James W. McRea Letters, 1836

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

James W. McRea Letters, 1836. Samuel Harrison Smith, Treasurer of the Washington National Monument Society versus Thomas K. Beale (Judgments, October 1838) Library of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Creator:
Arlington County
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

James W. McRea Letters, 1836. Samuel Harrison Smith, Treasurer of the Washington National Monument Society versus Thomas K. Beale (Judgments, October 1838) Library of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Three letters written in 1836 by James W. McRea to the treasurer of the Washington National Monument Society. McRea writes about his fundraising efforts in Alabama on behalf of the society. He reports his successes and failures in raising money and the total amount he collected. McRea writes of meeting Governor Clement C. Clay, speaking to students at the University of Alabama, attending a fund raiser in the town of Livingston in Sumter County, and serving as a quartermaster in the Alabama militia during the Creek War. The letters conclude with McRea tendering his resignation to the society due to his frustration with collecting money in Alabama.

Biographical / historical:

James W. McRea was a collector for the Washington National Monument Society. He was sent to Alabama in March 1836, to raise funds for the construction of a monument honoring George Washington.

The letters were used as evidence in a debt case heard in Arlington County titled Samuel Harrison Smith, Treasurer of the Washington National Monument Society versus Thomas K. Beale. The suit was settled in the society's favor in October 1838.

Acquisition information:
These materials came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Arlington County.
Arrangement:

Chronological.

Physical location:
The Library of Virginia, Local Government Records Collection, Arlington County
Physical description:
12 p.