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The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Historical Photograph Collection

89 Linear Feet Variety of container sizes based on photograph sizes and material types. Over-sized items are housed in drawers.

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.

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The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Historic manuscript collection

approx. 60 Linear Feet

This collection of historic manuscripts dates from 1607-1933, with the bulk of materials dating from 1738-1868. The correspondence, journals and diaries, legal and financial records, estate documents, and printed ephemera in the collection primarily relate to the Washington and Custis families, the Revolutionary War, and society life in antebellum Washington D.C. and Virginia.

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Bound Manuscript Diary, Anne S. Frobel 1 Volumes Box 109, Shelf Closed Stacks

Anne S. Frobel's father, John Jacob Frobel, was Ann Washington's music teacher, and lived for a short time at Mount Vernon (circa 1804-1806) with Bushrod and Ann Washington. The diary includes reminiscences of her childhood visits to Mount Vernon.Part I of the diary covers the Civil War years, 1861-1865. It constitutes almost 90% of the diary and deals with Anne and her sister Elizabeth's experiences as two female southern sympathizers alone on a farmstead, "Wilton Hill," outside of Alexandria, Va. Frobel describes the occupation of northern Virginia by Union soldiers, as well as their own house and grounds by the Union Army.She reveals both their fears and courage as she describes problems with Union soldier raids, and her attempts to get protection from Union officers. She relates the hazards of travelling to Alexandria, difficulties obtaining passes, and the desertion of slaves to the army. She also relates her own deteriorating relationship with her slaves, and their relationship to the soldiers.Part II of the diary describes a six-year period after the war, 1873-1879, detailing Elizabeth's and her financial hardships and the difficulty of collecting rent from tenants. She also relates their attempts to sell their farm.

  1. Series 2. Ledgers and Bound Manuscripts

Richard's history of forty two years experience of eastern and southern and western life of its advantages and disadvantages and narrow escapes in different ways and the way of living in each part 186 pages Box 102, Shelf Bound Manuscripts/Ledgers

Richard Roberts was the son of Richard Roberts (1808-1876). His mother died when he was five years old and the family left New Jersey a few years later. Likely they joined the Quaker community which had established itself in Alexandria in the 1850s, the pacifist Woodlawn Quakers. This group lived near the village of Accotink, a place mentioned several times in Robert's autobiography. According to a history of the Alexandria Quaker Meeting by Martha Claire Catlin, the group befriended and supported the economic independence and land ownership of the free African Americans in the area. The 1870 census shows Richard Robert's family living on real estate valued at $7,250, on a portion of Mount Vernon where they had numerous African American neighbors. Given the descriptions in the text, the Roberts farm may have been part of Washington's "Muddy Hole" or "Dogue Run" property. Roberts provides descriptions of his life there, the estate, and inhabitants, just after the Civil War.

  1. Series 2. Ledgers and Bound Manuscripts

Robert Brooke Plat Survey of Spencer and Washington Land 1 Sheets Box 88 OVERSIZE, Folder 1741.00.00

Survey plat map of land contained between Dogue Run and Little Hunting Creek, shows the original grant of land between the Spencer family and the Washington family originally granted by Thomas Lord Culpeper in 1674 to Col. John Washington, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 and to Col. Nathaniel Spencer for a grant of 5,000 acres. This land is the future site of Mount Vernon. Survey made for plaintiff Sampson Darrell against defendant Zephaniah Wade. Autograph document signed, 1 page.

  1. Series 3. Oversized Documents and Manuscripts
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon Black and White Film Collection

30 Linear Feet Variety of container sizes based on film negative sizes and types. 5 Linear Feet

The Historical Photograph Collection is largely comprised of materials created by or for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Photographers primarily include staff members and contract photographers. The collection spans the 1930s to the 2000s and includes analog material made up of a variety of sizes of film negatives providing a visual history of the Mansion, outbuildings, tombs, grounds, events, visitors, collection objects, personnel, restoration, and changes throughout the estate.

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College of William and Mary

Edward T. Penny letter

0.01 Linear Foot
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College of William and Mary

Gustavus A. Myers Papers

0.01 Linear Foot

Letters written to Gustavus A. Myers, lawyer in Richmond, Va. Includes letters, 1858-1861, from John Augustine Washington, concerning his sale of "Mount Vernon" to Mount Vernon Ladies' Association; and Washington's Civil War service. The collection includes letters written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Park Benjamin, and Conway Robinson.

