E. A. Preston letter to Judith Merriweather

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

E. A. Preston letter to Judith Merriweather, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Summary

Extent:
0.05 Linear Feet
Creator:
Preston, E. A.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

E. A. Preston letter to Judith Merriweather, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries

Background

Scope and content:

Three page letter from Preston to his cousin, reporting that some of the persons enslaved by him have fallen ill. H mentions that they one enslavewd girl to the illness. Addresses inquiries about buying "good land" and "good" enslaved persons in the country, talks about the settlement of Texas and how "many from Virginia are moving to Texas" and how a fine society might develop there. Preston writes that the enslaved persons "will occasion great distress in this country some time, and not at a distant period." Postscript mentions that land and enslaved persons sell for "very high, men for fifteen hundred dollars, women a thousand" and that those enslaved by the Preston family's "are better than we usually see them."

Acquisition information:
From the Hart Collection.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Illness
Slavery--Virginia--History