John W. Lewis and Lewis P. Olds Papers 1808-1900s

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.

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:

John W. Lewis and Lewis P. Olds Papers, Accession #Acc. 2010.022, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Summary

Creator:
Lewis, John W. ([1808]-1885) Latting, Sally Olds, Lewis P.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

John W. Lewis and Lewis P. Olds Papers, Accession #Acc. 2010.022, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of the papers of three Southerners, dating predominantly from the 19th century. John W. Lewis lived in Virginia, Mississippi, and North Carolina and the portion of the collection from this Methodist minister and farmer includes references to religion including sermons, farming, and slavery. Lewis P. Olds was a North Carolina lawyer and politician and the collection includes evidence of his career as well as poetry and short stories he wrote. The remainder of the collection is schoolwork of Sally Latting from 1808 and unattributed photographs and a recipe book.

This series consists of the correspondence and personal papers of John W. Lewis, a North Carolina-born Methodist minister and slave-owning farmer. Subjects of correspondence include religion, family matters, farming, and slavery. Included in Lewis' personal papers are two drafts of his last will and testament, property tax assessments from Mississippi, and an August 1875 ballot for the appointment of delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

This series consists of the correspondence and personal papers of Lewis P. Olds, a North Carolina attorney and politician. Subjects of correspondence primarily deal with Olds' work as an attorney, as Attorney General of North Carolina, and as State Senator of North Carolina. Olds' personal papers are made up primarily of a number of short stories, poems, and epic poems that he authored.

This series consists of schoolwork done by Sally Latting in 1808. Also included in this series are a number of unidentifiable or unattributable items from the collection, including photographs and recipe books.

Biographical / historical:

John W. Lewis was raised in Randolph County, North Carolina. In 1833, at around the age of 25, Lewis entered the Virginia Conference of Methodist ministers. His 50+ year career as a pastor took him from Virginia to Mississippi and eventually back to his home state of North Carolina. Lewis was a slave-owning member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC-S) offshoot that split from the main Methodist Episcopal Church due to differing views on the issue of slavery. He died on May 23, 1885.

Lewis P. Olds was a North Carolina lawyer and politician. He served as the state's Attorney General from 1869-1870, as State Senator from 1870-1871, and as the United States consul to St. Helena from 1876-1877.

Acquisition information:
This collection was purchased on 1/20/2010.
Processing information:

Accessioned and minimally processed in January 2010 by Ute Schechter, Warren E. Burger Archivist. Further arranged and described by Jeffrey Flanagan, SCRC Staff, in March-May 2010.

Physical location:
Special Collections Research Center
Physical description:
1 Cubic Foot