Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Mosby Garland Perrow, Jr., Papers, 1940-1962, Accession #11014, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These papers were given to the Library by Mosby G. Perrow, III, of Lynchburg, Virginia, on May 28, 1991.

Biographical/Historical Information

Mosby Garland Perrow, Jr. was born on March 5, 1909, in Lynchburg, to Mosby Garland and Louise Polk (Joynes) Perrow. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University, and obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Duke University. He married Katherine Duane Wingfield of Lynchburg on June 24, 1938; they had three children: Duane Payne (Mrs. Wistar Palmer Nelligan); Mosby Garland, III; and Edmund Wingfield. In addition to farming and practicing law, Perrow was a member of the Virginia State Senate as a Democrat for twenty years. He was appointed chairman in 1959 of the Virginia School Commission known as the "Perrow Commission" which is given credit for saving public schools after the fall of massive resistance. He was a member of the Board of Directors of several private corporations and belonged to various civic organizations in the Lynchburg area. [Biographical information located in Virginia Lives: The Old Dominion Who's Who by Richard Lee Morton (Historical Record Association, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 1962).]

The appointment of the "Perrow Commission" followed a series of legislation and actions influenced by the Supreme Court's segregation decision of 1954. In 1954, Governor Thomas B. Stanley appointed a commission charged with recommending means to prevent integration. Although he initially indicated that he would appoint a bi-racial group, he was influenced by Senator Garland "Peck" Gray to form a commission exclusively of state legislators, which eliminated all blacks from consideration since there were no blacks in the General Assembly. The "Gray Commission" held a public hearing on November 15, 1954, then held closed-door deliberations until its plan was revealed on November 11, 1955. The commission accepted limited integration, sanctioning inter-racial mixing in the schools if the local authorities chose that option. Drawbacks to the support of integration included the pupil-assignment plan and tuition grants for children choosing to attend private non-sectarian schools or public schools in other jurisdictions. It also urged that no child be forced to attend an integrated school. There was much debate and confusion over the referendum. During the 1955-1956 General Assembly session, the Gray Commission reversed itself, omitting the local option clause.

In August 1956, the General Assembly was ordered by Governor Stanley to meet in special session. The "Stanley Plan," which included thirteen bills, was very detrimental to the maintenance of free public schools under court order to integrate. The plan was approved but did not actually come into use until September 1958. By this time, J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. was governor. Even though he was never in favor of the school- closing laws, he was forced to close several public schools around Virginia. School closings became a major and heated issue; massive resistance was more and more damaging to education and Virginia's image. After a speech in favor of massive resistance in January 1959, Almond realized the futility of upholding such a belief. He went before the General Assembly saying that the line against integration could no longer be held. He pushed for a more moderate program, which included the appointment of a commission to study the situation and recommend any further legislation to solve the problem.

The commission was headed by Senator Perrow. When the report was made, it called for freedom of choice, or local option. Almond's "freedom of choice" legislation was passed, with narrow majorities, by the Senate and the House. The passage of this legislation lead to the end of massive resistance. Almond pushed aside his personal beliefs and made way for more modern and moderate political views in Virginia. Despite this progress, the controversy over integration continued for years.

[Information on massive resistance and integration was found in Virginia: The New Dominion , by Virginius Dabney (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1971).]

Scope and Content Information

This collection pertains to the personal, legal, and senatorial aspects of the life of Mosby G. Perrow, Jr., of Lynchburg, Virginia. Included are personal, legal, and political correspondence and papers. Personal correspondence includes letters of family members, friends, and acquaintances, and refers to family estates, finances, rental property, the Perrow farm in Campbell County, and involvement in Lynchburg matters. The legal correspondence and papers refer to Perrow family court and legal cases as well as various others. Political papers pertain to various legislation, and include letters from senators, representatives, and other political figures, and constituents. A large portion of these papers are concerned with the Perrow Commission and related matters on education and integration.

