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Sally Tompkins Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Records, 1908-1951. Local government records collection, Mathews County (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Mathews County (Va.) Circuit Court.
Mathews County was named for Thomas Mathews, of Norfolk, the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1790 when the county was formed from Gloucester County.
The National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy was organized on September 10, 1894, in Nashville, Tenn. The name was changed in 1895 to the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The United Daughters of the Confederacy was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia on July 18, 1919.
Sally Tompkins was born in Poplar Grove,Mathews City., Va., 9 Nov. 1833. Tompkins moved to Richmond following the death of her father and used her inheritance to open a private hospital at the outbreak of the civil war. The quality of care at Robertson Hospital was such that Jefferson Davis allowed the hospital to operate while he closed all other private hospitals in Richmond. In 1861, Tompkins was appointed a captain of calvary, unassigned, to comply with regulations that all military hospitals be run only by military personnel. Tompkins was the only commissioned woman in the Confederate Army. Sally Tompkins died on 26 July 1916 in Richmond, Virginia. She was buried with full military honors.
The Sally Tompkins Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Records, 1908-1951, record the history of the chapter through correspondence, roll and minute books, applications for aid and other papers describing their activities. The collection also includes fragments of a flag.
Additional Mathews County Court Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm"