Inventory of the James D. Blackwell Papers , 1839-1929 #Mss. 39.1 B57

Inventory of the James D. Blackwell Papers 1839-1929

A Collection in the
Manuscripts and Rare Books Department
Collection Number Mss. 39.1 B57

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, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary

Collection number

Mss. 39.1 B57

Title

James D. Blackwell Papers, 1839-1929

Extent

452 items.

Creator

James D. Blackwell, Blackwell family.

Language

English

Abstract

Letters and papers of the Blackwell family of Fauquier County, Virginia, dated 1839-1929, including chiefly poetry by James DeRuyter Blackwell.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open to all researchers.

Publication Rights/Restrictions on Use

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

James D. Blackwell Papers, Manuscripts and Rare Books Department, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Biographical/Historical Information

James De Ruyter Blackwell, Sr. was born 18 March 1828 near Warrenton, Virginia. Graduated from Dickinson College and also attended Randolph-Macon College. Studied and practiced law but for health reasons gave it up and devoted his life to literature. He died 1901. James De Ruyter Blackwell, Jr. was born 17 May 1870. He was educated at Bethel Military Academy [Fauquier County, Virginia] as a civil engineer. Worked as a civil engineer on various railroads including electric streetcar system. He was on the Board of Survey for Boston and was City Engineer of Seattle, Washington. He also was in private practice. He died 5 September 1929.

Scope and Content Information

Letters and accounts of James DeRuyter Blackwell, Sr., lawyer and poet, his wife Judith Emma (Edmonds) Blackwell of Warrenton, Virginia and of members of their family including their son, James De Ruyter Blackwell, Jr. There are letters written from Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia concerning social life, and letters concerning the hiring of slaves and the illnesses of female slaves. Collection includes genealogy of Blackwell family and three bound manuscript volumes of poetry by James De Ruyter Blackwell, Sr., as well as a letter, 6 September 1879, of John S. Mosby, concerning his work as American consul in China.

Arrangement

Organization

Organized into five series: 1. Letters, 2. Accounts, 3. Papers of James D. Blackwell, 4. Biographical and genealogical information regarding James D. Blackwell and the Blackwell family, and 5. Miscellaneous items.

Arrangement

Series 1 is arranged chronologically; Series 2 is arranged alphabetically by name.

Index Terms

Family name:

Blackwell family.

Subjects:

Slavery--Virginia--History--19th century.

Geographical name:

Richmond (Va.)--Social life and customs.

Persons:

Blackwell, Judith Emma Edmonds, 1828-ca. 1918.
Mosby, John Singleton, 1833- 1916.

Letters, 1839-1929, n.d.

Box-folder 1:1-2

Series 1: Letters

chronological

Box-folder 1:1
Frances Edmonds, at Richmond, Virgina, to Jane Blackwell, at Colesmouth, Kanawha County, Virginia 7 March 1839.
Box-folder 1:1
[Jane] Blackwell to [ ? ]. 29 August 1839.
Box-folder 1:1
Fanny [ ? ], at Mount Ivy, to Frances Jane Blackwell, at Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia. 13 October 1843
Box-folder 1:1
T. W. Smith to [ ? ]. 10 January 1844.
Box-folder 1:1
Alexander Edmonds to Elias Edmonds, at Warrenton, Virginia. 23 December 1844.
Box-folder 1:1
Burr[?] Weeks, at Middleburg, [Virginia], to captain E[lias] Edmonds , at Warrenton, [Virginia]. 28 Dec. 1844.
Box-folder 1:1
Seth Lunsford, at Warrenton, to Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell, at Ivy Hill, Fauquier County, Virginia.
Box-folder 1:1
John N. Grant, at Warrenton, to Mrs. [ ? ] Blackwell, Fauquier County, Virginia. 11 February 1845.
Box-folder 1:1
Nick [ ? ], at Edinburg, [Shenandoah County], Virginia, to Mrs. Joseph Blackwell, at Fauquier County Court House, Virginia. 20 December 1845.
Box-folder 1:1
F. Horner to Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell. 3 January 1846.
Box-folder 1:1
James D. Blackwell, at Carlisle, to [Jane Blackwell]; and J. D[avenport] B[lackwell] , at Carlisle, to Jane [Blackwell]; and [ ? ] to Jane [Blackwell]. 26 January 1846, and n.d.

1 sheet.
Box-folder 1:1
J. Davenport Blackwell, at Carlisle, to Jane Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 29 January 1846.
Box-folder 1:1
J. D[avenport] B[lackwell] , at Carlisle, to Jean E. Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia.
Box-folder 1:1
Octavia [Chilton, at Vermont P. O., Cooper County, Missouri], to Jane F. Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 1 November 1846
Box-folder 1:1
Erasmus Helm, at Warrenton, [Virginia], to Captain Elias Edmonds, Fauquier County, [Virginia]. 18 November 1846
Box-folder 1:1
Fanny [Edmonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, Virginia, to Captain Elias Edmonds, at Warreton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 2 November 1847.
Box-folder 1:1
Fanny [Edmonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, to Emma Edmonds, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 9 November 1847.
Box-folder 1:1
D. Duncan, secretary, Randolph Macon College, [near Boydton], Virginia, to James Blackwell, at Warrenton, Virginia. 1 December 1847.

