A Collection in the
Manuscripts and Rare Books Department
Collection Number Mss. Acc. 65
B83
Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and
Mary
Special Collections Earl Gregg Swem Library College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8794 USA Phone: (757) 221-3090 Fax: (757) 221-5440 Email: spcoll@wm.edu URL: http://swem.wm.edu/scrc/
Funding:
Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a
grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Processed by:
Special Collections Staff
Repository
Special Collections, College of William and
Mary
Collection number
Mss. Acc. 65 B83
Title
Alexander Brown Papers (1),
1815-1910.
Extent
2,949 items.
Creator
Alexander Brown
Language
English
Abstract
Inventory includes the letters and
business papers,1815-1910, of Alexander Brown (1843-1906),
farmer, merchant and author who lived in Nelson County,
Virginia.
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any
materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of
Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the
copyright, if not Swem Library.
Preferred Citation
Alexander Brown Papers (1), 1815-1910, Manuscripts and
Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William and
Mary.
Born at Glenwood, Nelson County, Virginia, Alexander Brown
was deafened while serving in the Confederate Army in the
explosion of a powder-boat near Fort Fisher, N.C. He married
Caroline Augusta Cabell and after her death, Sarah Randolph
Cabell. He was the author of
The Genesis of the United
States, The First Republic in America, The Cabells and Their Kin and
other works.
Inventory contains the papers of Alexander Brown, farmer,
merchant and author who lived in Nelson County, Virginia.
Includes correspondence relating to his books,
The Genesis of the United
States, The First Republic in America, The Cabells and Their Kin and
New Views, and other
correspondence and business papers of Brown including letters
written from Australia, England, Wales and Egypt, 1867-1869.
Correspondents include Herbert Baxter Adams, Jabez Lamar
Monroe Curry, Charles Deane, and Lyon Gardiner Tyler.
The collection also includes papers of Mayo Cabell and
ledgers of Mayo Cabell and Co., Lynchburg, Virginia and of the
Lynchburg Female Seminary; accounts of "Belmont," "Benvenue,"
and "Norwood" plantations (in Nelson County); and genealogical
material on the Brown and Cabell families.
This inventory has been organized into ten series: 1.
Correspondence of Alexander Brown; 2. Business Reciepts of
Alexander Brown; 3. Business Reciepts and Papers of Various
Members of the Cabell Family; 4. Papers of Mayo Cabell; 5.
Papers concerning the books written by Alexander Brown; 6.
Bills, Reciepts and Papers of Mayo Cabell and His Son; 7.
Correspondence of Alexander Brown; 8. Miscellaneous Materials
of Alexander Brown; 9. Papers of R. L. Brown, the son of
Alexander Brown; 10. Page Proofs of the Books Written by
Alexander Brown.
Letters, 1885-1890, from William Cabell, England, to
Alexander Brown, are located in the Cabell-Brown Collection
within the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem
Library
Cabell-Brown Papers, Manuscripts and Rare Books
Department, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Cabell-Brown Papers,
1885-1890. 12 items. Collection number: Mss. Sm Coll
Cabell-Brown
The letters of Alexander Brown have been separated into
another inventory located within Manuscripts and Rare Books
Department, Swem Library
Alexander Brown Papers (II), 1748-1900,
Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library,
College of William and Mary.
Alexander Brown Papers (II),
1748-1900. Collection number: Mss. 65 B86
The letters from Alexander Brown to Charles Deane are
located within this collection on microfilm only. The
originals are in the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Alexander Brown Papers (1), 1815-1910, Manuscripts
and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William
and Mary.
Alexander Brown Papers (1),
1815-1910. 112 items. Collection number: Mss.
Acc.65 B83 microfilm cabinet, drawer 3
Items that dealt with, related to or concerned
Alexander Brown and the Brown family.
Box-folder
1:1-3
Samuel S. Early's correspondence,
1882-1883.
These letters deal with the history of the Early
family in Virginia and the coats of arms of Capt.
John Smith, with several colored sketches.
Box-folder
1:4
Notification from the American Historical
Association,
18 Oct. 1884, and 16 Nov.
1897.
Notification of Brown's having been elected a
member of the American Historical Association, signed
by Herbert Baxter Adams.
Box-folder
1:4
Correspondence to Brown from Houghton,
Mifflin and Co.,
Aug. 1895 - 20 Nov.
1895.
3 items.
Items concern the publication of his book
The Cabells and Their
Kin.
Box-folder
1:5
Correspondence with Houghton, Mifflin and
Co.,
25 June 1889 - 30 June
1891.
Box-folder
1:6
Correspondence with Houghton, Mifflin and
Co.,
15 July 1891 - 1 April
1895.
Box-folder
1:7
Correspondence with Houghton, Mifflin and
Co.,
26 April 1895 - 14 Feb.
1898.
Box-folder
1:8
Letters to Brown from various people,
1876-1885.
Box-folder
1:8
Letters from C.H. Bergner.
Box-folder
1:8
Letters from D.R. Barton.
Box-folder
1:8
Letters from Wood Bouldin.