Papers concerning the Perrow Commission, 1958-1959, include correspondence, memoranda, opinions, reports, and printed material. There is a statement, early 1958, from the Virginia Committee for Public Schools concerning the appointment of the commission and its goals; and, a copy of the resolution creating the commission. Correspondence from concerned citizens and parents, public school personnel and officials, and political figures express views and suggestions on various aspects of free public education and integration. Reports to the commission include reports from various committees and bills enacted by the General Assembly. There is further information on public education, including correspondence and papers of the Commission to Study the System of Public Schools, 1944-1947, and of various educational associations.

Arrangement

The collection has been divided into two series: 1) Personal and Professional Papers, and 2) Political Papers. Subjects are arranged alphabetically by folders in each division; and, contents inside folders are arranged chronologically. The box listing is followed by an index of names and subjects.

Index

Numbers following entries refer to, first, box number, and, second, folder number.

Abbitt, Watkins M. 4.3, 8.7
Accountancy 4.1, 8.5, 9.2
Adams, Howard H. 8.2
Adams, Marguerite W. 2.5
Adams, Walker H. 2.5
Adamson, V. Cassel 5.5
Administrative Law 8.6
Almond, Charles H. 2.1
Almond, Eliza R. 2.1
Almond, Jr.,J. Lindsay 1.9, 2.4, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 6.1, 7.1, 7.6, 8.2, 8.8, 9.2
Almond, Jr., J. Lindsay: Opinion on Public Education 7.1
American Bankers Association 2.3
Apperson,Harvey B. 8.2
Arthur,W. Barney 4.4
Atomic Energy 4.2, 8.8, 9.2
Baldwin, Jr., Bernard C. 2.2
Batson, Culver 2.1
Batson, Gladys S. 2.1
Battle, John S. 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 8.2
Baugh, Emerson D. 6.3
Bedford Chamber of Commerce 2.4
Bemiss, FitzGerald 5.5
Berkeley, Dorothy A. 6.1
Bird, Lloyd C. 9.4
Blake, Nannie G. 1.9
Blanton, Thomas H. 4.4
Blue Ridge Parkway: James River at Big Island & Roanoke 2.4
Boatwright, Jr.,John B. 4.1, 4.5, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4
Boonsboro Country Club 2.4
Boothe, Armistead L. 4.5, 6.3
Broaddus, Jr., W. R. 8.6
Burks, Charles E. 1.8
Burks, Martin P. 2.4
Burnett, D. Earl 2.1
Burnett, Elaine B. 2.1
Burnett, J. Gordon 4.1
Burnett, Myrtle 1.9
Burton, Clarence G. 2.3, 4.4, 4.5
Business Taxes 9.2
Bustard, Maitland 2.3
Byrd, Harry Flood 4.3, 4.5, 8.1, 8.2
Byrd, Jr., Harry Flood 4.5, 8.2, 8.3
Campaign: Battle for Governor 4.4
Campaign: Clarence Burton 4.4
Campbell County: Fort Hill 2.5
Campbell County: Perrow's Siding 1.6
Campbell, Stuart B. 4.3
Cardwell, Jr., C. P. 9.4
Carroll, Thomas F. 2.1
Carter, Curry 4.5
Cavers, David F. 1.8
Central Baptist Church 1.8
Chewning, A. B. 1.9
Chichester, Cassius M. 4.1, 4.3, 5.2, 7.2, 8.1, 8.5, 8.6, 9.4
Child Care Center: Lynchburg 2.4
Children's Institutions and Agencies 2.4
Chorley, Kenneth 8.8
Church, Randolph W. 4.4
