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The papers of the Cocke family of Fluvanna County, Virginia, and related Barraud family, Faulcon family, and other families, consist of ca. 25,000 items, (194 Hollinger boxes, ca. 64.5 linear shelf feet), 1725- 1939, and contains correspondence, legal and financial papers, diaries of John Hartwell Cocke, Louisa Maxwell Holmes Cocke, and Lucy Cocke, minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University ofVirginia, diagrams and sketches concerning the University, bound volumes, sketches and drawings, college and school notes, poetry, orations and speeches, essays, genealogy, and lists pertaining to agriculture, music and other subjects.

This collection holds the historic financial records of the MVLA including accounting ledgers, tax documents, insurance papers, receipts, invoices, payroll lists, annual and quarterly budgets, financial statements and reports, policies, contracts, correspondence, and other miscellaneous items. Records in this collection contain information on the Association's financial accounting, revenue, expenditures, employees and employee benefits, investments, taxes, and other financial concerns. There is a very limited amount pertaining to fundraising efforts and/or private donations, which can be found in the files of Mount Vernon's development department (currently unprocessed). Bulk date 1870s-2000s.

This collection contains a bound lawyer's docket book, with entries from 1823 to 1836 and from 1842 to 1888, both indexed. The earliest entries are likely from the law office of Chauncey Dewey in Cadiz, Ohio, during his association with Steubenville lawyer Benjamin Tappan. The later entries are first from the law office of Dewey & Shotwell, a partnership between Chauncey Dewey and Stuart B. Shotwell, also in Cadiz. Dewey retired from the partnership in 1849, so entries after that date are from the law office of Stuart B. Shotwell in Cadiz. Most entries give the case name, list of case actions, and receipts of payments. Also included in this collection is a tin sign reading "Shotwell's Law Office."

Views of Mount Vernon spanning more than 100 years. The Robert Waldsmith Collection consists of approximately 300 stereographs and cabinet cards by Alexander Gardner, N. G. Johnson, Luke D. Dillon, and others. Highlights of the collection include: several west front views of the Mansion, including the earlist known one by Frederick Langenheim, circa 1856; an early view of the tomb, circa 1857, and a collection of Washington statues and buildings honoring the first President.

The Historical Photograph Collection is largely comprised of materials created by or for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Some of the earliest photographs of the estate were created and sold to visitors by the Association as a means of income. Those efforts helped to establish an important collection of 19th century views. The collection spans the 1850s to 2000s and includes over 140 linear feet of analog material providing a visual history of the Mansion, outbuildings, tombs, grounds, events, visitors, collection objects, personnel, and changes throughout the estate.

The Cocke- ElliotFamily papers contain ca. 15,000 items (41 Hollinger boxes, ca. 17 linear feet and four oversize folders), ca. 1773-1992, and consist largely of personal and family correspondence, financial and legal papers, memorabilia, bound volumes, and genealogical and historical research material pertaining to the Cocke, Elliot, and related families from the colonial period through the twentieth century, assembled by John Page Elliot.

This collection contains information about the College of William and Mary from the Eighteenth Century to the present. Included in the collection are faculty lecture notes from a variety of classes, scrapbooks, research notes, correspondence, textbooks used at the College of William and Mary, minute and account books, poetry books, student notebooks, a literary manual, and various other miscellaneous bound volumes.