A Guide to the Thomas J. Nottingham Diary, 1883-1885 Nottingham, Thomas J., Diary mss 00017

A Guide to the Thomas J. Nottingham Diary, 1883-1885

A Collection in
Virginia Military Institute Archives
Collection Number mss 00017


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Virginia Military Institute Archives

Virginia Military Institute Archives
Preston Library
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia 24450-0304
USA
Phone: (540) 464-7566
Fax: (540) 464-7279
Email: archives@vmi.edu
URL: http://www.vmi.edu/archives

© 2002 Virginia Military Institute

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

Processed by: Virginia Military Institute Archives Staff

Repository
Archives, Preston Library, Virginia Military Institute
Collection number
mss 00017
Title
Thomas J. Nottingham Diary 1883-1885
Physical Characteristics
The collection consists of one item.
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Thomas J. Nottingham Diary, mss 00017, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical/Historical Information

Thomas Jacob Nottingham was born in Richmond, Virginia on September 1, 1864. He was the son of Thomas J. Nottingham (b. 1834 Northampton County, VA, d. 1891 Norfolk, VA) and Mary B. Tarrall (b. 1835 Mathews County, VA., d. 1886 Norfolk, VA). Nottingham entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1882 and graduated in 1886.

After graduation, Nottingham was a businessman in Norfolk, Virginia, primarily associated with the wholesale coal and lumber industry. He served in both the Spanish-American War and World War I. He married Minie Virginia Mapp on December 12, 1888 at Baltimore, Maryland. They had one son, Thomas Jacob Nottingham, Jr., born at Norfolk in January 1903. Nottingham died June 8, 1953 at the home of his son in Arlington, Virginia. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Norfolk.

Scope and Content Information

The collection consists of the diary (1883-1885) written by Virginia Military Institute Cadet Thomas J. Nottingham. It contains a consistent record of the daily cadet routine as it existed during the mid- 1880's and is an excellent source for information about student life during that era. Included are specific references to recitations, fights, dress parade, the Dialectic Society (a student debating society), YMCA, girls, baseball and football games with Washington College students ("minks"), the death and funeral of John D. Letcher, the destruction of the VMI arsenal, the death of Henry W. Williamson (VMI Class of 1845 and staff member), and the death of Sarah Henderson Smith. Some special events are also mentioned, including the election of President Grover Cleveland and the local (Lexington, Virginia) Democratic Party celebration in November 1884. The volume also includes a list of letters sent and received by Nottingham, along with lists of staff and class members.