndham; Pelham; and Gay Robertson (b. 1866?). William Willis Blackford died of apoplexy 1 May 1905.
Charles Minor "Charley" Blackford was born 17 October 1833. As a child he lived for a while with Elizabeth G. "Cousin Betty", 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 George Mason, in 1884. Many of her letters are in the collection, as well as some material relating to George Mason and his descendants. Launcelot and Eliza had six children: John Minor (1887-1945), a doctor in Seattle, Washington; Ambler (b. 1888), an Episcopal minister in Virginia and South Carolina; Randolph Fairfax (b. 1890), an 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), a teacher of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; and Staige Davis (1898-1949), a 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).
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The collection consists of correspondence and other papers that document three generations of the Blackford family and several people who were enslaved and later manumitted 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 relatives and friends, but it also is a rich source for their perspectives on politics, slavery, abolition, race, and other topics.
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 and resettlement 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, including a few letters from missionaries in Liberia.
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 increases, giving news of themselves, their families, and their neighbors. There is scattered correspondence of Mary Blackford's mother, Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor, of Fredericksburg, Va. Also of note are an 1831 letter voicing fear of a large-scale insurrection by enslaved people; an 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; and 1839 issues of 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 slavery, and comments on politics both in the United States and New Granada. 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 afterward. During this period there is also scattered personal correspondence of Mary Blackford with friends and relatives in Virginia and elsewhere. Topics include antislavery views in Richmond, Va., and opposition to the annexation of Texas as a proslavery plot to enable the South to secede (1844). Also of note is an 1844 letter mentioning Abram, who had been enslaved, manumitted, and outfitted with tools by the family.
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. Of note are letters in 1846-1847 from Maria West, who at the time was an enslaved caretaker and scribe for Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor who was blind. Maria West was manumitted later by Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor.
As the American Civil War approached in the late 1850s, discussions of slavery, abolition, and the national political situation became more frequent. Other related topics include Charles Blackford's opinion of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1853 and reaction in 1860 to John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry.
During this period Mary Blackford continued to receive occasional correspondence about American Colonization Society activities, including a few letters from missionaries, sometimes mentioning formerly enslaved people who had resettled in Liberia: Abraham, who was enslaved, manumitted, and sent to Liberia by the Blackfords; and Minor, who was enslaved, manumitted, and sent to Liberia by the Minor family. 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. Other topics include perceptions of problems with freed people, news of Liberia, and the possibility that people who had been emancipated from slavery in the United States would resettle in Africa.
Most of the material from 1866 to 1892 consists of letters to Mary Blackford, Lynchburg, Va., 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. Other Reconstruction era topics include perceptions of crime and problems with freed people in 1866 and an incident of racist violence against Black people in Danville, Va., in 1883.
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 chronological grouping, 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; photographs of family members and Peggy Dean, who had been enslaved by the Blackfords; and letters and articles written by Launcelot M. Blackford for the Southern Churchman, 1888-1903.
The volumes include an account book, 1850-1855; the 1852 manuscript "Recipes in the Culinary Art Together with Hints on Housewifery &c.""; a University of Virginia alumni bulletin, 1914; and a "Sample Book" from Saint John's Episcopal Church, Homestead, Fla., 1940.
The additions consist chiefly of family history and genealogical files containing correspondence between family members, clippings, transcriptions and copies of historical documents, family charts, photographs, memoirs, reminiscences, and other narratives. Of note are a transcription of an 1858 list of enslaved people; a bill of sale, photograph, and the estate papers of Peggy Dean, who had been enslaved and manumitted by the Blackford family; and a photocopy and typed transcription of Blackford family records from the 1798 Bible of Benjamin Blackford, which includes places and dates of births or deaths for family members and lists of the names and birth dates of the children of Marea, Cloe, Betty, Eliza, Lucy, and Charlotte, who were enslaved people. There are also transcriptions of letters of Lancelot Minor Blackford and other family members; photographs of family members; and a Civil War scrapbook.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. Original Deposit.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.1. Correspondence.
1743-1829
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.?].
1830-1838
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 on people of color include a letter discussing fears of a large-scale insurrection of enslaved people in the southern states, 1831; a letter discussing the education of 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.
