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Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Brown, Coalter, Tucker Papers (I), Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Gift: 3,433 items,
Note: The superscript numbers denote generations within each family.
Henry Brown
Henry Brown
Many papers of Henry Brown, Jr.
John Thompson Brown
Col. John Thompson Brown II
Henry Peronneau Brown
John Coalter
Elizabeth Tucker Coalter
St. George Tucker Coalter
St. George Tucker
Henry St. George Tucker
Randolph Tucker
Dr. David Hunter Tucker
John Randolph Tucker
Ann Frances Bland Tucker
Nathaniel Beverley Tucker
William Munford (1775- 1825)
A friend of John Tucker Coalter's (1769-1838), from his
Williamsburg days, William Munford, a poet and lawyer of some
note, wrote letters to Coalter which contain interesting
reports of the College of William and Mary and of Harvard
University. He wrote of the poverty stricken French immigrants
in Norfolk, and sent vivid descriptions of the activity of the
British fleet in the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. He
lived and studied with George Wythe in Williamsburg, later
moving with him to Richmond to serve as his clerk. His remarks
on Wythe, for whom he had a great affection, throw light on
that important member of the legal profession in the new
nation.
Gary A. Adams' (fl. 1900), connection to the family is unknown. However, several bills to him from the dry goods stores and the household supply stores are included in the collection.
Cynthia Beverly (Tucker) Washington Coleman (1832-1908) of Williamsburg, was an aunt of Cassie Tucker.
Judge John Randolph Tucker (ca. 1915)
Newspaper Clippings, 1913-1915, from Nome, Alaska
concern the term of judgeship of John Randolph Tucker, (ca.
1915).
Capt. David Tucker Brown (ca. 1918), was a member of the 1918 Peace Commission, Paris France.
Papers, 1780-1929, of the Brown, Coalter, Tucker families including the papers of John Coalter (1769-1838), Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, and John Thompson Brown (1802-1836), member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Among the correspondents are Maria (Rind) Coalter, St. George Tucker, William Munford, Frances Bland (Tucker) Coalter, St. George Tucker Coalter, Frances Bland (Coalter) Brown, the Rev. Moses D. Hoge, and Henry Peronneau Brown.
This collection is organized into four series; Series 1 is Group A, containing the papers of Coalter and Tucker Families; Series 2 is Group B, containing the papers of Capt. Henry Brown and his family; Series 3 is Group C, containing the papers of John Thompson Brown; and Series 4 is Group D, containing the papers of the Brown and Tucker Families.
Each series in the collection has been arranged into various subseries by family names, personal names or subjects. The material in each subseries may contain the names of various other persons but the most prominent name is the one used to describe the subseries. Series 1 contains the following subseries: John Coalter; Children of John Coalter, Elizabeth Tucker Coalter, and St. George Tucker Coalter; and Grandchild of John Coalter, Frances Bland Coalter. Series 2 contains the following subseries: Capt. Henry Brown; Immediate Family of Capt. Henry Brown; and Children of Capt. Henry Brown, Henry Brown, Jr. and Samuel T. Brown. Series 3 contains six subseries pertaining to John Thompson Brown. Series 4 contains the following subseries: Col. John Thompson Brown II, Henry Peronneau Brown, John Thompson Brown III, Later Family Member, and Miscellaneous.
Honors Thesis Paper written by a student of the College of William and Mary. A Bibliography can be found on pages 75-77. Call Number: LD6051 .W5m Hist., 1987, B66
There are two collections within the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William and Mary that relate to this Collection. They include the Barnes Family Papers and the Tucker-Coleman Papers.
Papers include John Coalter's autobiographical sketch (to age 18), 54 poems written by Coalter, St. George Tucker, and others including several by female writers. Correspondents of the Coalter family include St. George Tucker, Lelia Skipwith Carter Tucker, William Munford, Judith Randolph, Frances Bland Tucker Coalter and Maria Rind Coalter. Subjects include John Randolph of Roanoke (and his will), George Wythe, the Embargo of 1807-1809, College of William and Mary, War of 1812; and the springs of Virginia.
Group A also includes papers of Coalter's children: Elizabeth Tucker Coalter; and St. George Tucker Coalter and his wife Judith H. Tomlin and the correspondence of Coalter's granddaughter Frances Lelia Bland Coalter Brown. Her letters concern her education and friendship with Moses Drury Hoge.
The record of the gift of the collection, genealogical charts of the Tucker, Coalter, Tomlin and Brown families, and sundry genealogical notes which form a preface to the collection, are placed at the beginning of this box. The collection begins with 54 poems, the first of which is signed by St. George Tucker. Two signed poems by William Munford are included. The largest group of poems are those exchanged by John Coalter and Maria Rind, his first wife. Others were collected in the family papers until the middle or the latter part of the nineteenth century.
The bulk of the material in Box 1 concerns John Coalter: an autobiographical sketch written by him on his 18th birthday, and letters covering the period of his early life from 1787, when he went to live with the St. George Tucker family, until the death of his first wife in 1793. Interesting letters from John Munford, a classmate of Coalter, are included, several of which concern the College of William and Mary and Harvard College.
Genealogical charts: 1. Coalter, with Tucker and Randolph connections; 2. Tomlin, as connected with Coalter and Brown; 3. Brown, as connected with Coalter and Tucker.
Describes life on Walker's Creek, Rockbridge County; his responsibility for the farm while his father is away at war.
Samuel Brown is a young lawyer, earning 40£ per year as usher for John Holt.
Describes his new position as tutor to the children of St. George Tucker.
The death of Mrs. Tucker; plans of St. George Tucker to move because the plantation, Matoax, reverts to the sons of Mrs. Tucker (Richard, John, and Theodorick Randolph). He intends to move to Williamsburg, but he can no longer pay John Coalter 30£ per annum; offers to give legal training in exchange for tutoring services.
His father hopes that John Coalter will return home, to the higher country, for the "sickly season."
Samuel Brown gives details of his studies at Dickinson College, and congratulates John Coalter on his chance to study law with St. George Tucker.
Attending lectures of the Rev. James Madison, President of the College of William and Mary, on Natural Philosophy, and of Mr. Wythe on Law. When John Coalter loses his ribbon he must let his hair hang free for want of money to buy another.
Two young cousins, in custody of Indians for 3 and 6 years respectively, were freed by the army in Detroit.
James Rind, had been studying law with St. George Tucker in Williamsburg but left to take a position with "Col. N." Maria Rind remains in the household of St. George Tucker, where she cared for the children.
Concerning his wedding trip.
John Grierson Rind is a brother of Maria Rind. He mentions the need of John Coalter for a coat and a pair of spectacles.
Approval of the Constitution by South Carolina is still in doubt; threat of an Indian War in Georgia. " Brother Dav[i]dis over in Gloucester. If he has success in purchasing Negroes, I hope we will be ready to sett [sic] out on our rout[e]to the South."
First letter of young Micajah Coalter, who is learning to write.
"Have you been exempted from paying the oppressive Duty which most of our Backwoods Gentlemen have paid for that Knowledge which they have gathered at Williamsburg in Autumn--I mean the loss of Health and a good complexion."
Mentions John Coalter's desire to return home.
Expresses desire to marry and to live on the farm while he is getting started in his law practice.
"...nothing can be expected without
riches...however deserving of a better fate the
His father does not have land to give him at that time, so he cannot marry at once. He has decided to move to Staunton, and continue his studies. In September he writes that he hopes to visit Williamsburg around Christmas, and apply for admission to the bar.
The letters are written with great difficulty, and show a lack of schooling.
Mentions "your quondam charges, Henry, Tudor, Beverley, and Fanny (Tucker) and John and Theodorick Randolph." Hopes he may live and study with Mr. Wythe. "Nothing would advance me faster in the world than the reputation of having been educated by Mr. Wythe, for such a man as he, casts a light upon all around him."
John Coalter has borrowed a horse from him for the trip to Staunton.
"I...was much pleased to hear of your gallantry but am affeared it has been attended with some accident which occasioned your move to the mountains again..." (Evidently John Coalter did something to protect Maria Rind. He then decided to leave Williamsburg in order to establish himself and be in a position to support her as his wife.)
After obtaining his license in Williamsburg, John Coalter has his first case in Amherst. Of St. George Tucker, he writes: "I would rather have the approbation of that man than worlds for my admirers." Advice is given in regard to the torment by John Randolph; plans are made for their marriage in autumn.
In April she writes that Mr. Tucker plans to remarry; she wishes to move up the date of their marriage. She dreads "the prospect of Johnny Randolph returning and you well know, my love, how liable your dear is to be insulted by him..."
"...thru the surprising friendship of Mr. Wythe, I live in his house and board at his table...In this happy situation tomorrow I begin the Study of Law."
Congratulates James Rind on receiving his license to practice law.
"We visit very often at the different houses in the neighborhood, at Westover, Nesting, and Shirley, where I saw Robin Carter...we may expect to see you after Mrs. Carter has become Mrs. Tucker."
On the return of a wagon and horses; purchases of additional farm animals.
Living and studying with Mr. Wythe. John Thompson (grandfather of John Thompson Brown) was among the 4th of July orators. Verse and poetic criticism of St. George Tucker. George Wythe is teaching his servant to write.
This law practice is discouraging; entrusts Maria Rind to his care, and sends greetings on St. George Tucker's 39th birthday.
Discourages John Coalter from coming "across the Alps" -- there are too many lawyers already.
Has moved to Richmond with Mr. Wythe. Mentions building of the canal. Samuel Brown to study in Scotland; congratulates John Coalter on his marriage to Maria Rind.
Elizabeth Tucker is sister of St. George Tucker, and an aunt of Fanny Tucker. Mentions other Tucker children, Henry, Tudor, Beverly, and Elizabeth, as well as Theodorick and Richard Randolph and the latter's wife, Judith. Comments on the proposed marriage of St. George Tucker to Mrs. Carter, and the small children she will be bringing to the marriage.
Description of George Washington delivering an address in Philadelphia. Congratulates John Coalter on his marriage and sends compliments to his brothers. (This Samuel Brown may be the uncle of John Thompson Brown.)
The letter was written soon after Mrs. Coalter had gone to Staunton with her husband.
On the marriage of St. George Tucker to Mrs. Lelia (Skipwith) Carter.
Death of Maria Skipwith; the great distress of Mrs. (Lelia Skipwith) Tucker.
His wages are to be 15£ or 20£ per year as a clerk.
The letter from Edinburgh contains an interesting description of life in the Scottish capital, the coldness of his fellow students until they are introduced, and his warm reception by a family to which he had a letter of introduction.
Reports that there are about forty students at the College of William and Mary; Theodorick Randolph has died; "Thompson has left W. & M.," and his mother proposes to send him to Harvard.
Enquires about Maria, and their expected first child. (Both mother and child died.)
The "distressing news" that his wife has died in childbirth.
War reports; the parade of the Richmond Grenadiers, Light Horse and Light Infantry.
Consoles John Coalter on the loss of his wife; reports the Independence Day orations at the College of William and Mary, and mentions the raising of subscriptions to aid distressed French immigrants at Norfolk.
The contents of Box 2 trace the legal career of John Coalter from 10 April 1795, when St. George Tucker recommended him for the position of Clerk of the Court in Staunton, through the period of his second and third marriages to Margaret Davenport, 1795 (she died in 1797), and to Frances Bland Tucker, 1802.
Included also are letters to Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter from her father St. George Tucker, her stepmother Mrs. Lelia Skipwith Tucker, her sister-in-law Mrs. Judith Randolph of Bizarre, and others. Correspondence with William Munford, in Williamsburg, is also included.
Recommends John Coalter as Clerk of the Staunton Court.
"Yes, Peggy, my Maria is gone! The worst of evils has befallen your friend."
Requests payment of a debt.
