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Preferred Citation

Grinnan Family Papers, Accession #49, 1716, 1716-a, 2048, 2096, 2112, 2118, 2321, 2390, 2579, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Grinnan Family Papers are comprised of ten different collections donated to the Library at various times, all of them without restrictions. The accession numbers, donors' names, and dates of the gifts are listed below: 49 (Randolph Bryan Grinnan, 1938 July 23) 1716 (Elizabeth Grinnan Jackson, 1943 Jul 6) 1716-a (Elizabeth Grinnan Jackson, 1954 Jul 12) 2048 (Isabelle Grinnan, 1944 Nov 28) 2096 (Elizabeth Grinnan Jackson, 1945 Jan 19) 2112 (Nina Stuart Grinnan, 1945 Feb 9) 2118 (Randolph Bryan Grinnan, 1945 Feb 16) 2321 (St. George Tucker Grinnan, 1946 Jun 5) 2390 (Nina Stuart Grinnan, 1945 Sep 26) 2579 (Isabelle Grinnan, n.d.)

Scope and Content Information

The collection includes business and personal correspondence; financial papers, such as accounts, receipts, notes, and bound financial volumes; legal papers, primarily land deeds, wills, and indentures; miscellaneous writings, such as poems, essays, and diaries; newspaper clippings, boardsides; photographs; and memorabilia. The early nineteenth-century material focuses primarily on a mercantile company in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that had both foreign and domestic trade, and the later material on family matters of the Bryans, Tuckers, and Grinnans. Topics mentioned include the Civil war; business matters, such as the purchase and sale of lands; and family slaves. Although letters of several politically prominent figures are included in the collection, most are of a personal nature and do not mention political affairs.

The correspondence spans the years 1740 to 1935 and includes both business and personal letters. The business correspondence falls primarily between the years 1790 and 1827 and centers around the firms of Grinnan and Mundell, and Murray, Grinnan and Mundell, flour merchants in Fredericksburg, and direct successors of pre-and post-Revolutionary enterprises operated under the names of Mitchell, Gray, Coates, and Mundell. Most of the letters are orders for merchandise, particularly flour, and are from merchants in Richmond, Norfolk, and Alexandria, Virginia; New York; Kingston, Jamaica; and Liverpool and Glasgow in Great Britain.

Business letters to Daniel Grinnan, Jr., of Grinnan and Mundell date from 1798 to 1827, and include letters from William Fleming of Glasgow, Scotland; Brown Rives and Company of Richmond; Reuben Crump of New York; Walter Colquhoun of Glasgow, Scotland; George Brown and Company of Glasgow, Scotland, and James Brown of Richmond.

Daniel Grinnan, Jr., was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on April 19, 1771. He moved to Fredericksburg in 1792 and became a clerk for a merchant, James Somerville. At Somerville's death around 1798, Grinnan was appointed his executor and succeeded to the business. In 1800, the firm of Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell was founded and counting houses and warehouses were established in both Fredericksburg and Norfolk. Much of the firm's trade was foreign and they were agents for the Argentine Confederation in their way with Spain.

Business correspondence of Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell dates from 1802 to 1815, the principal correspondent being George Murray and Co. of Norfolk, Virginia (1801-1813). A third group of business letters to John Mundell from 1790 to 1823 is also present, which regard Mundell's personal business. Several of these letters pertain to the will of Thomas Miller, for whose estate Mundell was executor.

The personal correspondence dates from 1790 to 1935 and is mainly between members of the Bryan, Tucker, and Grinnan families. The three families were related through marriage, and approximately five generations are represented in this collection. The letters usually concern family matters but sometimes include mention of contemporary political events.

Major correspondents include St. George Tucker, John Coalter, Frances Bland Coalter, John Randolph of Roanoke, Elizabeth Tucker Coalter Bryan, John Randolph Bryan, Robert Alexander Grinnan, Andrew Glassell Grinnan, Cornelia Grinnan, St. George Tucker Bryan, Corbin Braxton Bryan, Daniel Grinnan, Nina Stuart Grinnan, Randolph Bryan Grinnan, and Georgia Screven Bryan.

Several of the correspondents listed above held political office or were instrumental in the formation of political ideas of their time. For example, St. George Tucker (1752-1827), a contemporary of Thomas Jefferson, held many legal and political offices during his lifetime. (Consult the DAB ) He was married in 1778 to Frances Bland Randolph, the mother of John Randolph of Roanoke by a previous marriage. Frances and St. George had several children before and died in 1788, among them Frances "Fanny" Bland (b. 1779).

