Maria Louisa Southerland letters

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.

Preferred citation:

MSS 16924, Maria Louisa Southerland letters, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Summary

Extent:
.03 Cubic Feet 1 folder (letter sized)
Creator:
Weddell, Alex W. (Watson), 1841-1883 and Parham, Maria Louise Southerland, 1840-1903
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 16924, Maria Louisa Southerland letters, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of five personal letters written by University of Virginia student Alex W. Weddell to Maria Louisa Southerland between 1860 and 1861. The letters, hand-sewn with a single red thread, are dated February 24, 1860, October 30, 1860, November 16, 1860, December 10, 1860, and January 22, 1861. They are intimate in nature, discussing the friendship and relationships between Alex and Maria, as well as referencing shared acquaintances. The envelope is addressed to Maria L. Southerland at Jones' White Sulphur Springs in Warren County, North Carolina. In 1860, Warren County was the wealthiest county in the state, and the town of Warrenton was home to two prominent resorts featuring hotels, hot springs, and academies for young men and women. Jones' Springs was owned by William Duke Jones, who had six children with his first wife, Mary Speed, and seven more with his second wife, Angelina Peete. In one letter from December 1860, Alex recalls spending "last summer" in Warrenton, North Carolina, at Jones' Springs, where he socialized and likely met Maria.

The letters mention a wide social circle at Jones' Springs, with references to at least thirty different individuals and commentary on their marriage prospects. In one instance, Alex asks how "the happy brood is progressing," referring to the young women at Jones'. Ella Jones, daughter of William Duke Jones, appears in three of the five letters. Although Alex says little about his academic life at UVA, he does mention "the anniversary of the Wash. Soc" in January 1861 and references hearing "the American warbler, Patti," a nod to Adelina Patti's performance in Richmond on October 29, 1860. Notably, the letters do not mention the looming Civil War, which would begin in April 1861. Also included are photographs of a portrait of Southerland and two copies of photos of Weddell, provided by the donors.

Biographical / historical:

Maria Louisa Southerland Parham (1840-1903) was born in 1840 in Alabama to her parents Sabat Southerland and Maria Louise Lipscombe Southerland. Southerland would go on to marry Captain Samuel J. Parham of Granville County, North Carolina in January 1866. Captain Parham died in 1880 at the fairly young age of forty-five and left his wife with seven children. One of their sons, Sabat Southerland Parham, built the original hospital in Henderson, North Carolina and named the Maria Parham Hospital in honor of his mother.

Alex Weddell (1841-1883) was born in Tarboro, North Carolina. By the summer of 1860, his family had relocated to Petersburg, Virginia, which is relatively close to Warren County. The Weddell family included Alex's mother and father and two brothers: John Archibald, born in 1839, and Virginius L., born in 1843. Alex refers to both brothers in his letters, calling one "my short brother" and the other "my long brother." John Archibald attended UVA from 1855 to 1856, and during the 1860–61 session, both Alex and Virginius were enrolled at the university. All three brothers enlisted in the Confederate army. John and Virginius died during the war, but Alex survived, later becoming an Episcopal minister in Richmond and marrying Pencie Wright in 1866. He died in Richmond, Virginia, in December 1883 of consumption.

Acquisition information:
This collection was a gift from Della Thomas and Turner Jones Wortham, Jr. to the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 22 April 2025.
Physical description:
Good
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard