Virginia B. Haughwout Estate Financial Papers, 1961 Feb. 20-May 8
Scope and Contents
Papers relating to property owned by Anne Haughwout Cutler, of the Bucktrout-Braithwaite family in Williamsburg, Virginia. Cutler was the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Bucktrout, a cabinetmaker from London who moved to Williamsburg in 1766, where he opened a business making funeral coffins.
Upon the death of her mother, Virginia Braithwaite Haughwout, Cutler inherited several properties in the Williamsburg area. In 1954, Cutler helped create with other family members the Bucktrout-Braithwaite Memorial Foundation (BBMF), a non-profit organization that gains ownership of Virginia B. Haughwout's properties after Cutler's death. Papers include the BBMF certificate of incorporation, by-laws, board of trustees' correspondence, and meeting minutes. The BBMF negotiated several agreements with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CWF), allowing CWF to lease properties owned by Cutler and BBMF. This collection includes legal and financial papers relevant to the leasing contracts made between BBMF and CWF.
In particular, several folders in this collection concern the leasing and restoration of Providence Hall, an eighteenth-century residence adjacent to Colonial Williamsburg's historic area. Providence Hall was once located in Providence Forge, New Kent County, Virginia, before being transported and rebuilt in Williamsburg in the 1940s by Virginia B. Haughwout. Under Cutler's ownership, Providence Hall was leased out to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where it has served as lodging and a conference center, often for important international leaders, such as President Ronald Reagan.
This collection also contains correspondence concerning William & Mary's Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies program's inaugural Braithwaite Lecture, named after Minnie Braithwaite, Cutler's aunt. In 1896, Braithwaite unsuccesfully petitioned William & Mary to allow her to take a chemistry class at the then all-male institution.
Other projects pursued by Cutler include her research on France's military involvement in the American Revolutionary War, as well as research on the unidentified Revolutionary War soldiers buried in her family's cemetery, the Bucktrout Burying Ground.
Dates
- Creation: 1961 Feb. 20-May 8
Creator
- From the Collection: Cutler, Anne H. (Anne Haughwout) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Extent
From the Collection: 6 Linear Feet
Language
From the Series: English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Research Center Repository