 | Virginia Historical Society Department of Manuscripts and Archives |
John Letcher (1813-1884) Papers, 1770-1970
Mss1 L5684 a FA2
Description & Guide
- Abstract
- Biographical Essay
- Collection Description
- Series Descriptions and Guide
- Index
- Container List
Abstract
Main Entry: Letcher, John, 1813-1884. Title: Papers, 1770-1970. Size: 8 boxes (ca. 16,785 items). Biographical Note: John Letcher is best known as Virginia’s Civil War-era governor, serving from 1860 through 1863. He was also a prominent attorney in Lexington, Va., a newspaper editor, Democratic party leader in western Virginia, and member of congress in the 1850s. After the Civil War, he resumed his law practice and spent one session in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1875-1877. Thereafter, his health began to fail and he died in Lexington early in 1884. Summary: The collection literally covers portions of all aspects of John Letcher’s career, including the establishment of his extensive prewar law practice in Lexington, Va., in 1839; his stint as editor of the Valley Star of Lexington, and his early political activities as an organizer and stump speaker; his election to and service in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851; his subsequent campaign for and election to congress; the hard-fought campaign for governor in 1859 and his four-year term, 1860-1863, including much on Virginia’s role in the Confederacy and his own attempts to guide the Old Dominion through that perilous period; his capture and brief incarceration at the close of the war, and his attempts thereafter to clarify his wartime actions and policies; the resumption of his law practice and his brief service in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1875-1877; and his death and the settlement of his estate.
The collection also includes a few records of Letcher’s uncle, James Letcher, father, William Houston Letcher of Lexington, and brother Samuel Houston Letcher. More substantial files concern his son and postwar law partner, Samuel Houston Letcher, and another son, Greenlee Davidson Letcher, both of whom collected information on their father’s lengthy career. A few pieces near the end of the collection concern Letcher’s grandson, U.S. Marine General John Seymour Letcher.
Provenance: Gift of the heirs of General John S. Letcher (i.e., Peter M. Letcher, John Seymour Letcher, Jr., Elizabeth Letcher Greenlee, and Katherine Letcher Lyle) through their agent, George J. Tomkins, Glasgow, Va., in 1999. Accessioned 13 February 2003. Restrictions: None.
Biographical Essay
John Letcher, best known as Virginia’s Civil War governor from 1860 through 1863, was born in Lexington, Va., on 29 March 1813 to middle-class merchant and businessman William Houston Letcher and his wife, Elizabeth Davidson. The Davidsons were a prominent Shenandoah Valley family, whose connections benefitted Letcher throughout his life. Educated locally, John Letcher dropped out of Washington College, spent time as a carpenter’s apprentice, and then studied law with William Taylor, a local attorney and Democratic party leader. Following his father, a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson, into the Democratic party, Letcher became a protégé of James McDowell, a future governor of the commonwealth.
Almost at the same time that he entered the legal profession, in 1839, Letcher also took the reins as editor of the Valley Star, a Democratic newspaper in Lexington. This visibility propelled him into prominence in the state party, and brought him into contact with national leaders as well. Although he gave up the editorship after a few years to concentrate on his steadily growing law practice, Letcher’s initial foray into politics set a course for his life and career.
In 1850, John Letcher stood for his first election, gaining a seat as one of Rockbridge County’s regional delegates to the 1850 state constitutional convention in Richmond. There, he quietly but effectively championed the reform agenda of the western Virginia counties. As a result, when he sought higher office in 1851, his Valley constituents rewarded him with a seat in congress, to which he was re-elected three additional times. Never a powerhouse in that national body, Letcher did work hard as a member of the Ways and Means Committee and took particular interest in economy in government and in the national treasury. Entering congress as a moderate southern Democrat, he turned more conservative over his years in Washington, pushing compromise and rejecting talk of secession.
In 1859, Letcher won the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia and narrowly defeated his Whig opponent, William L. Goggin. Taking office in January 1860, he immediately sided with Unionists and hoped the efforts of the Peace Conference of 1861 would resolve the boiling sectional issues of the day. It was too little, too late, however, and when the federal government requested troops and the Virginia convention voted to take the commonwealth out of the Union, Letcher transformed into a vigorous wartime governor. He mobilized the state well, with particular attention to the disaffection in the northwestern counties, but through his tenure he began to be criticized for being too willing to put the Confederacy first before the rights and concerns of Virginia. He handled many wartime difficulties with dexterity, although he often focused on the minutiae. At the end of 1863 he turned the reins of Virginia’s government over to his successor, William “Extra Billy” Smith.
Retiring to Lexington, he was forced from his home in 1864 when federal troops raided the Valley and burned the Virginia Military Institute and his own house in Lexington. After the war, he re-inaugurated his law practice successfully, and spent much time corresponding with contemporaries about the details of his gubernatorial term. In 1875 he gained election to the Virginia state legislature, but spent only one term in the House of Delegates after suffering a stroke. From that point on he suffered poor health, leaving his son Samuel Houston Letcher to operate their law firm, and eventually dying quietly in Lexington on 26 January 1884.
John Letcher married Mary Susan Holt in 1843 after “an erratic courtship,” but the two lived happily together throughout the rest of his life, and produced eleven children, seven of whom reached maturity.
John Letcher’s oldest surviving son, Samuel Houston Letcher (1848-1914), was a V.M.I. cadet during the Civil War, and after the war joined his father in law practice in Lexington. The younger Letcher focused primarily on the law, but also spent much time collecting information about his father’s lengthy and important career. This included corresponding with numerous of his father’s contemporaries and gathering copies of speeches, letters, and other documents for an intended biography, which he did not live to complete. His youngest brother, Greenlee Davidson Letcher (1867-1954), who was born after the Civil War and was only a teenager when his father died, picked up the task of gathering data about their father in the twentieth century. An attorney in his own right, G. D. Letcher also became widely involved in his local community and region, particularly in regard to the construction and maintenance of roads in the Valley, and took a great interest in state and national politics as well.
G. D. Letcher’s son, John Seymour Letcher, the last member of the family represented in this collection, gained some national fame as a brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps just before and during World War II. He, too, took great interest in the career of his grandfather, corresponding with historians and protecting the surviving family archive until his death in 1994.
For more information about Governor John Letcher of Virginia, see F. Nash Boney, John Letcher of Virginia: The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor (1966), in the preparation of which many of the papers in this collection were consulted.
Collection Description
In the 1970s, General John S. Letcher deposited the large collection of his grandfather’s surviving personal papers in the library of the George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Va., for safekeeping. There, the papers were preserved and cataloged in a preliminary fashion. Following the general’s death in 1994, some of the letters and documents written by prominent Virginia and national figures were removed and sold at auction by Sotheby. The rest of the collection, a significant and substantial group of papers, remained intact and were given to the Virginia Historical Society in 1999 by the general’s heirs. This collection retains many letters and documents of prominent individuals, and includes highly important and historically valuable documentation on literally all aspects of John Letcher’s impressive career. Likewise, it contains specific materials relating to his father, brother, two sons, and a grandson, as mentioned above, along with scattered documentation on many more extended family members. The collection offers marvelous resources for the study of so many aspects of Virginia’s–and the nation’s–history during the period of Letcher’s life.
The collection is divided up to reflect components of John Letcher’s life and professional career. These categories involve his personal life, law practice, and political career, and are organized as series 1-9. Series 10-11 involve other family members, including his father, uncle, one brother, two of his sons, and one grandson.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1: Personal papers
Series 2: Antebellum law practice
Series 3: Antebellum political career, 1834-1849
Series 4: Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1850-1851
Series 5: Congressional Career, 1851-1859
Series 6: Governor of Virginia, 1860-1864
Series 7: Postwar life and politics
Series 8: Postwar law practice
Series 9: Estate and biographical materials
Series 10: Letcher family papers (uncle, father, brother)
Series 11: John Letcher’s children and grandchildren
Series Descriptions and Guide
Index
Numbers refer to Series Descriptions within this finding aid. Note that subjects referenced by index terms may appear multiple times within the same series. Not all index terms used here appear in the collection- or series-level online catalog records.