Clarke, Andrew W. 4.1, 8.5
Cochran, Herbert G. 4.4
Cohn, Arthur 1.9
Cohn, Rose 1.9
College Hill Methodist Church, Lynchburg 2.1
Collins, Lewis Preston 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 8.5
Combs, Everett R. 4.3, 4.4, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2
Commercial Trust and Savings Bank 1.12
Commission to Study the System of Public Schools 7.3
Confederate Bonds 1.1
Constituent Mail 4.6, 4.7
Cox, M. G. 4.4
Craddock, George B. 2.3
Crush, Charles W. 4.4
Cummings, Jr., Robert A. 1.9
Dabney, Virginius 9.4
Dalton, Ted 6.3
Darden, Jr., Colgate W. 4.3, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
Davies, Jr., A. B. 4.4
Davis, H. Minor 2.3
Dawson, Abb Elgin 1.9
Dawson, Shirley M. 1.9
DeJarnette, Edmund T. 8.2, 8.6
Denny Commission 4.3
Denny, George H. 7.3
Depositors Industrial Loan Bank: Statements 2.4
Dodson, Jr., E. Griffith 8.1, 8.6
Dog License Laws 8.5
Drunk Driving 9.3
Duke, Emily 5.3
Dure, Leon 6.2
Duval, Jr., Robert C. 1.9
Earngey, Jr., W. P. 9.4
Emmett, J. M. 4.3
Estate of Charles B. Perrow 1.8
Evans, Wallace 1.6
Farm Business 1.6
Fenwick, Charles R. 4.4
Fitzpatrick, Earl A. 2.3, 4.5, 8.1
Ford, James B. 2.4
Fort Hill, Campbell County 2.5
Fort Hill Post Office, Lynchburg 4.4
Free Public Schools 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1
Freedmen's Hospital: remarks by A. Willis Robertson 8.8
Friendly House, Inc. Corporation 2.2
Frost, Tom 4.5
Gaines, Francis P. 8.3
Gantt, Jr., Sam J. 1.8
Garnett, Christopher B. 4.3
Gee, Wilson 7.2, 7.3
Gibbs, Cumming Ball 2.2
Glass, III, Carter 2.4
Glass, Jr., Carter 8.1
Golden Horseshoe Club 2.4
Goode, James W. 1.9
Goode, Morton G. 8.1
Gordon, Charles H. 9.1
Gordon, Thelma Young 4.4
Grace W. Clark Community House, Lynchburg 1.12
Gray, Garland "Peck" 2.4, 4.3, 4.5, 8.2, 8.3
Group, Heinie 2.3
Gunter, Jr., Ben T. 8.5, 8.6
Haddock, Edward E. 7.6
Hagood, James Davis 4.2
Hall, Jr., John Hopkins 4.4, 8.1, 8.2
Hallett, Stuart E. 6.3
Hardy, John W. 4.4
Haynes, Edward T. 9.4
Hazen, William F. 9.2
Highways: Interstate 5.3
Highways: Lynchburg 5.1
Highways: Virginia 5.3
Highways 5.1, 5.3
Hildreth, W. S. 2.3
Hill City Baseball Club 8.3
Hirst, Omer L. 4.5
Home for Needy Confederate Women: Commission to Study 5.2
State Appropriations 5.2
Home for Needy Confederate Women 5.2
Hospital and Medical Service 9.4
Hospital Associations 9.4
Hospitalization 9.4
Howard University: remarks by A. Willis Robertson 8.8
Howard, Lloyd L. 2.4
Howell, Richard L. 2.1
Hubard, R. T. 2.3
Hudgens, Robert 1.12, 9.4
Hylton, Lena H. 2.4
Inebriety 8.5
Insurance 1.7
Integration 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7
Interstate Highways 8.7
Interstate Highways 9.1
Invitations 8.3
Irby, A. Lee 1.6
John A. Donaho and Associates 5.3
Johnson, Jr., J. D. 1.10
Joynes, Jr., Goodwyn G. 1.9
Judgeships 4.3
Junior Bar Conference 1.8
Juvenile & Domestic Relations Courts 4.4, 4.5
Juvenile Court System 8.5, 8.6, 9.5, 9.6
Juvenile Delinquents 8.5
Kail, Kenneth L. 2.3
Kean, L. M. 2.1
Kellam, Sidney S. 4.4, 8.2