1839-1841
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.
Of note are a letter concerning the emancipation of enslaved people to send to Liberia (1841), and issues of the "Home Gazette," a newspaper compiled by the Blackford children, including poetry, family news, and sketches.
1842-1844
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. Of note are letters, 1844, expressing antislavery views and opposition to annexation of Texas as a proslavery plot to enable the South to secede, and mentioning Abram, a person who had been enslaved, manumitted, and outfitted with tools by the Blackfords.
1845-1847
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, her enslaved caretaker. West occasionally included personal notes of her own.
Also of note are 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.
Other correspondents include:
1848-1860
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 in 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 in 1857-1859.
Mary Isabella Blackford spent time at Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va.; Edgewood, Hanover County; she attended Southern Female Institute, Richmond, Va., in 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, about Minor, who was previously enslaved, manumitted, and sent to Liberia by the Minor family; several other letters that represent white people's views on enslaved people in the United States, on Africans, and on the impact of the institution of slavery (1851, 1852, 1858, 1859, 1860); and a letter, 1851, with a description of riots in Lynchburg by Irishmen working on the railroad and canal.
Correspondents include:
1861-1865
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.
Also of note is a letter, 1865, from Maria West Campbell, a woman who had been enslaved and manumitted by Lucy Landon (Carter) Minor.
1866-1892
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.
Reconstruction era letters provide a few examples of white people's views of Black people and Indigenous people of North America. A letter, 1866, written by William W. Blackford, relates his problems with obtaining employees, presumably freed people, to work in the house, and his perceptions of thievery among Black people and white people. The letter also expresses racist assessments of freedmen. In letters, 1879, M. Payne described her experiences teaching Black children and William Davis wrote 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 was 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.
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.
1893-1905
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.
1906-1932
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.
1936-1953
Miscellaneous correspondence of Randolph F. Blackford, Leesburg, Fla.; Homestead, Fla.; and Thomasville, Georgia. Primarily concerning Blackford genealogy and family papers.
| Folder 1 |
Correspondence, 1742-182911 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 1823Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
| Folder 2 |
Correspondence, 1830-18319 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 |
| Folder 4 |
Correspondence, 1834-183613 December 1836: S. Teague [?] Monrovia, Liberia, to Mary B. Blackford, discussing the education of Black women to be teachers and the life of missionaries in Liberia. |
| Folder 5 |
Correspondence, 1837-18387 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. |
| Folder 5a |
William Blackford letter, 1837Contains a transcript of a letter to William Blackford in Virginia, from a United States Army officer in Florida concerning developments in the Seminole War. Another version of the transcript is available in Folder 5. Note: This letter was previously the entirety of Collection #69-z. |
| Folder 6 |
Correspondence, 1839-184030 November 1839: "Home Gazette," a newspaper compiled by the Blackford children, including poetry, family news, sketches. 5 December 1839: "Home Gazette" |
| Folder 7 |
Correspondence, 18417 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 1841Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
Folder 8-9
Folder 8Folder 9 |
Correspondence, 1842 |
| Folder 10 |
Correspondence, 1842Diary letters. |
Folder 11-13
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13 |
Correspondence, 184328 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, 1843Diary letters. |
Folder 23-31
Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31 |
Correspondence, 184431 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; comparison of English and American literacy and scientific achievement. |
Folder 32-35
Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35 |
Correspondence, 18454 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, 184611 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, 18474 January 1847: Julius P. Garesche [Gausche?], Camargo, Mexico, to William M. Blackford, Lynchburg, Va. Army operations in Mexico. 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. |
Folder 40-43
Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43 |
Correspondence, 184829 February 1848: Julius P. Garesche, Camargo, Mexico, to Mary S. Blackford. Critical comments on people of Mexico and of morality of Americans in Mexico; description of trips through countryside; climate; rumors of peace. |
Folder 44-46
Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46 |
