Bucktrout-Smith Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

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.

Terms of access:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

Bucktrout-Smith Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Summary

Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Bucktrout-Smith Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of Richard M. Bucktrout, merchant and mortician in Williamsburg, Virginia. Includes correspondence, receipts, financial papers, records of soldiers killed at the Battle of Williamsburg and legal papers, dated 1855 to 1869. List of deaths at the Seminary Hospital from July to November 1861 in Williamsburg, Virginia and coffins made for soldiers dying in Williamsburg in July-August 1861.

The business papers of Sydney Smith, dated 1874 to 1929.

Lists names of people who purchased coffins and others in financial accounts.

Acc. 1997.14A, folders 1- 7 Acc. 1997.18, folder 8

Copy of the will of John Roberts, York County, Va.; advertisement for medical review, addressed to Dr. Galt; list of coffins made by Richard M. Bucktrout and submitted for payment to York County, 1855; and account book with Sam Allen for oysters, 1856.

Slips of paper with names of dead soldiers, locations of graves, and letters requesting coffins from William Stoddert and others, 1861-1862; legal paper appointing Sydney Smith his lawful attorney, signed by Richard M. Bucktrout, 1864; complaint against the keeper of the jail in Williamsburg, 1868; copies of two letters pertaining to the jail, 1869; list of creditors against the estate of William H. Kerly, 1869.

Business papers of Sydney Smith, 1874-1879

Business papers of Sydney Smith, 1881-1888

Business papers of Sydney Smith, 1890-1896

Letters, 1901, 1929

Ephemera

List of deaths at the Seminary Hospital, July 31, 1861 to November 17, 1861.

List of coffins made for soldiers dying in Williamsburg, Virginia dated July 31, 1861-August 7, 1862.

Photocopies of four items concerning the cemetery:

April 5, 1997 letter from Anne H. Cutler to "U.S. in France" seeking help identifying French soldiers who died in 1781 in the French Revolutionary Hospital in the Wren Building of the College of William and Mary, with enclosures:

Interview with Professor P.P. Peebles.

Business roots.

Excerpt from a letter by Mrs. Rutherfoord Goodwin, 1953.

Biographical / historical:

Like his father (Benjamin Bucktrout, an emigrant from England who died in 1812), Richard Manning Bucktrout (1805 - 1866) of Williamsburg, Va. was an entrepreneur. He did just about anything to bring a buck or a shilling. He made keys, repaired furniture, mounted curtains, sold lumber and other goods, and rented out anything he owned, from land and houses to his carriage, horses, and his slave. Following in his father's footsteps, Richard was also the town's undertaker, responsible for providing coffins and burial for virtually everyone in Williamsburg and the surrounding countryside.

Acquisition information:
Acc. 1997.14A, gift of 104 items on 3/24/1997; Acc. 1997.18, gift of 6 items on 4/11/1997.
Processing information:

Processed by Ellen Strong in 1997.