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Papers, 1838-1865, of the Crowder and Phillips families of Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties, Virginia. Includes letters, 1861-1865, of William H. Phillips while serving in the 14th Virginia Infantry Regiment on Jamestown Island, at Chester, Virginia and near Farmville, Virginia.

Papers, 1822-1879, of the Weaver and Keeding families. Includes letters and accounts of William H. Weaver; weather records, 1831-1832; diary pages; farm records, 1830's and 1840's; toll receipts, 1871-1873, for use of the Valley Turnpike Road; tax receipts; and the will of Peter Keeding. Papers concern Warren County, Va. and Frederick County, Va.

Business letters, 1833-1839, to Major William K. Perrin and 1855, 1860, to his son-in-law Wyndham Kemp, both of Gloucester County, Virginia from Perrin's step-son Robert W. Nicolson in Uniontown, Perry County, Alabama, about the management of a cotton plantation. Letters mention purchasing land, growing and selling cotton, and the management of the enslaved, legal and banking matters and uprising of the Creek Indians. Papers, 1800-1855 and undated, relating to the hiring out and management of enslaved persons in Gloucester County, Virginia by William K. Perrin. Legal papers, 1723-1895 and undated, include indentures, agreements, and lists of debts of William K. Perrin, George D. Nicolson, Sarah T. Nicolson, and descendants of William K. Perrin. Also accounts and receipts, 1806-1902, and undated.

Diaries, 1855, 1859-1861, 1864-1909, (52 volumes) of Col. William Lamb (1835-1909), written while a student at the College of William and Mary, newspaper editor, Civil War commander of Fort Fisher, N.C. (1862-1865), coal merchant, Norfolk businessman and mayor (1880-1886), and member of the Board of Visitors and Rector of William and Mary.

The William Massie papers includes letters and accounts belonging to William Massie, a farmer, miller and plantation owner. Massie lived in Pharsalia and Tye River Mills, Nelson County, Virginia. Letters include correspondence between Nathaniel Francis Cabell and Chiswell Dabney. Letters discuss life in Nelson County, agriculture, slavery, milling, and other subjects.

The William N. Mercer papers consist of legal documents (1874-1875) regarding Mercer's bequest of 1,000 books to the VMI Library, an invoice (1874) for medical services submitted to the executor of Mercer's estate, and a document transferring a pew in Christ Church, New Orleans, from Jane E. Barnard to Mercer (1845).

Letters, [1772], 1789, 1839, and 1846-1847, of William Short, while a diplomat in France, and later while living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the later letters discussing the settlement of his estate with his nephew, Charles W. Short (1794-1863), of Louisville, Kentucky. Also includes copies of Short's appointment to various diplomatic posts, 1790-1794; a copy of George Washington's letter to the King of Spain explaining Short's departure from Spain, 1796; his will; a genealogical chart of the Short family; an article of his love affair with the Duchess de la Rochefoucauld; and his watch and fob.

This collection consists in large part of photostats and transcription. The originals are held by various other institution. Contact a staff member for further information: a list of scientific instruments and Small's account with the College of William and Mary, as well articles and biographical information about him. Also included are copies and transcripts of correspondence to, from, and about Small, and photocopies of a picture of him.

Letters of William Tell Cobb (1840-1913), of Mauricetown, New Jersey, and his brother, Edwin Cobb (b. 1838), also of Mauricetown, New Jersey. William Cobb participated in the battles of Fair Oaks and 2nd Manassas while in the Army, and the battle of Fort Fisher while in the Navy; he describes these battles in his letters. Edwin Cobb provides an eyewitness account of the battle between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac". Other topics dealt with in the letters are camp conditions and everyday life in the Army and Navy, interaction between Union and Confederate soldiers, and the financial difficulties faced by William Tell Cobb and his family during the war. The collection also includes a photo of William Tell Cobb, his copy of "The Soldier's Guide" and a collection of typescripts of the letters

Appointment, 10 May 1836, of Winfield Scott to the rank of lieutenant-general (signed by Andrew Jackson and Lewis Cass) and letter, 26 May 1865, of Winfield Scott to Quartermaster Capt. [?] Morgan concerning fuel and quarters and his departure for West Point.