Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr., Accession #12747-b,c,d, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was a gift from the estate of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. through Emund L. Berkeley,Jr.,Associate Professor Emeritus, 2403 Bennington Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 on March 12, 2003 and November 29, 2004. Some parts of the collection were received from Karin Wittenborg, University of Virginia Librarian; Alderman Library 524; P. O. Box 400114.

Biographical/Historical Information

Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. was born in Albemarle County, Virginia on April 9, 1911. He received his bachelor's degree at the University of Virginia in 1934. He worked in the Virginia room at the library from 1934 to 1937 under curator, John Cook Wyllie and university archivist, Lester J. Cappon. While working there, he finished his M.A. thesis in the history department on the calendar of the Berkeley Papers, 1653- 1767. After several years as a history teacher, he returned to the University of Virginia Library and organized the new Manuscripts Division and set up its catalogues. He was a captain in the U.S Navy and was on Naval Leave duty from 1942-1946. On his return he became Curator of Manuscripts. During this time, manuscript collecting was accelerated to over three million manuscripts.

Berkeley was the author of many letters promoting the efforts and achievements of other researchers. He was also a research scholar in his own right and undertook small studies in colonial history such as the John Rolfe and Jefferson studies and the letters and diaries of Robert "King" Carter. In 1952-1953 he received a Fulbright scholarship in Scotland which helped him to establish the Virginia Colonial Records Project. He was a Guggenheim Fellow at the University of London in 1961-1962. He was also executive assistant to the president of the University of Virginia in 1963 and secretary to the Board of Visitors.

He was a member of many historical societies including the American Historical Association; Bibliographical Society of America; Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia; Society of American Archivists; American Antiquarian Society; Colonial Society of Massachusetts; Conference on Early American History; Manuscript Society; Massachusetts Historical Society; Omicron Delta Kappa; Phi Beta Kappa; Raven Society; Society of American Archivists; Southern Historical Society; Virginia Historical Society; American Library Association; Virginia Library Association; Virginia Quarterly Review; University committees; Bear Lake Congress; Walpole Society; Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and the Virginia Committee on Colonial Records. He is also listed in the Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Virginia Lives and the Old Dominion Who's Who.

Publications and co-compilations by Berkeley consist of Dunmore's Proclamation of Emancipation; Annual Reports on Historical Collections; Jefferson Papers at the University of Virginia; Papers of John Randolph of Roanoke; John Rolfe's True Relation; Introduction to Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book and The War of Jenkins'Ear. He was also a contributor of many articles to journals, encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Scope and Content

The collection contains ca.3,200 items, 10 hollinger boxes, 5 linear feet and is related to the life of archivist emeritus Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. from the University of Virginia Library. Well known for his scholarly advice as an archivist, and as an executive assistant to former University of Virginia President Edgar F. Shannon, his counsel was sought by historians and authors from around the world. The papers of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. (1935-2003) are organized into four series, professional papers, personal papers, U.S. Naval papers and travel

The professional papers reflect the scholarly interests of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr., including articles and book reviews that he wrote; the editing of historical works for colleagues such as the Virginius Dabney manuscript, Mr. Jefferson's University: A History, where he suggested revisions after each chapter; information on his study of the Diary and Letters of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia; reviews of grant applications for the National Endowment of the Humanities; a Fulbright and Guggenheim scholarship to study Robert "King" Carter and Virginia history in England and Scotland; his development of the Virginia Colonial Records Project and his leadership with historical societies, publishers, libraries and universities.

Berkeley was considered by his colleagues to be a valuable source of knowledge and to have a very direct and honest style for editing manuscripts. He was active in many historical organizations such as the American Antiquarian Society; American Locust Hill Foundation; American Philosophical Society; American Historical Society; Bear Lake Congress; Massachusetts Historical Society; Association for Preservation of Virginia Antiquities; Martiau Memorial Association; Pugwash Conference; Virginia State Library; Virginia Historical Society; Lexington Historical Society; Society of American Archivists and the Walpole Society. The correspondence, minutes, agendas and news announcements of these organizations are also included in the collection. He was also a member of the University of Virginia Committee on Names and a trustee emeritus of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation. The collection also includes Berkeley collaborations with the Charlottesville Public Library.

As he was closely associated with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation he was one of a select few to be invited to the 1976 bicentennial luncheon with Queen Elizabeth II at Monticello. Mementos such as a place card, invitation, Queen Elizabeth II silver jubilee crown coin and guest list from this day are in the papers. The collection also includes honors that Berkeley received such as membership into the Rotary Club and honorary membership to the Colonnade Club. He was a member of Phi Delta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa. He was also a member of the Raven Society and the Raven award (bust of Poe,1972)that he received is in the collection.

Several former presidents of the University of Virginia relied on Berkeley for his good memory, astute observations and wise counsel. Letters from these presidents (Shannon, Darden, and Hereford) are in the collection. He worked closely with Colgate S. Darden to establish a memorial garden for Edgar F. Shannon. He also set up a professorship of medicine in the name of Julian Ruffin Beckwith in collaboration with Dr. Lockhart B. McGuire and a Dumas Malone Traveling Fellowship with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation.

He was very involved in the success of the George Washington and James Madison Papers at the University of Virginia. He was a close collaborator on the Thomas Jefferson Papers with Julian Boyd at Princeton and Walker Cowen with the University Press of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Berkeley is also represented in this collection through his work as an archivist for Special Collections at the University of Virginia Library. He worked closely with librarians Harry Clemons, Lester J. Cappon, and John Cook Wyllie. He contributed to the preservation of important family papers by attaining them for safe keeping and future use in the library. (Correspondence of Julius Barclay; Correspondence of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. and Edward Gamble, Jr.). Miscellaneous items include information on the University of Virginia Seal. There is also an original, illustrated Fred O. Seibel cartoon from 1946 signed by Seibel and dedicated to Mrs. Francis L. Berkeley. Other items in the collection are various navy and university medals, coins and pins.

