Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Papers of John Armstrong Chaloner, Accession #38-394-e, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The papers were a gift to the Library from George Worthington, Charlottesville, Va., on May 24, 2005.

Biographical/Historical Information

John Armstrong Chaloner [Chanler] of Merrie Mills, Charlottesville, Virginia (1862-1935) was the great-great grandson of John Jacob Astor and for a short time was married to Amélie Rives (1863-1945) who was an American novelist who lived at Castle Hill, Charlottesville, Virginia. They were married in 1888 and divorced in 1895. It has been written that "Amélie was a master manipulator and morphine addict who refused her besotted husband sex and affection while spending his inheritance to refurbish her family plantation." Amélie is described as very flirtatious but her real passion seems to have been for Castle Hill and she desperately needed money to maintain her beloved home.

Chaloner's parents died when he was young leaving him to be the head of his family. He ran a business called the "Roanoke Rapids Machine Shops " but as his ideas for its expansion grew, his siblings feared they were going to lose money on it. This coupled with his neglect for his siblings (due to tensions between them and Amélie Rives) motivated the sibling to have Chaloner committed to an insane asylum. The couple's divorce after seven years was fodder for the media as were Chaloner's commitment to the asylum, his escape four years later and his lawsuits to prove his sanity and reclaim his fortune. Following their divorce Amélie Rives married Pierre Troubetsky and Chaloner still sent her money. After his escape from Bloomingdale and following the success of his trial, he returned to his home, Merrie Mills. In addition to being an author of several books, he wrote long passages about experiencing trance like states where he could see other realms of existence. He discussed these trances and his interest in psychology with important authors such as Henry James.

Scope and Content

The papers consist of 147 letters and documents (1894-1920) by and to John Armstrong Chaloner (1862-1935), great-great grandson of John Jacob Astor of New York. Chaloner was an attorney, novelist, and entrepreneur who was often described as an eccentric. He lived at Castle Hill, and Merrie Mills Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia and owned a mill in Roanoke Rapids in North Carolina.

The collection includes letters from various friends and business associates regarding financial help and business matters about his mill. There are also letters about Chaloner's escape from an insane asylum; letters to Judge Thomas N. Hill about his legal insanity case; letters to his friend, Rose Wilmer Page, asking for help with his lawsuit; a petition for a temporary injunction in Chaloner v. Dunn before the Supreme Court; and a certificate indicating a transfer of ownership of four cattle. There is also a document written by Chaloner stating that in the event of his death, he did not want his siblings on his property except for the viewing.

There are letters from J. Marion Lee, who had been involuntarily committed to the Manhattan State Hospital, and was writing to her acquaintances asking for help in proving her sanity and receiving authorization for her release. She mentioned that she had a relationship in 1894 with Dr. James Albert "Al" Meara who allegedly drugged her, robbed her and had her committed because she had found out information about him that he wanted kept secret. There are love letters from Dr. Meara written to Miss Lee included in the collection. Her letters give a horrifying glimpse into incarceration in an insane asylum from 1894 to 1901.

There are also letters from Albert and Abbie Legg asking Chaloner for money. Albert Legg was a former employee of Mr. Chaloner who wrote complaining about his wife and needing money. There are also letters from Abbie Legg who claimed that her husband mistreated her and left her penniless. Included with their correspondence is a letter from a policeman in Knoxville, Tennessee about Legg's drunkenness and womanizing. Chaloner wrote to Abbie Legg offering money to her husband on the condition that Legg would give some of it to her.

There is correspondence between Mary Stacha Young and John Armstrong Chaloner that reveal that she was a singer who was in and out of work and had to support herself and her mother. She wrote to Mr. Chaloner telling him about her despair and requesting financial assistance. Chaloner responded that he would help them once he regained his rights to his property from his legal case. There is also correspondence about Chaloner's book, The X-Faculty and his experiences with psychic phenomena.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically for correspondence and within each folder.