Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16667, Alice E. Nutt letter, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from James Arsenault by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on January 21, 2022.

Biographical / Historical

Alice E. Nutt-Wise (1831-1905) married Peter Wise (1830-1893), an Alexandria banker. She was the daughter of Major William D. Nutt who was an ardent secessionist who enslaved 105 people on his farm. He worked as a clerk for the United States Department of the Treasury until resigning in 1861. He fled his property as Union troops arrived in September 1861. His home was burned to the ground by General Louis Blenker's troops. He took a position in Richmond, Virginia as a clerk with the Confederate Treasury Department. In 1863 the Union army converted Nutt's property into a contraband farm named Camp Rucker, the camp constituing one of five that were established across Northern Virginia.

Content Description

This collection contains a letter from Alice E. Nutt to her cousin, Kate, that discusses various personal matters before querying Kate on her impressions of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852). Nutt, whose father was an ardent Virginia secessionist, articulates an unfavorable reaction to the recently published work and also addresses her disdain for the abolitionist efforts of English noblewomen. The letter measures 7.75" X 6.25" and is four pages in length. Some parts of the fourth page are written upside down in between lines. While there are small separations along old folds, there are no losses to the text.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Abolitionists
• James Arsenault and Co.

General

Reparative Note: Alice E. Nutt writes about her criticism of the recently published work (1852), Uncle Tom's Cabin and her disdain for abolitionist efforts by English noblewomen. Nutt's father was an ardent Virginia secessionist.