Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Tilghman H. Bunch Papers, Accession #6528-b, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This material was a gift to the Library by Stuart E. Brown of Berryville, Virginia, on July 25, 1983.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of ca. 1300 items, 1799-1965, chiefly genealogical research materials on the Bunch, Crease, Lewis, Warwick, and related families, compiled by Tilghman Howard Bunch of Washington, D.C. There are also letters, and financial, legal, and business papers of these families, especially of the Lewis family of Bath County. Included also are personal papers of Bunch, including letters to his mother from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East during the 1920s, and letters to Bunch from family and friends.

Many of the letters were written during the late 1820s through the early 1840s by members of the Lewis family living in Missouri. These letters reveal much about life in Missouri, and include references to the rich land, good water, timber, and pasture; prices of corn, wheat, tobacco, cattle, and homes, business; state elections and the Democrats and Whigs; and illnesses. There is also mention of life in Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Chickasaw land. An 1831 letter from Charles Cameron Lewis, a student at the University of Virginia from 1825-1826, reveals that Negroes are very valuable property in and around Chickasaw land, and are treated better than those in southern Virginia. In an 1840 letter, Sophy Crease discusses Thomas Jefferson's campaign for judge in Arkansas, and Old Line and New Democrats.

Also of interest are two letters concerned with the surveying of property in Bath County. There is a June 1829 letter from John Brockenbrough, president of the Bank of Virginia in Richmond, to John Fry re Robert Mills; and, a letter from Robert Mills architect of the nineteenth century, perhaps best known for designing the Washington Monument. He was a protégé of Thomas Jefferson and was assistant to Benjamin Latrobe when the latter was Architect of National Buildings.

During 1924-1926, Tilghman Howard Bunch wrote letters to his mother, Laura Crease Lewis Bunch, while he was serving in the Navy. He often paints a vivid picture of his life in the Navy, sometimes describing maneuvers, torpedo and depth-charge practices, and various naval destroyers on which he served. These letters also contain descriptions and news of Beirut, Lebanon; Damascus, Syria; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Cannes, Nice, and Toulon, Frances; Leghorn, Naples, and Venice, Italy; the Riviera; the Acropolis and Athens, Crete, Lemnos, and Piraeus, Greece; Varna, Bulgaria; Constantinople, Turkey; Alexandria, Egypt; and Bizerte and Tunis, Tunisia. Bunch mentions having seen Henri de Jouvenal, French High Commissioner, in Syria.

There are letters to Bunch from distant relatives re Crease family genealogy, as well as other topics, Elizabeth Bohlinger writes about life in Little Rock, Arkansas; Little Rock Christ Church; and, General Douglas McArthur's visit there in July, 1952. Josephine and Lindley Crease refer to British Columbia's recovery from the depression with the reviving timber trade; and of world affairs. Marjorie Lloyd writes of life in England during and after World War II; Winston Churchill; Dwight Eisenhower; the Queen's and Prince Philip's visit to Malvern, Worcestershire; and politics in general.

There are also photographs of various members of the Bunch, Crease, Lewis, and Warwick families.

The genealogical research material compiled by Tilghman Howard Bunch include data on the following families: Anderson, Brooke, Bunch, Cochran, Cocke, Crawford, Crease, Fox, Francisco, Henderson, Hopkins, Howard, Hyde, Lewis, Newton, Smith, Tilghman, and Warwick.

Organization

The material in this collection is divided into the following series: I. Correspondence of the Bunch, Crease, Lewis, and Warwick families; II. Papers of the Bunch, Crease, Lewis, and Warwick families; III. Genealogical Papers; IV. Miscellaneous; V. Photographs; VI. Bound volumes; and VII. Oversize. Folders within each series are arranged chronologically, with the exception of the genealogical material which is arranged alphabetically.