A. A. Pitman & Co., Natural Bridge, Va., 8
Account books, 1, 11
Accounts, 1, 5, 8, 11
Adultery, 8
African American iron workers, 6
African American prisoners, 6
African Americans, 2, 8
Alexander, Elizabeth, 2
Alexander, John, 2
Alexander, James, 2
Alexander, Robert, 2
Alexander, Samuel H., 2
Allen, H. C., 9
Alpin, Lewis, 2
Amanda Jane, 2
American Colonization Society, 4
American Legal Association, 2
American Law Association, 11
American party, 5
Amnesty, 7
Ann Smith Academy, Rockbridge County, Va., 2
Arbitration, 2
Arbogast, E., 2
Architecture, Domestic, 1
Atrocities, 6
B. J. Jordan & Co., Richmond, Va., 8
Bailey, Polly, 2
Bailey, William, 2
Baker, G. A., 8
Baldwin, C. C., 2
Baldwin, John Brown, 6, 8
Bank books, 1
Bank of Lexington, 1
Bank of Rockbridge, 1
Bank of the Commonwealth, 1
Banks and banking, 1
Bansemer & Co., Baltimore, 8
Barclay, John W., 8
Bassett, George Washington, 6
Bath County, Va., 6
Bath Iron Works, 2
Baxter, Louisa, 8
Beard, Archibald D., 2
Bennett, J. M., 6
Benton, Elizabeth McDowell, 2
Benton, Thomas Hart, 2, 3
Black, William B., estate, 8
Blast furnaces, 6
Blue, Charles, 6
Botts, John Minor, 7
Boykin, F. M., Jr., 6
Bratton, Sue A., 8
Breckinridge, John C., 6
Broadsides, 3, 6
Brockenbrough, John W., 2
Brooks, Preston, 5
Brown, John, Raid on Harpers Ferry, 6
Brown, Oliver M., 2
Brown’s Hotel, Washington, D.C., 5
Buffalo Forge, Rockbridge County, Va., 2
Bull Run, 2nd Battle of, 6
Cahoon, Matthew C., 2
California–Gold discoveries, 1
Cameron & Cameron, 8
Camp, Staples & Co., Lynchburg, Va., 8
Campbell & Burgess, 8
Campbell & Co., 2
Campbell, Charles P., 2
Campbell, Robert S., 2
Campbell, Samuel P., 8
Canals, 2, 8
Canfield Bro. & Co., Baltimore, 2
Capitol Square, Richmond, Va., 6
Cease, Erasmus A., 2
Central State Hospital, 6
Chapin, W. T., 8
Cherry Grove, Rockbridge County, Va., 2
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, 8
Clarke & Waddy, Richmond, Va., 8
Clarke, J. F., 2
Clay, Cassius M., 6
Clemens, Sherrard, 6
Clocks and watches, 9
Cobb, Howell, 5, 6
Coffin, Edward, Jr., 8
Colfax, Schuyler, 7
Colonization, 4
Confederate States. Congress, 6
Confederate States Navy. Bureau of Orders and Detail, 6
Confederate States. War Dept. Bureau of Mines, 7
Confederate States Army of Northern Virginia. Medical Purveyor’s Office, 6
Connevey, S. M., 8
Constitutional history–Virginia, 4
Contract law–Cases, 2
Contractors, 1, 2
Convention of Friends of Southern Rights, 6
Cooke, W. M., 6
Cox, Samuel S., 9
Craig, Robert, 3
Crawford, Henry, 2
Crawford, John, 2
Crawford, Thomas J., 2
Cromelin, Rowland, 8
Crutchfield, Stapleton, 6
Cummings, John A., 2
Curry, David P., 1-2, 4-5
D. W. Moore & Co., 2
Daily Register (Wheeling, W.Va.), 7
Dale, Isabella, 2
Daniel, Peter V., 3
Davidson, James D., 2, 6
Davidson, Madison G., 2
Davidson, William, 2
Davis, Jefferson, 9
Debtor and creditor, 2, 8, 11
Debts, Public, 7
Democratic party, 3, 5-6
Dimmock, Charles H., 6
Divorce, 8
Dixon, Andrew, 2
Dodd, Samuel Miller, 2
Dogs–Taxation of, 7
Douglas, Stephen A., 6
Dr. D. Jayne & Son, Philadephia, 2
