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One page letter from Colonel Robert W. West to Mrs. Lucy Tucker, Mrs. Lucy Hausford, and Mi[f]s. Emily Morrison dated 29 November 1863.  It is a summons for the ladies to return to Mrs. Vest's home in Williamsburg, all of the property they took without permission.  He requests them to comply within a week or he threatened to send colored troops to their homes to search and remove the items for them.

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Two page letter from Eddie (Edward M.) Hanratty to his wife dated 07 December 1945.  He writes from Okinawa and describes the monotony of life while soldiers await their turn to go home.  He describes the dismal weather, shoddy accommodations, and the little entertainment on the island.

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Six letters from Jesse Jones to his daughter ranging from 1854- 1860.  The letters are from Norfolk, Virginia and are mostly reminders for his daughter to attend church, pray, and read her Bible.  They also mention that he is glad to hear of her improving health.  One references yellow fever in Norfolk.

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4 x 7.5 inch colored lithograph plate with a 2.25 x 2 inch border.  Image is of the Virginia Lunatic Asylum at Williamsburg, VA by Thomas Charles Millington. Image shows the building circa 1845 with its newly added third floor, cupola, and portico.

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Letter written from James Estes to his parents on July 11, 1863 from Yorktown, Virginia.  Estes describes in great detail the events of driving off Confederate troops and batteries around White House Landing and Hanover Junction.  He writes about members from his company (118th New York Infantry) and the 99th New York Infantry sending off skirmishers, advancing on the enemy, and ultimately catching 10 prisoners.  He reported that Company "A" suffered one casualty and 4 wounded, with another...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: 10 page letter written by David Zogbaum to his mother from February 8, 1965.  Zogbaum describes his interactions with the native peoples of the Solomon Islands, their lack of medical necessities, and the general neglect suffered by the natives by the English government.  Zogbaum also describes the contemptuous situation with other white settlers on the island and their efforts to maintain white dominion over the native groups.  Zogbaum proposes that aid in the form of sustaining capital from...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Three letters written from Lady Nancy Astor to Mrs. John (Margaret) Bailey dated January 2, 1952, May 28, 1953, and November 17, 1953.  Also included is a blank card with a pencil sketch by John Singer Sargent of Lady Astor's profile.  Writing in the bottom corner of the sketch reads, "To a Virginian from a Virginian- Nancy Astor as she never looked."  In the correspondence Lady Astor mentions getting ready for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, an upcoming trip to Rhodesia in order to...

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Letter from William Reese to his wife dated May 4, 1862.  Reese was a soldier in the Union Army attached to Co. B. of the 103rd Penn. Volunteers.  In his letter, Reese describes the manner in which the Confederate troops evacuated the Yorktown area and how the Union "flag is now waving on the heights of Yorktown."

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Letter from William H. Seawell, Lieutenant Colonel of the 21st Virginia Militia based in Gloucester, VA at Ware Camp to Colonel Crump (Charles A.) dated November 21, 1861.  Seawell discusses the relative quiet in the area, no report of slaves escaping, and writes to ask for more instruction regarding the mustering of additionall officers and troops.  He also relates that he has instructed his men off duty to act as policemen in order to arrest run away negroes and also to force work upon...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Final screenplay for the American Blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite produced by Universal Studios in 1973.  Production of the film was released in 1974 directed by Gilbert Moses and starred Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Thalmus Rasulala, and Joyce Walker.  Willie Dynamite is the central figure in the movie who is a pimp in Manhattan whose goal is to be number one in the city.  Cora, a social worker, tries to change Willie Dynamite's ways and also of those whom...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Letter from Thomas Jefferson Head to his dearest Sallie dated 1861 June 15 from Yorktown, Va.  In it he describes Yorktown as a very old and neglected place, "...there has not been a house erected since Cornwallis delivered the sword to General Washington."  He further describes some of the visible ruins of Cornwallis's fortifications and writes in depth about the an manner in which the soldiers prepare for a fight they are certain will come upon them any day.  As a result of the paltry...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Handwritten diary and one typed letter by Karnig "Carl" Mahakian dating from November 23, 1966 to December 20, 1966.  In it Mahakian describes the people of Vietnam and the conditions.  From it, Mahakian used his notes to develop the script for the United States Marine Corps documentary, "County Fair" (1967), which was a military operation in Vietnam.  The operation involved the clearing of all residents from their villages in search for Vietcong, weapons, and contraband.  The villagers were...

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One page letter from Dr. Nathan Colgate Whitehead in Norfolk dated 19 February 1836.  It is an order from Dr. Whitehead for various elixirs and compounds presumably to be used for administration to his patients.  Included in his requests is sarsaparilla, li[qu]orice, French Chloride Lime, French Chloride Soda, Jujube paste, and Chloride Lime among other requests.

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Four page letter dated February 17, 1847 from Henry Augustine Washington to his mother, Sarah Tayloe Washington.  She was the wife of Lawrence Augustine Washington.  Letter is written from Richmond, Virginia to Mattox Bridge in Westmoreland County, Virginia.  In the letter Washington writes about the sale of corn and grains in the United States as related specifically to the famine in Ireland and England.  He also writes about politics and the issues with Calhoun, the Mexican War, and the...

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Correspondence from Sir Peyton Skipwith, mostly to his nephew, Grey Skipwith regarding business dealings. There is also one letter from Grey Skipwith to William Short in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania dated January 10, 1811. In it, Skipwith tried to appeal to Short to move to England for a time.

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Letter from H. R. Zirkle in Goshen, Indiana to Mary and Becca Henkel in New Market, Virginia dated December 23, 1850.  In it Zirkle refers to being the girls' aunt and to their new baby cousin born within that year.  She writes of wanting to visit and of her happiness that the girls will not be married off early like other families they know.  The Henkel girls are related to the Henkel family of New Market, Virginia, and the Henkel Family Papers, 1783-1874, collection number Mss. 39.1 H...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: Collection of World War II photographs and personal certificates and Identification/ certification cards of Ira W. Jordan, a Seargent in the United States Army who served on the Western Front in the Pacific during the war.  Many of the photographs are of the artwork on bomber planes.  Additionally, there are a number of photographs of indiginous men, women and children who inhabited the islands in the Pacific.  Many of these photographs show nudity.  Researchers should note that there are a...

Content Description From the Collection: Letters written by and to the Moyers family from 1874 to 1906 sent to New Market, Gainesville, Standardsville, and Cedar Keys, and from Richmond, Gordonsville, and Standardsville. There are three postcards and eight letters between different Moyers family members. The first two letters are from G. W. Moyers to his wife Susie and discuss traveling to visit cousins, the construction of the railroad in Stanton, and his traveling home from North Carolina. Two postcards from G. W. Moyers in...

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2 letters to Dr. Galt dated September 12 and November 27, 1854.

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This bound volume contains the submission "Tales of a Lost Boyhood" for the Jerome Lowell Dejur Prize in Creative Writing. It is dated March, 1986 and consists of a (titular) novella, two short stories, and three narrative poems. The volume is anonymous, but is identifiably written by the transgender poet Samuel Ace (then known as Linda Smukler), as he used material from this submission in his later published writings. The writings deal with Ace's childhood gender dysphoria.

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One page letter from Cynthia Beverly Tucker Washington Coleman to Dr. David Hayes Agnew dated 21 December 1883.  In it, Mrs. Coleman relates that she has sent along a Virginia Ham for their Christmas dinner and gives instrucitons on the proper way to cook it.  She also reports on the health (mostly optical issues) of her son and daughter.