Scope and Contents From the Collection: Letters, chiefly 1765-1817, of the Blair, Banister, Braxton, Horner, and Whiting families. Correspondents include John Blair (1732-1800), Anne (Blair) Banister and Mary (Blair) Braxton Burwell Prescott. Many of the letters are written by women.Subjects covered in the collection include the Baron de Botetourt, William Tryon, Martha Washington, dueling, social life and customs, marriage and courtship, medicine, the Richmond theater fire, slavery, War of 1812, the College of William...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Blushed at her gentle reproof; throws herself on her mercy for pardon; passes last winter with her friend Mrs. Hamilton, the British Consul's Lady, in Norfolk; Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have been very good to both her and her son [Theodorick Bland] in Scotland; promised to stay this winter with them [the Hamiltons]; would like to have been excused because going prevented her from seeing her (EW) , and she has to spend too much money on clothers "to keep up the Lady"; has a...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Encloses letter begun at several times; ingratitude not one of her faults but omission is; every idea engrossed by Cousin Andrews for whom she feels sympathy; Mr. Andrews is dying; will leave few to honor him for honor or integrity; discharged every trust with propriety "& never did the Widow or Orphan suffer by him"; her life for the past two years had few pleasures; fears her Father Peachy, who declines fast, will die; does not think there is anyone in Williamsburg...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Advises him to accomodate his remedies to the state of the system in his contest with "a powerful and insidious epidemic"; advises him to tru all modes of treatment; there is a right treatment and he hopes he will find it; true in their country that in rainy seasons low situations are healthy, and high ones sickly; former completely overflowed with water and the "coltes having no more upon" [missing] to favor "putrefaction"; tells him to tell his farmers who complain about...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Just "on the wing" for her winter quarters in Norfolk, Virginia from where she will write to her the particulars as soon as she writes two or three letters to Europe; thanks her for her last letter and says she wrote back but just found out she never got the letter; their friends and relatives are well except for a few colds w[hi]ch were to be expected at that season; Tho[ma]s Henderson and Polly Peachy's two youngest children have the whooping cough tho[ugh] it is not yet...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Asks her to what she owes the long silence; having written a long letter after she returned from Norfolk she was surprised at not having a reply since she (EW) is such a punctual correspondent; fears autumn may have brought sickness to her family; cannot write with the facility she used to so she procrastinated writing this letter; Theo[doric]k [Banister] arrived in perfect health; as she (EW) is also a mother she is assured of her empathy with ther feelings on the arrival...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Thro[ugh] Mr. Mason, a student at William and Mary College, she [AB] heard that George [Whiting] was married to an "amiable young lady" of whom she (EW) approved; heard it exhilarated her spirits so that she lost all sickness; hopes that loss may very long be hers; congratulates her; asks her to congratulate the wedding pair for her; "the Doctor [Robert H. Little], his sweet Rib [Mary (Whiting) Little], and Francis [Whiting]" all possess her best wishes; [addresses her...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Upon returning from Alexandria last Sunday found his letter of the proceeding evening; sorry that his absence prevented him from seeing him; "As Saturday is always a Holiday with us at the Commencement of Congress" he frequently visits his friends on that day in Alexadnria; affords him the pleasure to render him services there or elsewhere; asks him to let him know what the business he alluded to in his letter was and he would do it immediately; can do nothing more than...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Assures him he felt pride and pleasure with the way he acted with Myers; his conduct evinced sentiments of "honout" and humanity; his [Myers] behavior almost indicates "the moon must have some agency with his intellects"; discusses an incident in which Myers pulled out his "bane" and commanded him [Sommervell] "to swallow it"; shame added to the folly by the fact that no witnesses were present; discusses his involvement with a woman who is not named; Mr. Coleman has lately...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Received her letter of August 26 with the four profiles and letter from John for which she is obliged; after returning from Mr. Tabbs at Goshen was attacked with the ague and fever right after two spells of another nature from which she was barely recovered; her "poor old shatter[e]d carcase" was so weakened she could not write; has gotten well by removing with Theodorick's [Banister] family to "a healthy little spot a few miles from Petersburg"; her "sweet Grand Daughter"...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Would have made an early reply to her last letter but was sick; asks for forgiveness for procrastinating in writing; is in this neighborhood because Theodorick's [Banister] wife, [Signora Tabb] was going to "increase her family" and did have a daughter; she [ST] "looks badly" which is not surpriding since a few days before her delivery she caught the measles; the infant was full of it and she is glad they both recovered as well as they have; as has her other granddaughter,...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Wonders if she will remember him since he has not written in so many years; has been chided by his conscience for his silence; having gotten more settled and systematic she will be hearing from him more regularly; will give him pleasure to hear how she is doing, after flirting with young girls and being jilted by a widow he decided to act with a little more generalship; offered his hand to an excellent widow, with a son just twelve months older than his own son; after a...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Mr. Thomas Tabb, Theo[doric]k's wife's brother sets out tomorrow to visit his Aunt Whiting and other relatives in her (EW) neighborhood and will stop by if he can; sends best wishes for Mary's [Little] safe delivery; she and her daughter Signora [(Tabb)] B[anister] send love; [Theodorick] has gone to Petersburg or would join them in sending love; her other son and daughter [Monro Banister and Mary Banister] are at Sulphur Springs where Monro and his eldest son are in...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Hopes Francis [Whiting] told her she could not send a letter to her by him because her old acquaintances and Monro's wife [Mary Banister] provided her with too much company to get the time to write; told him [FW]to give her love to them and tell them she would be writing by Post; arrived there on Saturday the 6th [July] with her grandson Monro [Banister] who was sick; he [MB, Jr.] is better but the "intense warm weather keeps him very funney"; tells her to take her time...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Takes the opportunity to write to both of her niees in one letter as Mrs. Tabb is making a mournful trip to Goshen tomorrow; asls to be excused for writing to them both in one letter but Monro [Banister] is on a short visit there and she cannot absent herself long; the bearer "is intelligent" so she makes no statement of the family there; takes pleasure in telling her little Monro [Banister] is recovered and Polly [Mary] and Siegnora [Banister] are "in the family way"; was...

Scope and Contents Scope and Contents Concerned to hear they have all suffered from sickness; thinks the accident Doctor Little met with must have been distressing in his weakened state; thanks God her (RL) and Mary are returned to good health and cheerfulness; tell Eliza the old mitts she sent her to Leesburg, Virginia were hardly worth thanks; supposes they were worn out long ago; will write Eliza when her eyes get better and the weather is milder; presently "can hardly get ink thaw[e]d enough to write" and...