Collections : [Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library]

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Special Collections and Archives
James G. Leyburn Library
Washington and Lee University
204 W. Washington Street
Lexington, VA 24450
Primary Collecting Areas:
American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, theater, local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, late 19th-century travel
Description:

The Washington and Lee University Special Collections and Archives Department houses over 1,000 unique manuscript collections including those of the Rockbridge Historical Society, The American Shakespeare Center, and the Mountain Valley Preservation Association. These collections vary greatly in size, format, and scope. Subjects covered within the collections are diverse and include concentrations in American and Virginia history, regional genealogy, history of propaganda, Southern literature, and theater.

It also houses over 10,000 photographs and prints. Beyond our photograph and print collections, which include scrapbooks, images can also be found within the manuscript collections and University Archives described above. Our photographic holdings vary greatly in size and include numerous formats representative of the evolution of the photographic process. Strengths are local and regional portraiture, landscapes and architecture, W&L University history, including athletics, and late 19th-century travel.

POC: Tom Camden
Phone: (540) 458-8649
Phone: (540) 463-8109
Fax: (540) 463-8964
Start Over Repository Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library Subjects Antislavery movements
Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Henry Ruffner papers

0.26 Linear Feet one document case (half-sized), one folder

This collection includes three manuscript novellas written by Henry Ruffner, including a draft of his published work titled "Judith Bensaddi," six sermons written in Ruffner's hand, Washington College student James S. Richeson's handwritten transcript of one of Ruffner's lectures on "Political Economy"(1840), a typescript copy of Ruffner's 1847 pamphlet regarding slavery in Virginia, an 1867 letter relating to Ruffner's estate by his widow, Laura Ruffner, and Ruffner's bound manuscript for the "Early History of Washington College" (circa 1857). This volume includes notes by Ruffner's son, William Henry Ruffner and a letter dated January 20, 1897 written by a Union army veteran to the Washington College library concerning a book he removed from the school's library during General David Hunter's 1864 occupation of Lexington, Virginia.

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Henry Ruffner papers 0.26 Linear Feet one document case (half-sized), one folder

This collection includes three manuscript novellas written by Henry Ruffner, including a draft of his published work titled "Judith Bensaddi," six sermons written in Ruffner's hand, Washington College student James S. Richeson's handwritten transcript of one of Ruffner's lectures on "Political Economy"(1840), a typescript copy of Ruffner's 1847 pamphlet regarding slavery in Virginia, an 1867 letter relating to Ruffner's estate by his widow, Laura Ruffner, and Ruffner's bound manuscript for the "Early History of Washington College" (circa 1857). This volume includes notes by Ruffner's son, William Henry Ruffner and a letter dated January 20, 1897 written by a Union army veteran to the Washington College library concerning a book he removed from the school's library during General David Hunter's 1864 occupation of Lexington, Virginia.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Hugh Adams Papers

0.25 Linear Feet

The Hugh Adams Papers archive is comprised of approximately 75 documents concerning the emancipation of nineteen slaves of the Adams estate and their estate imposed emigration to Careysburg, Liberia. Adams was actively involved for many years with the American Colonization Society ( A.C.S.) which promoted and engaged in the emigration process of free or freed African-Americans to Liberia on the west African coast. Included in the archive is an original handwritten copy of the will of Hugh Adams. Within the will, Adams settles his estate and specifically outlines his plan for emancipating his slaves and for funding their imposed emigration. The archive also contains account documents for living expenses of nine of the nineteen freed slaves during the interim period between emancipation and their voyage to Liberia in May 1860.The surnames of the emancipated persons and families are Adams, Miles, Halliburton, Lewis, and Johnston or Johnson. Other noteworthy contents include an official Rockbridge County manumission document and two contracts detailing the purchase of enslaved husbands by their wives who were emancipated and funded by Adams' will. Other individuals whose names are found on documents within this archive include Rockbridge County lawyers Greenlee Davidson and David P. Curry, lawyers 'Gilkeson and McNutt', possibly of Augusta County, Virginia, Rockbridge County officials Samuel McDowell Reid, Charles Chapin, and David J. Whipple, estate executors A.M. Carson and Robert Hutcheson, and A.C.S. secretary Reverend William McLain. Click here to access the Hugh Adams Papers in WLU's Digital Archive.

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Hugh Adams Papers 0.25 Linear Feet

Adams, Hugh

The Hugh Adams Papers archive is comprised of approximately 75 documents concerning the emancipation of nineteen slaves of the Adams estate and their estate imposed emigration to Careysburg, Liberia. Adams was actively involved for many years with the American Colonization Society ( A.C.S.) which promoted and engaged in the emigration process of free or freed African-Americans to Liberia on the west African coast. Included in the archive is an original handwritten copy of the will of Hugh Adams. Within the will, Adams settles his estate and specifically outlines his plan for emancipating his slaves and for funding their imposed emigration. The archive also contains account documents for living expenses of nine of the nineteen freed slaves during the interim period between emancipation and their voyage to Liberia in May 1860.The surnames of the emancipated persons and families are Adams, Miles, Halliburton, Lewis, and Johnston or Johnson. Other noteworthy contents include an official Rockbridge County manumission document and two contracts detailing the purchase of enslaved husbands by their wives who were emancipated and funded by Adams' will. Other individuals whose names are found on documents within this archive include Rockbridge County lawyers Greenlee Davidson and David P. Curry, lawyers 'Gilkeson and McNutt', possibly of Augusta County, Virginia, Rockbridge County officials Samuel McDowell Reid, Charles Chapin, and David J. Whipple, estate executors A.M. Carson and Robert Hutcheson, and A.C.S. secretary Reverend William McLain. Click here to access the Hugh Adams Papers in WLU's Digital Archive.

Washington and Lee University, Leyburn Library

Philbrick Family Papers

4 Item

This collection consists of a manuscript letter to Joseph Philbrick (Jan. 9, 1843) from the Massachusettes Anti-Slavery Society promoting William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper "The Liberator," an original copy of the July 8, 1842 edition of "The Liberator," a fragment of the Dec. 1, 1865 edition of "The Liberator", a receipt for payment for a subscription to The Liberator, and an albumen photograph of John C. Fremont and his wife taken in front of the "Fremont Tree." The "Freemont Tree" was a Redwood tree in Santa Cruz, California where Fremont purportedly camped with his party of explorers in 1846.

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Philbrick Family Papers 4 Item

Philbrick, Richard

This collection consists of a manuscript letter to Joseph Philbrick (Jan. 9, 1843) from the Massachusettes Anti-Slavery Society promoting William Lloyd Garrison's newspaper "The Liberator," an original copy of the July 8, 1842 edition of "The Liberator," a fragment of the Dec. 1, 1865 edition of "The Liberator", a receipt for payment for a subscription to The Liberator, and an albumen photograph of John C. Fremont and his wife taken in front of the "Fremont Tree." The "Freemont Tree" was a Redwood tree in Santa Cruz, California where Fremont purportedly camped with his party of explorers in 1846.

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