Conditions Governing Access

This collection is minimally processed and open for research.

Preferred Citation

MSS 16545, John Newton Buck papers, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was a gift from Robert E. Bruce to the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on June 16, 2021.

Content Description

This collection consists of forty-two letters primarily from John Newton Buck to his son, Walker Davison Buck, starting in December 1866 and ending in April 1873. There is one letter to John signed by "sister Catherine" and maybe the same women referred throughout the letters as "Aunt Cathie" throughout the letters. The letters are written from towns in Virginia and Maryland. Walker Davison Buck was a young boy when he received these letters; the letters cover his youth from the age of twelve to seventeen. The letters are of a personal nature. John comments on his son's education, he advises him on having a regular schedule, being attentive at school, his desire for more letters and encouraging him to write more regularly to Aunt Cathie who raised him and mentioning other relatives and family friends and news about them.

John Newton Buck was a member of 7th Virginia Cavalry, Company E. He enlisted August 14, 1861 at Winchester Virginia and re-enlisted on August 15, 1863 Culpeper, Virginia.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Buck, Walker Davison, 1856-1910
• Personal narratives
• letters (correspondence)