Alexander H. Davidson Letter

Location of collection:

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)

Newman Library

Virginia Tech

P.O. Box 90001

560 Drillfield Drive

Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001

Contact for questions and access:

Email: specref@vt.edu

Phone: (540) 231-6308

Fax: (540) 231-3694

Web: spec.lib.vt.edu

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Alexander H. Davidson Letter, Ms1990-023, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:

0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder

Abstract:

Letter attributed to Alexander H. Davidson of Indianapolis, written to an unidentified brother (probably James Dorman Davidson of Lexington, Virginia) on December 14, 1861, requesting assistance in getting Alexander's son Preston admitted to Virginia Military Institute as a non-cadet student, with the waiver of fees.

Language:

The materials in the collection are in English.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Alexander H. Davidson Letter, Ms1990-023, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of a single letter attributed to Alexander H. Davidson and written to "Dear Bro." (probably James Dorman Davidson of Lexington, Virginia). Writing from Indianapolis, on December 14, 1861, Davidson requests assistance in having his son Preston (Preston A. Davidson) admitted to courses at Virginia Military Institute as a non-cadet student, with fees waived. "I think he has done and suffered enough for Va. to entitle him to such an favor," writes Davidson. The writer continues by reporting on the recent meetings at his church, noting that he has "been thought little better than in infidel" among the congregation for suggesting that "God would not bless with a revival a people that entertained such vindictive feelings toward their southern brethren as our people do."

Biographical / historical:

Alexander H. Davidson, son of Andrew B. and Susan B. Dorman Davidson, was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in 1812. By 1838, Davidson had left Virginia for Indiana. He is listed as a charter member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, and he served as the state's quartermaster-general from 1839 to 1844. Davidson married Catherine Noble (1823-1851), the daughter of Indiana Governor Noah Noble, in 1840, with the ceremony performed by Henry Ward Beecher in Indianapolis. The Davidsons would have five children, including Preston Alexander Davidson. The 1850 federal census describes A. H. Davidson as a 38-year-old farmer, living with wife C. M., five young Davidson children, and C. S. and U. P. Noble. Alexander H. Davidson died on March 28, 1863 and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis (Marion County), Indiana.

Preston A. Davidson, son of Alexander H. and Catherine Noble Davidson, was born in Indianpolis on August 1, 1842. A student at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) for the 1860/1861 term, Davidson enlisted as a private in Company B, 5th Virginia Infantry at Lexington, Virginia on April 5, 1861. Wounded in the right shoulder at the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Davidson recovered in a Charlottesville hospital. (Soon after Bull Run, Company B was transferred to the 27th Virginia Infantry as Company H.) Davidson was discharged on April 27, 1862. He may be the P. A. Davidson described in the 1870 federal census as a 27-year-old farmer living in Lexington, Virginia. By 1880, Davidson had returned to Indiana; the census for that year lists him among residents in the Indianpolis home of his brother-in-law, G. Frank Miller. For occupation, the census simply notes "at home." The 1900 census shows Davidson rooming in the Lexington, Kentucky home of Sarah Hawkins. He seems to have been living at the Kentucky Confederate home by 1910, and he died in the infirmary there on June 27, 1914. Preston A. Davidson was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis.

Acquisition information:

The Alexander H. Davidson Letter was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in April 1990.

Processing information:

The processing and description of the Alexander H. Davidson Letter commenced and was completed in June 2021. Additional description commenced and was completed in September, 2022.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related

Related material:

See also Ms1990-024, Charles Baker Davidson Letter.

Other descriptive data:

The guide to the Alexander H. Davidson Letter by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

This item had been purchased, accessioned, and originally cataloged as the "Civil War Letter." During the processing of Ms1990-024, it was determined that the letter in that collection and the letter in Ms1990-023 were connected in some way. (The matching patterns of rust and dirt stains along the two letters' upper edges shows that they had once been attached.) Attribution of this letter to Alexander H. Davidson is based on the contents of the two letters: the writer of this letter signs with his initials ("A. M. D.") and, writing from Indianapolis, he mentions his son, Preston, by name. A search of the 1860 census revealed only one person with a given name of Preston and a last name beginning with D living in Indianapolis in 1860. Other details support the identification: the request to contact Henry in Lexington (Henry G. Davidson, a resident of Lexington, Virginia was the brother of Alexander H. Davidson); the mention of "Katie's" recent illness (Catherine A. Davidson Miller was the daughter of Alexander H. Davidson). The writer of the letter in Ms1990-024, meanwhile, writes "I enclose a letter from A. which will speak for itself." Other names mentioned in that letter also match with those of the Davidson family.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Civil War
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865