Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Davis and Related Families Papers, Accession 378, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library

Acquisition Information

Purchase

Funding Note

Funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

Scope and Content

The papers of the Davis , Horn , Firebaugh , and Anderson families of Rockbridge County, Virginia contain ca. 1,000 items, 1831-1905, and consist of business and legal papers, correspondence, military records, and miscellaneous papers.

The papers pertain to the business, legal, and, to a lesser extent, personal relationships of these families, whose members were related by marriage. William W. Davis was engaged in the forging of iron during 1840-1860, and his papers often pertain to this business. John Horn was the administrator of the estate of Robert B. Anderson ; Anderson was the executor of the estate of Isaac Bryan , also involved in the iron business.

The business papers consist of statements of accounts, receipts for payments, and promissory notes. Included among the Business Papers of the Davis family are an appraisement, 1850, of the estate of Isaac Bryan and a statement, 1850, of the amount of property taken at the appraisement by Elizabeth Bryan , widow of Isaac Bryan . The Business Papers of the Horn family include a state license, 1894, of Martha Horn for keeping a boarding house near Rockbridge Baths, Rockbridge County , a deed to the house located near the old bridge at the Rockbridge Baths stating that Martha Horn , Mary Horn , and Ida Horn are joint owners of the property, and appraisement papers, 1858, of the estate of Jacob Horn . Contained in the Papers of the Anderson family are a statement of claims against the estate of Isaac Bryan , 1852, and a deed between Mary Anderson and William Perry outlining their claim to land on the North River in Rockbridge , known as the Cedar Grove property. An estimate and assessment of Benjamin F. Firebaugh 's agricultural products for tax purposes, 1863, is included in the Business Papers of the Firebaugh family .

The Business Papers of the Firebaugh family include material concerning slaves, particularly those leased to B. F. Firebaugh . Among those specifically mentioned are:

John . .. leased from Major A. B. Stewart (1844)
Rachel . .. leased from Daniel Brown (1845)
Sarah . .. leased from John J. McBride (1846)
Rodah . .. leased from Jane R. Riordan (1848)
Lawson . .. leased from Frances Dorman (1848)
Lee . .. leased from John J. McBride (1851)
Frankie . .. leased from William W. Davis (1854)
Milly . .. leased from William A. McClury (1857)
Catharine . .. leased from Henry B. Jones (1858)
France . .. leased from William W. Davis (n.d.)

There is also a letter, n.d., to Benjamin F. Firebaugh from Annis Chaplin informing him of a Negro woman with a young son that he may be interested in leasing, and an agreement, 1850, between William K. Echard and Robert B. Anderson , executor for the late Isaac Bryan , concerning the "surrender" of an 18 year-old Negro male, Charles Ross , to a three-year state of apprenticeship to learn the trade of blacksmithing under the supervision of Echard.

The Military Records include annual returns of the strength of the 144th Regiment of the Virginia Militia under various commands. Items found among the Miscellaneous Papers are subscription lists, receipts, recipes, and fragments. An item of interest is a notice to stockholders of the Howardsville and Rockfish Turnpike Company , 1850, from the company's president, Samuel Christian . The last wills and testaments of Robert B. Anderson (1853), Jacob Horn (1860), Martha C. Horn (1898), and C. J. Sehorn (1885) are present in the collection.