Drumgoole, George C., 3
Dunkum, Charles, 2
Dunlap, Thomas, estate, 2
E. S. White & Co., Lexington, Va., 8
Echol Iron Property, 8
Echols, John, 1-3, 6
Echols, R. J., 8
Echols, Bell & Catlett, Staunton, Va., 8
Education, 1
Ellett & Drewry, Richmond, Va., 8
Emancipation, 6, 9
Eminent domain, 11
Enquirer (Richmond, Va.), 8
Esque, John, 2
Evans, Thomas J., 8
Executive Mansion, Richmond, Va., 6
Factories, 1
Farley, Anna S., 2
Farmers Bank of Virginia, 1
Faulkner, Charles James, 5-6
Figgat, R. H., 8
Firebaugh, Henry, 2
Fisher, Charles F., 2
Fitzhugh, Lafayette H., 8
Fitzhugh, Wither & Co., New York City, 8
Flour business, 8
Floyd, John Buchanan, 5-6
Free African Americans, 1, 4
Freedmen, 7-8
French, Samuel Bassett, 6-7, 9
Fugitive slaves, 6
Fultz, David, 4
Gallaher, John S., 6
Gibbons, Thomas H., 2
Gibson, Letitia, 2
Gilmour, Joseph, estate, 8
Gloucester County, Va., 6
Governors–Virginia, 6
Goyne, Martha, 8
Graham, Dr. Archibald, 2
Grant, Ulysses S., 7
Green, Thomas S., 2
Green, William, 2
Grigsby, Jaquelin, 2
Grigsby, John Warren, 2-3
Guardian and ward, 2
Halback & Sipes, 2
Hamilton, Robert, estate, 2
Hardee, William J., 6
Harman, Benjamin J., estate, 8
Harper, James, 1
Harpers Ferry, W.Va., Brown’s Raid on, 6
Harris, James M., 8
Harrison County, W.Va., 6
Hatters, 2
Hay, 2
Hayes, Rutherford B., 7
Health resorts, Va., 1
Hicks, Nelson, 2
Hill, Henry, 6
Hoffman, Joseph, estate, 2
Holliday, Frederick W. M., 7
Holly, James, 8
Holmes, Simon, estate, 2
Holt, Margaret Catherine, 2, 9
Holt, Rueben, estate, 8
Holt, Thomas, estate, 8
Hopkins, George Washington, 3
Houghawont, J. W., 8
Humphries, M. A., 2
Hunter, David, 6, 9
Hunter, R. M. T., 5-7
I. S. Johnson & Co., Bangor, Maine, 8
I. T. Graves & Mayo, 8
Imboden, John D., 2, 4
Insurance, Fire–Policies, 1
Iron industry and trade, 2, 6
J. M. Wilson & Co., Lexington, 2
J. R. Anderson & Co., Richmond, 6
Jackson, Stonewall–Statue, 7
Jackson, Letitia Christian, 6
James River, Va., 2
James River & Kanawha Canal, 8
Johns, Edward W., 6
Johns, Hobson, estate, 8
Johnson, Andrew, 7
Johnson, Samuel, 8
Johnston, Thomas, 2
Jones, Adam E., 8
Jones, John R., 6
Jones, Madasa, 8
Jordan, Davis, & Co., 2
Jordan, John, 2
Jordan, John W., 2
Jordan, Samuel F., 2
Jordan, Samuel H., 2
Jordan, William, 2
Julia (Slave), 2
Justices of the peace, 8
Kendall, Amos, 3
Kinnear, John A., 2
Kirkpatrick, Charles, 2
Kirkpatrick, R. D., 8
Kirkpatrick, Samuel, 2
Kohn & Wise, 8
Laird, John E., 11
Laird, John H., 8
Land titles–Washington, D.C., 1
Lankford, James A., 8
LaRew, John, 2
Law books, 2, 8
Law licenses, 8, 11
Lawyers, 2, 8, 11
Lee, Fitzhugh, 7
Lee, Robert E.–Monuments, 7
Lee Memorial Association, 7
Legal Directory, Reporting & Collection Agency, 11
Legal documents, 2
Letcher, Elizabeth Worthington Marston, 11
Letcher, Greenlee Davidson, 9, 11
Letcher, James, 10
Letcher, John
Autobiography, 7
Biography, 9
Busts, 9
Death and burial, 9
Estate, 9
Law license, 2
Law office, 2
Law practice, 2, 8
Obituaries, 9
Personal finances, 1
Political career, 3-7, 9
Portraits, 9