William Munford has returned to the College of William and Mary, and is "in constant attendance on Mr. (St. George) Tucker...Mrs. Tucker has lately been so unfortunate as to lose a newborn child."
Accuses John Coalter of "making a stroke at her character"; makes insulting statements regarding John Coalter's late wife. John Coalter responds by threatening to take Jenny Stuart into court, after which she offers to return John Coalter's letter.
James Coalter is a merchant, dealing largely in indigo.
Recounts a voyage to Hampton Roads to view the French Fleet, consisting of 150 ships, including three men of war, five or six frigates, and armed merchantmen laden with flour. Party spirit in Norfolk; Aristocrats more prominent; acrimony inflamed by the presence of the French fleet and a British frigate. William Munford is ready to apply for his law license.
"There can be but one in the world" for her, but he is "out of her reach." At a recent dinner the first toast by Governor Lee was to her.
Congratulations on the occasion of her marriage to John Coalter.
The difficulty of finding passage for Mrs. Coalter and her mother from Williamsburg to Staunton. John Coalter is finally able to borrow a phaeton which he has overhauled and supplied with an umbrella. Advice regarding divorce of F. C[?]y.
Concerning a mare to be serviced.
The "war" and Indian victory are mentioned and a bloody spring season is predicted.
Divorce proceedings for a Mrs. Matthews before the Georgia Legislature.
Mention is made of a child expected by Mrs. Coalter.
Condolences "on this distressing occasion" (the death of John Coalter's wife in childbirth; the child also died.)
Business letter concerning collections to be made in Virginia.
She should "by this time be fatigued with the name of Tucker" and that she "had better look about" (for a husband).
The letter is from the papers of John Coalter.
Judith Randolph, wife of Richard Randolph, half brother of Frances Tucker, sends greetings to Polly and Charles (Carter), step-sister and brother of Frances Tucker. The "Mama" mentioned is Mrs. Lelia Carter Tucker.
Complains that she is "surrounded by the real evils of life." (Her husband had been linked with her sister in the famous scandal proceedings.)
Concerning a horse in which he is interested.
Hint of a June wedding for Frances Tucker.
Fanny B. Tucker has just married John Coalter and returned with him to Staunton. Anne H. Nicholas writes that Lelia Byrd has died at the age of 18.
Elm Grove was the new home of the Coalters. Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter was in the Warm Springs for her health in September.
Frances Bland Tucker Coalter returns to Williamsburg for the birth of her first child, Francis Lelia; the burning of the buildings of Lexington Academy.
John Coalter was on the court circuit.
The letters are undated, but are replies to those from Frances Bland Tucker Coalter to John Coalter.
F. Davenport was the mother of the second wife of John Coalter, who continued to live with the Coalters.
Concerning deed to property, probably Elm Grove, the home bought by John Coalter.
Maria Carter was a step-daughter of St. George Tucker.
Writes of obtaining a clerk's position with the Ohio Assembly at $4.00 per day.
Death of her husband and her straitened circumstances; Bizarre in bad condition; hopes to send her son, St. George, to Europe to cure his deafness.
In June, St. George Tucker and Mrs. Tucker set out for Staunton in order to be there for the lying-in of Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter.
First mention of the second Coalter child, Elizabeth.
The illness of Tudor Randolph.
Congratulates John Coalter on the birth of his second daughter and the purchase of Elm Grove. He writes at length about the difficulty in buying good house servants.
Financial matters, mainly about bank shares and dividends.
St. George Randolph's visit to England; her disappointment over continued his deafness Dr. Cooper says "occasioned by the irruption of his ears at nine months old." Has no authority over the servants. Illness of Polly the seamstress.
Thirty sick Negroes. Poverty.
John Naylor married to Jane, sister of John Coalter.
Payment of $1,230 on bank shares.
The marriage of Beverley Tucker to Mary Coalter.
Small pox.
Difficulties in South Carolina caused by the embargo.
His wife Evelina has given birth to a son.
Anne Catherine Coalter was visiting the Coalters at Elm Grove.
Mention of her young daughters, Fancilea (Francis Lelia) and Lizba (Elizabeth Tucker Coalter).
Frances Bland Tucker Coalter spent every summer at the medicinal springs for her health.
Interesting comments on the effect of the embargo in South Carolina, and of episodes in the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay area are found in these letters. There is also a report of the destruction wrought in Bruton Parish Church by the "youth of Williamsburg," and remarks of Saint George Tucker (14 June 1809) upon the occasion of the birth of his first grandson, St. George Coalter, in which he strongly condemns the academies and colleges of that day.
Letters include those exchanged by John Coalter with his third wife Frances Bland (Tucker) Coalter from 1809-1811, when John Coalter was serving as Circuit Judge. In 1811 he accepted an appointment as judge of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals; the family then moved to Richmond. There are many letters received by Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter between 1809 and her death in 1813, from her father St. George Tucker, and stepmother Mrs. Lelia Tucker, in Williamsburg, from her sister-in-law Mrs. Judith Randolph at Bizarre, and from other members of the family. There also are many letters to the daughters of John Coalter, Frances Lelia and Elizabeth Tucker, from their grandparents, from 1813 to the death of Frances Lelia Coalter in 1821.
On the appointment of John Coalter to his position as "a judge under the new Judiciary System." (John Coalter was appointed February 7, 1807).
Mentions a visit from the newly married Beverley [Tucker]and Polly [Coalter]and writes concerning her sons Saint (George) and Tudor.
Written by John Coalter during spring and autumn sessions of the Circuit Court. Contain instructions for planting, the upkeep of Elm Grove, and other matters.
One of the letters concerns the troubles with the English and the hope for a peaceful settlement.
In the letter of June 14, St. George Tucker mentions the birth of John Coalter's first son his first grandson (St. George Tucker Coalter) "who, if my prayers for him may be heard, will never descend from the dignity of a private station." Concerning the education of his grandson, he writes, "unless the manners of our youth, or the management of their tutor, shall undergo a most surprising and happy change in this Country, I had rather he should never hear of an Academy or a College, than enter the walls of one.
Congratulations on the birth of a son.
This series of letters is concerned, among other problems, with the difficulty of meeting payments on Elm Grove, of a fight between two of their slaves, the treatment of one of the wives by slave husband and the imprisonment on the plantation of the two slaves. Effort to get a tooth pulled. Two doctors and, finally, "a shoemaker named Cease" were able to extract the tooth about a week after the first attempt was made. Alcoholism of a friend. Afflicting account of sister's situation at Bizarre. "she must come to us, as soon as she can leave Bizarre; which she says cannot be before Xmas, that she may complete the clothing of the Negroes."
Appeals to James All to represent the
district. About the war situation: "We are more
Colonies than ever--i.e. we give our
Her parents were trying to buy a cook for Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter without great success.
These letters although undated, are believed to have been written in 1810.
Reports that Bruton Parish Church has been "totally and wantonly destroyed...the Bellows and many of the pipes cut to pieces," evidently by the youth of the town.
John Coalter attending the spring and autumn sittings of the Circuit Court, sends instructions for the management of the farm.
News of the farm, the slaves, and family. Relays questions from slave Ned about the farm and permission for him to visit his daughter in Rockingham and his wife's petition to accompany him.
Concerning a cook for sale.
D[avid] C[oalter], Mary's father.
These letters from relatives of Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter are placed in one folder.
These letters are undated but are presumed to date from 1811, and placed in one folder.
In May, John Coalter writes of his appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia (May 11, 1811). "God help me, I know not what to do. All have advised my acceptance." In October he writes of arrangements made for the move to Richmond, and of plans to sell the cattle at Elm Grove.
In April Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter writes, "I very much fear I shall never be reconciled to our fate"--of separation for such long periods when John Coalter is absent on the court circuit. (A month later John Coalter was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals.) Also mentions a "terrible whipping" their two year old son St. George Tucker Coalter had "for obstinacy."
Tucker strongly advises his brother-in-law against accepting his new appointment: "Rest assured that no other Judge of the General Court will accept the office which is tendered you."
John St. George Randolph is a son of Mrs. Judith Randolph.
Speaking of himself as an "ex-judge," Tucker advises John Coalter regarding his new appointment; concern for the health of Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter.
Frances Lelia Coalter writes with concern about her mother's health.
News of the children sent to Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter who is quite ill.
Concern for Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter's poor health.
The troubled times are reflected in this series of letters. In July, Tucker comments on the American privateer with one nine-pounder which took a British schooner armed with four twelve pounders. In August he gives an account of the Baltimore riot in which a jail was broken into and prisoners assassinated. He writes that such action "is beyond measure horrible and obnoxious; and every good Citizen ought to set his face against such damnable proceedings," but concludes, "The Yankees, no doubt, will be glad of the precedent...I look forward to a dissolution of the Union, as an Event not far off."
Concerning the sale of Elm Grove.
Reflects the uncertainty of the war situation in his letter.
Frances L. Coalter writes to her father who is with her mother, Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter, in her last illness at the medicinal springs.
Writing to his daughter before she goes to the Springs for her final siege of illness, St. George Tucker sends the news that the enemy had left the waters about Williamsburg after much destruction and property along the river.
In these letters it is apparent that Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter is near death.
Letters of hope and prayer for the recovery of Mrs. Frances Bland Tucker Coalter.
Reports of the war: "the conduct of the British at Craney Island was the most cowardly imaginable," and "We have just been informed by rumor that the British Squadron in the Chesapeake has been reinforced..."
Writes of his "great and irretrievable loss" his wife died "on Sunday evening, the 12th instant."
The first letters written after the death of St. George Tucker's daughter.
To her granddaughter, the second child of John Coalter and his late wife. (A biographical note of John Coalter's family is enclosed in the folder with this letter.)
She writes that "the events of the present week will supply to you the want of a Mother and Sister, which you have so severly felt, particularly in the last six or eight months." Frances L. Coalter, the sister of Elizabeth T. Coalter, died in 1821 at the age of 18. John Coalter was soon to marry his fourth wife, a widow Williamson.
Second is titled "Tucker-Green Annals."
The Tuckers are in their summer home at Warminster, with Maria Carter Cabell, daughter of Mrs. L. Tucker, and her husband Joseph Cabell.
A New Year's greeting to his granddaughters.
The letters in this box are primarily those of the two surviving children of John and Francis Bland Tucker Coalter: Elizabeth Tucker Coalter Bryan and St. George Tucker Coalter, and their respective spouses, John Randolph Bryan and Judith H. Tomlin Coalter.
This group includes genealogical material on the Tomlin family, and correspondence of Judith H. Tomlin before her marriage to St. George Tucker Coalter. Her letters form an important part of the collection from this time until her death in 1859.
The last letters from their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. St. George Tucker, are preserved, as well as letters to their uncles Henry and Beverley Tucker and John Randolph of Roanoke. Of special note is a letter of October, 1831 in which St. George Tucker Coalter writes fully of Randolph during a visit to Roanoke. After his death in 1833, Randolph's will caused great difficulty and misunderstanding in the family, and appears to cast a slur on his step-father St. George Tucker.
The letters of St. George Tucker Coalter to his wife and sister, especially those written from the springs which he visits each year, form the largest single group. In these letters an interesting picture of nineteenth century social life is to be found.
Schoolgirl letters written by J. H. T. before her marriage.
Judith H. Tomlin writes of her visit to Yorktown to see Lafayette on his return visit to America.
Judith H. Tucker writes to congratulate Virgilia Savage in December on her marriage.
Endorsed: "Letters of my dear and venerated Grandfather, S. G. Tucker, High Souled, Generous Gentleman."
Thomas T. Tucker, a brother of St. George Tucker, enclosed these two letters in a packet which he forwarded from Beverley Tucker.