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Gustavus A. Myers Papers 0.01 Linear Foot

Myers, Gustavus Adophus, 1801-1869

Letters written to Gustavus A. Myers, lawyer in Richmond, Va. Includes letters, 1858-1861, from John Augustine Washington, concerning his sale of "Mount Vernon" to Mount Vernon Ladies' Association; and Washington's Civil War service. The collection includes letters written by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Park Benjamin, and Conway Robinson.

West Virginia and Regional History Center

Minnie Kendall Lowther Papers

5.9 Linear Feet Summary: 5 ft. 11 in. (14 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 scrapbook, 1 in.)
M.K. Lowther (1869-1947) was a journalist and one of the first women newspaper editors in West Virginia. She was the author of the HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY; BLENNERHASSETT ISLAND IN ROMANCE AND TRAGEDY; FRIENDSHIP HILL, HOME OF ALBERT GALLATIN; MARSHALL HALL AND OTHER POTOMAC POINTS IN STORY AND PICTURE; and MT. VERNON: ITS CHILDREN, ITS ROMANCES, ITS ALLIED FAMILIES AND MANSIONS. There are complete and incomplete typescripts, rough drafts, revisions, photographs and plates of her books. Also there are typescripts of news articles on Washington, D.C., the Potomac Valley, and Wood County. There are genealogical notebooks and correspondence and also correspondence to publishers concerning business arrangements. Families mentioned are: Ball, Barber, Bee, Brake, Broadwater, Burns, Chenoweth, Clayton, Collins, Corbitt, Cox, Cunningham, Davis, Day, Dougherty, Drake, Fittro, Fitzrandolph, Goff, Hall, Hardman, Harris, Haymond, Henderson, Hoff, Hughes, Ireland, Jackson, Johnson, Kapkin, Kendall, Kercheval, Kuykendall, Leep, Leg(g)ett, Lemon, Lowther, McDougal, McGinnis, McGregor, McNeill, Marsh, Maxwell, Meredith, Minear, Modesitt, Morgan, Morrison, Murphy, Null, Nutter, O'Maley, Piatt, Pierpont, Pribble, Prunty, Ralston, Reger, Riddel, Riddle, Scott, Sharp, Shinn, Sleeth, Smith, Stump, Taylor, Waldo, Web(b), Willard, Willis, Wilson, and Zinn.
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Minnie Kendall Lowther Papers 5.9 Linear Feet Summary: 5 ft. 11 in. (14 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 scrapbook, 1 in.)

Lowther, Minnie Kendall, 1869-1947
M.K. Lowther (1869-1947) was a journalist and one of the first women newspaper editors in West Virginia. She was the author of the HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY; BLENNERHASSETT ISLAND IN ROMANCE AND TRAGEDY; FRIENDSHIP HILL, HOME OF ALBERT GALLATIN; MARSHALL HALL AND OTHER POTOMAC POINTS IN STORY AND PICTURE; and MT. VERNON: ITS CHILDREN, ITS ROMANCES, ITS ALLIED FAMILIES AND MANSIONS. There are complete and incomplete typescripts, rough drafts, revisions, photographs and plates of her books. Also there are typescripts of news articles on Washington, D.C., the Potomac Valley, and Wood County. There are genealogical notebooks and correspondence and also correspondence to publishers concerning business arrangements. Families mentioned are: Ball, Barber, Bee, Brake, Broadwater, Burns, Chenoweth, Clayton, Collins, Corbitt, Cox, Cunningham, Davis, Day, Dougherty, Drake, Fittro, Fitzrandolph, Goff, Hall, Hardman, Harris, Haymond, Henderson, Hoff, Hughes, Ireland, Jackson, Johnson, Kapkin, Kendall, Kercheval, Kuykendall, Leep, Leg(g)ett, Lemon, Lowther, McDougal, McGinnis, McGregor, McNeill, Marsh, Maxwell, Meredith, Minear, Modesitt, Morgan, Morrison, Murphy, Null, Nutter, O'Maley, Piatt, Pierpont, Pribble, Prunty, Ralston, Reger, Riddel, Riddle, Scott, Sharp, Shinn, Sleeth, Smith, Stump, Taylor, Waldo, Web(b), Willard, Willis, Wilson, and Zinn.

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