Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of the Barbour Family, Accession # 1486, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The James Barbour Family Papers were purchased from Mrs. Caroline H. (Barbour) Ellis of Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 3, 1942.

Biographical/Historical Information

James Barbour (1775-1842) of Orange County, Virginia, was the son of Col. Thomas Barbour, who served in the House of Burgesses and on the committee of Safety during the Revolutionary War. James Barbour was a member of the General Assembly (1796-1812) until he became governor in 1812, serving during the tumultuous years of the War of 1812. Following the war, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from 1815-1825; he served as Secretary of War under President John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829. In 1829, he returned to his life as a Virginia planter, residing in "Barboursville."

His son, Benjamin Johnson Barbour (1821-1894), attended the University of Virginia from 1837-1839. After the conclusion of the Civil War, Barbour was appointed by Governor Pierpoint to the new Board of Visitors (1865-1873). He served as Rector from 1866 until 1872.

Barbour belonged to the old Whig party of Virginia and was the orator at the unveiling of the Henry Clay statue in Capitol Square, Richmond, in 1858. It was said that he never approved of the secession of Virginia from the Union But after the beginning of hostilities at Ft. Sumter, he suggested that a subscription be made for the defense of the state. In 1865 he was elected to Congress but was not seated. He did serve in the House of Delegates from 1879 to 1880. Barbour also served as a visitor to the Miller School in Albermarle County, was prominent in the State Agriculture Society, and was president of the University of Virginia Alumni Society.

Genealogical Appendix

I. James Barbour (1775-1842) m. (1795) Lucy Johnson (1775-1860)
Their children:
1) Lucy Maria (Barbour) Taliferro (1797-1843)
2) James Barbour (1798-1857)
3) B. Johnson Barbour, 1st (1802-1820)
4) Frances Cornelia Barbour, 1st (1801-1802)
5) Frances Cornelia (Barbour) Collins, (1812-1893)
6) Phillip Pendleton Barbour (1816- )
7) B. Johnson Barbour, 2nd (1821-1894)

II. B Johnson Barbour (1821-1894) m. (1844) Caroline H. Watson (1825-1905)
Their children:
1) James Barbour (1846-1851)
2) Anne Watson Barbour (1847-1851)
3) George Watson Barbour, 1st (1849-1858)
4) B. Johnson Barbour, Jr. (1851-1853)
5) Thomas Barbour (1854-1938)
6) Lucy C. Barbour (1856-1863)
7) George Watson Barbour, 2nd (1859- 1937)
8) Caroline H. (Barbour) Ellis (1861-1943 ?)
9) William C. Barbour (1865d.) 10) Elise Collins (Barbour) Graves (1865- ?)
11) Frances Cornelia (Barbour) Christian (1870- 1940)

Scope and Content Information

This collection chiefly consists of the personal and financial papers of James Barbour (1775-1842) of "Barboursville," Orange County, Virginia, and his descendants. The collection contains financial and legal papers, printed material, correspondence, scrapbooks, plats, manuscripts, commonplace books, genealogical information, drawings, ballot sheets, Union Army general orders from the Civil War, and slave inventories.

The correspondence and financial papers of James Barbour, his son, Benjamin Johnson Barbour (1821-1894), and his granddaughter, Caroline Homassel Barbour Ellis (1861- ) form the bulk of the collection. The collection does not contain any official papers from James Barbour's service in the U. S. Senate, in the national government, or as governor of Virginia. The papers of Benjamin Johnson Barbour contain much correspondence from his association with the University of Virginia as a member of the Board of Visitors and Rector. The letters of most of the correspondents, whose names are listed later in this guide, can be found in his personal correspondence.

Topics of interest in the letters include: James Barbour's complaints concerning his son James' extravagance while attending Harvard, and references to hardships during the War of 1812 (October 19, 1815; July 25, 1816); slaves and slavery (September 2, 1822; May 22, 1824); Barbour family genealogy (February 7, 1829; January 18 and 28, August 24, November 21, 1885; April 14, 1893; December 3 and 24, 1900; May 28, 1917); B. Johnson Barbour's summary of his letter to W. D. Blair discussing whether the American Party opposed the election of Roman Catholics to political office and a discussion of the importance of Reformation (January 25, 1855); rail travel from Virginia to Florida, and the importance of cotton, (February 11, 1857); plans for the construction of the Orange County courthouse (February 25, July 14, and 16, 1858); Alexander Rives' urging of B. J. Barbour to side publicly with the Union men of the state and to enter the Republican ranks during the August Convention (July 10, 1867); Robert Bolling's urging of B. J. Barbour and other conservatives to support the Republican Party which "saved the Union," and to ignore the "bugbear" of "Negro supremacy" (May 12, 1868); appointment of B. J. Barbour to the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy (May 28, 1866); an invitation to attend an organizational meeting for the Immigration Society to encourage immigration to Virginia (May 28, 1867); presence of Dr. Archer at Ft. King in 1835 when Osceola shot General Wiley Thompson (June 7, 1877); Miller fund (April 26, 1883); political activities of William Mahone (October 26, 1885), C. H. Fauntleroy's discussion of his law practice in St. Paul, Minnesota, among German-speaking clients (April 14, 1886), a description of St. Paul (May 31, 1886) and the Minneapolis Exposition (August 23, 1886); Daniel Wolsey Voorhees (1827-1897) regarding passage of his bill for the Library of Congress building (May 7, 1886); Governor Fitzhugh Lee (January 20, May 18, November 14, 1887); Thomas L. Rosser regarding politics (July 15 and December 4, 1888); A. G. Grinnan regarding a story of how some James Madison letters were used by the gardener to mulch grape vines ([1889]); W. Gordon McCabe regarding extracts from Gazeta Polska and affairs in Poland and Russia (January 28, 1889), orations of James Barbour (July 9, 1890), and literary matters (March 3, 1891); race relations (February 6, 1891); the Boer War (March 4, 1900); description of the Great Earthquake in California, 1906 (May 1, 1906); Robert Frost reading his poetry at Littleton, New Hampshire (August 12, 1917); a description of festivities at the Yorktown Sesquicentennial celebration (October 27, 1931).