St. George Tucker complains about his sight and signs himself "Your old blind Grandpa" in the first of these letters. The last is endorsed: "All the letters concerning my most dear Grandfather's illness and death are omitted and put to themselves."
These were written after the death of St. George Tucker.
Writes in regard to his instruction in law, as suggested by Elizabeth T. Coalter. He mentions the poor health of his step-brother, John Randolph, of Roanoke; and suspects that his brother, Beverley, "will not return to Virginia as a resident." Beverley Tucker, then in Missouri, did return to Williamsburg, and later became Professor of Law at the College of William and Mary.
Tucker enclosed his "Introductory Lecture," reprinted from his
The first is a printed invitation to a ball at the Jefferson Hotel with a message added; the second is a Temperance pledge signed by St. George Tucker Coalter, Judith H. Tomlin and three others.
Evidently left in charge of his father's estate, Chatham, he writes concerning examinations at the College of William and Mary and of his experiences in vaccinating and performing minor operations on the slaves. (He was a 20 year old farmer with no medical training!)
St. George Tucker Coalter prepares to leave school to marry.
The first letter to Judith Tomlin Coalter
after her marriage to St. George Tucker
Coalter, December 16, 1829. "Tell St. George
that yesterday Uncle R. (John Randolph of
Roanoke) made an attack
His "chill and fever," the recurring sickness which was to bring on his early death in 1839. His wife goes to Chatham, the Coalter family home, for the birth of her first child, Walker Tomlin Coalter.
In October he writes: "Uncle R. (John Randolph of Roanoke) looks dreadfully, is much worn away by disease..." Two weeks later he writes describing Randolph's estate and personality: "He is very agreeable indeed and entertains me highly with his conversation on all subjects...He is a man of the finest and nicest feelings I have ever met with..."
On her husband's financial difficulties.
Writes to his sister about crops, planting, and the like.
The two cousins, grandsons of John Coalter, are infants; this letter is written by St. George Tucker Coalter.
In the January letter, he announces the birth of a son, Henry St. George Tucker Coalter. From White Sulphur Springs, he writes (July 27) that "the shortness of breath and the hacking cough have left me entirely."
Her husband is at the Springs; she would like to join him but cannot afford it. "He says he never wished for money before, as the want of it keeps him from having company..."
An interesting group of letters describing life at several of the medicinal springs which were so popular in the 19th century. He describes his daily regimen, the meals, the baths, other tourists, the costs, and the physical characteristics of the resorts.
Mrs. Judith H. Coalter writes to her husband about family matters while he is at the springs for his health.
A continuation of his previous letters, including a crude drawing of the buildings and grounds of Salt Sulphur Springs.
In November she mentions that Beverley Tucker called on way to Williamsburg.
The boys, who are just learning to write, add their notes to the letter to their grandfather.
Her husband is overworking, and she fears for his health.
The brother of Mrs. Judith H. Coalter writes to her father-in-law asking help in gaining a position with a Richmond company.
He writes about his poor health; mentions his uncle, Beverley Tucker.
John Coalter is very much concerned with gold mine projects; he now orders St. George Tucker Coalter about at his will, and has decided that the family shall move closer to him. They are dependent on John Coalter financially.
Life at the springs, his continuing illness and his poverty.
His discouragement as he contemplates the move insisted upon by his father: "after seven years we have to begin the world afresh and fix and build and lay out and all that -- oh thunder - -how I dread and hate it."
Regarding the move from Cumberland, New Kent County, to St. George's Park, King William County, and the difficulty of the move.
John Coalter is very ill, and the new place is slow in getting established. Mention of the will of John Randolph of Roanoke.
The will of John Randolph of Roanoke, in which the good name of St. George Tucker is slighted. Henry and Beverley Tucker, sons of St. George Tucker are also involved.
Home has not been settled since leaving Cumberland. Her husband has finally bought a place "about 2 hundred and 50 acres, very poor, with a new house but a very indifferent one."
Concerning the "continued illness" of Judge (John) Coalter; offers to be of any help that he can. (John Coalter died the day this letter was written.)
The correspondence between St. George T. Coalter, his wife, his sister Mrs. Elizabeth T. Bryan, and her husband John Randolph Bryan, form the core of the material in this box. St. George Tucker Coalter attempts to establish a new home where his late father John Coalter forced him to move (St. George Tucker Coalter was never financially independent of his father). A doctor's prescription, 28 April 1839, for the man who has been slowly dying of lung trouble and constant fever is: salts to be taken internally, salve rubbed on externally, baths at the medicinal springs and regular exercise. Four months later St. George Tucker Coalter died.
The five surviving children of Mrs. Coalter and the nine children of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Bryan add to the correspondence as the years go on, for the families are very attached to one another and there is much visiting back and forth as well as letter writing. The letters of the cousins have been combined in this collection, so that an interesting picture is given of the life of this period; see a report of a traveling entertainer who visits the great houses (23 February 1847), a description of a costume ball at Warner Hall (8 February 1851) and a list of courses studied at a Girl's school (2 February 1852).
There is much discussion of diseases which were prevalent: consumption, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, cholera, and influenza. 16-year-old John Coalter copied out a cholera cure sent by his aunt for use by two local doctors (13 July 1849).
The first letter is endorsed by John Randolph Bryan. The second was started by St. George Tucker Coalter but was completed and signed by his wife.
Concerned principally with the rapidly deteriorating health of St. George T. Coalter. In June he begins a letter that he is unable to finish but by November he is again supervising the farm activity. The establishment of the new farm and the erection of additional buildings is a great strain.
Mrs. Coalter wrote the first two letters for her husband who was too weak to write, but by December he was again active in supervising St. George's Park, their new home.
Coalter visits his uncle, Beverley Tucker, who has moved back to Williamsburg.
Visiting the family home of Mrs. Coalter their son, John, falls down the basement stairs and is unconscious for a time. His father writes, "the Doctor bled him and yesterday morning we gave him a dose of salts...he is now to all appearances as well as ever tho' from loss of blood, the shock, the Salts and low diet he is a little fainty when he first begins to move about in the morning." (The child survived the ministrations of the doctor!)
A receipt for $100.00 and a demand for another $100.00 on shares of stock.
Concerned with the business of a ferry, gold mines, and a mill, evidently part of the estate left by John Coalter to his two children.
Mr. Coalter has had a relapse, and "has lost all the flesh and muscle he had gained. Yet he makes a trip down country in April, only to return much worse.
He marks his 30th birthday: "I can neither eat nor sleep nor move about with comfort and am so weak from fever...that I can hardly stand up or sit down."
Letters written to her husband when he is on his last trip from home.
A doctor's prescription: salts, used internally, salves externally, baths at the Hot Springs, and continued exercise.
Announces the birth of a child to Mrs. Coalter. St. George Tucker Coalter writes of the "fire in my breast that must soon burn me out."
News of a young son; congratulates Mrs. Bryan on the birth of a daughter. St. George Tucker Coalter adds a note in July 4th letter: "I can't make much hand at writing this evening but I send you these few words to comfort you...my thoughts and prayers are with you may the Lord work all things together for our good." To this Mrs. Elizabeth T. Bryan has added the endorsement, "The last line I ever got from him."
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Coalter has gone to live with her sister-in-law at Eagle Point.
Mrs. Coalter moved from St. George's Park to Presley. Her brother, Harrison Tomlin, was living with the family and takes the place of a father to the children.
Of her poverty and of the need for means to educate her children.
The son of Mrs. Coalter writes to his young cousin, the son of John Randolph Bryan, at Roanoke, a plantation that had been in litigation since the death of John Randolph. The property was being administered by J. R. Bryan, one of the heirs. Young John C. Bryan, was one of the chief beneficiaries of the will, then being contested.
Announcing the birth of a child.
Preparations are made to send Fanny (Frances Bland Coalter) to live with her grandmother and to attend school in Fredericksburg. The sale of the estate of her late husband took place in October.
Enquires about money from the estate of John Randolph of Roanoke; her plans to send John and Henry Coalter away to school. (St. George Tucker Coalter, father of John and Henry, was a nephew of John Randolph, and it was expected that the Coalter children would inherit something from his estate.)
Written from school to his aunt; "all of the boys have to get in school by sunrise and stay there until five in the evening."
The Bryan place, Eagle Point in Gloucester County, is so isolated and the family growing so large that a school teacher was kept there for the other children. She mentions her brothers and sisters, and tells of a traveling entertainer: "De [Delia] and myself went to Warner Hall...and there found an Italian ventriloquist with a hat on that had little bells all around the brim...if he comes to Chatham you will probably be deceived by him..."
He tells his sister: "I reckon this is the coldest and most melancholy place in the world."
Hopes to get a place from the sale of the estate. "Seven years this last Christmas is a long time not to have a house to call your own." Her hopes for the settlement of the Randolph estate are not fulfilled.
Congratulates Mrs. Bryan on the birth of a son, her 8th child. Mentions shopping trips to Richmond and the remodeling of the house, so, perhaps, some money may have been received from the Randolph estate.
A 9-year old writes of attending a dance at Warner Hall and staying until 11 p.m. "We take dancing lesson of 2 hours length every Saturday."
Consumption and Cholera are discussed as
well as the final division of the estate. Mrs.
Coalter still hopes to be able to buy a home of
her own. Sons John and Henry left in September
for the University of Virginia where they room
with their cousins, Jack Coalter and J.
Braxton. On Christmas Day she mentions "A
dreadful affair has lately occurred at the
University, one young man killed another, both
intoxicated and from the south; as wicked as
that is, it takes the
Henry T. Coalter, 16 years old, writes that he has had charge of the harvest at the farm because the overseer was sick. He has also advised the local doctors on Cholera cures: "Mama received your letter by the last post and was much obliged to you for the copy you sent her of the cure for the Cholera. Since it reached here I have copied it twice for different doctors who seemed much pleased with the proscription (sic)."
A beautiful description of the Cove and the island as seen from the Eagle Point house.
Mrs. Lacy, related through the fourth wife of her grandfather, John Coalter, was like an older sister to Frances Bland Coalter, and the affectionate relationship between the two continued for many years.
The Lacy's are preparing to move into Ellwood, the former summer home of John Coalter.
Letters written before and after a long visit. There were ties between the families despite the distance between them. Mrs. Coalter fears her youngest son, Saint [George], has Typhoid fever.
A school friend tells of a visit to Richmond to see the relics of Gen. and Mrs. Washington.
About life in the great houses of Virginia, excursions on river boats, dances, and the like. Mentions a fancy ball where everyone appeared in a mask and gown, "You cannot tell a man from a woman. They go about in this costume for some time and have a dance...one gentleman went draped as a lady and no one found him out,...one went as a monk in robes and with his beads..."
"When will your new house, or rather, new home be ready for you? (Frances Bland Coalter's mother has finally been able to buy a house, Stanley.)
Mentions the war threat: "my anxiety about a
Announces the birth of a daughter to Mrs. Lacy.
Fanny Coalter is attending a school conducted by Rev. Moses D. Hoge.
Endorses note from Mrs. Judith H. Coalter.
About her daughter, Agnes, and the progress on the improvements at Ellwood.
"Rumors of a great revival at Mr. H.'s school have reached us from different quarters and report says Jinney and yourself acted a conspicuous part."
A school friend writes of her textbooks: "Paley's Moral Philosophy, Olinstead's Natural Philosophy, Hume's History of England, Conic Sections, Thompson's Arithmetic and French Studies."
Includes a most interesting account of trip
by boat from Gloucester County,
The first letters written by Mrs. Coalter's youngest child.
A schoolmate who has left Rev. Mr. Hoge's school writes back.
An offer to abate charges so that Fanny B. Coalter could remain in school.
Writes that he has stood his examination for license to practice law; reports on his brothers and sisters.
Fanny has returned to Rev. Hoge's school; her friend writes regarding scarlet fever.