Watch, 9
Letcher, John D., 11
Letcher, John S., 9, 11
Letcher, Margaret K., 1
Letcher, Mary Susan Holt, 6-7, 9
Letcher, Mary Susan Holt, estate, 9
Letcher, Robert P., 5
Letcher, Samuel Houston (1828-1868), 6, 10
Letcher, Samuel Houston (1828-1868), estate, 10
Letcher, Samuel Houston (1848-1914), 8-9
Estate, 11
Law practice, 11
Personal finances, 11
Letcher, William Houston, 10
Letcher, Maury, & Letcher, 8
Letcher & Letcher, Lexington, Va., 8, 11
Letcher family, 1, 11
Letcher family–Genealogy, 11
Letcher House, Lexington, Va., 1, 9
Lewis County, Mo.–Land purchase, 1
Lexington Gazette (Lexington, Va.), 8
Lexington Hotel, Lexington, Va., 8
Lexington Presbyterian Church, 2
Lexington Savings Institution, 1
Lexington, Va.
Economic conditions, 1, 8
Hunter’s Raid, 1864, 6, 9
Scenes, 11
Lexington, Va. Town Council, 8
Liberia, 4
Liggett, J. N., 9
Lilly, R. D., 8
Lincoln, Abraham, 6
Link, Preston T., 2
Loch Laird case, 11
Lockridge, James T., 2
Luckess, William, 2
Lucy Selina Furnace, 8
Mahone, William, 6
Main Street, Lexington, Va., 1, 11
Mallory, Stephen R., 6
Malvern Hill, Battle of, 6
Mann, W. A., 8
Martin, H. T., 6
Matheny, James, 8
Mauck, R. C., 2
Maury, Matthew Fontaine, 8
Maury, Richard L., 8
Mayberry, Thomas, estate, 2
Mayo, R. G., 8
McCampbell, E. J. H., 2
McCausland, John, 6
McClanahan, William S., 8
McClung, Samuel L., 2
McColloh, Richard S., 7
McCormick, William T., 8
McCue, J. Marshall, 9
McDonald, Hunter, 9
McDowell, James, 3-4
McDowell, Dr. James, 5
McDowell, S. L., 8
McFee, John, 2
McGahey, Elizabeth, 2
McLaughlin, William, 8
McMananny, A., 1
McNutt & McCorkle, 8
Medical Care, Cost of, 1
Memminger, Christopher G., 6
Middleton, John A., 8
Miller, Lemma, 11
Miller, W. M., 11
Moore, T. P., 6
Moore, Joseph W., 2
Moorman, John J., 6
Mosby, Virginia J., 6
Mount Prairie, Mo., 2
Munford, George Wythe, 4, 7
Munford, Thomas T., 9
Murrell, Samuel L., 8
Mutual Accident Association, 11
Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association, 11
National Pacific Railroad Convention, 7
Nelson County, Va., 6
Newspaper editors, 3
Norton, J. Wise, 11
Old Fellows Home, Lynchburg, Va., 11
Page, Mrs. Let, 6
Paine, William G., 2
Pardons, 7
Parrish, Royall, 2
Patents, 2, 11
Paul, John, 2
Pauper suits, 2
Paxton, Ann Maria, 8
Paxton, Elizabeth H., 8
Peace Convention, 6
Perry, Abraham T., 2
Petitions, 8
Pettigrew, Samuel, estate, 2
Peyton & Bro., 8
Pierce, Franklin, 5
Point Cabell property, 8
Pole & Shields, 8
Political campaigns, 4-7
Porter, Benjamin F., 2
Powell, Paulus, 6
Practice of law, 2, 8, 11
Presbyterians, 2
Presidents–U.S
Election, 1840, 3
Election, 1844, 3
Election, 1852, 5
Election, 1860, 6
Election, 1876, 7
Preston, Thomas L., 6
Proclamations, 6
Pryor, Roger A., 6
Purcell & Ladd, Richmond, Va., 8
Putnam County, W.Va., 6
Rader, Catherine, 8
Railroad passes, 7
Railroads, 7
Randolph, John, 2
Real property–Cases, 2, 8, 11
Redcross, Henry, 8
Reed, Harvey, 2
Reid & Sons, Baltimore, 8
Reilly, D. M., 8
Republican Advocate (Richmond), 4
Richardson, William Harvie, 6
Richmond, Va.
