Use Restrictions

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Margaret B. Burruss Collection of Scott and Saufley Family Papers, 1786-1912, 1991, SC 0118, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Acquisition Information

Donated in July 1990 by Mrs. Margaret B. Burruss, a great-granddaughter of Reuben A. Scott and Mary (Mollie) Saufley Scott.

Processing Information

At some point after acquiring this collection, Special Collections staff separated the correspondence from their corresponding envelopes. The separated envelopes have penciled notations on them referring back to their original letter. In an effort to not further lose original order by trying to marry each letter with an envelope, the two remain separated. In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in the spring of 2017. (The collection was also minimally reprocessed during this time.) This collection was previously cataloged as SC 2097 .

Bio/Historical Information

Rueben A. Scott and his fiancée, later wife, Mary (Mollie) Catherine Saufley, lived near Port Republic in Rockingham County, Virginia. She was slightly older than Reuben, and was well educated, having attended Fair View Academy and Miami Seminary in Missouri. Reuben Scott joined the Confederate forces as a private in the Company B, 10th Regiment, Virginia Infantry, at least by April 1861 when he was in his twenties. He suffered a wound to the arm at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. He was then taken prisoner of war at Port Republic in September 1864, and later paroled on May 23, 1865. He returned to live a prosperous life as a farmer in Port Republic, where he died in 1912.

Scope and Content

The Margaret B. Burruss Collection of Scott and Saufley Family Papers, 1789-1912, consists of three boxes containing letters, family records, photos, letter transcripts, and the Hanna family Bible. The collection relates to the Scott and Saufley families of Rockingham County, Virginia.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in five series:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Brown family -- Correspondence
• Burruss, Margaret Brooks, 1923-2011
• Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
• Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Infantry Regiment, 10th
• Ewing family -- Correspondence
• Family papers
• Graham family -- Correspondence
• Hanna family -- Sources
• Letters (correspondence)
• Photographs
• Port Republic (Va.) -- History
• Saufley family -- Correspondence
• Scott family -- Correspondence
• Scott, Mary Catherine Saufley, 1833-1920
• Scott, Mary Catherine Saufley, 1833-1920 -- Correspondence
• Scott, Reuben A., 1838-1912
• Scott, Reuben A., 1838-1912 -- Correspondence
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
• Virginia -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
• Virginia -- Social life and customs
• Whitmer family -- Correspondence