Hugh Adams Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library
Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Restrictions:

Due to the physical condition of the Adams archive, under most circumstances, it is perferred that copies rather than original documents are used by researchers.

Terms of access:

The materials from Washington and Lee University Special Collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with the source. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the Head of Special Collections.

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Folder Number, Box Number, Hugh Adams Papers, WLU Coll. 0373, Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn University Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA.

Summary

Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet
Creator:
Adams, Hugh
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Folder Number, Box Number, Hugh Adams Papers, WLU Coll. 0373, Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn University Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The Hugh Adams Papers archive is comprised of approximately 75 documents concerning the emancipation of nineteen slaves of the Adams estate and their estate imposed emigration to Careysburg, Liberia. Adams was actively involved for many years with the American Colonization Society ( A.C.S.) which promoted and engaged in the emigration process of free or freed African-Americans to Liberia on the west African coast. Included in the archive is an original handwritten copy of the will of Hugh Adams. Within the will, Adams settles his estate and specifically outlines his plan for emancipating his slaves and for funding their imposed emigration. The archive also contains account documents for living expenses of nine of the nineteen freed slaves during the interim period between emancipation and their voyage to Liberia in May 1860.The surnames of the emancipated persons and families are Adams, Miles, Halliburton, Lewis, and Johnston or Johnson. Other noteworthy contents include an official Rockbridge County manumission document and two contracts detailing the purchase of enslaved husbands by their wives who were emancipated and funded by Adams' will. Other individuals whose names are found on documents within this archive include Rockbridge County lawyers Greenlee Davidson and David P. Curry, lawyers 'Gilkeson and McNutt', possibly of Augusta County, Virginia, Rockbridge County officials Samuel McDowell Reid, Charles Chapin, and David J. Whipple, estate executors A.M. Carson and Robert Hutcheson, and A.C.S. secretary Reverend William McLain. Click here to access the Hugh Adams Papers in WLU's Digital Archive.

Biographical / historical:

Hugh Adams (1793-1858) was a landowner, farmer, and slaveholder in the vicinity of Brownsburg, Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was a member and proponent of the American Colonization Society, the national organization promoting the emmigration of free African Americans to Liberia.

Custodial history:

The archive was collected by Hugh Robert Bolen of Bustleburg, Rockbridge Co., Virginia. It was discovered amongst family papers by John Bolen, son of the collector.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard