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General Thomas L. Rosser And Rosser Family Papers, Accession #1171-g, -h, -j, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
These unrestricted additions to the Rosser Papers were bequests to the Library from the estate of Miss Barbara Rosser of Charlottesville, February 6, 1985 (accession number 1171-G) and May 5, 1987 (accession number 1171-H), and, a gift (accession number 1171-J, Box 11) of Ms. Cheryl Norenberg Thies, Division of Library and Archives, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota, November 26, 1990.
Rosser held a variety of positions represented primarily in his correspondence: West Point cadet (1856-1861); Confederate officer, Army of Northern Virginia (1861-1865); Lexington law student (October 12, 1865); agent, National Express and Transportation Company, New Orleans (April 6, 1866); managing director, Southern Orphan Association (January 10, 1867); engineer, Northern Pacific Railroad (March 30, 1872); general superintendent, Excelsior Chair Company (July 23, 1874); chief engineer, Western Railroad Company (October 4, 1874); chief engineer, Canadian Pacific Railroad (March 15, 1875); president, New South Mining and Improvement Company (September 23, 1890); president, Maslin, Braxton & Company (real estate, stocks and insurance agents, 1890); brigadier general, Third Brigade, Second Division, First Army Corps, Spanish-American War (June-November 1898); land speculator, Cuba (1899); and postmaster general, Charlottesville, February 24-March 29, 1910).
Detailed biographical information about General Rosser and his family is found in the guides for accession numbers 1171 and 1171-C. A useful article, William G. Thomas III, "Under Indictment: Thomas Lafayette Rosser and the New South," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 100 (April 1992): 207-232, provides general information about the Rossers after the Civil War.
This collection consists of military, personal and professional papers of Confederate General Thomas L. Rosser (1836-1910), his family, and the Gordon and Winston families, 1774-1983, ca. 6,000 items (20 Hollinger boxes; 6.6 cubic feet). Correspondence, financial and legal papers, speeches, bound volumes, photographs, maps, memorabilia, and genealogical materials are present for Rosser, his wife Elizabeth (Barbara) Winston Rosser (1844-1915 February 2) and their children. Mrs. Rosser's papers include correspondence, financial and legal papers, photographs and diaries. Her children are represented by various items: Sally Rosser (b. 1864 August 17), letters; Thomas L. Rosser Jr. (1867 September 5-ca. 1942), correspondence, financial and legal papers, photographs, school papers and diaries; William Overton Rosser (1869 May 10- 1885 July 15), letters, news clippings and photographs; John Pelham Rosser (1871 June 5-1872 August 20), news clippings; Elise Florence Rosser (1874 May 10-1886 June 12), photographs and news clippings, and Marguerite Rosser (b. 1879 December 26), mostly printed materials regarding her 1906 wedding to Allmand Blow Elliot. Items pertaining to General Rosser's granddaughter Barbara Winston Rosser (1896 October 2-1984) include correspondence, financial and legal papers, photographs, school papers and diaries.
Topics of interest include Rosser's life as a West Point cadet (1856) and later a member of the Washington Artillery (1861), the Civil War, slavery, life in the Confederate army, railroad construction in the West (especially Minnesota) during the 1870s-1920s, the 1876 defeat of General George Armstrong Custer at the battle of the Little Bighorn, politics in the postwar South, various local, state and national elections, the Spanish-American War, land speculation in Cuba during the 1890s, genealogical matters, missionary work and zoological expeditions in China during the 1920s and 1930s, American life as seen by a 1880s Swedish immigrant, the University of Virginia, African-Americans during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and life and visits to various American and international locales including Cuba, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Charlottesville, Virginia.
Prominent persons who appear as subjects include: John B. Bacock (1843-1909), Pierre G.T. Beauregard (1815-1893), Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), Joseph Cabell Breckenridge (1842-1920), John W. Brockenbrough, John R. Brooke (1838-1926), Charles W. Bryan (1867-1945), Ned Buntline (1823-1886), Ambrose E. Burnside (1824-1881), Benjamin F. Butler (1818-1893), Eliot Channing Clarke (1845-1921), Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), Grace G. Coolidge (1879-1957), Henry Clark Corbin (1842-1909), Jacob Sechler Coxey (1854-1951), Thomas L. Crittenden (1819-1893), George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), Henry G. Davis (1823- 1916), John W. Davis (1873-1955), Varina Howell Davis (1826-1906), Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1951), James Dearing (1840-1865), Chauncey M. Depew (1834-1928), F.X. Dercum (1856-1931), John Dunovant (1825-1864), Jubal A. Early (1816- 1894), Willard Glazier (1841-1905), John Brown Gordon, William Fitzhugh Gordon (1787-1858), Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), Peter C. Haines (1840-1921), Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), Atcheson Laughlin Hench (1891-1974), John Bell Hood (1831-1879), Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), Andrew Johnson (1808-1875), Joseph Eggleston Johnston (1807-1891), Robert D. Johnston, Thomas Goode Jones (1844-1914), Thomas W. Keene (1840- 1898), Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870), John Lechter (1813-1884), Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), Lunsford H. Lomax (1835-1915), William Ludlow (1843-1901), William Gibbs McAdoo (1863-1941), William McKinley (1843- 1901), William James McKee (1853-1925), William Mahone (1826-1895), Dumas Malone (1892-?), John S. Marmaduke (1833-1887), C.W. Meade, Aniceto G. Menocal (1836-1908), John Barbee Minor (1813-1895), Raleigh Colston Minor (1869-1923), John K. Mitchell (1859-1917), Charles Louis Mix (1869-1935), John Hunt Morgan (1824-1907), John Singleton Mosby (1833-1916), Thomas Taylor Munford (1831-?), Lucius Bellinger Northrup (1811- 1894), Charles T. O'Ferrall, Peter Johnston Otey (1840-1902), John J. Pershing (1860-1948), George Morton Randall (1841-1918), Phillip Sheridan (1831-1888), William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), Whorton Sinkler (1845-1910), William Smith (1828-1888), Ira Spalding (?-1875), David Sloane Stanley (1828-1902), Sam Davis Sturgis (1822-1889), Rhoades Stansburg Sutton (1841-1906), William Ellery Sweet (1869- 1942), Alfred Howe Terry (1827-1890), Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886), Benjamin R. Tillman (1847-1918), Emory Upton (1839-1881), Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), James Francis Wade (1843-1921), Francis Washburn (?- 1865), William Drew Washburn (1831-1912), Elihu Benjamin Washburne (1816-1887), and Leonard Wood (1860-1927). Due to this collection's size the author cannot describe by date all items or persons relevant to the previously mentioned topics/subjects. Researchers are advised to consult the author's detailed notes in the control folder.
The collection comprises six series: I. Correspondence, II. Financial and Legal, III. Miscellaneous, IV. Photographs, V. Bound Volumes, VI. Oversize. Special folders or volumes of interest are indicated in boldface .
Series I: Correspondence: 1835-1983
General Rosser and his wife Elizabeth's correspondence (two folders for her) are arranged chronologically, followed by folders regarding their son Thomas Jr. and wife Harriet (1867 November 21-1961), their daughter Barbara Rosser (General Rosser's granddaughter), and various family members' correspondence including Malcolm E. Rosser, Fendall G. Winston, John Rosser (ca. 1797- 1877; General Rosser's father) and William W. Rosser. Researchers should note that two of General Rosser's letter press copybooks, 1871-1873, are in Series V, Volumes 9 and 11, Box 17.