Key to Peace in America: Reedy, W. H. 5.5
King, Warren T. 2.4
Kitchen, Kruger 1.9
Kiwanis 2.2, 2.4
Lambeth, Bolling 2.4
Lane, Edward E. 5.5
Lane, Landon B. 8.7
Lauchheimer, Sylvan Hayes 1.9
Leary, Wilbur T. 6.3
Legal Correspondence and Papers 1.8, 1.9, 1.10
Lineweaver, Robert N. 2.3
Longwood College 7.6
Lowry and Radford 1.9
Lynch, John 2.1
Lynch, Mary 2.1
Lynchburg: Child Care Center 2.4
Lynchburg: College Hill Methodist Church 2.1
Lynchburg: Distribution Road 5.1
Lynchburg: Fort Hill Post Office 4.4
Lynchburg: Grace W. Clark Community House 1.12
Lynchburg: Highways 5.1
Lynchburg: Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church 2.1, 2.3
Lynchburg: Preston Glenn Airport 4.4
Lynchburg 1.12, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1
Lynchburg Airport 4.3, 4.4
Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce 2.4
Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum 1.11
Lynchburg General Hospital 1.12, 2.4
Lynchburg General Hospital Building Fund: organization plan and operating schedule 1.12
Lynchburg Hospital Authority 1.12, 9.4
Lynchburg Livestock Market, Inc. 2.4
Lynchburg Trust and Savings Bank 2.2
Madison College 7.6
Marshall Lodge: membership certificate 2.2
Martin, William L. 2.4
Massenburg, G. Alvin 4.3
May, S. D. 5.3
McCue, Jr., Edward O. 8.5
McDowell, Jr., A. J. 1.9
McGraw, J. Willard 2.1
McGraw, Thelma B. 2.1
Medical Care Needs 8.5
Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, Lynchburg 2.1, 2.3
Mica (mining) 1.6
Michie Company 2.2
Miller, E. P. 1.8
Minnick, John Bradley 5.5, 6.1, 6.2
Minter, William Marvin 4.3, 5.3
Moncure, Frank P. 5.2
Moore, E. Blackburn 8.6
Moorman, Alice R. (account) 1.8
Morrison, Robert D. 1.12, 2.2, 8.2
Mosby, A. W. 2.4
Mulholland, H. B. 9.4
Murphy, Joseph W. 4.4
Muse, Leonard G. 7.6
Naval Reserve Advisory Committee 2.4
Neff, William N. 7.6
Newman, Walter S. 8.3
Noland, Lloyd U. 8.2
Nuclear Energy 4.2
Nurses' Training 9.1
Nusbaum, Sadie (Cohn) 1.9
Overbey & Overbey 1.8
Overbey, R. I. 1.8
Overby, W. H. 8.2
P. Louillard Company 2.4
Pari-mutuel Betting 8.8
Paschall, Davis Y. 7.6, 8.7
Patty, Kenneth C. 4.5
Payne, Mosby H. 1.2, 2.2, 2.3
Peoples National Bank 2.3
Perkinson, Allan C. 4.3, 4.4
Perrow Commission on Public Education 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5
Perrow family: photograph 2.4
Perrow vs Perrow 1.8
Perrow, Charles B., estate of 1.8
Perrow, Duane Payne 2.4
Perrow, Elizabeth "Lizzie" T. 2.2
Perrow, Ella T. 1.3
Perrow, F. Kirk 2.4
Perrow, Grace M. 1.8, 2.3, 2.4
Perrow, Grace Munro (Perrow) 8.1
Perrow, Katherine Duane (Wingfield) 2.4
Perrow, Minnie C. 2.2
Perrow, Mosby G. (Dr.) 1.4, 1.5, 2.2, 2.3
Perrow, Sallie T. 1.6
Perrow, Jr., F. Kirk 1.10
Perrow's Siding: Campbell County 1.6
Phillips, Sinclair 6.3
Photograph: Perrow family 2.4
Pleasants, Mary Etta 2.1
Poff, Richard H. 4.5
Powell, Jr., Lewis F. 1.8
Preston Glenn Airport: Lynchburg 4.4
Private Nursery Schools & Kindergartens 9.3
Public Education: Georgia 7.4
Insurance Classification 7.5
Lynchburg Schools--Photographs 7.5