All of the correspondence of St. George Tucker, with the exception of one letter, is with John Coalter (Tucker's son-in-law), Frances Bland s Coalter (Tucker's daughter), and Elizabeth Tucker Coalter (Tucker's granddaughter). Most of the letters contain news of family and friends, but those from 1814 to 1815 include discussions of the War of 1812 and Tucker's plans for escape from Williamsburg before the enemy's arrival. Tucker's letter to Joseph C. Cabell dated December 30, 1814, discusses in depth the economic state of Virginia during the war, specifically as it pertained to the Bank of Virginia.

John Coalter, St. George Tucker's son-in-law, was a prominent attorney in Virginia. Born on August 20, 1771, he was a tutor in the family of St. George Tucker and studied law at William and Mary College. He settled near Staunton to practice law, and later was appointed attorney for the commonwealth. In 1809, he was appointed a judge of the general court, and two years later was promoted to the court of appeals. Shortly after 1821, he purchased "Chatham," in Stafford County, and resided there until his death on February 2, 1838. Coalter was married three times, to Maria Rind of Williamsburg, to Margaret Davenport of Williamsburg, and finally to Frances Bland Tucker, daughter of St. George Tucker.

Most of Coalter's correspondence is with St. George Tucker and Fanny Bland Coalter. The letters usually pertain to family and friends, with the exception of the letters from St. George Tucker during 1814 and 1815 mentioned previously. Of interest are three letters written by Joseph C. Cabell to John Coalter (1819, 1824) concerning legal and financial matters, and four letters from William Wirt (1816, 1819, n.d.), one of which discusses the ratification of the treaty between the United States and Spain for the cession of Florida.

The correspondence of John Randolph of Roanoke in this collection consists of fifteen letters, dated 1813 to 1831, primarily to or from John Randolph Bryan, his godson and namesake, and Elizabeth Tucker (Coalter) Bryan, Bryan's wife and Randolph's niece. One letter, April 10, 1826, written by John Randolph to Dr. Brockenbrough, proctor of the University of Virginia, discusses a closed Senate session and includes an anecdote about fellow Senate member William Henry Harrison. Another letter, dated December 13, 1813, from Randolph to "Tudor," describes Randolph's, strained relationship with his step-father and his fondness for his brothers.

The correspondence of John Randolph Bryan spans the years 1819 to 1887 and includes letters to or from various members of his family. Bryan was married to Elizabeth Tucker Coalter, daughter of John Coalter and Frances Bland (Tucker) Coalter. They resided at "Eagle Point," on the Severn River in Virginia from 1830 until 1862, when the estate was broken up by the war. In addition to his family, correspondents of Bryan's include John Randolph of Roanoke and John Tyler. The correspondence with Randolph is primarily of a personal nature and the letter from John Tyler concerns a visit he was to make to Bryan's home.

Andrew Glassell Grinnan was born in Fredericksburg on August 14, 1827, the son of Daniel Grinnan, Jr., and his second wife Helen Buchan Glassell. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in medicine in 1848 and practiced at Madison Court House, Virginia, until 1859, when he married and moved to his estate, "Brampton," near Rapidan Station, Madison County, Virginia. After his marriage to Georgia Screven Bryan on June 2, 1859, at "Eagle's Point," Gloucester County, Virginia, he gave up medicine for business interests.

The correspondence of Andrew Grinnan consists of about 650 letters, mostly with members of his family. Of particular interest are the letters written during the Civil War, which pertain primarily to family matters, but illustrate everyday life during the war. Little mention is made of particular battles, but copies of letters from J.E.B. Stuart to Ella Grinnan (Andrew's sister) and Georgia Grinnan refer to his camp at "Brampton" during the Civil War.

Many of Grinnan's letters between 1848 and 1859 deal with the practice of medicine. Later, after Grinnan retired from medicine, much of his correspondence details his purchases of land, particularly in Iowa, and his investments in copper and coal mining in southwest Virginia. Other personal business correspondence involves the hiring or sale of slaves which he or member of his family owned. Notable correspondents of Andrew Grinnan include Jedediah Hotchkiss, Jeremiah Morton, James L. Kempler, J.J. Halsey, and Matthew Fontaine Maury. Andrew Grinnan died on May 9, 1902.