Letters of interest: Correspondence of Gen. Thomas L. Rosser : Jefferson Davis appoints Rosser to West Point, March 26, 1856; Rosser as a member of the Washington Artillery in New Orleans and mention of a comet, July 4-7 & 13, 1861; Rosser's declaration that fellow Confederate officer Jeb Stuart is his enemy, April 5, 1864; a warning about Richmond, Virginia, lawyers, May 6, 1866; Major Marcus Reno defends himself against Rosser's charge that he caused Custer's defeat at Little Bighorn, July 30, 1876; Rosser's proposal for a regiment of sharpshooters during the Spanish-American War, July 13, 1898; and, a black political meeting in Charlottesville, August 26, 1901. Correspondence of Elizabeth Winston Rosser : Mrs. George Armstrong Custer's thanks for a visit, ante July 1876; a promise to arrest a soldier who had annoyed and stalked her during a visit to an army post, August 20, 1879; Mrs. Rosser's assertion that her husband can carry out his duties as Charlottesville postmaster despite his illness, July 10, 1910, and a Micajah Woods letter regarding the settlement of the general's estate, September 12, 1910. Correspondence of Thomas L. Rosser, Jr. and wife Harriet : missionary work in Shanghai, China (May 28, 1939) and a letter of thanks for donating Rosser papers to the University of Virginia (January 16, 1942). Correspondence of Barbara Rosser : her father describes how to operate a Ford automobile, June 22, 1917; a palm reading by Professor Zolar, October 18, 1922; a Charlottesville Ku Klux Klan march pelted with eggs by University of Virginia students, May 20, 1924; the engagement of historian Dumas Malone July 4, 1925; the wedding of University of Virginia professor Atcheson L. Hench, August 29, 1925; and, various letters of sympathy on the death of her mother, June 19-July 1961. [ Note : Barbara Rosser's 1957-58 letters are not present in this collection.] Miscellaneous Rosser Family Letters : selling of slaves, October 27, 1847; Gordon Family Letters : mention of President Martin Van Buren, May 1, 1835; Letters to Huldah Kristen : 1871, 1884-1887, are in Swedish and untranslated.
Prominent correspondents include : Edwin A. Alderman (1861-1931), Edward Atkinson (1829-1905), Charles Francis Bates (1862-?), George Gordon Battle (1868-1949), Thomas F. Bayard (1828-1898), Wyndham Bolling Blanton (1890-1960), Clara G. Bow (1905-1965), Matthew Calbratih Butler (1836-1909), Lester Jesse Cappon (1900-1981), Eliot Channing Clarke (1845- 1921), Holmes Conrad, Oscar Henry Cooper (1852-1932), Samuel Cooper (1798-1876), George B. Cortelyou (1862-1940), Elizabeth Bacon Custer (1842-1933), John Warwick Daniel (1842-1910), Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), Varina Howell Davis (1826- 1906), James Taylor Ellyson (1847-1919), Lemuel D. Evans (1810-1877), William Mentzel Forrest (1868-?), Douglass Southall Freeman (1886-1953), Oliver R. Funsten, John Gibbon (1827-1896), John Brown Gordon (1832- 1904), Mason Gordon, Wade Hampton (1818-1902), Winfield Scott Hancock (1824-1886), Joseph Mills Hanson (1868-1921), Thomas W. Harrison (1856-1935), George F. Hoar (1826-1904), Alexander Hunter, John Daniel Imboden (1823-1895), Bradley T. Johnson (1829-1903), George Ben Johnston (1853-1916), Maryus Jones, Fitzhugh Lee (1835-1905), Ivey F. Lewis (1882-1964), James Longstreet (1821-1904), Thomas Lowry (1843-1909), Paul G. McIntire (1860-1952), Martin Marginnis (1841-1919), Thomas S. Martin (1847-1919), Charles A. Miller, Henry S. Nouise (1831-1903), Elwell Stephen Otis (1838-1909), William H. Payne (1830- 1904), C.H. Pierson, John A. Rae (?-1941), Marcus Albert Reno (1835-1889), Minor William Roberts (1810-1881), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), John Rosser, Jr.(ca. 1797- 1877), C. Bascom Slemp (1870-1943), Charles Shaler Smith (1836- 1886), Branch Spalding, Albert B. Stickney (1840-1916), James Ewell Brown Stuart (1833-1864), Robert Augustus Toombs (1810-1885), Charlemagne Tower, Elbert Lee Trinkle (1876-1939), James Hoge Tyler (1846-1925), Charles L. Venable, William L. Wilson (1843-1900), Henry A. Wise (1806-1876), John Sergant Wise (1846-1913), Micajah Woods (1844-1911), Charles Barstow Wright (1822-1898), and Marcus J. Wright (1831-1922).
