A Guide to the Wickham Family Papers, 1836-1863 Wickham Family Papers, 1836-1863 27976

A Guide to the Wickham Family Papers, 1836-1863

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 27679


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© 2002 By the Library of Virginia.

Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Trenton Hizer

Repository
Library of Virginia
Accession number
27679
Title
Wickham Family Papers, 1836-1863
Physical Characteristics
4 leaves and 25 pages.
Physical Location
Personal papers collection, Acc. 27679.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Wickham Family Papers, 1836-1863. Accession 27679, Personal papers collection. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1 September 1971.

Biographical/Historical Information

William Fanning Wickham was born 23 November 1793 in Richmond, Virginia, to John Wickham (1763-1839) and Mary Smith Fanning (1775-1799). A lawyer and planter, he resided at Hickory Hill in Hanover County, Virginia. William F. Wickham married Anne Butler Carter (1797-1868) 9 December 1819, and they had five children. William F. Wickham died 31 July 1880 in Hanover County and was buried at Hickory Hill. His son Williams Carter Wickham was born 21 September 1820 in Richmond, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia. After graduation, he became a lawyer. Williams C. Wickham represented Hanover County in the House of Delegates in 1849-1850 and in 1859-1861. Wickham also served in the Virginia secession convention of 1861 as a Unionist until Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers and the beginning of the Civil War. Wickham enlisted and eventually became colonel of the 4th Virginia cavalry and then a brigadier-general in the Confederate army. He also served in the Confederate House of Representatives from 1864 to 1865. After the war, Wickham represented Hanover and Caroline Counties in the state Senate from 1885 to 1888. He also was president of the Virginia Central Railroad and of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Wickham married Lucy Penn Taylor (1830-1913) 11 January 1848 and they had four children. Wickham died in Richmond 23 July 1888 and was buried at Hickory Hill. Edmund Fanning Wickham was born 30 July 1796 in Richmond to John and Mary Smith Fanning Wickham, and therefore was William Fanning Wickham's brother. Edmund lived at "Rocky Mills" in Hanover County. He married Lucy Carter (1799-1835) 28 November 1822 and they had six children. Edmund Fanning Wickham died 25 September 1843 and was buried at Rocky Mills.

Scope and Content Information

Papers, 1836-1863, of the Wickham family of Hanover County, Virginia, mainly of William F. Wickham and Williams C. Wickham, consisting of letters from Thomas G. Cary of Boston, William C. Rives and Mrs. William C. Rives of Albemarle County, Virginia, letters from William C. Wickham of the 5th Virginia Cavalry to William F. Wickham and including a power of attorney, and a list of slaves owned by William F. Wickham "carried off by the Yankees." Also includes a partial list of slaves owned by E. F. Wickham (b. 1796) of Rocky Mills, North Carolina. Also contains two drafts of documents by William C. Wickham on the Virginia militia and on Virginia's secession from the Union.

Consists of: a) partial list, 1 January 1836, of slaves owned by E. F. Wickham (1796-1843) of Rocky Mills, Hanover County, Virginia; b) letter, 29 July 1856, from Thomas G. Cary (1791-1859) of Boston, Massachusetts, to William F. Wickham (1793-1880) of Hanover County discussing personal matters, the gold mines of Virginia, the Hoosac Tunnel proposal in Massachusetts, and national politics, and stating that he would like to visit Wickham and inviting Wickham to visit him; c) letter, 12 October 1856, from William C. Rives (1793-1868) of Albemarle County, Virginia, to William F. Wickham, enclosing a letter from his wife to Wickham's wife, and inviting the Wickhams to visit; d) letter, 12 October 1856, from Judith Page Walker Rives (1802-1882) to Anne Butler Carter Wickham (1797-1868) inviting the Wickhams to visit the Riveses; e) letter, 8 September 1861, from Williams C. Wickham (1820-1888) of the 4th Virginia Cavalry to his father William F. Wickham concerning a promotion Williams C. Wickham feels he deserves and the possibility of the army moving soon; f) letter, 7 January 1862, from Williams C. Wickham to William F. Wickham discussing purchasing land in Hanover County, the possibilty of a military engagement, a bill he has written for the reorganization of Virginia's military forces, and personal matters; g) power of attorney, 7 January 1862, from Williams C. Wickham to William F. Wickham; h) list, 31 July 1863, of slaves owned by William F. Wickham who were "carried off by the Yankees," and listing their ages; i) a draft, n.d., of a bill entitled "an act for the better organization of the active forces of Virginia" written by Williams C. Wickham; and j) draft, n.d., of a resolution stating the conditions which will determine whether Virginia will remain in or secede from the Union.