Because B. Johnson Barbour served as Rector of the University of Virgina, a large quantity of his correspondence concerns the University and its faculty. It includes the following: W. E. Peter's acceptance of the Latin professorship (September 13, 1866); Charles Venable on establishing a certificate for mathematics (June 10, 1867); J. L. Cabell regarding the student Infirmary Fund (November 15, 1867); J. H. Mckinne about Washington Hall (March 23, 1869); F. H. Smith on astronomical observations (April 12, 1869); Alexander J. Davis's questions about renovations or additions to the buildings (May 6, 1869); J. W. Mallet on an agricultural department (January 16 and February 11, 1870); Stephen Southall on the use of the office of rector as a political office, and the detrimental effect of politics on the welfare of the University (January 15, 1884); Charles Venable about selling the Lee Family Papers to the Library of Congress and estblishing a Lee Donation (July 14, 1886); condition of the reservoir dam that supplied the University with water (July 30, 1886); John L. Marye on the reorganization of the four schools of Dr. Page, Dr. Garnett, Dr. Holmes, and Dr. Schele de Vere (February 4, April 13, and June 6, 1887); F. H. Smith on having the University's bell recast and placed in the chapel (March 7, 1887 and March 7, 1889); C. H. Fauntleroy on the resignation of John R. Page and C. Venable's possessiveness of the University (May 30, 1887) and the resignation of Dr. Harrison and the discussion of his supposed affair, and denunciation of the Presbyterian influence at the University (July 2 and 9, 1887); and M. A. Turner's description and opinion of French, German, and Italian naval officers (n.d.).

Other general topics include: literary discussions, agricultural science, family news, Virginia politics, Reconstruction policies, involvement in Red Cross work for Orange County and Garden Week, and the disposition of papers of James Barbour.

Other frequent or notable correspondents include: Stephen Adams (1835-?), John Anderson, Parker E. Bagby, John Strode Barbour (1820-1892), T. F. Bayard, William Beckner, William M. Blackford (1801-1864), Robert Bolling, Frank Brown, Charles Page Bryan (1856-1918), J. L. Cabell, Mary Cameron, W. G. Christian (1862- ), R. L. Combs, William C. Dabney (1849-1894), N. M. Duke, the Rev. Josiah Richard Ellis, Lily Ellis, Dr. Thomas Harding Ellis (? -1914), Cornelius Hite Fauntleroy (1859-1921), Judge Thomas T. Fauntleroy (1823-1906), I. T. Frary, James Mercer Garnett (1840-1916), J. C. Gibson, Basil L. Gildersleeve (1831-1924), James Lindsay Gordon (1860-1904), J. C. Graves, Nannie Ellis Hall, Randolph Harrison (1857-1928), Barton Haxall (1856-?), Burton W. Haxall, George F. Holmes (1820-1897), Robert Wilson Hughes (1821-1901), Eppa Hunton (1822-1908), Arthur J., Horace G. and Sadie Lindsay (Patton) Hutchinson, Wyndham Kemp, James Lawson Kemper (1824-1878), Fitzhugh Lee (1835-1905), Thomas Lee, John H. Lewis (1841-1907), Hiram Liggett, William Gordon McCabe (1841-1920), Leander James McCormick (1819-1900), [Clement] P. and J. H. McKennie, William Mahone, Jr. (1826-1895), John William Mallet (1832-1912), John Lawrence Marye (1823-?), John Edward Massey (1819-1901), Beatrice Mayer, John B. Minor (1813-1895), John R. Page (1830-1901), Fanny K. Patton, William Henry Payne (1830-1904), Edmund and J. D. Pendleton, William E. Peters (1829-1906), Wilson Cary Nicholas Randolph (1834-1907), Alexander Rives (1806-1885), Thomas L. Rosser (1836-1910), Frank G. Ruffin (1816-1892), Maximilian Schele de Vere (1820-1898), Wallace W. Scott, Virginius Shackelford (1885-1949), Lucy L. Slaughter, Francis H. Smith (1829-1928), F. W. and Stephen Osborne Southall (1816-1884), Edwin M. Stanton (1814-1869), Ormond Stone (1847-1933), Taliaferro family, Glanville Terrell (1859-1936), W. B. Towles, Mortimer Turner, Charles Venable (1827-1906), Rueben Lindsay Walker (1827-1890), John H. Wheeler, John Wickam, and John S. Wise (1846-1913).

Family correspondents include: Benjamin Johnson Barbour, Caroline H. (Watson) Barbour, Carry H. (Barbour) Ellis, Frances Cornelia (Barbour) Christian, Elise Collins (Barbour) Graves, James Barbour, Jr., Lucy Barbour, George Watson Barbour, and Thomas Barbour.

Other items of interest include: ballot sheets for the election of Zachary Taylor (1848); an original political cartoon about William Henry Harrison's (1773-1841) presidential campaign (ca. 1840); Resolutions of the Board of Visitors, University of Virginia, on salaries of professors (1850-1865); copies of general orders issued by General Banks and McClellan, U. S. Army of the Potomac, August-November 1861; minutes of membership list (1876-1879) of the Lay Association of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of Virginia; minutes, 1892, of the Society of Alumni of the University of Virginia; undated photographs of "Barboursville"; and slave inventories (bound volumes, 1803-1822 and 1854).

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged chronologically by type of material, except for the bound volumes. These have been placed at the end of the collection.