Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Date range 1947 Subjects Photographs

African American Family photograph album 0.01 Linear Feet 1 folder

This collection consists of one photograph album featuring both black and white and sepia toned gelatin silver photographs of an unidentified African American family from circa 1910-1960. There is one colored photograph of a dog sitting on a sofa. From some of the captions, it is possible that the family was from the New Jersey area. The photographs are not in chronological order. Inserted inside the album is an unidentified man's graduation photograph taken by the Sarony studio in Philadelphia.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Anderson Family papers 13.25 Linear Feet Six document cases, three half-size document cases, 9 flat boxes

Anderson, Ellen Graham

This collection contains items of the Anderson and Alexander families including correspondence dealing with legal business, family matters, and Lexington, Virginia affairs. Consists largely of the family correspondence of William Alexander Anderson, Francis T. Anderson, and Mary Anne Alexander Anderson; includes letters to and from Virginia Governor John Letcher, and two letters from Mildred Lee, daughter of Robert E. Lee. Other correspondents include William A. Glasgow, George Hutcheson Denny, Charles Alfred Graves, Henry Holstine, George Junkin, George Bolling Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, James McDowell, Samuel McDowell Moore, and Walter LeConte Stevens. Also includes legal and business correspondence of Francis T. Anderson; letters and diary of William D. Alexander dated 1858-1859; business accounts, wills, obituaries, including Mary Anne Alexander Anderson's obituary as a pamphlet titled In Memoriam, November 27, 1881; and genealogies of the McNutt, Anderson, and Thomas families. Includes copies of speeches of William A. Anderson dated 1842-1930 and a few photographs.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Campbell Family Papers 130 Item

Campbell, Henry Donald

Items in the collection include a scrapbook, a bound volume of the Ring-Tum Phi, a book of pressed leaves, Miller family birth records, photographs of Lexington and Campbell family members, newspapers, and personal letters.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Davidson Family Papers 4 Linear Feet

This collection contains personal and business correspondence, an assortment of holiday and greeting cards (1930s-1940s), account books, family photographs, a range of printed matter, including travel guides and ephemera from the family of R. E. (Robert Edmund) and his wife Gunhild A. Davidson of the Bell's Valley and Goshen communities of Rockbridge County, Virginia.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

duPont family papers 33 Linear Feet

Du Pont, Alfred I. (Alfred Irénée), 1864-1935

This series is related to the duPont genealogy in France and the United States, family relics, and tributes to Alfred I. duPont. It also includes correspondence and notes and galley sheets by Marquis James in preparation for publication of his biography, "Alfred I. duPont: The Family Rebel."

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Earl L. Valentine, Sr. Papers 1 Linear Feet

Valentine, Earl L., Sr., 1901-1971

The collection consists of various papers related to Earl L. Valentine, Sr., an alumnus of Washington and Lee University's law school and later a local lawyer. The papers include various correspondences, genealogical material, assorted photographs, miscellaneous programs and announcements, and material concerning Valentine's wife, Lucille Wilson.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Ellinor Porcher Gadsden Papers 1 Linear Feet 2.3 linear ft.

Gadsden, Ellinor Porcher

This collection came from the estate of Ellinor Gadsden in 1985. Highlights of the collection include the letters of Alexander Swift(Sandie) Pendleton, a Washington College graduate who was a top aide to Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson during the American Civil War. These approximately 70 letters were a major source for the book. Sandie was the uncle of the Gadsden sisters. Included in the collection are also a few items of Gen. William Nelson Pendleton who was Robert E. Lee's friend and colleague. There are two ALS of Mildred Lee to Lella Pendleton and two copies of a poem written by and in the hand of Margaret Junkin Preston. There is also an ALS (25 Jan. 1873) from Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to W.N. Pendleton. Other major parts of the collection are photographs (ca. 60), the Misses Gadsden's account books and their memorabilia from their travels.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Elsie Ball Wright Bowley Papers 2.5 Linear Feet

Bowley, Elsie Ball Wright, 1886-1972

Includes correspondence (4 folders) by and about Elsie Bowley's sister, Jessie Ball du Pont, and her brother-in-law, A. I. du Pont, as well as letters and correspondence from Elsie's son, Thomas Ball Wright, Ball family members of the Northern Neck of Virginia and other members of the du Pont family. Also contains papers of General Albert J. Bowley, along with Elsie Bowley's business papers regarding her benefactions. Includes ca. 175 photographs (mainly family photos), most of which are not identified.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Francis P. Gaines Papers 1 Linear Feet

Gaines, Francis Pendleton

This collection consists of Gaines' correspondence, speeches, photographs, and printed matter, such as programs and newspaper clippings. Also included is Gaines family genealogy.

  1. Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.