Evacuation fire, 7
Fire, 1861, 1
Richmond, Va. City Council, 6
Richmond Bread Riot, 1862, 7
Ritchie, Thomas, 3
Rives, William Cabell, 3
Roach, William B., 2
Roads, 8, 11
Repair, 2
Roane, William Henry, 3
Robertson, Wyndham, 7
Rock Castle Farm, 1
Rockbridge Artillery, 11
Rockbridge County, Va.–Land plats, 1
Rockbridge County, Va. Clerk, 8
Rockbridge County, Va. Justice of the peace, 8
Rockbridge County, Va. Surveyor of the roads, 8
Ruffin, Edmund, 6
Ruffner, William Henry, 8
Ruffner pamphlet, 6, 9
Salt manufacture, 6
Samuel Bevan & Co., Baltimore, 8
Samuel F. Jordan & Co., 2
Samuels, Green Berry, 3, 5-6
Saunders, James R., 2, 8
Scott, Winfield, 6
Scrapbooks, 5, 7, 9
Sculptors, 7
Secession, 6
Seddon, James A., 6
Sener, James B., 6
Shafer, Jonathan, 8
Sheep, Protection of, 7
Sheffey, Hugh White, 2
Sheltman, Peachy H., 2
Shenandoah County Building & Loan Association, 11
Shenandoah Valley, 2
Sherrard, S., 2
Shields, G. W., 8
Shoemakers, 2
Showell, Margaret Letcher, 11
Shriver, Jacob S., 8
Sinclair, A., 6
Slave children, 2
Slave hiring, 1-2
Slave stealing, 2
Slavery–Controversial literature, 6
Slaves, 2
Employment, 1-2
Legal status, laws, etc., 2
Purchase and sale of, 1-2
Smith, Francis Henney, 6-8
Smith, Mrs. M. E., 8
Smith, R. M., 8
Smith, William “Extra Billy,” 3
Smyth County, Va., 6
Southern States–Economic conditions, 7
Southern Historical Society, 9
Speeches, addresses, etc., 5-7
Spiller & Massie, Baltimore, 8
Staples, W. T., 8
Steamboat lines, 4
Steele, M., 8
Stephens, Alexander H., 7
Stevens, Elizabeth, 2
Stevens, Virginia Lee Letcher, 9
Stevens, William, 2
Stevens, William G., 2
Stewart, James E., 6
Stiff, Betty F., 8
Stiff, Dr. William H., estate, 8
Strain, Eusebious N., 8
Stribling Francis T., 6
Stuart, Alexander H. H., 2, 4, 6
Stuart, Flora Cooke, 7
Sumner, Charles, 5
Switzer & Heilbroner, 8
Tanners, 2
Taxation, Local, 1
Taylor, George W., 2
Taylor, James, 2
Taylor, T. Benton, 8
Taylor, William, 3
Templeton, William W., 8
Terrill, William H., 7
Thomas, George H., 7
Thompson, David W., 2
Toll roads
Cases, 2
Finance, 1
Tredegar Iron Works, 6
Trotter, Preston, 8
Trueheart, G. W., 2
Trusts and trustees, 2
Tuck, R., 2
Turnpike case, 2
Tutwiler, Eli S., 8
United States
Civil War history–Atrocities, 6
Civil War history–Claims, 8
Diplomatic and consular service, 3
Foreign public opinion, 3
Politics and government, 2-3, 6
Territories and possessions, 5
United States.