There are many colleagues of Berkeley in the collection including Lyman H. Butterfield (American Philosophical Society); Frederick C.Nichols (Architecture School); Nicholas B. Wainwright (Editor, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography); Julius Barclay (Curator, Manuscripts University of Virginia Library); Edmund Berkeley,Jr.; (Library correspondence and Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Collections); John Melville Jennings (Virginia Historical Society); Virginius Dabney; Walker Cowen (University Press of Virginia); Colgate S. Darden; Ray Frantz; Frank L. Hereford; Edgar F. Shannon; Peter Walne (Hertfordshire County Archivist).

Other colleagues are George Reese; Harcourt Parrish; Dr. Whitfield Bell (American Philosophical Society); Raymond Bice (Edgar F. Shannon); Julian Boyd (American Philosophical Society, Papers of Thomas Jefferson); Donald Haynes (Virginia Historical Society, Virginia State Library); Marcus A. McCorison (American Antiquities Society); Dumas Malone (American Antiquities Society; University of Virginia); T. Braxton Woody (Joseph L. Vaughan); Harold Hugo (The Meriden Gravure Company; Historical Societies); Jon Kukla (Virginia State Library); Lockhart B. McGuire M.D., Larry Sabato; Lester J. Cappon; John Cook Wyllie; Louise Savage; Edward Younger; Merrill D. Berkeley; Staige D. Blackford (Virginia Quarterly Review); Wendell Garrett; Dewitt Hanes; Donald Jackson; Matthias E. Kayhoe; Charles (Chic) E. Moran (University Historian); Herbert C. Pollock; Joseph Reither; Walter Muir Whitehill (American Philosophical Association); Esmond Wright; Daniel P. Jordan (Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation); Weldon Cooper; Floyd E. Johnson (Wintergreen House; Personal papers); Milton Grigg (Legal and Financial papers).

In addition to correspondents, there is information in this collection about Clifton Waller Barrett, including an obituary written by Berkeley for the American Antiquarian Society and the Barrett memorial service. There is also information on Edgar F. Shannnon including a photograph, newspaper clippings, an obituary and a tribute.

There is information on the 1975 Rotunda restoration and correspondence between Frederick C.Nichols and Louis Ballou. There are also photographs of the Dome room and Oval room; a New York Times article "In Evicting a Stanford White Design Virginians Gain Apparent Jefferson"; Nichols-Ballou-Lee Restoration of Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda. There is an Alumni News article written by Berkeley and a letter from Elizabeth Wilkerson to Francis L. Berkeley, Jr. about his article.

There are several photographs of Francis L. Berkeley, Jr., his wife, Helen and colleagues including Clifton Waller Barrett; Henry F. Dupont; Frederick Adams; John Nicholas Brown; Andrew Oliver; Honorable John William "Bill" Middendorf II and Nicholas B. Wainwright.

Politically, Berkeley was a long-time supporter of the Democratic National Party There is an autographed photograph of Bill and Hilary Clinton, correspondence with Charles S. Robb and Henry Howell as well as some democratic pins. He also gave support to the Oceanic Education Foundation. There is literature about the OEF in the collection as well as a letter from Walter Cronkite to Gil Slonin, OEF President.

In the U.S. Naval series of Berkeley's papers there are documents representing the Naval Advisory Committee on Naval History in which,Berkeley was very active from 1974 to 1983. The collection pertains to correspondence and minutes of the advisory committee. Berkeley was particularly involved in reviewing naval history manuscripts for publication such as Vietnam; Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid Biography; Ships of the U.S. Navy; U.S.S. Maine; Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships volume six; Naval Documents of the American Revolution volume seven and eight; The Naval War of 1812; and History of the Naval Weapons Center volume two. There are also some artifacts in the collection of naval jewelry and insignia.

Berkeley nominated several colleagues to serve on the advisory committee including Edgar F. Shannon and Mills Lane who were Navy reservists. He mentions that at one time he wrote a letter to President-elect Jimmy Carter proposing Edgar F. Shannon for appointment as Secretary of the Navy. Correspondents of the Advisory Committee include Vice Admiral Edwin B.Hooper; Walter and Jane Whitehill; Richard W. Leopold; Rear Admiral John D.H. Kane Jr.; Honorable John William "Bill" Middendorf II and Dr.William S. Morgan.

There are several photographs including Donald Jackson; Gordon B.Turner; H.H. Peckham; Whitfield J.Bell,Jr.; J. H. Kemble; Richard W.Leopold; Walter Muir Whitehill; Vice Admiral Edwin B.Hooper; Francis L. Berkeley, Jr.; Jim Dan Hill; Forrest C.Pogue; Carl P.Haskins; E.L. Kayser; Allan Nevins and Ernest McNeill Eller.

The Advisory Committee of Naval History established a scholarship, published naval manuscripts, and built a new center named the Dudley Knox Center for Naval History. The last section on the U.S. Naval series consists of articles and papers about retirement from the U.S. Navy. There is also a certificate of retirement for Berkeley in 1971.

The travel series of the papers of Francis L. Berkeley,Jr. include correspondence with hotels, travel companies, and brochures from many of their trips. These include destinations such as: Florida; Italy; Jamaica; London; Mexico; New York; Russia; Spain and the Canary Islands; South America; Virginia and South Carolina; Yugoslavia and Egypt. Berkeley's passport and vaccination records are also in the collection.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into four series. Series I: Professional papers; Series II: Personal papers; Series III: U.S. Naval papers; Series IV: Travel. Each series has a collection of related folders in order alphabetically by topic and chronologically within each folder.