Search

The collection consists of the correspondence of Abner W.C. Terry (eight letters, 1842-1851) about a court case involving the estate of Abner W. Clopton, Terry's grandfather; and a document from a related chancery cause filed in Pittsylvania county circa 1851. The Charlotte County case, Colombian College v. Clopton's Administrators, etc., was decided in Terry's favor in 1843 and appealed to the Court of Appeals in 1850. The court upheld the decision of the lower court, ruling that Clopton's bond to the college was not binding because the conditions of the bond were not met before Clopton died. The correspondence includes two letters from noted Richmond attorney Conway Robinson explaining the legal strategy he planned to use in arguing the case before the Court of Appeals, and advice to Terry about resolving remaining legal issues among the heirs in the case.

The Stephenson papers are comprised mostly of Justice Stephenson's case files and opinions, correspondence, and other papers documenting his tenure as a justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia, 1981-2010. The papers also include correspondence and opinions, 1973-1978, documenting his work as a judge on the 25th judicial circuit in Alleghany County, as well as personal papers, 1954-2011, circa. The collection also contains personal and professional papers of Justice Stephenson's father, Roscoe Stephenson, Sr., 1904-1929; and the military discharge record of his grandfather, Oscar Adam Stephenson, 1865.