Correspondence, 18494 January 1849: E. G. Hill, Mount Airy, Caroline County, Va., to Mary B. Blackford. Personal, family, and neighborhood news; critique 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, 18501850: 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. 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, 18517 January 1851: Mary B. Blackford to Matthew Maury. Rough draft of her response to his plan to send enslaved people who were emancipated to the Amazon Valley. 3 October 1851: Benjamin Blackford, Lynchburg, to John A. Blackford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Description of riots in Lynchburg by Irish people 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, 18521852: 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 while traveling. 1852: James Cephas Minor, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. Description of a shipwreck; comments on Liberian relations with Great Britain and Brazil; and on African people. |
Folder 59-62
Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
Correspondence, 185315 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, 18541854: 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, 18555 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 |
Folder 70-71
Folder 70Folder 71 |
Correspondence, 1857 |
Folder 72-73
Folder 72Folder 73 |
Correspondence, 18588 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, 18591859: 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, 186015 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. |
Folder 79-82
Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82 |
Correspondence, 186116 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 Northerners 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, 186212 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, 186312 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, 1864Mostly 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, 18651865: 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 freed people. 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. |
Folder 89-90
Folder 89Folder 90 |
Correspondence, 186614 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 freed people and thievery among Black people and white people; 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 |
| Folder 92 |
Correspondence, 1871 |
Folder 93-94
Folder 93Folder 94 |
Correspondence, 1872 |
Folder 95-97
Folder 95Folder 96Folder 97 |
Correspondence, 187314 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, 187419, 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 |
Folder 102-103
Folder 102Folder 103 |
Correspondence, 1876 |
Folder 104-105
Folder 104Folder 105 |
Correspondence, 1877 |
| Folder 106 |
Correspondence, 1878 |
Folder 107-110
Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109Folder 110 |
Correspondence, 18791879: 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 |
Folder 114-117
Folder 114Folder 115Folder 116Folder 117 |
Correspondence, 188120 October 1881: J. M. Ambler to Edward Ambler. Copy of letter of Dr. Ambler, the last survivor of the ill-fated U.S.S. Jeanette, with his last messages to his family and description of the hardships he was 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 |
Folder 121-123
Folder 121Folder 122Folder 123 |
Correspondence, 18831883: 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 |
Folder 128-129
Folder 128Folder 129 |
Correspondence, 1885 |
| Folder 130 |
Correspondence, 1886-1892 |
| Folder 131 |
Correspondence, 1893-189923 March 1896: Circular to descendants of George Mason asking for contributions to erect a monument on Mason's grave. |
| Folder 132 |
Correspondence, 1901-1902 |
| Folder 133 |
Correspondence, 1903-1905 |
| Folder 134 |
Correspondence, 1906-1907 |
| Folder 135 |
Correspondence, 1908-1909August, 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, 1910November, December 1910: Material relating to Randolph Fairfax Blackford's application for a Rhodes Scholarship. |
| Folder 138 |
Correspondence, 1911-1914 |
Folder 139-141
Folder 139Folder 140Folder 141 |
Correspondence, 19157 February 1915: Harrold S. Shipps, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, to Eliza C. A. Blackford, praising evangelist Billy Sunday. |
Folder 142-143
Folder 142Folder 143 |
Correspondence, 1916 |
| Folder 144 |
Correspondence, 1917-19198 March 1918: (illegible), Wuchang, China, to Eliza C. A. Blackford. Writer, a former Episcopal High School student, describing unsettled conditions in China. |
| Folder 145 |
Correspondence, 1920-1926 |
| Folder 146 |
Correspondence, 1927-1931 |
| Folder 147 |
Correspondence, 1932 |
| Folder 148 |
Correspondence, 1936-1953November 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 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.2. Pamphlets.
| Folder 154 |
Pamphlets7 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. |
Expand/collapse
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-1912/1-2).
| Folder 155 |
Genealogy |
Reel M-1912/1-2
M-1912/1M-1912/2 |
ScrapbookMicrofilm. |
Expand/collapse
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 |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.5. Miscellaneous and Pictures.
Photographs; crochet patterns; bookmarks.
| Folder 158 |
Miscelleaneous |
| Image Folder PF-1912/1 |
Randolph Fairfax Blackford, Mrs. J. Ambler Blackford, and John Minor Blackford, 1915, 1921, and undated6 images. Black-and-white prints.
|
| Image Folder PF-1912/2 |
Portraits, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints.
|
| Rolled Item R-1912/1 |
Rolled item |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.6. Newspaper Clippings.