Congress, 4
Members, 5
Congress, 26th, 3
Congress, 32nd, 5
Congress, 33rd, 5
Consulate (Bordeaux, France), 3
District Court (Western Virginia), 2
Marine Corps, 11
Post Office Dept., 1
Treasury Dept., 5, 7
United States Army. First Virginia Field Artillery, 11
Updike, Albert G., 2
Updike, James G., 8
Valley Star (Lexington), 3
Van Buren, Martin, 3
Vance, Zebulon B., 7
Vanderpoel, Aaron, 3
Vest, George Graham, 9
Virginia
Politics and government, 2-4, 6-7
Virginia.
Armory, 6
Circuit Court (Bath), 8
Circuit Court (Rockbridge), 8
Circuit Superior Court (Augusta), 2
Circuit Superior Court (Rockbridge), 2
Convention of 1861, 6
Constitutional Convention, 1850-51, 4
County Court (Augusta), 2
County Court (Bath), 8
County Court (Rockbridge), 2, 8
Council, 6
General Assembly, 3-4
House of Delegates–Members, 7
Governor, 6
Records and correspondence, 7
Militia, 6
Infantry Regiment, 16th, 10
Notary public, 11
Public guard, 6
State Highway Commission, 11
Virginia Law Journal, 11
Virginia Law List, 11
Virginia Military Institute, 6-9, 11
Virginia Penitentiary, 6
Virginians–California, 1
Virginians–Missouri, 1
Volck, Frederick, 7
Waddell, Joseph A., 9
Waggoner & Hardy, Richmond, Va., 8
Walker’s Creek Track, 2
Wallace, A. W., 9
Wallace, Andrew, 2
Warm Springs case, 11
Washington, D.C. Square 678, 1
Washington & Lee University, 9
Lee Chapel, 7, 9
Washington College, Lexington, Va., 5
Washington County, Va., 6
Waskey, John S., 2
Water rights, 2
Weaver, Lucy, 2
Weaver, John P., 2
Weaver, William, 2
Weisiger, Benjamin B., 9
West Virginia–Civil War history, 6
Whig (Richmond, Va.), 8
Whig party, 3
Whipple, David J., 8
White & Rosenburg, Baltimore, 8
White, G. A., 8
White, M. B., 8
Wickham, Williams Carter, 6
Williams, James M., 2
Wilson & Fenton, Cedar Grove, Va., 8
Wilson, Hugh J., 8
Withers, Robert Enoch, 9
Wm. Devries & Co., Baltimore, 8
Women
Economic condition, 2, 8
Legal status, laws, etc., 2, 8
Social conditions, 2, 8
Women slaves, 1
Woodbury, Levi, 3
World War, 1939-1945, 11
Wright, James R., 2
Yount, Elizabeth, 2
Zimmer, Louis, 9
Zimmerman, G. A., 8
Container List
| Box 1: | ||
| Series 1: Personal Papers | Folders 1-49 | |
| Box 2: | ||
| Series 1: Personal Papers, Cont. | Folders 50-72 | |
| Series 2: Antebellum Law Practice, 1839-1842 | Folders 73-139 | |
| Box 3: | ||
| Series 2: Antebellum Law Practice, 1843-1850 | Folders 140-222 | |
| Box 4: | ||
| Series 2: Antebellum Law Practice, 1851-1865 | Folders 223-289 | |
| Series 3: Antebellum Political Career, 1834-1849 | Folders 290-311 | |
| Series 4: Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1850-1851 | Folders 312-323 | |
| Box 5: | ||
| Series 5: Congressional Career, 1851-1859 | Folders 324-363 | |
| Series 6: Governor of Virginia, 1860-1864 | Folders 364-431 | |
| Series 7: Postwar Life and Politics, 1865-1884 | Folders 432-455 | |
| Box 6: | ||
| Series 8: Postwar Law Practice (1865-1871) | Folders 456-566 | |
| Box 7: | ||
| Series 8: Postwar Law Practice, Cont. (1871-1884) | Folders 567-612 | |
| Series 9: Estate and Biographical Materials | Folders 613-660 | |
| Series 10: Letcher Family Papers (Father, Uncle, Siblings) | Folders 661-669 | |
| Box 8: | ||
| Series 11: Letcher Family Papers (Children and Grandchildren) | Folders 670-764 | |
| Oversize: | ||
| Miscellaneous items pulled from Series 2, 3, 7, 8, and 11 | Folders 1-9 | |