Another major correspondent in the Grinnan collection, Corbin Braxton Bryan, was born at "Eagle's Point" on April 17, 1852. He entered the department of engineering at the University of Virginia in 1871 and four years later entered the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church near Alexandria, Virginia. He was ordained deacon in June 1878, and afterwards served various Episcopal churches in Virginia. His correspondence dates from 1870 to 1898 and is primarily with his sister Georgia and her children. The letters regard family matters and the development of his own career. Bryan died in 1922 at the age of 70.

Another group of interesting letters includes those written by Randolph Bryan Grinnan, son of Andrew and Georgia Grinnan, to his family while he was a Presbyterian missionary in Japan between 1886 and 1898. He describes Japanese customs and attitudes toward Christianity.

Also included in the collection is a transcript of a letter dated January 31, 1800, from Thomas Jefferson to Bishop James Madison.

The names of minor correspondents, along with the dates ranges of their correspondence, are listed in Appendix B. Dates of the letters of the major correspondents are listed in Appendix A. For a detailed listing of all of the correspondence in the collection, refer to the Grinnan family card index. A partial family tree of members of the families represented in this collection can also be found attached to this guide.

The legal papers, 1786 to 1881, include wills, land deeds, contracts, leases, and statements regarding legal trials. Most of the legal material from before 1850 concerns the mercantile company Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell or consists of the personal legal papers of George Murray, Daniel Grinnan, or John Mundell. Later legal material is primarily that of Andrew Grinnan. Many of his legal papers are land deeds to property he purchased in Iowa, Kansas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Minnesota after the Civil War. Also included are documents regarding the sale of exchange of slaves by members of his family. A pardon issued to Andrew G. Grinnan by Andrew Johnson in 1865 for his participation in the Civil War in present, as well as a transcript of James Madison's last will and testament, April 15, 1835.

In addition, there is a group of land grants, deeds, contracts, bonds, and wills of members of the Cruncleton, Seashols, Scholl, and Shull families, forbears of Elizabeth Grinnan Jackson. The documents originated in Lancaster County, Bucks County, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. A detailed listing of these items is located in control folder #1716-a.

The financial papers consist of the records of the mercantile company Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell which include personal records, primarily receipts and accounts, of George Murray, Daniel Grinnan, and John Mundell; receipts and accounts of members of the Grinnan family; and papers relating to the estates of several individuals, including John Taliaferro Lewis, Alexander Nairne, Charles Pitt Howard, Walter Colquhoun, and Frances Burnley, The executor of these estates in most instances was either John Mundell, George Murray, or Daniel Grinnan. In addition, several bound financial volumes, primarily cashbooks of individuals or journals of Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell are located in this section.

Also included in the financial papers in a group of papers relating to a suit of Daniel Grinnan, Walter Colquhoun, and James Somerville, executors of James Somerville, deceased, who was surviving trustee of John Mitchell, deceased; against John Gray, administrator of John Gray, deceased; Isabella Bowie Gray, administratrix of William Gray, deceased; and Margaret Coats, executrix of William Coats, deceased; Fredericksburg Superior Court of Chancery. (For more details see the Eighteenth Century Index of papers in the University of Virginia Manuscripts Department.)

The next series includes various types of manuscripts. The first section is comprised of diaries. The earliest dated 1716, is a nineteenth-century transcript of a now-published diary kept by John Fontaine, a member of the 1716 "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" expedition led by Governor Alexander Spotswood up the James River into the Shenandoah Valley.

Another item of particular interest is a diary dated 1825, of Major James McMillan Glassell, in which he described a visit to England and France. Glassell was born in 1790 in Madison County, Virginia, the son of Andrew Glassell and Elizabeth Taylor. He was appointed ensign in the United States Army in 1812 and served on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. The trip referred to in his diary began on August 16, 1825, when he left New York for Liverpool on the steamboat Nautillus . He traveled from Liverpool to Doncaster in the West Riding of Yorkshire and attended the Doncaster Races, of which he gives a vivid description. Several months later, he and his companions visited Lafayette at La Grange for two days, a description of which is included in this diary. Also in this section is a separate register of military letters written by James M. Glassell which is undated, but may have possibly been written during the 1820's or 1830's.

Included in the miscellaneous writings are an 1846 inventory of household articles at "Carysbrook"; "Whaling in Yosa, Japan," an essay by Randolph Bryan Grinnan; an essay by Bessie Grinnan on the capture by Indians of Francis Madison Hite, an ancestor of James Madison; and an essay concerning Masonry. Also present are notes regarding genealogy, probably kept by Cornelia Grinnan; and mathematics and French textbooks. Poems and religious memoranda left by Helen Grinnan are also present. The plats and surveys are mostly of lands in Iowa, in which Andrew Grinnan was interested.

