Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction .

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], James Eveleth Letter to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse, 1842, Ms2024-014, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The James Eveleth Letter to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in July 2016.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the James Eveleth Letter to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse was completed in January 2024.

Biographical Note - James Eveleth

James Eveleth was born in 1809 in Maryland. He married Harriet McKenzie (ca. 1815-1891), sister of Congressman Lewis McKenzie, and they had a daughter, Mary. James Eveleth was a clerk for the Engineering Department in the Department of War from 1829 until his death, and while in that position also served as superintendent of the Winder Building in Washington, D.C. In 1852, he was appointed by Robert E. Lee as his agent to hire out and receive payment for the work of Philip Minday (also Meriday), a man Lee enslaved. He also served as the Secretary of the "F" Street Church in Washington, D.C. Eveleth died on April 16, 1891, and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

External Sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1860-1880.

"James Eveleth", FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122148085/james-eveleth , accessed Jan. 30, 2024.

"H. Ex. Doc. 36-20 - Winder's building. Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting a plan and estimate for constructing certain conveniences about Winder's building. December 31, 1860. -- Referred to the Committee of Ways and Means and ordered to be printed", U.S. Government Publishing Office, available online at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-01097_00_00-008-0020-0000/summary , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

Death notice for James Eveleth, Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, D.C.), April 17, 1891, p. 3, retrieved from the Library of Congress's Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025007/1891-04-17/ed-1/?sp=3&r=-0.019,0.012,0.547,0.38,0 , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

"Worked Sixty-Two years for Uncle Sam" [Obituary for James Eleveth], Muscatine News-Tribune (Muscatine, Iowa), April 21, 1891, p. 8, retrieved from Newspapers.com, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/542061698/?terms=james%20eveleth , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

Death notice for Harriet McKenzie Eveleth, Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, D.C.), July 20, 1891, p. 3, retrieved from the Library of Congress's Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85025007/1891-07-20/ed-1/?sp=3&r=-0.025,0.82,0.552,0.384,0 , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

"Lease for a Slave, 1852 August 1", Transcribed by Colin Woodward, 2015 September 4, from The Archives of the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation, Papers of the Lee Family, Box 3, M2009.217, Jessie Ball duPont Library, Stratford Hall, transcription online at https://leefamilyarchive.org/lease-for-a-slave-1852-august-1/ , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

Biographical Note - Maria Louisa Bull Nourse

Maria Louisa (or Louise) Bull (1765-1850) was born in Philadelpia, Pennsylavania. She married Joesph Nourse (1754-1841) in April 1784, and they had several children, including Charles (1786-1851). They moved from Pennslyvania to New York City and finally to Washington D.C. Joesph Nourse was the first Register of the U.S. Tresuary from 1781 to 1829 and Charles served as Acting Adjutant if the U.S. Army. The family enslaved several people, including a cook named Dinah and a servant named Bacchus. The Nourses' home, called Dumbarton House, is now a museum.

External Sources:

"Nourse Artists Legacy Project", NourseArtists.omeka.net, https://nourseartists.omeka.net/exhibits/show/maria-nourse/bio/bio , accessed Jan 30. 2024.

"Charles Josephus Nourse", FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41347493/charles-josephus-nourse , accessed Jan. 30, 2024.

"Joesph Nourse", FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41347496/joseph-nourse , accessed Jan. 30, 2024.

"Maria Louise Bull Nourse", FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41347497/maria-louise-nourse , accessed Jan. 30, 2024.

"The Hidden Figures of Dumbarton House: Slavery and Servitude within the Nourse family Household," Dumbarton House, https://nourseartists.omeka.net/exhibits/show/maria-nourse/bio/bio , accessed Apr. 4, 2024.

Scope and Content

The James Eveleth Letter to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse was written by James Eveleth in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 1842, to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse. The letter is informing Nourse that the Board of Trustees of F Street Church, the church she attended, had resolved that the pew she used be "tendered to her free of rent".

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Nourse, Joseph, 1754-1851
• Nourse, Maria Louisa Bull, 1765-1850
• Religion

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the James Eveleth Letter to Maria Louisa Bull Nourse by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).