Assorted clippings, including obituaries, related to the Blackford, Minor, Mason, and Ambler families.
| Folder 159 |
Newspaper Clippings |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/1 |
"The Federal Gazette and Philadelphia Evening Post" 27 June 1789 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/2 |
"Cavalla Messenger," Cavalla, West Africa. November, December 1854; December 1858 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/3 |
Front page of "Southern Churchman," Richmond, Va. 9 January 1863 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/4 |
"The Army and Navy Messenger, Published by the Evangelical Tract Society," Petersburg, Va. 1 July 1863, 15 July 1863 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/5 |
">The Soldier's Paper, Published Semi-monthly by the Soldiers' Tract Association, M. E. Church, South," Richmond, Va. 15 September 1863 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/6 |
Lynchburg Daily Virginian, Lynchburg, Va. 1 September 1865 |
| Extra Oversize Paper XOP-1912/7 |
The Register of the American Church Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church, N.Y. February 1875 |
Expand/collapse
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" Letters13 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 |
Expand/collapse
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.Handwritten. 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 1886Launcelot 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 1914Contains 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 1940Includes 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, 1900Family record compiled by William Willis Blackford (1831-1905). Contains genealogical data, along with biographical and personal data about members of the Blackford family. Typescript copy. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 1.9. Photocopies.
| Folder 167 |
Photocopies (miscellaneous items)Undated: "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. |
Expand/collapse
Series 2A. Additions.
Expand/collapse
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 BlackfordTyped 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 BlackfordPrinted 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," 1890sPartial 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 documentsPhotocopies 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 1896-19396 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 Dean4 images. Black-and-white copy prints. Peggy Dean was a woman formerly enslaved by the Blackford family. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/5 |
Portraits, undated15 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.2A. Photographs, circa 1850 (Addition of 1997).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96193
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/1 |
Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896)1 image. Daguerreotype. |
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/2 |
Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford (1802-1896)1 image. Daguerreotype. |
| Special Format Image SF-P-1912/3 |
Unidentified man1 image. Ambrotype. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.3A. Genealogical Papers, 1798-1836
(Addition of April 2003).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 99500
| Folder 177 |
Photocopies and transcriptions of Blackford family papers, 1798-1836Photocopies and typed transcription of Blackford family records from the 1798 Bible of Benjamin Blackford. Includes places and dates of births or deaths for family members and lists of the names and birth dates of the children of Marea, Cloe, Betty, Eliza, Lucy, and Charlotte, who were enslaved people. The children were born 1815-1836. |
Expand/collapse
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 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 208 |
Letters (First World War) 1917 |
Folder 209-214
Folder 209Folder 210Folder 211Folder 212Folder 213Folder 214 |
Letters (First World War) 1918 |
| Folder 215 |
Letters (First World War) 1919 |
| Folder 216 |
Letters (First World War), undated |
| Folder 217 |
MiscellaneousIncludes Blackford's 1956 will and drawings. |
Folder 218-220
Folder 218Folder 219Folder 220 |
"Fan Mail" for "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," 1954-1956 and 1962 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/37 |
Launcelot Blackford Minor, circa 1910s3 images. Black-and-white prints. Blackford is dressed in an armed services uniform. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/38 |
Launcelot Blackford Minor, circa 1920s-1950s6 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/39 |
Launcelot Blackford Minor with unidentified man, 19532 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/40 |
Launcelot Blackford Minor with an infant, circa 1940s2 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/41 |