This box consists largely of papers collected by Frances Bland Coalter between February 1853, when she is preparing to leave school, and December 1858, when she married Henry Peronneau Brown. Through this marriage the Tucker-Coalter line was connected with the Brown line; thus, the papers of the two families were brought together into one.
The collection gives an interesting picture of the life and interests of a young lady of moderate circumstances in the mid-l9th century. Of special interest are the letters concerning the Rev. Moses D. Hoge, whose school in Richmond Fanny Coalter had attended. Shortly after she left school, the Rev. Mr. Hoge carried on a very romantic correspondence with Fanny, although he was a married man with several children. The correspondence became more ardent in the early months of 1854 and, when Mrs. Hoge wrote that her husband had gone to Baltimore to stay with his brother who was ill, Fanny followed him there. According to the gossip of Mattie and Lizzie Morton, she went there to "entrap him." In October it was suggested that the brother, William Hoge, was the one in whom she was interested. The Rev. Mr. Hoge later sought to calm the fervours of his correspondent, as shown by his letters of 28 January 1855, 19 June 1856, and 19 March 1857.
Fanny B. Coalter did not lack for other suitors, however, for she preserved a letter of 17 July 1854, a proposal of marriage from Alfred B. Tucker. A year later there are reports of her interest in the Brown brothers, John Thompson and Peronneau, of Petersburg, both of whom were courting her. She finally settled on the latter; some acceptances to the marriage invitation are included in this box.
Letters of Frances Bland Coalter and her husband Henry Peronneau Brown continue in Box 21. The intervening boxes contain manuscripts of the Brown family, especially Capt. Henry Brown, grandfather of Henry Peronneau Brown (Boxes 7-13); the Hon. John Thompson Brown, father of Henry Peronneau Brown (Boxes 14-19); and Col. John Thompson Brown II, brother of Henry Peronneau Brown (Box 20).
Fanny is preparing to leave the school, having finished the course.
A schoolmate and Fanny's sister write after she leaves school.
Reports that Jack Bryan, oldest son of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Bryan is dying at the Coalter home, Presley.
After many years of waiting (since the death of her husband in 1839) Mrs. Coalter is finally able to buy her own place, Stanley. She tells of her move and of the illness that put her in bed afterward.
The school is closed for the summer, his wife and children are away, so he enlivens his solitude "by having a little chat with you...and where I always think of you and the delightful morning when we enjoyed the scene together...how I cherish every memorial of you. "I greatly enjoyed your last brief visit to us and that evening (do you remember it?) when the music room being full of company we found quiet, and cool breezes in the back porch. I have been sitting there tonight." (A strange letter, indeed, and one which was to cause some upset in the heart of Frances Bland Coalter, as subsequent correspondence show.)
Written to Mrs. Judith H. Coalter soon after she purchased her home, Stanley.
"This letter cannot hold any news, so I will fill it with love...entertaining myself by wishing that you could walk into the room and occupy a vacant chair hard by ."I hope to see you sometimes...nothing to what I would enjoy were I to keep house in a quiet way and have you for my guest a week at a time..."I would like you to marry some fine fellow and live in Richmond, only I...like you best as you are, except that you are too far from me."
"When I woke up yesterday morning and found it raining, my spirits fell as low as the mercury for I feared you would not come to Hampstead..."
"You ask me why it is that I am so partial to you--well, the very first time we get a chance to have a talk by ourselves I will tell you...When shall the opportunity come? There is always so much company at your house..."
He conducts a school: "I succeeded in six days of raising 21 scholars." He writes that Henry has graduated in Law with distinction.
"I think from his letter, Brother [William Hoge]has been much sicker than we had any idea of Mr. [Moses D.] Hogeis going on Thursday to see him and will probably remain in Baltimore until he is well enough to travel..."
Addressed to Fanny at Baltimore. Her friend writes, "Cousin Joe says you went to Baltimore purposely to see Mr. Hoge."
Reports gossip concerning Fanny's Baltimore trip.
"Often when (I am) abroad, you will be in my mind and heart. Neither do I want you to get married before I return. I am to perform that service, you know..."
Concerning the gossip regarding Fanny and Rev.
Hoge: "Surely you could not think me so deceitful
as to profess to love you and then say that you
would
A proposal of marriage.
A rumor that Frances Bland Coalter is to marry.
"Julia Green was here...when I told her that you had gotten a letter from Mr. Hoge she said she was so jealous of you that she was ready to fight..."
"I am going to Baltimore...and I shall see Mr. Wm. Hoge! Don't you wish you were going? What shall I tell him for you?"
St. George is now in school at Staunton.
Construction work to be done at the University of Virginia.
"I hope that it will not be long before I have the pleasure of seeing you, my dear and constantly remembered friend."
"I have heard several times of your engagement to Thomas--who has made himself very scarce."
Accepts invitation to the marriage of Virginia, younger sister of Fanny Coalter.
Now a practicing lawyer, he writes to his aunt on business.
To her cousin regarding "Mr. President" and "The Vice." (This appears to refer to the Brown brothers, John Thompson and Henry Peronneau. Frances Bland Coalter was to marry the latter.)
"I wish you to be very particular in your conversations with P[eronneau]not to let him have the least idea of the tenor of my remarks to you yesterday and at the same time manage to convince him that I am not in love with you, as I am afraid such is his present opinion."
Trouble in: finding a teacher for her children; "the Roanoke business"--(evidently a reference to the still unsettled will of John Randolph of Roanoke.)
Concerned about the health of Fanny's mother, has a horror of those "distracting springs" for invalids.
The solution to a problem in surveying (this may be the "Thomas" to whom Frances Bland Coalter was rumored to be engaged).
On the death of Mrs. E. T. Bryan, aunt of Fanny Bland Coalter.
On the death of Mrs. Elizabeth T. Bryan.
Thanks Fanny for her help at the time of the death of Mrs. Bryan, her mother.
Is in charge of the plantation since her mother's death; busy making summer clothes for the slaves.
Suggests a visit together to "cousin Horace Lacy."
P[eronneau] Brownand his brother, Thompson, are mentioned. (See letters of December 1855, Box-folder 6:44-45.)
Writes to ask Mrs. Coalter to stay with his daughters during his absence in the south.
Has charge of the large plantation, keeping four seamstresses, three spinners and a weaver busy.
"No, my dear Fanny, my affection for you has not changed."
Regarding Mr. Willcox Brown and his brother Peronneau, future husband of Frances Bland Coalter.
Invitation to the commencement party at Hampden Sidney College.
Accompanying his uncle on a business trip, he has visited the main cities of the south and attended the opera in New Orleans. "I must confess that I have been rather disappointed in the people that live in these rich lands--they are as rough as possible...live in log houses and on the very poorest fare."
"I suppose your wedding will be postponed unless Mr. Brown's recovery is unusually rapid."
"The news of your engagement [to Henry P. Brown] did not surprise me...how heartily I approve of your choice..."
"If my letter arrives too late for Miss Fanny Coalter, I hope Mrs. Brown will have enough affection for the old name to lay claim to it."
Regrets that he cannot attend the wedding.
This letter is undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
This letter is undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
This letter is undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
These letters are undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
This letter is undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
These letters are undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
This item is undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
These covers are undated but probably received before December 7, 1858.
Papers of Henry Brown, a merchant and county official include a manuscript map of Guilford C. H., business records and correspondence of Brown and Clayton, New London, Bedford (now Campbell County), Virginia and Hancock and Brown, Lynchburg, Virginia. Collection also includes papers concerning a lawsuit against Pleasant Murphy and estate papers of Daniel Brown and Henry Brown's father-in-law John Thompson. There are papers of his immediate family including Henry Brown, Jr.
The Brown family papers begin with the letters and papers of Capt. Henry Brown (1760-1841), successful merchant of Bedford County and Lynchburg, who established the family fortune. He was the father of John Thompson Brown, Delegate to the Virginia Assembly, whose letters and papers are collected in the next section (Boxes 14-19).
A few letters and receipts pertaining to Henry Brown, 1712-1798, the father of Capt. Henry Brown, are included. The great bulk of the material, however, relates to Capt. Brown, beginning with a map of a Revolutionary War battle, 1777, in which he was wounded. With his brother, Daniel, he opened a general store in Bedford soon after the conclusion of the war. A partnership agreement of April 1797, which brought James Leftwich into the business, is preserved and the bulk of the material in this box pertains to the business of the store. A good picture of early merchandising is given by the accounts, letters relating to buying and selling trips, and the court actions taken to collect accounts.
Also, starting with folder 60, are 39 items relating to the duties of Henry Brown as tax collector in the Bedford area in the years 1800 to 1803.
"Your friends here tremble for you and apprehend the worst from the dangers that encompass you...the deadly rifle, the scalping knife, tomahawk...return to us in all speed."
Endorsed: "Map of revolutionary battle, found 1926 by F. B. Saunders in old papers from Ivy Cliff. Capt. Henry Brown, born at Ivy Cliff about 1760, was wounded at Guildford C. H."
Concerning goods for a retail store.
Endorsed: "Note Henry Brown, payable 1 September, 1793."
Regarding saddle goods in stock at the store.
Writes to his brother concerning tobacco prices.
Concerning business affairs a suit for debt, purchase of tobacco and a "Negro wench" for the store, etc. "P.S. I heard at court they had made you a Captain."
Includes a list of the new officers of the Farmer's Bank in Richmond.
Concerning the division of Negroes, total value £815, between Leftwich and the Brown brothers.
Regarding loss of West India produce on which $5,000.00 was borrowed. Endorsed: "I fear our loss will be considerable."
Receipt is for $130.43 to be paid to John Roberts on land that Capt. Henry Brown sold to William Woodford.
Tobacco sold by Leftwich to a man who was a bad risk: "...we are thrown out of between 20 and 30 thousand dollars...one fourth of what it has taken us 20 years to earn is lost for want of prudence."
Directions for sending tax collections.
Business records and correspondence of Henry Brown and Samuel P. Clayton. After the death of his brother Daniel in 1818, Brown entered into a partnership with Clayton, his son-in-law. Brown survived Clayton, who died in 1832; this box also includes papers from 1833 to 1839 made out to Henry Brown, surviving partner of Brown and Clayton Company.
The accounts of Henry Brown with Hancock and Brown, Lynchburg, 1824-1833, are retained as one group.
Also retained as a separate group are the papers relating to the court suits of Brown and Pleasant Murphy. All notes of the period carried a 100 percent penalty clause. This resulted in many law suits being brought to establish what would now be considered exorbitant claims. In one case (see entry for March 10, 1823) for a debt of $42.05, the debtor surrendered 1 sound filly, 2 cows, a calf, 2 feather beds, all household and kitchen furniture, all plantation utensils, and 6 hogs!
Captain Henry Brown had many interests in his long life apart from the purely commercial activities upon which his considerable fortune was built. Included in this box are the papers relating to his other interests.
Business papers of Henry Brown, not directly connected with any of his various business enterprises, but concerned principally with court suits involving debts to him. Included is an interesting case of Mark Anthony, who took the oath of an Insolvent Debtor, making out a deed of trust of all his property to his creditors (11 April 1829 and 6 July 1833).
Also includes papers concerned with the suit of Henry Brown vs. Nicodemus Leftwich, 1832-1840. Brown pays for the attendance of witnesses at the court and pays the county Jailor "for imprisoning and releasing" Leftwich.
Household, family and personal bills preserved by Henry Brown, an interesting collection of a family illustrating the activities of eight children in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, 1819-1841.
The personal correspondence of Henry Brown with his brothers, Samuel and Daniel, and his children. The correspondence between Henry Brown and his son, John Thompson Brown, is found in Boxes 14-19.
Also letters from the sons and daughters of Samuel, brother of Henry Brown.