Monthly report of J[ames] D[eRuyter] Blackwell , at Randolph Macon College.
Box-folder 1:1
W. A. Smith, at Randolph Macon College, [near Boydton], Virginia, to James Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier [County], Virginia. 22 December 1847

Written on back of the report of James D. Blackwell, Senior at Randolph Macon College.
Box-folder 1:1
[Frances Demonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, [Virginia], to Emma Edmonds, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 14 February 1848.
Box-folder 1:1
Erasmus Helm, at Philadelphia, [Pennsylvania], to Captain Elias Edmonds, at Warrenton, Virginia. 16 September 1848
Box-folder 1:1
[Frances Edmonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, [Virginia], to Emma Edmonds, Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 21 December 1848.
Box-folder 1:1
F[rances Edmonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, to Captain Elias Edmonds, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 16 January 1849
Box-folder 1:1
[Frances Edmonds] [ ? ], at Richmond, to Emma Edmonds, Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 21 January 1849
Box-folder 1:1
Fanny [Edmonds] [ ? ], at Petersburg, to Emma Edmonds, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 30 April 1849.
Box-folder 1:1
R. Charles Paddison, at New York, to [James DeRuyter Blackwell]. 18 October 1850
Box-folder 1:1
Jane [Blackwell], at Oak Spring, to her uncle, James Blackell, at The Meadows. December 1858
Box-folder 1:1
W. H. Payne to, to Jane [Blackwell]. 19 April 1869.
Box-folder 1:1
John B. Jeffries, at Piedmont, to Jane [Blackwell]. 11 February 1874.
Box-folder 1:1
John S. Mosby, at the United States Consulate, Hongkong, [China], to J. D. Blackwell. 6 September 1879.
Box-folder 1:1
Bettie Rogers, at Vermont, to her aunt, Jane [Blackwell?]. 9 December 1879.
Box-folder 1:1
J. B. Lippincott & Co., at Philadelphia, to James DeRuyter Blackwell, at Warrenton. 8 April 1884.
Box-folder 1:1
J. W. Marshall, at Paris, Fauquier County, Virginia, to [James DeRuyter] Blackwell. 16 September 1885
Box-folder 1:1
J. C. Granbery, at Ashland, [Hanover County], Virginia, to [James DeRuyter Blackwell]. 18 April 1891
Box-folder 1:1
[James] De Ryuter [Blackwell, Jr.], at Allston, [Boston, Massachusttes] to Bettie [Blackwell]. 26 August 1894
Box-folder 1:1
[James DeRuyter Blackwell, Jr.] at Allston, [Boston, Massachusetts], to Bettie [Blackwell]. 30 August 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
[James] DeRuyter [Blackwell, Jr.] at Allston, [Boston, Massachusetts], to Bettie [Blackwell]. 30 August 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
[James] DeRuyter [Balckwell, Jr.], At Allston, [Boston, Massachusetts], to Bettie [Blackwell]. 16 September 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
[James] DeRuyter [Blackwell, Jr.], at Allston, Massachusetts, to Bettie [Blackwell]. 30 September 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
C. H. Browning, editor the American Historical Register, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to James D[eRuyter] Blackwell, at Warrenton, Virginia. 12 November 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
[James] DeRuyter [Blackwell, Jr.], at Allston, [Boston, Massachusetts], to Bettie [Blackwell]. 25 November 1894.
Box-folder 1:1
Maria Buckner Clark, at Washington, D.C., to Austin Blackwell, at Oak Spring, near Warrenton, Virginia. Postmarked 16 March 1898.
Box-folder 1:1
William H. Payne, at Washington, D.C., to Mrs. James D[eRuyter] Blackwell, near Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. 7 May 1901.
Box-folder 1:1
Edwin J. Brown, Mayor of Seattle, to J[ames] D[eRuyter] Blackwell [Jr.], at Seattle, Washington. 21 July 1923.
Box-folder 1:2
James Blackwell to Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
James D[eRuyter] Blackwell to his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
[James] DeRuyter [Blackwell, Jr.] to [ ? ]. n.d.

Incomplete.
Box-folder 1:2
Jane Blackwell to her uncle, Elias Edmonds. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
Octavia [Chilton] to Frances J. Blackwell, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. Postmarked Boonville, Missouri. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
A. T. E.[ ? ] to Captain E. Edmonds, at Mill Hill. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
W. B. Smith to J[ames] DeR[uyter] Blackwell. n.d.