Launcelot Blackford Minor2 images. Color prints. Also includes an image of a gravestone. |
Folder 222-223
Folder 222Folder 223 |
"The Spanish Continent of Florida" |
| Folder 224 |
"Blackford Roots and Branches, a Genealogy of the Blackford Family," 1964Also contains correspondence. |
Folder 225-226
Folder 225Folder 226 |
"The Son of God or A Life of Christ by a Country Parson" |
| Folder 227 |
"The First Seventy-Five Years of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Apostolic Age" |
| Folder 228 |
"The Biblical Conquest of Canaan," 1935"A Military Lecture given to Reserve Officers Association Orlando Chapter." |
| Folder 229 |
"The Bible Through Period Lenses" |
Folder 230-240
Folder 230Folder 231Folder 232Folder 233Folder 234Folder 235Folder 236Folder 237Folder 238Folder 239Folder 240 |
Letters exchanged between Randolph Fairfax Minor and Launcelot Minor Blackford, 1945-1964 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/42 |
Randolph Blackford, circa 1930s and 1940s and undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. Includes images of Blackford in an armed services uniform. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/43 |
Randolph Blackford with a clerical collar, circa 1930s-1940s3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/44 |
[Nellie Blackford], circa 1910s-1920s2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/45 |
Nellie Blackford and Randolph Blackford, circa 1930s-1950s2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/46 |
[Nellie Blackford] with others, circa 1960s-1970s1 image. Color print. |
| Folder 241 |
Death of Staige D. Blackford, 2003Includes clippings and correspondence. |
Folder 242-243
Folder 242Folder 243 |
"Letter to Staige D. Blackford, Jr., June 1943""Note to the Censor: In order to save you the time and trouble and boredom of reading through all this long letter to my son, may I explain that it is simply my autobiography for his benefit and that it intentionally stops at the time that I left America so that there would be nothing in the slightest censorable in it..." |
Folder 244-247
Folder 244Folder 245Folder 246Folder 247 |
Letters exchanged between Staige Davis Blackford and Charles Minor Blackford, 1980-1985 |
| Folder 248 |
MiscellaneousIncludes a 1995 lecture delivered at Emory Law School and titled "One Man's South." |
| Image Folder PF-1912/47 |
Staige Davis Blackford, circa 1910s-1940s5 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/48 |
Staige Davis Blackford with spouse, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/49 |
Staige Davis Blackford with children, circa 19303 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/50 |
Linda Blackford, 1946-1948 and undated5 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/51 |
Staige Blackford Jr. 1947 and undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/52 |
Children, circa 1940s2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/53 |
Staige Blackford Jr. and family, circa 1970s4 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/54 |
Staige Blackford Jr. and Bettina, 19633 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/55 |
Staige Davis Blackford with Sheila and Bettina, circa 1970s2 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/56 |
Gravestones, undated2 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 249 |
Miscellaneous |
| Folder 250 |
Family charts and transcriptions of letters pertaining to American Colonization Society and LiberiaIncludes a 2001 talk titled "The Other South" about "white dissenters from the racial orthodoxy that reigned in the South from about 1832 until the 1960s." |
| Folder 251 |
Clippings and copies and transcriptions of lettersIncludes "William Blackford Letters, 1928-44 Collected by Mansel G. Blackford, October 23, 1991." |
| Image Folder PF-1912/57 |
William Blackford with groups, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/58 |
Miscellaneous, undated5 images. Black-and-white prints. Dog, baby, child, and house. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/59 |
Jane Blackford and Manse Blackford, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/60 |
Elizabeth Blackford, 1955-1963 and undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/61 |
Jane Griffiths Blackford wedding, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/62 |
Peter Lawrence and Elizabeth Lawrence, 19742 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/63 |
Miscellaneous, 1976-1978 and undated4 images. Color prints. Randall Blackford, Mansel Blackford, Vicki Blackford, and Kimberly Blackford; Jane Blackford and wedding party; baby; and a portrait of William Blackford. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/64 |
Young men in class pictures, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/65 |
Mansel Blackford, undated1 image. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/66 |