In a separate group are collected letters written by Edward J. Steptoe, grandson of Henry Brown, from West Point Military Academy and from the Indian Wars in Florida, where he served after he was commissioned.
Purchase of a watch in Winchester; requests 30 Dollars to repay a debt.
His wife's estate; purchase of a Negro girl.
On his return from the Spring; attack of "bilious Cholic;" his treatment.
Concerning "the purchase of some land at $20. per acre..."
Beats female slave, using a walking stick, his wife using a cowhide whip. The slave's mate attempted to protect her with an axe but he was subdued, beaten and sent to jail the next day. Hopes for peace, unpopularity of the conscription law and the whiskey tax.
On her studies: Blair's lectures, piano playing, drawing, painting and embroidery.
The husband of Nancy Brown writes: "...Bounaparte is on his way to this country. If so I greatly fear we shall go backwards with accelerated velocity in all peaceful, literary and ornamental pursuits..."
Advice on a move to the State of Ohio. "Although I like Slavery as little as you or anyone else, still...I think it probable that we should be as unhappy as we are with them" (Daniel died in 1818. For the next 20 years Henry administered his estate for the benefit of his wife and children.)
Mary Brown's illness at the Springs (she was to die within a year).
The building of his house and the health of his family.
The daughter of Samuel Brown, writes to console her Uncle on the death of his brothers and his two daughters, Mrs. Anne [Nancy] B. Steptoeand Mrs. Mary [Polly] B. Clayton.
An uncle of Henry Brown writes, "My grandson wishes to get in to Business in a store..." (Henry Brown, Jr. now has a store in Lynchburg.)
His continued bad health. The death of James Leftwich, Capt. Brown's business partner.
Requests assistance in obtaining appointment as Clerk of Court at Bedford.
The value of the Deerwood tract.
Begs her father to let her have money to go to the inauguration of President Jackson.
On her visit to Washington: "this is the thickest settled neighborhood that I ever was in--the neighbors are situated all around, some in view and others not more than a quarter of a mile from the house..."
On his visit with his brothers, John Thompson Brown, in "Washington City." Description of crowded Washington, full of pickpockets and of the confusion even in the President's house.
"...the last day I rode more than thirty miles through a dreary wilderness without seeing a single house...I am yet travelling alone and have come six hundred miles without a single man travelling my course..."
His progress in college.
His progress in repaying a debt to the estate of his uncle, Daniel.
Report of workers on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal dying from Cholera.
On the death of his maternal grandfather, John Thompson.
Leaving for New York to lay in goods.
Hopes for his store despite illness and some hostile feeling toward his former partner, Ammon Hancock.
On the death of Henry Brown. (Henry Brown, Jr. died while he and his wife were on a shopping trip for the store.)
On the changing population: "The people still retain the simple manners of the old Scotch-Irish and, I may add, much of the intelligence and piety. But the restless spirit of emigration is taking away our best people and in their place we generally get Germans, who commonly are deplorably ignorant and will do very little toward supporting the Gospel."
A Quaker associate of Henry Brown, Jr. writes to settle accounts and close the store.
The widow of Henry Brown, Jr., writes of the disposal of her house.
To Frances Brown's husband, on the loss of her two brothers, "and such brothers too, in so short a time." (Henry Brown, Jr. died in June, 1836, and his brother, John Thompson Brown, in December of that same year.)
On the sale of merchandise and an expected loss.
Agrees to furnish Gould B. Raymond, manager of the Menagerie Co., lodging for 30 men, 65 horses, 1 elephant, 1 camel and 2 ponies.
The inscription on the tomb of her late husband, John Thompson Brown.
The widow of Henry Brown, Jr., writes of the death of her husband a year ago.
The widow of John Thompson Brown writes regarding her three sons.
The executor of an estate demands payment of a note on which Henry Brown, Jr. was a cosigner.
The youngest daughter of Henry Brown writes about her marriage and the first meeting with her new relatives.
On his marriage to Alice Brown.
Her wedding trip to New Orleans.
Her sickness on the way down the river due to fresh paint in the boat.
Concerning eventual conversion of Baptists to the Presbyterian Church.
"...I left New Orleans the 28th of March and reach G[eorge].T[own]. The 15th of April...Sam (Brown) was in New Orleans the day before I left-he was not married but expected to be the 9th of April."
"Last evening our darling Alice made me the happy father of a fine boy..."
Report to his father of his first grades at the Academy.
To his grandfather regarding his first term marks.
"The first two years of our course are exclusively devoted to Mathematics and French..." Encloses a work sheet and "Synopsis of the Course of Studies at the Military Academy."
"The Congress must get rid of its 'sickly sympathy' (with the Indians) or, rely upon it, this is a war of years to come." Gives a vivid description of St. Augustine.
Contrasts the Cherokees in Tennessee with the Seminoles of Florida. Describes Savannah in a letter enclosed, dated February 16, 1839.
Letters of Henry Brown, Jr., oldest son of Capt. Henry Brown; Samuel Thompson Brown, youngest son; and other members of the immediate family.
Henry Brown, Jr., who suffered a grave illness in 1822 as a result of which he almost lost his eyesight, went into the partnership of his father with Amman Hancock. In 1835-1836, he opened his own store in Lynchburg, but died in May 1836, while on a buying trip to New York. Interesting items in this part of the collection include a 44 page book of mineral and chemical notes (31 July 1826), a 56 page diary kept by Henry Brown, Jr. on his trip abroad (24 July 1831), drafts of letters by Henry Brown, Jr. to newspapers regarding horses, and instructions for horse care, and the like (13 April 1835-March 1836). The will of Henry Brown, Jr. (May-December 1830), and his deathbed statement dictated to his wife (May 1836), are also included.
The papers of Samuel Thompson Brown include the card which announced the opening of his law office in Bedford (8 May 1838), records of his marriage in Alabama (27 April 1840), and the death of his wife within the year (3 April 1841). A letter of 22 January 1842, mentions the business failures taking place in Richmond and Lynchburg, and one of 27 August of the same year comments on the national political situation which is "sadly out of joint." In a letter of 20 September [1845], there is a report of "the thefts which were perpetrated by Thomas H. Benton whilst a student at Chapel Hill."
"My eyes appear to have improved gradually." (His ailment seemed to be at its worst at this time, though he continued to suffer from the ailment until his death in 1836 at the age of 39 years.)
A note for $1000.00. At this time he was getting started in the store, Hancock and Brown Co.
The "most favorable accounts" of John Thompson Brown from the members of the House of Delegates.
Concerning the business of Col. [Mark] Anthony, in which Henry Brown, Jr. appears to be involved.
Mentions the marriage of John Thompson Brown.
A letter of introduction for Henry Brown, Jr., for use on his trip to England and the Continent in that year.
"Oh, my dear husband, why was it that I did not accompany you?" (None of these letters reached Henry Brown, Jr. on the trip, but followed him home).
News from a letter she received from Henry Brown, Jr. in England.
Payment of his debts in Lynchburg; hiring out of a slave.
"it's really a sad case for me, to be sick from home and away from all that (are) Dear to me..."
This was the store in Lynchburg in which Henry Brown was a partner and with which Henry Brown, Jr. was associated until he opened his own store in 1835.
Brother-in-law, Jack [Willcox]; his brother, John's speech on the Petersburg Rail Road; and the house that Henry Brown has vacated in Lynchburg.
On a debt of Thomas Williams.
Appear to refer to pictures, and may date from the time of one of the buying trips that Henry Brown, Jr. made with his wife.
After breaking from the partnership of Hancock and Brown, he opened his own store.
Concerning the care for his horses, Young American Eclipse and Spring Hill, while he is away.
Written while she and her husband were on a buying trip for the Lynchburg store. In New York Henry Brown, Jr. was taken desperately ill and died.
Evidently taken down by Mrs. Eleanor C. L. Brown during the final days in New York.
An associate of Henry Brown, Jr. in the Lynchburg store, was liquidating the stock and selling horses in order to settle the estate.
A note regarding the settlement of the Henry Brown, Jr. estate.
Written from school, with endorsement by James Morrison, schoolmaster.
Signed Eleanor C. L. Brown.
Congratulating S. T. B. on his marriage.
Writes of the aged John Vaughan Willcox, her father, with whom she is living and for whom she is caring; Samuel T. Brown and his "youthful bride."
His extended wedding trip; description of Gen Harrison's house.
Consolations upon the death of Mrs. Samuel T. Brown.
Condolences upon the death of Mrs. Samuel T. Brown.
A letter of consolation.
On the death of W. W. Worthington, brother-in-law of Samuel T. Brown. "Your sister Alice is desirous of your attention to the affairs of Mr. W. in New Orleans prior to your return to Virginia."
Recording certain deeds for his son-in-law, Samuel T. Brown.
Written to his overseer with whom he has quarreled.
On the fees paid by Henry Brown in the Leftwich case: "between twenty and twenty-five dollars for my services as an attorney." On the thefts "perpetrated by Thomas H. Benton whilst a student at Chapel Hill."
Concerning the cutting of trees on the property of Samuel T. Brown.
A reply to the above letter, Box-Folder 13:60.
On a charge of Ammon Hancock against the estate of Henry Brown, Jr.
Estimate for the cost of the construction of a bridge.
On the property in Mobile, Alabama, purchased by Samuel T. Brown.
The sale of a female slave "with her Brood."
Papers concern John Thompson Brown's attendance at Princeton, study of law, and trips to the South and to the West Indies. Includes speeches and correspondence as well as his published writings (newspaper articles, bills and pamphlets). The collection emphasizes his political career in the Virginia House of Delegates including his views on slavery. Also includes architectural plans for a two room house and elevations (1827), drafts of toasts and letters concerning his fight with John Hampden Pleasants.
Prominent correspondents include William Segar Archer, James Murray Mason, John Hampden Pleasants, William Cabell Rives, Henry St. George Tucker and John Tyler.
John Thompson Brown (1802-1836) was born at Otter Hills, near Bedford, Virginia and was the son of Henry Brown (1760-1841). He attended the New London Academy, 1816; studied at Princeton, 1817-1820; traveled to the South and the West Indies, 1821; and studied law with Judge Creed Taylor in Cumberland County, Virginia, 1822-1823. He began his law practice in Clarksburg, Virginia (later West Virginia), in 1824, and represented Harrison County in the House of Delegates, 1827-1830. He was a member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830. He married Mary E. Willcox June, 1830, and moved to Petersburg, where he again was elected to the General Assembly, 1831-1836. He was a delegate to the national convention of the Republican (now Democratic) Party, but died on 20 November 1836, at his father's home, Otter Hills, after a brief illness.
The first two letters in Box 14 date from the period of his attendance at New London Academy; then follow the papers relating to Princeton, where he matriculated in 1817 at the age of 19. He was placed in the Sophomore Class on the basis of an examination before the faculty, and received the highest mark given at the College, in each of the three years he spent at the College. His report sheets show the requirements for entrance, lists of courses, and contain a resolution passed by the trustees which condemned the sharp practices of the merchants in town.
Some of the correspondence of John Thompson Brown with his brother-in-law Dr. William B. Steptoe in this period is interesting for the comments it contains on the Missouri question and other matters then being debated in the U.S. Senate. The remarks made by John Thompson Brown in letters from his collegiate period may be compared with his statements on the subject of slavery later made on the floor of the House of Delegates.
After graduating from Princeton, John Thompson Brown traveled to the South, and made a brief trip to the West Indies, keeping notes on his impressions. Upon his return he took up the study of law with Judge Taylor. From this period come interesting musings on such subjects as "the family fireside," "youthful recollection," "friendship," and "behavior of a lawyer if he is to succeed." His license to practice law, dated 7 March 1824, is included in the collection. He journeyed to Clarksburg, Virginia, to set up his law practice, and kept a notebook on the trip West which reveal his first impressions of the Clarksburg area.