Series II: Financial and Legal: 1774-1980
Materials are arranged chronologically. Items of interest include: copies of the wills of David Rosser (June 4, 1790) and Benjamin Rosser (March 12, 1774); a July 25, 1843 receipt for the purchase of a slave named George and an October 14, 1895 memorandum of agreement between Mrs. Bettie W. Rosser [Elizabeth Winston Rosser] and the Everett Waddey Company to publish her book [Mrs. Thomas L. Rosser, Housekeepers' and Mothers' Manual , Richmond, Virginia: Everett Waddey Company, 1895; the Rare Book Division holds two copies under call number TX715.R841] and a dealer's advertising brochure with favorable reviews of the book; a June 30, 1896 lease between General and Mrs. Rosser and the federal government for the lease of their property as a post office; and an April 28, 1874 patent issued to General Rosser.
Series III: Miscellaneous: 1834-1983
Folders are arranged alphabetically by topic; their contents are chronologically arranged. Selected items of interest include General Rosser's speeches and unpublished reminiscences and: Civil War/Spanish-American War Papers : an October 15, 1861 printed copy of "Orders No. 3, Headquarters, Cavalry Brigade, Army of The Potomac" (Confederate) sent to Rosser by Jeb Stuart; a June 23, 1862 certificate of enlistment for Company B, 6th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry; July 25, 1862, "Col. Rosser's Report/5th Va. Cavalry" to General Robert E. Lee, on the actions of the regiment at Malvern Hill ( only item for Rosser accession number 1171-J; Box 11 ); a Rosser proclamation for organizing continued Confederate resistance, April 12, 1865; Miscellaneous Printed Materials : carbon copy of the April 23, 1897 minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia regarding the appointment of a proctor and superintendent of grounds (Thomas Rosser, Jr. was a candidate but Colonel Thomas H. Carter was elected to the position); Miscellaneous Printed Materials: Drawings, Recipes and Religion : a booklet (sketchbook?) "When this Cruel War is Over," of miscellaneous drawings, including one of an unidentified Confederate military camp; Miscellaneous Printed Materials: Speeches, Railroad passes, Invitations and Handbills : a 1859 Senate speech, "Personal Vindication," of Samuel Houston (1793-1863); Miscellaneous Writings: "A Voyage Extraordinary to the Planet Mars" by Dick Flickins (University of Virginia alumnus) , July 1900, and School Papers : grading reports and certificates for Elizabeth (Bettie) Winston, Thomas (Tommy) Rosser, Jr. (Hanover), Hattie Gordon (Edge Hill School), Barbara Rosser (Gunston Hall), William W. Rosser (Hanover Academy), 1857-1910.
Series IV: Photographs: 1862-1913, n.d.
Folders are arranged chronologically. Identified and unidentified family photographs and three photographic albums are present. There are several photographs of railroad construction, views of various locales (some identified), and several oversize photographs of General Rosser at reunions or with various fraternities. Oversize photographs are listed at the end of Series VI listings.
Series V: Bound Volumes, 1841-1965, n.d.
Volumes are individually numbered. Most are Thomas L. Rosser, Jr. diaries (usually pocket memoranda books) containing personal, railroad work, and business entries. His bank book, a school notebook and engineering notebook are also present. In Volume 49 he describes a strike by Austrian workers, April 17, 1917; Volume 54 records his election as president of the Charlottesville and Albemarle Alumni Association of the University of Virginia, February 8, 1921. Other volumes of interest include: Harriet Kirkland's poetry album (Volume 4) ; diaries of General and Mrs. Rosser (Volumes 6-8, 10, 15, 43) ; an autograph book (Volume 18) ; a time book of the Monticello Wine Company (Volume 23) ; and diaries and a letter book of Barbara Rosser (Volumes 44, 47, 59) .
Series VI: Oversize, 1841-1965, n.d.
Arranged chronologically, these items include President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 appointment certificate of General Rosser as Charlottesville's postmaster, and broadsides advertising homesites near Rugby Road in Charlottesville.
[note: 1957-58 letters are not present]
[not the General's son]