Alexander Spotswood Papers, 1696-1745, 1646-1830.

Access and use

Location of collection:
Colonial Williamsburg
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Douglas Mayo
Phone: (757) 565-8521
Phone: (757) 565-8520
Fax: (757) 565-8528

Summary

Creator:
Alexander Spotswood, 1676-1740.
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Personal correspondence of Alexander Spotswood. The bulk of the correspondence is between Spotswood and his cousin, John Spotswood (1666-1728) of Edinburgh, concerning the Spotswood family, the lieutenant governor's character, his career in the British army and ambitions before becoming lieutenant governor, and political and social conditions in Virginia. These letters are practically the only source of information on Spotswood's early life.

Included in the correspondence is a copy of a letter, 1646, from Sir Robert Spotswood (1596-1646) to his children stating their names and dates of birth; also, a letter, January 4, 1646, from Sir Robert Spotswood to the Laird of Bogir and Mr. Robert Berrsay; a letter, 1744, from the Rev. Robert Rose, a close friend of the governor's and later one of his executors, to Andrew Anderson containing a biographical sketch of Spotswood; a rough draft of a letter, 1746, from John Spotswood, Jr., to Rose, with a genealogy of the Spotswood family; and a British army commission to Maj. George Spotswood, 1830.

Biographical / historical:

Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740) was a lieutenant in the British Army, and later lieutenant governor of Virginia, 1710-1722.

Acquisition information:
Purchase, 1948.
Arrangement:

Chronologically arranged.

Physical description:
45 items.