At the end of this box is a scrapbook containing some of his published writings, speeches, and newspaper articles.
Letter from a schoolboy friend regarding New London Academy.
John Thompson Brown's examinations at the New London Academy.
"I have just been examined by the faculty and am admitted to the Sophomore Class, which is the second in the college." His expenses are estimated at $200.00 for the first term and $90.00 for the second. "I will pledge myself not to spend one cent more than is really necessary."
News from home; a rumor that some boys were expelled from Chapel Hill for their politics.
Medical advice; a suggested teacher for New London Academy ("Has he energy enough manage southern students?"); the death of Polly [Mrs. Mary Brown Clayton], sister of John Thompson Brown.
The political upheaval at William and Mary College; deputies appointed "...to fix upon the site of the Virginia University."
"My expenses have far exceeded what was necessary or what you expect. I now see my error and repent..." Three months later he offers to leave school because of his additional debts. Later in Baltimore, he is robbed of $200.00. His father adds up the year's expenses to a total of $670.00.
Behavior, No. 1. distinguished; Industry, No.
1. distinguished; Scholarship, No. 1.
distinguished (1) "If under the article
"Once the busy scene of commercial enterprise...now lifeless and inactive." Concerning Lynchburg.
The University of Virginia is established at Charlottesville with an annual appropriation of $15,000; news of a threat of slave uprisings in Fredericksburg.
Similar reports to that of 1818. Warning is added to the September report concerning excessive expenditures by students: "the trustees of the college give this notice to the parents and guardians of the youth, that they ought to pay no debt contracted in this town, which they have not specifically authorized."
Endorsed: "Collegians mei consocui." He knew 162 fellow students.
On the "present session of Congress."
Rumor of a great rebellion that has taken place at Princeton; the Missouri question.
A 4th of July oration supporting the idea of colonizing the free Negroes in Africa.
"My father may justly complain of the great sums which he has expended on me, but his kindness shall not be abused much longer, as I hope to be in a situation to support myself." Endorsed: "Brother J.--after his return from Princeton went South--through the Cherokee Nation [Alabama and Georgia] to Pensacola, and on to New Orleans--thence to Cuba and returned to U. States in the U.S. Frigate 'Hornet,' as a guest of the officers. Samuel T. Brown."
A gambling scrape he was involved in; asks his father's forgiveness.
"Chancellor Taylor has been of incalculable service to me in the study of law." (Needham was a law school operated by Judge Creed Taylor in Cumberland County in the years 1821-1836.)
These are the continuous drafts of a multiple of letters. The first section consists of musings and youthful recollections; the second is a humorous report on a 4th of July oration made in Petersburg after his marriage.
Regarding the marriage of Dr. Steptoe.
Musings on Friendship and the wise behavior of a lawyer if he is to succeed.
A letter introducing John Thompson Brown when he went to Clarksburg to set up practice.
Musings written on a trip through Virginia: thoughts on a disappointing love affair; notes on "Crab Orchard" and the "Creek Nation" --the latter were to be incorporated into an Independence Day address delivered in Petersburg in 1831.
Impressions of Clarksburg; the countryside is beautiful and the land very rich, but "The people have no money and are wretchedly poor and lazy..."
His plans to establish himself.
The following newspaper clippings and pamphlets are included in a bound scrap book, with endorsements and were undoubtedly collected by John Thompson Brown himself.
Concerning "several cases of contempt of court, occurring in various parts of the Union, in which the punishment inflicted, has been made a subject of grievous complaint."
Concerning "...Mr. Jefferson...the disclosure of his poverty..."
Concerning "The President's message."
A Bill authorizing a loan of $6,000.00 on the credit of the state, for the construction of Turnpike Road from Winchester to Parkersburg by way of Clarksburg, being under consideration.
"Sir:--I have read in the "Intelligencer" of the 9th inst. your communications to the Editors of the paper, in which you remark, substantially, that the only Candidate to represent the town of Petersburg in the General Assembly is a stranger to most voters...Not doubting that I am the person alluded to...," signed John Thompson Brown"
"The following copy of a Petition to the Legislature of Virginia, we insert at the request of a number of our Citizens."
"On motion of Mr. Brown of Petersburg, the report of the committee on slaves, free Negroes and mulattoes, and the amendment of Mr. Preston were taken up; when Mr. Brown rose and addressed the house as follows:..."
"The bill to amend an act authorizing the Board of Public Works to subscribe on behalf of the Commonwealth, to the stock of the Petersburg Rail Road, was read a third time. Mr. Brown said..."
"Andrew Jackson was unanimously recommended to the Citizens of Virginia, as the next President. "Mr. Miller of Powhatan then submitted the following Resolution..."(Concerning the Vice-President). Mr. Brown of Petersburg, then submitted the following by way of substitute for the above..."
The material in this box covers the period 1825 to 1829, when John Thompson Brown was resident of Clarksburg, Harrison County, Virginia (later West Virginia). In this period John Thompson Brown wrote some of the "Letters to the Editor," printed in the Clarksburg
In July 1826, John Thompson Brown wrote to his brother Henry Brown, Jr. of his aim to run for the U.S. Congress. In 1827 he was elected to the House of Delegates; he was re-elected in 1828 and 1829. This box also contains various printed and manuscript material touching upon his career in the General Assembly.
By the end of 1829, John Thompson Brown had established himself in Clarksburg, built a house, and planned to buy into a partnership in a store to advance his financial position. In a letter of March 23, 1829 he mentions his desire to run in the next election for the U.S. Congress.
"...the friends of Old Hickory...hear Adamses success spoken of and the probability of Clay's being made Secretary of State..."
Encloses a legal opinion concerning sheriffs, which his father apparently requested.
A flowery letter to an old friend from Princeton. "I have acquired some little reputation at the bar and a practice that supports me very decently."
Draft of an address to an investigating group (perhaps a grand jury), with endorsement: "1. Act against cutting down trees. 2. Act providing for a good and sufficient jail."
This is part of a printed letter concerning "Mr. Jefferson the disclosure of his poverty..." over the signature Alexander. (See bound scrapbook, the last item in Box 14.)
Desire of John Thompson Brown to run for the U.S. Congress or for a seat in the General Assembly. Suggests that Henry Brown send $1,000.00 to help achieve this.
"I find that there is a serious and, I believe, a somewhat general wish to bring me out for the Legislature."
"I am a candidate for the Legislature at the next election..."
An announcement of the candidacy of John Thompson Brown for the General Assembly. He reviews what he considers to be the most important problems of the day, and discusses (1) the invasion of State sovereignty by the Federal program of "internal development," (2) the harm done to Southern farmers by import duties, (3) the calling of a Constitutional Convention for the state of Virginia, (4) the dangers of the uncontrolled banking system.
His election to the General Assembly; hope of election to the U.S. Congress, and the purchase of a four acre lot in town. In the first letter which John Thompson Brown wrote from the House of Delegates he said "I have not taken much part in the debates of the House and do not expect to do so..."
His ride to Richmond in a coach with other, more experienced law-makers, "having been, as you predicted, greatly edified and instructed by a coach-full of legislators 'big with the cares of state."
"Resolving that members of the House of Delegates be requested to unite...in advancing the cause of this Society before the General Assembly of Virginia."
On John Thompson Brown's speech: "considered the most able one that had been delivered in the House in 5 years."
"Our Society, in the success of which, you are pleased to express so deep an interest, is I believe, making sure progress."
His legislature activities and speeches. "I am a Jackson man like yourself but not perfectly orthodox, as you would say, on the subject of States Rights. I published my opinions, pamphlet of 30 pages, 12 months ago and will send you a copy..."
A report to his constituents on such matters as (1) the state Constitutional Convention, (2) the lottery for the Randolph Academy in Clarksburg, (3) county elections, (4) the bill abolishing the chancery Courts and establishing a Superior Court, (5) a Turnpike to their area (defeated by the "Eastern People"), (6) the proposed Baltimore Railroad and (7) the settling of the question of land titles in Western Virginia. Included in the pamphlet are the full texts of the report of the committee on this subject, which he chaired, and the bill proposed by the committee.
Comment on the land titles, Chancery court bills.
"Even now I am as comfortably situated as I could desire and shall support myself hereafter without any further drafts on your goodness..."
Now well situated in his "mansion," he discusses his prospects for Congress and of his plan to "offer 2 years hence."
Endorsed: "McConley's System of Sword Tactics."
Reflections on people met at the Medicinal Springs, as contrasted with those of his constituency.
In February, he forwards a copy of sheriff's commission to his father. During the year he borrows $400.00 for payments on his house in Clarksburg, and by the end of the year his father has agreed to advance enough capital for him to become a partner in a mercantile business. Upon the conclusion of the 1828-1829 session of the General Assembly, he writes that he will be a candidate once more, then run for Congress. In the letter of March 23rd, he writes that opposition has arisen "on account of some laws we had passed last session authorizing the county court to levy a tax for repairing roads and, bridges." On March 23rd he relates his experiences in Washington at the inauguration of Jackson: on December 14th he predicts that the basis of votes for whites will be surrendered in the formation of the new State constitution.
Suggests they ride together to Alexandria, then go to Richmond by boat.
The Virginia Constitutional Convention: "I had an opportunity of hearing the most distinguished members of the body--Mr. Madison and Mr. Marshall among the rest..."
The change which was to occur in the life and fortunes of John Thompson Brown in the year 1830 is forecast in the first letter of this box, a letter received by Mary E. Willcox of Petersburg in [December] 1829, in which there is a discussion of "Mr. B." Three months later (18 March 1830) in a letter to his father, John Thompson Brown announces his intention of leaving Clarksburg, and of his need for a horse and sulky so that he may arrive in Petersburg in a manner which should "avoid the appearance of poverty and destitution." The next letter in the collection (9 [May] 1830), in draft, contains an account of his wedding, a wedding which was attended by no members of his immediate family.
Subsequent letters tell of the generosity of the new father-in-law John V. Willcox in the gift of a town house "provided with servants," a draft of $1500, and the promise of as much more as he asks (22 July 1830). Yet the position is not satisfactory and because John Thompson Brown feels that he is losing his independence, he returns to Clarksburg with the intention of resettling there and sending for his wife (2 May 1831). During a four week visit to Harrison County, he finds his political position has declined (7 June 1831), so he returns to Petersburg, and is invited to make the Independence Day address for the town (8 June 1831). As a result of this address (and the good influence of his father-in-law) he is nominated to represent the town in the House of Delegates, and is elected without opposition (26 September 1831).
He successfully sponsors a bill in the Assembly for the Petersburg Railroad (28 December 1831), is appointed Judge of Elections for the Petersburg Office of the Bank of Virginia (29 December 1831), and is sought as a sponsor of a new newspaper which is being established in Richmond (20 October 1831). Of particular interest is a letter to his nephew outlining his philosophy of life and advising the young man on his future (3 October 1831). A report of the slave insurrection in Southhampton is described in a letter of 26 September 1831.
At the end of this box are collected more than a hundred drafts of toasts made by John Thompson Brown.
A friend writes regarding "Mr. B.," "a man of
boundless pride and diffidence. His attachment was
cut down in the bud and
"My friends, Webster, Goffard, and others believed I could certainly be elected to Congress next Spring...I wish to appear at P[etersburg]in a manner which would probably be expected and to avoid the appearance of poverty and destitution . Henry is to get me a sulky, horse, etc., and if you can spare this additional sum you may hand it over to him..."
"Our nuptials took place at the time expected and I cannot say that there was any other allay to my happiness, than that neither you nor any of my near relatives were present."
On his honeymoon: "Peronneau Finley travels with us, as one of our immediate party. Mr. Willcox, Sr., and three of his friends are going to N. York to the races. They came with us thus far..." There is much discussion about where they will live, but, "I think it probable we shall reside in Petersburg..."