Includes an English translation of the German ballad "The Ministrel's Curse" by Ludwig Uhland.
Box-folder 1:2
Fanny [Edmonds] [ ? ] to Jane Blackwell. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
[Frances Edmonds] [ ? ], at Petersburg, to Emma [Edmonds]. n.d.

Incomplete.
Box-folder 1:2
[Frances Edmonds] [ ? ], at Petersburg, to Emma Edmonds, at Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
Fanny [Edmonds] [ ? ] to Emma Edmonds, near Warrenton, Fauquier [County], Virginia. n.d.
Box-folder 1:2
Unidentified letter. n.d.

Accounts, 1832-1870

Box-folder 1:3-4

Series 2: Accounts

Box-folder 1:3
Accounts of Mrs. [ ? ] Blackwell. 1837-1850.

22 pieces.
Box-folder 1:3
Accounts of Mrs. E. Blackwell. 1837-1850.

10 pieces.
Box-folder 1:3
Accounts of Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwell. 1832-1858.

84 pieces.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of Mrs. Emma Blackwell. 1857-1859.

1 piece.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of James D. Blackwell. 1837-1856.

10 pieces.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of Jane Blackwell. 1841-1870.

19 pieces.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of Mrs. Jos. Blackwell. 1831.

1 piece.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of Mrs. M. E. Blackwell. 1852.

1 piece.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts of Mrs. Mary Blackwell. 1841.
Box-folder 1:4
Accounts, unidentified. 1835-1846.

10 pieces.

Papers of James D. Blackwell, 1828-1929.

Box-folder 1-2:5-7

Series 3: Papers of James D. Blackwell

Box-folder 1:5
Honorable discharge of James DeRyuter Blackwell from the Confederate Army. 1864.
Box-folder 1:5
Certificate of copyright of The Poetical Works of James DeRuyter Blackwell in Three Volumes. 1879.

Volume 1.
Box-folder 1:5
Three sketches of the life of James DeRuyter Blackwell, by unknown persons. n.d.
Box-folder 1:5
An appreciation of the poems of James DeRuyter Blackwell, by an unknown person. 1929.

2 pieces.
Box-folder 1:5
Plays, probably written by James DeRuyter Blackwell.

2 manuscripts.
Box-folder 1:5
Poems of James DeRuyter Blackwell.

100 newspaper clippings and galley proofs.
Box-folder 1:5
Poems of James DeRuyter Blackwell.

20 manuscripts.
Box-folder 2:6
A long narrative poem by James DeRuyter Blackwell.

1 manuscript volume, 226 pages, 12 1/2 x 8 inches, and 11 manuscript sheets.
Box-folder 2:7
A long narrative poem by James DeRuyter Blackwell.

1 manuscript volume, 138 pages, 12 x 8 inches, and 11 manuscript sheets.

Biographical and genealogical information regarding James D. Blackwell, Jr., and the Blackwell family, 1870-1929.

Box-folder 2:8-9

Series 4: Biographical and genealogical information regarding James D. Blackwell, Jr., and the Blackwell family

Box-folder 2:8
A typed sketch of the life of James DeRuyter Blackwell, [Jr.], by his cousin, James Eustace Blackwell.
Box-folder 2:8
A short sketch of the life of James DeRuyter Blackwell, Jr., from The Washington State Architect. September 1929.
Box-folder 2:8
Four newspaper clippings concerning James DeRuyter Blackwell, Jr.
Box-folder 2:8
Photograph of James DeRuyter Blackwell, Jr.
Box-folder 2:9
Genealogical data on the Blackwell family of Virginia.

4 pieces.
Box-folder 2:9
Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sam, a slave, the property of Mrs. Blackwell, Fauquier County, [Virginia]. 1848.

1 piece.
Box-folder 2:9
Book containing sales of the personal property of Mrs. Adeline Edmonds, at Warrenton, Virginia, October 1899.

150 pages. 11 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches.

Used as a scrap book for newspaper clippings announcing the death of Captain Elias Edmonds, Mrs. Emma Blackwell (wife of James DeRuyter Blackwell), E.G. Edmonds, Mrs. Adeline Edmonds (Wife of E.G. Edmonds), and Mrs. N. Payne (Daughter of Captain Lewis Edmonds).
Box-folder 2:9
Memorial card of J. Ed. B[lackwell] with verses and ornamental border.

Miscellaneous items,

Box-folder 2:10

Series 5: Miscellaneous items

Box-folder 2:10
Address and resolutions of the patriots of the Northern Neck of Virginia, protesting against the Stamp Act. 1765.

Copy.
Box-folder 2:10
Notebook of an unidentified law student.

1 piece.
Box-folder 2:10
Verse.

3 pieces.
Box-folder 2:10
Prose.

1 piece. Beginning and end of manuscript lacking.
Box-folder 2:10
Newspaper clipings.

68 pieces.
Box-folder 2:10
Covers, envelopes and blank paper.

13 pieces.
Box-folder 2:10
Three samples of cloth.