Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Fulton-Whalen family. Papers, 1813-1975. Accession 37092, 40619, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased.

Biographical/Historical Information

Dr. William Fulton was born in Loudoun County, Virginia on 6 August 1854. He was the son of William Fulton and Martha A. Hawling. He was a physician who practiced in Leesburg, Virginia, and in Kansas City, Missouri for a short time. His brother, Robert Irving Fulton, was born on 19 March 1855. He was a noted elocutionist, and later became the founder and dean of the School of Oratory at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Their cousin, Priscilla Jane (Jennie) Fulton Whalen was born in Howard County, Maryland in October, 1857. She was the daughter of David C. Fulton (d. 1880) and Mary E. Mercer (1827-1891). Mary E. Mercer was the daughter of Isaiah Mercer (b. 1781) and Priscilla Scott (1785-1848). Isaiah and Priscilla Mercers children included: Harriet (1811-1815), Isiah (b. 1813), William F. (b. 1815), Luke (1819-1843), Ellenora (1821- 1843), Wilson Lee (1824-1824), and Mary Elizabeth (1827-1891).

Priscilla Jane (Jennie) Fulton attended Petersburg Female College in 1875, and married Frank Whalen (d. 1923) on 6 June 1882. Frank Whalen worked for and was later president of Carlin & Fulton, Wholesale hardware company in Baltimore, Maryland. Their children included: Mary R. (b. 1883), Dan (b. 1885), Franklin Jr. (b. 1888), Henry L. (b. 1891), Naomi (b. 1892), Rebekah (b. 1895), John (b. 1898), and Robert (b. 1903). Rebekah Whalen married Lawrence H. Baker, instructor at Johns Hopkins University.

The Turner, and Unduch families of Maryland were also related to the Fulton-Whalen families. John L. Turner (1825-1911) of Baltimore, Maryland, was married to Mary N. Turner (1844-1914). He was the son of Eliza G. Turner (d. 1886).

Scope and Content

Papers, 1813-1975 (bulk 1870-1920), of the Fulton and Whalen families of Loudoun County, Virginia, and Maryland and Missouri. Includes Bible records, calling cards, certificates, correspondence, deeds, estate papers, photographs, poetry, programs, publications, receipts, and sketches. The majority of the collection relate to Priscilla Jane Fulton Whalen, her husband, Frank Whalen, and cousin, William Fulton.

Includes deeds and mortgages for land in Baltimore, Maryland. Also includes estate papers for family members in Baltimore and Ellicott City, Maryland, administered by Isiah Mercer, John L. Turner, and Frank Whalen. Includes estate papers for: Anne Flint (d. 1870), Ellen H. Gibbons (d. 1876), John L. Gibbons (d. 1871), Elijah Gore (d. 1878), James Hance (d. 1873), Frederick Scott (d. 1844) Mary Ann Smith (d. 1866), Edmund H. Stocksdale (d. 1837), Anne Turner (d. 1899), Catherine B. Turner (d. 1884), Deborah Turner (d. 1835), John Turner (d. 1911), Mary N. Turner (d. 1914), and Rose F. Whalen (d. 1975). Included are college certificates for Priscilla Fulton for Petersburg Female College, 1875, and report cards for Fulton Whalen, 1895, for the Young Ladies Select School in Ellicott City, Maryland. Numerous family photographs are included, although many are unlabeled. Included are deeds and photographs of the family estate, Mt. Hebron in Ellicott City, Maryland.

The correspondence consists mainly of letters to Priscilla Fulton Whalen from family members. Includes letters written by Dr. William Fulton of Loudoun County, Virginia, to Priscilla Fulton Whalen of Howard County, Maryland. Topics covered include family news, health, marriages and deaths, religious services attended, and social life and mutual acquaintances. There is a substantial amount of correspondence by Fulton concerning his life in Kansas City, where he established a medical practice and lived for a short time before returning to Leesburg, Virginia. He also writes about the activities of his brother, Robert Irving Fulton, an elocutionist whom he lived with in Kansas City, along with Roberts business partner T.C. Trueblood. Also includes correspondence between Priscilla Fulton Whalen and Frank Whalen regarding travels, family, crops, and health.

Also included are programs from the School for Girls, 1884-1885 (Richmond, Va.), University of Maryland, 1915, and Western College for Women, 1920 (Oxford, Ohio). Records of Carlin & Fulton include a prospectus and programs for the annual supper for Carlin & Fulton, 1876, and the Baltimore Sesqui-Centennial celebration, sponsored by Carlin & Fulton, 1880.

Items transferred to the Newspaper project include the Independent Methodist (1880), Baltimore Gazette (1874), Ellicott City Times (1880), and the Baltimore Sun (1880).

For related materials please see, Carr family Bible record, 1771-1908 (LVA Acc. 41742), Jordan family Bible record, 1806-1826 (LVA Acc. 41743), and Mercer family Bible record, 1781-1933 (LVA Acc. 41744).

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by folder title.