On his Washington visit: "we remained a week, were introduced to the President, etc., heard some interesting debates and saw all the great men of the nation...My situation is in all respects agreeable."
Congratulations on her marriage coupled with much advice.
After a visit with his father, he writes: "I have nothing to add on the subject of my future arrangements. I shall pursue the course which you seemed to approve when we were together." He writes later that Mr. Willcox has turned over to them his town house "furnished with servants"; in another letter: "He handed me a check for $1,500 and said that I should always have as much as I wanted..."
Sends advice to his younger brother and, and account of his own situation.
Letters from Harrison County report that "the District needs me badly...but it is too late..."
"I regret that you have temporarily declined public life--for I would not believe you have abondoned it altogether."
Advice given to a young man summarizing John Thompson Brown's own philosophy of life.
On his return to Harrison County, "I found that my position here was to be too dependent..."
"At a meeting of the citizens of Petersburg...'Resolved, that John Thompson Brown, Esq., he appointed Orator of the Day'."
The first important public speech of John Thompson Brown, in Petersburg, one which appears to have established his reputation, and which influenced his decision to remain there.
Regarding his Independence Day address; the wisdom of his brother's decision to visit England.
These are the continuous drafts of multiple letters. This draft concerns the second part which contains a humorous report on a 4th of July oration made in Petersburg after his marriage.
On July 25, he states that his brother has left on the packet for Baltimore on the way to Liverpool. Concerning his "reasons of my determining not to remove to Harrison." On September 14 he writes that his wife has given birth to a son, who will be named Henry Peronneau, "after you and my friend Peronneau Finley."
Henry Brown, Jr. writes of his journey, as a result of which "I become more and more an American in feeling and principle..."
"I was elected without opposition, after announcing my sentiments freely and boldly." News of an insurrection of Negroes in Southampton, "they killed 55 persons, mainly women and children."
Gives his opinions on the education of his
nephew, Edward. He approves strongly of the
emphasis on science to be found at West Point; on
going to college among the Yankees: "I partake in
some measure of the prejudice against them--but
think nevertheless that...southern
A new newspaper is proposed for the city of Richmond.
A request for help in covering a $3,000 debt to "sharpers."
Describes the quarters he has for his wife and son. On the main question of the day he writes: "I think no measure can or ought to be taken now for the abolition of slavery..."
Concerning "the bill now before the Legislature on the subject of our (Rail) Road."
Appointment of John Thompson Brown as judge of the election for directors of the Bank of Virginia in Petersburg.
Includes the following subjects: The Press, Lafayette, The Cuase of of Civil and Religious Liberty, The Militia Volunteers, Woman, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, The Constitution, The Militia, State Rights, President of the United States, Our Guests, Benjamin Franklin, The Union, ("Drank 1833." ADr.), The Day We Celebrate, Washington, and The Army and Navy.
Includes the following subjects: The Federal Consitiution, Free Press, President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette, Our Guests and Woman.
Includes the following subjects: The 4th of July, 1776, The Cause of Liberty Throughout the World, The Heroes and Statesmen of the Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette, and The Federal Constitution.
Includes the following subject: The Union "(This toast was drank, as a standing toast at the Petersburg Republican Celebration of Mr. Jefferson's election on the 29th of January, 1801)." Most toast endorsed: "Offered 1835, not adopted."
Includes the following subjects: The Day We Celebrated, The Memory of Washington, The Army and the Navy, Military Spirit, Free Press, Popular Suffrage, and National Character.
Includes the following subjects: The Friends of Constitutional Restriction, Political Toleration, National Character, The State Legislature, Virginia Military, Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Petersburg, The District of Columbia, The Right of Instruction, The Press and John Tyler.
The important and exciting national political events of the years 1832 and 1833, as they affected the people of Virginia, are seen through the eyes of John Thompson Brown in the items included in this box. A member from Petersburg in the House of Delegates of the Virginia Assembly, John Thompson Brown was placed in a position of leadership and strongly influenced the decisions taken in those critical years.
His speech on the abolition of slavery was considered so important that Judge Henry St. George Tucker and others raised the money to have it printed (18 January 1832). He was a member of the Virginia delegation to the national convention of the Republican Party; his resolution of the Vice-Presidential nominee (21-22 May 1832) was the one adopted by the Virginia caucus. As Chairman of the Finance Committee of the House of Delegates, the question of President Jackson's moves against the United States Bank was of particular concern to him (9 April 1833).
Great excitement was aroused by South Carolina's threat of nullification. John Thompson Brown was a member of the Committee on Federal Relations, and his substitute motion on the question is included in this box, as well as his speech on
John Thompson Brown was invited to be a Director of the Petersburg Railroad which he declined (7 May 1832), and was considered for the position of U.S. Senator, although he felt that he was not qualified by years or experience (December 1832). An interesting report of his meeting with President Jackson is included in a letter from John Thompson Brown to his wife (23 May 1832).
Also included in this box are letters from John Tyler, William Cabell Rives, and William Segar Archer (7 February, 3 March 1833).
Two poems, possibly written by John Thompson Brown, clipped from a newspaper, signed Julian are included at the end of this box.
Writes of the fortunes of the (Petersburg) Railroad Bill in the House of Delegates and State Senate.
Information regarding Rensselaer School. Samuel T. Brown, younger brother of John Thompson Brown, appears to have been interested in this school.
In this important speech John Thompson Brown took up several proposals for the freeing of slaves, including that of Thomas Jefferson, as submitted to the Legislature by Jefferson Randolph, his grandson, and argued against each.
"My speech on abolition has had great
Includes in a "Postscript" an answer to a statement in
Concerning a suggested amendment for the Circuit Court Law.
He cannot give his nephew, Edward Steptoe, an appointment to West Point because he has used his appointment for the session. "...the Senate is involved in the Tariff discussion...The farther I have gone into it the more thoroughly have I convinced myself of its tyrannical and oppressive character."
A resolution from the Petersburg Rail Road Company to tender thanks for "the zeal and ability with which our Delegate John T. Brown, Esq. and our Senator, Wm. Old, Esq. have exerted in procuring passage of the said (Rail Road) act."
This is the resolution presented by John Thompson Brown and reported in a newspaper article of this date preserved in the scrapbook to be found in Box 14.
"I send you 2 copies of John's speech (on Slavery) and a paper with one of Jefferson Randolph's in reply to him."
Declines appointment as a member of the Board of Directors of the Petersburg Railroad.
Notes on the convention of the whole party and of the Virginia Caucus. At the latter the resolution of John Thompson Brown. was adopted, viz. that Virginia's vote should go first to P. P. Barbour for Vice- President, and when there was no longer a reasonable prospect of his selection, to Van Buren.
"...on last evening we went to the President who is in excellent health and fine spirits. Many persons here, including some members of Congress from Virginia, seem to be much dissatisfied with our proceedings at Baltimore..."
To his youngest brother, attending college, regarding the health of Henry, Jr.
On the death of Finley's brother.
The family has traveled south to escape an epidemic of Cholera.
In the letter of December 3 he discusses the
election of U.S. Senators, stating that Mr. Leigh
is out because of his opposition to President
Jackson. Among those mentioned for the position
are
Judge
[Henry St. George] Tucker,
[John] Randolph
Rives, and himself, though he feels that he
has neither the years nor the experience for the
position. President Jackson's message on the U.S.
Bank is discussed. On nullification he writes: "It
will, I fear, be an exciting subject and one of
engrossing interest...South Carolina is
unquestionably wrong and
The possibility of his appointment as Senator to supply the vacancy left by Mr. Tazewell.
Excitement in Washington caused by the President's proclamation on nullification debate.
Regarding the removal of deposits from the U.S. Bank by the Federal Government.
"I was rather mortified at making a very poor speech [on Federal Relations] in the House today...To avoid misrepresentation I shall have to write out my speech..."
Doc. No. 14.
After stating his opposition to protective tariffs, John Thompson Brown argued that they result from "a perversion of the spirit and intent of the Constitution, rather than a violation of its literal principles."
He compliments the Chief Magistrate of the United States on his general policy but disputes the Proclamation of the President on other grounds, basing his argument on
As to the action of South Carolina, he contends that there is no possibility of nullification under the Constitution, but that the redress of the wrong done in the tariff act must come by recourse to the Supreme Court, to the "Co-states" acting in Congress, and if necessary, by an amendment to the Constitution.
Compliments John Thompson Brown on his resolutions.
"I was anxious myself that Virginia should maintain an impartial and just attitude toward both S. Carolina and the President, but far the greater part of the Assembly seemed in favour of going into one extreme or other . . . whereas I thought there was error on both sides..."
He remarks that Edward [Steptoe]has been successful in getting his appointment to West Point "obtained (by Mr. Archer, the Senator) as a favour to me" but "without...your letter...the application could scarcely have been successful."
Appointment of Edward Steptoe to West Point; report of the enforcing bill in the President's proclamation, and the Tariff Bill.
In July he announces the birth of a son.
On the Force Bill and the Bank of the U.S.
"On seeimg Miss ____ at Clarksburg," and "Julian Abandoning His Muse." Possibly written by John Thompson Brown about this period.
The letters written by John Thompson Brown during portions of the 1833-1834 and the 1834-1835 sessions of the General Assembly are found in this box.
The manuscripts begin with letters reporting the legislative battle fought and lost against the Portsmouth-Norfolk road which John Thompson Brown believed would have disastrous effects on the future of Petersburg (January 1834). Near the end of the box are letters concerning John Thompson Brown's battle fought with fists and canes in the halls of the State Capitol with a fellow representative John Hampden Pleasants (January 1835). The fracas resulted from a heated debate on the election of a U.S. Senator. John Thompson Brown was one of those mentioned for the position of U.S. Senator (December 1834), but his youth (28 years) was against him and he did not enjoy the rough and tumble of party politics then developing.
Also of interest are the draft of a speech delivered on the occasion of the death of Lafayette (9 July 1834), and two notebooks used by John Thompson Brown as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the House of Delegates (January 1835).
News that his brother, Samuel, is ill at Harvard.
Reports on his progress at the college.
His attempts to defeat the Norfolk rail road in the Assembly; family news.
"All is lost except our honour. The Portsmouth Bill [Norfolk railroad] has passed...our town [Petersburg] is prostrated...but the ancient spirit of our little town, which Mr. Madison called the 'cockade of the old Dominion' is not dead."
A patent for producing domestic salt.
Election of a U.S. Senator, for which he has been mentioned; Mr. Leigh's election. At the end of February and beginning of March he is kept in bed with an illness.
Gives his views of the political situation, mentioning the message President Jackson sent to Congress with the "Force Bill," the President's plans for the Bank of the U.S., and objections to Van Buren and "the N. York system of tactics which he will bring with him."
Plans for Samuel, John Thompson Brown's brother, to start his study of law with him.
Sold bank shares to help his brother go into business for himself; gives advice on racing horses.
Endorsed: "To my sons, should they ever read it."
Report of his progress at the U.S. Military Academy.
Draft of a letter sending condolences for the death of a sister and congratulations on the birth of a son.
His resignation from the U.S. Senate.
"No subject arouses anybody except the senatorial election."
He offers to place all his monetary resources at the service of his brother in his new business venture.
On the 17th he prepared a draft of a letter, which he sent on the 20th, giving an account of a fight in the halls of the General Assembly between himself and John Hampden Pleasants.
A letter of apology for the battle fought in the halls of the Virginia Capitol.
An account of his speech which was "better received than anything I have ever made."
Points out the importance of this election for "future political events and party combinations in the state," and defends the incumbent, Mr. Leigh.
Prepared for use in the Finance Committee of the House of Deputies.