Public Education 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7
Public School System 8.7, 9.2, 9.3
Radford, duVal 1.9, 4.5
Real Estate 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
Recommendations 3.6, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5
Reedy, W. H. "Bill" 5.5
Regional Advisory Council on Nuclear Energy: progress report 4.2
Retirement Age & Sick Leave 9.3
Richeson, Frank S. 4.4
Ricks, James Hoge 8.5
Robertson, A. Willis 4.4, 4.5, 6.2, 8.8
Robertson, Douglas A. 1.11
Rosenberger, Jr., William 1.8
Schools 8.5, 8.6
Scott Zion Baptist Church 1.12
Segregation: Printed 7.8
Segregation 5.4, 5.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 9.2
Selective Service Advisory Board 2.3
Senate of Virginia Election 8.1, 8.2
Sherrill, Andrew J. 2.1
Sherrill, Minnie D. 2.1
Showalter, F. L. 2.4
Smith, Jr., R. Blackwell 8.7
Snavely, Tipton R. 2.2, 2.4
Speeches: Almond, Jr., J. Lindsay 9.2, 9.3
Speeches: Atlanta 8.4
Speeches: Flags--U.S. and State 9.3
Speeches: Freedmen's Hospital 8.8
Speeches: Howard University 8.8
Speeches: King William County 250th Anniversary 8.4
Speeches: Perrow, Mosby G. 8.4
Speeches: Public School System 9.2, 9.3
Speeches: Robertson, A. Willis 4.5, 8.4, 8.8
Speeches 4.5, 8.4, 8.8, 9.2, 9.3
Spinner, Eva W. 1.9
Staples, Abram Penn 8.2
State Board of Education: Placement of Pupils 7.6
State Board of Education 7.1, 7.3, 7.6
State Corporation Commission 1.6
Statutory Research and Drafting 5.4, 5.5
Staunton School for Deaf and Blind 9.4
Stephens, A. E. S. 4.5, 5.5
Stout, Cecil A. 1.11
Stout, Mary V. 1.11
Sutherland, Roby 2.3
Switzer, Fred C. 4.5
Sydnor, Jr., Eugene B. 4.5, 5.5
Tappaan, Francis D. 8.2
Taxes--Personal 3.7
Teachers' Salaries 8.6
Temple, John H. 4.5
Thigpen, Richard E. 8.2
Thompson & Thompson 1.8
Thompson, Lawrence R. 8.7
Thompson, S. J. 1.8, 5.1
Thomson & McKinnon 2.2
Traffic Laws 8.8
Tuck, William M. 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 8.1, 8.2, 8.5
Tucker, Robert H. 2.3
Tyree, Frank 1.6
Vaden, Robert C. 4.4
Victor, John 2.1
Virginia Advisory Legislative Council: Minutes 8.5, 8.8, 9.3
Virginia Advisory Legislative Council 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6
Virginia Central State Baseball League 2.4
Virginia Education Association: Salary Schedules for Teachers 7.7
Virginia Education Association 7.7
Virginia Education Commission 7.2, 7.3
Virginia Polytechnic Institute 8.3
Virginia Ports 9.1, 9.2
Virginia State Committees of One Hundred 4.3
Virginia State School 7.6
Virginian Railway Company 1.6, 1.9
Washington and Lee University 2.3, 8.3
Waters, L. Bradford 1.8
Webb, John C. 4.5
Wellons, Jr., James A. 2.3
Whitehead, Hunt M. 4.5
Whitehead, Robert 8.6
Whiting, Henry H. 8.5
Whitson, J. McDowell 2.2
Wicker, Jr., John J. 4.4, 8.1, 8.2
Willey, Edward E. 4.5
Williams, Samuel H. 1.11
Wilson, Victor P. 4.5
Wilson, William Lyne 2.1
Wingfield, Edmund 2.3
Wise, Doris W. 2.4
Woodrum, Clifton A. 2.3, 4.3, 8.2
World War II Currency 1.1
Wyatt, Landon R. 5.3
Young, Harry K. "Cy" 2.2, 2.3