Box-folder
1:9
Letters to Brown from S.A. Brock, Frank
Leslie's Publishing House, New York, NY.,
1875.
Box-folder
1:10
Letters to Brown from his uncle Andrew
Brown, Cooerwull, Bowenfells, Sydney, Australia,
1867-1884.
Box-folder
1:11
Letters to Brown from his uncle Andrew
Brown, Cooerwull, Bowenfells, Sydney, Australia,
1885-1894.
Box-folder
1:12
Letters to Brown from his cousin Charles
Bruce,
1875-1876.
Box-folder
1:13
Letters to Brown from his sister Cornelia,
n.d.
Box-folder
1:14
Letters to Brown from Mrs. M.B. Brown,
1876.
Items concern the occasion of the death of his
wife.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters to Brown from various
people.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from T.S. Brown, Wales and
Luxor, Egypt,
1896.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from Grace F. Brown,
1886.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from J. Thompson Brown,
1876.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from M.B. Brown,
n.d.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from his father, R.L Brown,
1874 -
1876.
Box-folder
1:15
Letters from W.F. Butler,
1876.
Box-folder
1:16
Letters to Brown from W. Cabell in
England,
1883-1884.
Postcards.
Box-folder
1:17
Letters to Brown from Decatur Axtell,
Richmond and Allegheny Railroad Company,
1884-1887.
Items concern Brown's claim against the
company.
Box-folder
1:18
Letters to Brown from Decatur Axtell, C.T.
Dabney, and T.C. Eggleston, Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway Company,
1889.
Items concern Brown's claim against the company
for damages inflicted on his property during the
floods of 1 June and after.
Box-folder
1:19
Letters to Brown from correspondents whose
names begin with C,
n.d.
Some correspondents include Charles Washington
Coleman, 20 Feb. 1896, notifying Brown of his
election to Phi Beta Kappa; C.B. Clawborne; Fanny
Cook; Joseph Cohn; Margaret C. Cabell, N.F. Cabell;
and P.H. Cabell.
Box-folder
1:20
Subseries: Letters to Brown from
various individuals.
Box-folder
1:20
Letters from William D. Cabell,
1865-1876.
Box-folder
1:20
Letters from Paul C.
Callaway.
Box-folder
1:20
Letters from J.L. Campbell.
Box-folder
1:20
Letters from W.C.
Carrington.
Box-folder
1:21
Letters to Brown serving in the
Confederate Army,
1861-1866.
There is an afterwards from his grandmother Eliza
Callaway.
Box-folder
1:22
Subseries: Letters to Brown from
various individuals.
Box-folder
1:22
Letters from Henry Dreer.
Box-folder
1:22
Letters from Dornin &
Waldron.
Box-folder
1:22
Letters from G.A. Diuguid, an
undertaker.
Box-folder
1:22
Letters from John Dildine.
Box-folder
1:22
Letters from John W.
Daniel.
Box-folder
1:23
Subseries: Letters to Brown from
various individuals.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from T. Davis Evans,
1885-1886.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from M.K. Estes,
1875-1876.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from J.J. English.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from Charles Ellis.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from J.C. Echard.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from A.L. Edward.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from C.H. Early.
Box-folder
1:23
Letters from Henry H.
Eames.
Box-folder
1:24
Subseries: Letters to Brown from
various individuals.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from Thomas P. Kilpatrick,
1876-1881.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from J.N. Gordon.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from James Harvey.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from William W.
Hill.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from Charles L.
Hill.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from R.A. Coghill.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from Wm.L. Akers.
Box-folder
1:24
Letters from J.D. Horsley,
1893-1898.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters to Brown from various
individuals.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters from Richard Irby.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters from Lee, Seddon &
Co.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters from Lily M.
Pleasants.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters from Daughters of the American
Revolution.
Box-folder
1:25
Letters that were unsigned.
Box-folder
1:26
Photostats of letters and other items,
1887-1889.
5 letters. Photosats.
Box-folder
1:26
Letters from J.L.M. (Jabez Lamar
Monroe) Curry to Alexander Brown.
Photostat.
Items concern copies of letters which Brown had
ordered.
Box-folder
1:26
Letter from Brown to Clarence W.
Bowen.
Photostat.
Items concern dues to the American Historical
Association, enclosed in the letter.
Box-folder
1:26
Unidentified portrait.
Photostat.
Box-folder
1
Microfilmed letters from Alexander Brown
to Charles Deane.
Physical Location: Microfilm Cabinet, Drawer 3.
112 items. Microfilmed.
Originals are located in the Massachusetts
Historical Society.
These items include the papers of Alexander Brown in
his capacity as justice of the peace of Nelson County,
Virginia. Included is a notice signed by Alexander Brown
Justice of the Peace of Nelson Co. authorizing the
patrolling of Negro quarters and other places suspected
of unlawful assemblies of slaves,
19 Sept. 1857. [This must be another
Alexander Brown as he was only 14 years old at the
time].
A copy of
Littell's Living Age, no.
1840,
Sept. 20, 1879.
Papers of Mayo Cabell.