Notes on taxes, license fees, and the like, prepared by John Thompson Brown for use on the Finance Committee of the House of Delegates.
The closing sessions of the State Legislature of 1834-1835 are reported in the letters at the beginning of this box. The party spirit runs high in Petersburg as the "Jackson party" opposes John Thompson Brown (March 1835). He is involved in a street fight with an opponent in which he receives a black eye, but the argument is made up after he wins the election (April 1835).
Before the next session of the legislature, John Thompson Brown is occupied in collecting more material on the question of slavery (August 1835), and prepared three long drafts written in opposition to the candidacy of Martin Van Buren for President of the U.S. Undated drafts of notes on legal cases are included at the end of the 1835 section.
Henry Brown, Jr., the brother of John Thompson Brown, died in May 1836, while on a buying trip to Philadelphia and New York for his Lynchburg store. The trip of John Thompson Brown to meet the body of his brother, and his activity in settling his brother's affairs in Lynchburg are reported in the letters included in this box.
At the end of July he takes his family to his father's home, Otter Hills, near New London in Campbell County, for the funeral sermon of Henry Brown, Jr. While there he contracts an illness which keeps him there until his death on 26 November 1836.
Announces the birth of a son, John Thompson Brown II, and tells his brother that he had ordered $2800 placed to his account to support the store that he had opened.
Political activity in Petersburg.
"The Jackson party has brought out the most popular man in Petersburg against...it is quite likely he will beat me."
On April 18 he writes, "I was elected by a majority of 37 (13 of which were from Richmond)." There is also a report of a street fight between John Thompson Brown and "a Jackson man."
Concerning the chances of Van Buren to carry Virginia in the election.
Plans to retire from politics and seek a position as Judge of the courts.
He has sent a box of books to help him in his law studies, and describes a visit by his old friend Peronneau Finley and his family.
Writes to his father about plans to visit him.
Family discussion, especially concerned with the sisters who were yet to find husbands.
Notice of the election of John Thompson Brown as an honorary member of the Jefferson Society.
Signed "Mr. Brown."
This series of drafts is in opposition to Martin Van Buren, candidate for the President of the United States.
Good reports of the new business venture of his brother, Henry Brown, Jr.
To his brother, on a buying trip to New York; political prospects now look bright, but "the state is lost" to the Anti-Van Buren forces.
Signed by Wyndham Robertson.
On the trip to accompany his sister-in-law and the body of Henry Brown, Jr. back to the family home, Otter Hills. Henry Brown, Jr. died while on a shopping trip to New York for supplies for his Lynchburg store.
The body of Henry Brown, Jr. was taken that morning for Virginia.
On the death of her father, Henry Brown Brown, Jr.
Taking inventory at the store of his late brother; preparing to settle his estate.
Reports on the stocktaking in the store of Henry Brown, Jr. On July 19 he wrote that he was coming to his father's place on the Sunday next to hear his brother's funeral preached. This is the last letter from John Thompson Brown to his father, for on that visit to Otter Hills he was taken with the illness from which he died.
On the disposal of the store inventory; sends a piano to her.
Mourning his brother's death, he makes arrangements for his own family to join him. (This is the last letter written by John Thompson Brown preserved in this collection.)
The niece of John Thompson Brown writes to her uncle regarding the recent death of her father, Henry Brown, Jr.
A Quaker associate of Henry Brown, Jr. writes regarding the settling of the store business.
Enclosures: "A lock of the hair of John Thompson Brown, 29 years"; envelope marked, "For sister Mary from my dear brother John's Grave, Nov. 13th, 1845, [Mrs.] A[lice Brown] Worthington," with clover leaves inside.
A resolution in memory of John Thompson Brown.
Signed D. M. Bernard, Clerk. Endorsement by James MacFarland, Jr., to Mrs. John Thompson Brown.
Condolences on the death of her husband.
A resolution that the members wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days in honor of John Thompson Brown.
A copy of the unanimous resolution of the House of Delegates in memory of John Thompson Brown.
A letter of grief written by Mrs. Brown to her father-in-law.
A letter of consolation.
Includes: A dramatic sketch, Kentucky Land Laws, Goosawattee Indians, and map of the region around Bedford, Virginia
A large folded ink drawing of a building "taken from the Colonade of the Temple of Minerva Parthenon at Athens," with notes of construction details. Ca. 1830.
Papers of John Thompson Brown, Colonel of 1st Regiment Virginia Artillery who was killed in action in 1864. Included are letters concerning a disagreement with William Nelson Pendleton. Papers also include correspondence of his son, Henry Peronneau Brown and his son's wife Frances Bland (Coalter) Brown as well as newspaper clippings concerning Judge John Randolph Tucker and the correspondence of Cynthia Beverley Tucker Coleman. There are also nineteenth century engravings.
This box contains the papers from the period after the death of John Thompson Brown, and concern John Thompson Brown II, born in 1835, some 18 months before the death of his father.
One letter (20 November 1844) lists the courses studied by boys at the ages of 9, 11, and 13; a travel book gives an interesting picture of Europe (4 May 1857); and a draft of a letter describes the bleedings to which a tourist entering Italy had to submit.
John Thompson Brown II was elected Second Lieutenant by the members of his company (1 December 1859). Also included are notes of speeches made to rouse war enthusiasm. The receipt for a saber and belt (23 April 1861) mark the beginning of action, and other records follow John Thompson Brown II's rise to Major, then to Colonel. His request for a transfer to a more active field of war and an extended argument with his commanding officer, Brig. Gen. William Nelson Pendleton, are of interest. The box concludes with items which appear to have been on the person of Col. John Thompson Brown II, when he was killed in action on 6 May 1864.
Lists the courses in school taken by a nine year old boy and his two brothers, Wilicox, 11 years old, and P[eronneau], 13 years old.
Certifies that John Thompson Brown II was elected Second Lieutenant by viva voce vote of the members of his company.
References to Douglas and the threat to slavery.
Concerns the raid on Harper's Ferry by John Brown, 19 October 1859, and the treatment of him as a martyr in the North.
"I greatly fear that the time has passed when great questions of State equality are to be settled in the Halls of Congress...this settlement requires powder and ball..."
Report on ammunition on hand.
Court Martial action taken for refusal to do guard duty, by a trooper under the command of Col. John Thompson Brown II.
Request for transfer, with his command, to the Division of Gen. D. H. Hills, so that he might be more actively engaged.
Concerning the families of the officers.
Concerning a dispute arising between the two over John Thompson Brown's command.
Request the return of his report on the battle of Chancellorsville so that he might submit it to Gen. Stuart.
Papers relating to the oldest son of John Thompson Brown, Henry Peronneau Brown, begin with letters written by his mother Mrs. Mary E. Brown. She expresses concern that her son is more interested in affairs other than his studies (1 March 1849). His school career is traced briefly through his years at the University of Virginia (28 June 1851).
The letters exchanged between Henry Peronneau Brown and his fiancee, Frances Baland Coalter, 1858, lead into the family correspondence which completes this box. (Other letters of Frances Bland Coalter and her family are found in Box 6, Coalter and Tucker Papers.)
From May, 1861, all letters are concerned with the war. Letters written by John Coalter II, to his sister Mrs. Henry Peronneau Brown in 1878 give a graphic picture of the struggle made by a southern farmer to re-establish himself after the war.
The widow of John Thompson Brown writes with concern about her oldest son, Peronneau, who is attending school in South Carolina. He was devoting too much time to outdoor affairs of college life and not enough to his studies.
Congratulating him on his success at Charleston College; a proposed biography of John Thompson Brown.
Concerning Henry Peronneau Brown, attending the University [of Virginia].
Affectionate letters to her fiance.
In August she writes to console Mrs. Brown on the death of her mother, Mrs. Judith H. Coalter.
"We are all as glad, dear Fanny, that your home is so lovely and you are so happy...for its mountain scenery."
Concerning the failing health of their mother.
Consolations on the death of Mrs. Coalter.
Concerning the loss of an infant.
The bachelor brother of Mrs. Brown writes that his loneliness on an out-of-the-way plantation is heading him to the madhouse.
She writes of the ladies making vests and shirts for the soldiers. News that the Yankees have landed at Hampton; the first of the war casualties in the family.
Making clothes for the army: "1500 yards have just been received which we are to turn our attention to at once."
His house was set afire and cannon are firing all about. Comments on "the tennessee company...the roughest men you ever saw..."
The wife of John Thompson Brown II, is in "this antiquated spot" because her husband was drilling some new troops and sent for her to join him.
Their brother, Henry, is at a camp near Williamsburg; the other brother, John, is in Richmond.
"adjoining the lands of Henry Peronneau Brown and others."
"I am sorry Henry's name is not in the list of exchanged prisoners..."
Request for someone to serve the Presbyterian Church at Tappahannock.
The settlement of the John Randolph estate which was in litigation for many years.
Refuses a request for $500 by his nephew; recommends that he stop drinking.
Note written on an early "penny post card."
Letters written to his sister as he made a start in farming after the end of the war: "I have not the means to buy me a suit of clothes." Later he added: "I never was as poor in my life before as I am now...I have not spent during the whole year on myself more than $10..."
First mention of Cassie Tucker, who was later to marry John Thompson Brown III.
A request for a purchase of a case of "56 Home Remedies."
Writes of Cassie [Tucker], wife of [John] Thompson [Brown III]. "You have introduced into your home a very sunbeam."
Concerning the death of John [Coalter II].
The letters in this box concerning John Thompson Brown III, begin with one from his mother, Mrs. Henry Peronneau Brown, the former Frances Bland Coalter. There are 6 report cards from The University School, Petersburg, Virginia (1877-1879). Of interest is a pamphlet of
Many of the letters in the collection are from Mrs. Cynthia B. Tucker Coleman to her niece Cassie (Mrs. John Thompson Brown III). Letters from the children, John Thompson Brown IV, Frances Brown, and Henry Peronneau Brown II, are included as well as photographs of some members of the family and pictures of the family home, Ivy Cliff, Bedford County (formerly Otter Hill) the home of Capt. Henry Brown, great grandfather of John Thompson Brown III.
At the end of the box is a notebook containing sermons copied out by Mrs. Henry Peronneau Brown for her son John Thompson Brown III.
To her son [John Thompson Brown III] urging him to improve his writing and "to read your Bible and say your prayers every day."
A description of the London Museum and Zoo.
Some contain letters by John Thompson Brown III, when the reports were sent home.
Recommends Bible reading as the antidote for "the very corrupt sentiments which are scattered through the classical writers."
The recent death of her husband, Dr. Coleman; the serious illness of Mrs. Henry Peronneau Brown.
During her illness, Mrs. Brown's children are in the care of Mrs. Coleman.
A child's letter.
Rejoices that Cassie's health is "entirely restored." Bev. Tucker and Braxton Bryan are mentioned as attending an assembly of the clergy at Jamestown.
"...make haste and get well enough to come home where you are much missed."
"Given to my son June 5, 1890. Let him read it carefully and may God have mercy on his soul. Amen." (Mrs. Frances B. Brown died in September 1894.)
This box contains material related to the Brown and Tucker families after 1900. Accounts of Cary A. Adams are placed at the beginning of the box.
Newspaper clippings, 1913-1915, from Nome, Alaska, relate to Judge John Randolph Tucker. Another member of the family, Capt. David Tucker Brown, is represented by two letters (1918, 1919) written from France when he was serving as a member of the American Commission to negotiate peace.
At the end of the box are collected seventeen undated items concerning unidentified persons.
Endorsed: "Pres. of Const. Convention, 1901-2."
Taken from the
With the "American Commission to Negotiate Peace." There is also mention of John Thompson Brown IV, of Wilmington.
("From private who served you on the memorable 8th of Jany, 1815.")
An alphabetical list of flowers with the characteristics of each expressed symbolically.