Broadsides, circular letters, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous printed material comprise the printed material section. Among the broadsides are an 1849 advertisement for slave life insurance and an 1895 announcement of the Brampton Home School for young ladies, run by Mrs. Andrew g. Grinnan and daughters. The newspaper clippings are primarily obituaries of members of the Grinnan family.

The last series consists of photographs and memorabilia. There are three 1908 views of Judge John Coalter's home, "Bush Hill," near Richmond, Virginia, and an 1898 photograph of Sam Pryor, a former slave who had originally resided in Albemarle County but later moved to Alabama.

An engraving of Chapman Johnson, signed on the verso by G. N. Johnson is also included. The memorabilia includes various items, among which are a lithograph of John Randolph of Roanoke's dying words, calling cards, a Japanese wedding invitation, and a Japanese broadside banning Christianity in Japan.

Organization

The collection is organized into the following six series: I. Correspondence; II. Legal Papers; III. Financial Papers; IV. Manuscripts; V. Printed Material; and VI. Photographs and Memorabilia. The financial papers in series III. Are divided as follows: Financial Papers of Murray, Grinnan, and Mundell; Financial Papers of the Grinnan Family; Papers Regarding Estates; Miscellaneous Financial Papers; and Bound Financial Volumes. All of the papers are arranged chronologically within each series or subseries with the exception of the manuscripts and printed material. In Series IV. Manuscripts, diaries are followed by notes, poems and miscellaneous writings. The printed material in Series V. is arranged with broadsides at the beginning, followed by newspaper clippings and miscellaneous printed material.

Minor Correspondents and Dates of Letters

Brown, George and Co., 1811-1826; Brown, James, 1799-1800; Brown, Rives and Co., 1800- 1807; Bryan, Corbin Braxton , 1870-1898; Bryan, Elizabeth Tucker Coalter, 1816- 1854; Bryan, Georgia Screven , 1886-1894; Bryan, John Randolph, 1819-1887; Bryan, St. George Tucker, 1859- 1878; Coalter, Frances Bland, 1803-1812; Coalter, John, 1789- 1824; Colquhoun, Walter, 1798-1815; Crump, Reuben, 1810-1820; Fleming, William, 1798- 1816; Grinnan, Andrew Glassell, 1842-1898; Grinnan, Cornelia, 1850- 1864; Grinnan, Daniel, 1870-1907; Grinnan, Nina Stuart, 1875- 1898; Grinnan, Randolph Bryan, 1875- 1906; Randolph, John of Roanoke, 1813-1831; Tucker, St. George, 1790- 1824; Blakey, Angus R., 1858-1865, Business correspondent of Andrew G. Grinnan; Brown, Frances Bland (Coalter) , 1859- 1861, Relative of Georgia Bryan Grinnan; Cadell, John , 1854-1857, Friend of Cornelia Grinnan; Carmichael, Fanny T., 1862-1880, Relative of Georgia Bryan Grinnan; Covell, Edward M. and Mildred, 1853-1863, Cousins of Andrew G. Grinnan; Davenport, Mrs. Frances, 1799-1815; Ewing, Daniel, 1853-1865, Minister and friend of Andrew G. Grinnan; Glassell, Andrew, 1802-1881, Father of helen Buchan (Glassell) Grinnan; Glassell, Eudora, 1829- 1898, Wife of James M. Glassell and aunt of Andrew G. Grinnan; Glassell, James M., 1802-1881, Brother of Helen Buchan (Glassell) Grinnan; Glassell, James S., 1851-1853, Cousin of Andrew G. Grinnan; Gordon, Elizabeth, 1827-1841, Cousin of Elizabeth Tucker (Coalter) Bryan; Grinnan, Helen Buchan Glassell, 1850-1852, Wife of Daniel Grinnan, Jr.; Grinnan, Louisa Alena (Leete), 1886-1891, Wife of Randolph Bryan Grinnan; Grinnan, St. George Tucker, 1887- 1935, Son of Andrew and Georgia Grinnan; Holbrook, Chandler, 1832-1898, Relative(?) of Chales Pitt Howard and Jane Howard; Murray, Amelia Matilda, 1854- 1856, Friend of Cornelia Grinnan; Page, Delia Bryan, 1859-1878, Sister of Georgia (Bryan) Grinnan.