Series 4: Papers of Mayo Cabell
Box-folder
3:53
Letters written by Mayo Cabell,
1850-1903.
Box-folder
3:54
Letters written to Mayo Cabell by
correspondents, A-C.
Some correspondents include Clifford Cabell, A
letter, 29 July 1867, from L. M. Blackford, N.Y.,
commenting on the attitude of the Radicals and a
letter, 17 Jan. 1849, from Wm. M. Cabell to his uncle
Mayo Cabell commenting on Louis Napoleon's election
to the Presidency of France and on the California
gold rush
Box-folder
3:55
Letters written to Mayo Cabell by
correspondents, D-L.
Some items included are a letter, 23 April 1864,
from Jno. H. Daniell, a Confederate soldier in
Early's Division to Mayo Cabell and letters, 20 Sept.
1867 and 10 Jan. 1868, from Thomas W. Gilmer,
Fredericksburg, to Mayo Cabell about Texas land
values.
Box-folder
3:56
Letter written to Mayo Cabell by
correspondents, M.
Some items included are a letter, 29 April 1865,
from Martin & Cardoza, Richmond, Virginia to Mayo
Cabell reporting damage in the burning of
Richmond.
Box-folder
3:57
Letters written to Mayo Cabell by
correspondents, P.
Box-folder
3:58
Letters written to Mayo Cabell by
correspondents, R-W.
Box-folder
3:59
Legal documents and business papers of
Mayo Cabell.
Papers concerning the books written by
Alexander Brown.
Series 5: Papers concerning the books written by
Alexander Brown
Box-folder
4:61-62
Notes used by Brown for
The Genesis, The First Republic, and
The Cabells and Their
Kin.
Box-folder
4:63
Scrapbook.
Scrapbook contains reviews of
The Genesis of the United
States, and the author's reply to critics of
The First Republic in
America, as well as newspaper clippings of
reviews of his books.
Box-folder
4:64
Clippings concerning the reviews of
books.
Box-folder
4:65
Notes taken by Brown for his
books.
Included in these items are autobiographical notes
on Brown.
Box-folder
4:66
Miscellaneous papers of Brown.
Box-folder
4:67
List of subscribers to Brown's
books.
Box-folder
4:68
Brown manuscript about Colonial
Virginia.
Box-folder
4:69
Brown's notes and manuscripts about
Colonial Virginia.
Box-folder
4:70
Printed copy of Brown's,
The History of Our Earliest
History.
Letters written to Brown from the
President of the American Academy of Political and
Social Sciences,
1891.
Items were written upon Brown's election to
membership.
Box-folder
6:86
Business letters from Henry Loving &
Son, Richmond, Virginia.
Box-folder
6:86
Business letters from Taliaferro &
Loving, Richmond, Virginia.
Box-folder
6:87
Letters from the Maine Historical Society,
1892.
Letters concern notification of membership and
general correspondence.
Box-folder
6:87
Letters from the Massachusetts Historical
Society,
1891.
Letters concern notification of membership and
general correspondence.
Box-folder
6:87
Letters from the Maryland Historical
Society,
1881.
Letters concern notification of membership and
general correspondence.
Box-folder
6:88
Letters from the New England Historic
Genealogical Society,
1880.
Letters concern confirmation of membership onto
Brown; and legal and business correspondence.
Box-folder
6:89
Letter from Alexander Rives,
Charlottesville, Virginia,
20 Dec. 1875.
Letter concerns rumors of Brown's political
activities while serving as postmaster.
Box-folder
6:89
Letter,
1887.
Letter informs Brown that he has been elected as a
fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Box-folder
6:90
General business
correspondence.
Box-folder
6:90
Charter membership certificate of the Sons
of the American Revolution,
25 March 1891.
Box-folder
6:90
Correspondence regarding historical
matters.
Box-folder
6:91
Letters relating to mining in Virginia and
Texas land.
Box-folder
6:91
Letters from Lyon G. Tyler,
12 Oct. 1900 and 15 May
1901.
2 letters.
Letters concern notification of Brown of the
Doctor of Laws degree awarded him by the College of
William and Mary.
Box-folder
6:93
Letters from J.W. Tyson of Baltimore and
Marietta, Georgia,
1877.
Letters are in regards to copper mining and
property.
Box-folder
6:93
Letters from J.W. Tyson.
Letters include one, 28 Dec. 1876, regarding a
country estate, mining property, and the proposed
Clifton Forge Railroad to connect the canal and
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Box-folder
6:94
Letters from J.W. Tyson,
1879.
Letters mostly concerning mining.
Box-folder
6:95
Letters from J.W. Tyson,
1880-1881.
Box-folder
6:96
Letters from J.W. Tyson,
1878.
Box-folder
6:97
Miscellaneous letters about genealogical
researches and business interests,
1887,1881, and
1894.
Among the correspondents is William C. Rives of
Cobham, Virginia, Newport, Rhode Island, and
Washington, D.C.
Box-folder
6:97
Letters notifying Brown of membership in
the Virginia Historical Society,
1878, 1881, and
1894.
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