Confederate officers, undated2 images. Black-and-white copy prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/67 |
Plaques at Episcopal High School and grave stone, undated3 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 252 |
"Uncle William's Account of The Blackford Family |
| Folder 253 |
MiscellaneousIncludes 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, undated2 images. Black-and-white copy prints. |
| Folder 254 |
MiscellaneousIncludes 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 |
| Folder 256 |
Estate papers, 1910 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/69 |
Peggy Dean, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 258 |
Copy of "Recollections of the Civil War 1861 to '65 by Lizzie Jackson Mann" |
| Folder 259 |
Family charts, clippings, and correspondence |
| Folder 260 |
Charles Harrison Mann |
| Image Folder PF-1912/70 |
Church and church rectory, undated3 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/71 |
Gravestones and house, 19965 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/72 |
Portraits of Charles Mann and Mary Mann and building, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/73 |
Family, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/74 |
Gamble Mann and Harrison Mann, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Photograph Album PA-1912/4 |
Original Album |
| Digital Folder DF-1912/4 |
Digitized AlbumPDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
| Folder 261 |
Clippings |
| Image Folder PF-1912/75 |
Lizzie Jackson Mann, William Mann, and others, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/76 |
Gravestone and portraits of William Jackson Mann, Rev. Armistead Smith, and Martha Smith, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/77 |
Portraits2 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/78 |
Gravestones, 19967 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 262 |
Family charts and clippin |
| Folder 263 |
"Genealogy of the Fontaine and Minor Families," 1940Compiled by Louise Niemeyer Fontaine. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/79 |
Gravestones, 19968 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 264 |
Family charts, clippings, and correspondence |
| Image Folder PF-1912/80 |
Gravestones and silhouette portraits of Harriet Mann, George Edward Mann, Jr., and Colonel Henry Mann, undated5 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 265 |
Correspondence and clippings |
| Image Folder PF-1912/81 |
Glen Roy, Md., 19232 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/82 |
Betsy Supplee and Sally Bruce Supplee, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/83 |
Miscellaneous, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/84 |
Groups, 1970-19764 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/85 |
Bruce Mann, Bill Mann, Richard Mann, and other school children.6 images. Color prints. |
| Folder 266a |
Family charts, clippings, and copies of family bible records |
| Folder 266b |
"The Hill Near Upperville Virginia: A Few Reminiscences of the Civil War by W.J. Mann, 2 March 1919" |
| Image Folder PF-1912/86 |
Stained glass window, undated1 image. Color print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/87 |
Interior of home, undated1 image. Color print. |
| Folder 267a |
Family charts and correspondence |
| Folder 267b |
"The Civil War Years" |
| Folder 268 |
"Free Enterprise Sixty Years Ago: Stories for My Grandchildren," 1956 |
Folder 269-270
Folder 269Folder 270 |
Correspondence, clippings, and copy of "A Declaration of Rights" |
| Image Folder PF-1912/88 |
Exhibition George Mason, undated2 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/89 |
Portrait of George Mason, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Folder 271 |
"The Recollections of John Mason" |
| Folder 272 |
Family records and material related to the Colonial Dames of America |
| Folder 273 |
Clippings and miscellaneousIncludes a narrative about the Murray family. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/90 |
John Mason and unidentified woman, circa 19102 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 274 |
Clippings and correspondence |
| Image Folder PF-1912/91 |
Anna Mason and Randolph Mason, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/92 |
Lucy Mason with others, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/93 |
Landon Mason on horseback, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/94 |
Landon Mason with others, circa 1910 and undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/95 |
Landon Mason and Randolph Mason, circa 1918 and undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/96 |
Lucy Mason and Ida Mason, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
"Sally Bruce Blackford's prep school Vancouver Island, Canada 1930s."
| Photograph Album PA-1912/5 |
Original Album |
| Digital Folder DF-1912/5 |
Digitized AlbumPDF of entire album. Tiffs of individual album pages. |
Folder 275-277
Folder 275Folder 276Folder 277 |
Personal papersIncludes school transcripts, resume, will, clippings, correspondence, and financial documents. |
| Folder 278 |
Colonial Dames of America |
| Image Folder PF-1912/97 |
Children, undated2 images. Black-and-white contact sheets. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/98 |
House, 19973 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/99 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/100 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey and children, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/101 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey, circa 19242 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/102 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey, circa 19422 images. Black-and-white prints. Wedding portrait. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/103 |
Miscellaneous, circa 1938-19408 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/104 |
Boat named "Sally Bruce," circa 1940s2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/105 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey, 1970, 19872 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/106 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey and children, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/107 |
Sally Bruce Blackford McClatchey with groups, 1976, 1994-1995, and undated4 images. Color prints. |
Folder 279-280
Folder 279Folder 280 |
Publications and genealogical informationPublications 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 281 |
"Lancelot" |
| Folder 283 |
Obituary, 1935 |
| Image Folder PF-1912/108 |
Robert Berkeley Minor, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
Folder 284-286
Folder 284Folder 285Folder 286 |
"Memoirs" circa 2002Different versions. |
Folder 287-288
Folder 287Folder 288 |
MiscellaneousCorrespondence, clippings, family charts, and other papers. |
| Folder 289 |
"Reflections on the Life of Virginia Mason Blackford Morris," 2002Includes an obituary and program for a memorial service. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/109 |
House, undated8 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/110 |
House, undated2 images. Color digital prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/111 |
Groups, 1950, 19622 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/112 |
Wedding, 19692 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/113 |
Groups, 1962, 1992, and undated3 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/114 |
Charles Harrison Wick, Randolph Fairfax Morris, and others, 1974, 1993, and undated4 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/115 |
Charles Harrison Wick and Randolph Fairfax Morris, 1966, 1971, and undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/116 |
Children, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/117 |
Virginia Morris, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/118 |
Randolph Fairfax Morris, 1951, 19632 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/119 |
Children, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/120 |
Ginger Morris, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Folder 290 |
Clippings, publications, and narrativesIncludes "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, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Folder 291-292
Folder 291Folder 292 |
Publications, clippings, and genealogical informationIncludes information about families' coats of arms. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/122 |
Portraits of Thomas Armistead Smith and gravestones, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Folder 293-295
Folder 293Folder 294Folder 295 |
Correspondence and genealogical information |
| Image Folder PF-1912/123 |
Portrait of John Murray, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
Folder 296-297
Folder 296Folder 297 |
Correspondence and genealogical information |
| Folder 298 |
"Airville: A Gloucester County, Virginia, Plantation," 1992-1993Written by Nancy Carter Crump. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/124 |
Glen Roy, 1975 and undated7 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/125 |
Portrait of William Patterson Smith, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/126 |
Gravestones, undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Folder 299-311
Folder 299Folder 300Folder 301Folder 302Folder 303Folder 304Folder 305Folder 306Folder 307Folder 308Folder 309Folder 310Folder 311 |
Correspondence, family charts, and genealogical information |
| Folder 312 |
Essays by Harrison Wick"Virginians: Radical and Conservative" and "Strife in America Brought Civil War." |
Folder 313-318
Folder 313Folder 314Folder 315Folder 316Folder 317Folder 318 |
Disposition of family papers, 1942-1959 and 1976Chiefly correspondence. |
Folder 319-320
Folder 319Folder 320 |
Episcopal High School |
| Image Folder PF-1912/127 |
Children and sailboat, 1964 and 19772 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/128 |
Gravestones, undated9 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/129 |
Portraits, undated8 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/130 |
Gravestones, 197614 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/131 |
Portraits, undated11 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/132 |
Lynchburg, Va., 19765 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/133 |
Portraits and silver, 19763 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/134 |
Portraits, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/135 |
Major Bowles Armistead, undated1 image. Black-and-white print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/136 |
Individuals, undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/137 |
Portraits, 19778 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/138 |
Portraits, 19778 images. Black-and-white prints. Includes an image of an Black woman with a white infant. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/139 |
John Minor Blackford and family, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/140 |
"Mrs. Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford and her family," 18851 image. Black-and-white copy print. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/141 |
Exterior of a house, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/142 |
Exterior of a house, circa 2000s7 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/143 |
Gravestones, circa 2000s3 images. Color prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/144 |
Gravestones, undated6 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/145 |
Marion Robins McFarland, 1913 and undated3 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/146 |
Peyton family members, 1890 and undated4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/147 |
Peyton family members, undated2 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/148 |
Episcopal High School, circa 1960s5 images. Black-and-white prints. |
| Image Folder PF-1912/149 |
William Blackford, circa 1910s4 images. Black-and-white prints. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.5A. Papers, 1775-1937 (Addition of November 2017).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 103280
| Folder 178 |
"Lee Campaigns In and Around Fredericksburg," 1937"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; photographic prints of letters and documents dated 1775-1846Peggy Dean worked for the Blackford family in Lynchburg and Alexandria. She died in 1910. "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 |
| Folder 181 |
Scrapbook on the Civil War, circa 1862-1914Scrapbook 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." |
Expand/collapse
Items Separated