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Diary of an affluent woman living in Richmond, Virginia in the mid-19th century. Her writings include passages about her children, John and Charles, the books she was reading, and her interest in learning to play the piano and speaking French. Roughly half of the pages are filled with writings. Calculations and records for household expenses are written in the back of the diary. A newspaper clipping of "A Song of Affection" is placed between the pages. This diary provides the rare but sheltered perspective of a wealthy, educated white woman in the antebellum south in the years leading up to and after the American Civil War.

This collection consiste of Alexander Sterrett Paxton's journals in six volumes (484 p.)during the American Civil War. They cover his service as a member of the 4th Virginia Infantry of the Stonewall Brigade, including his role as a Commissary Sergeant of the regiment. Journal entries explore the war experiences of a Confederate foot soldier and include: his insights into motives for war; observations and descriptions of ranking officers, fellow soldiers, friends and family; detailed accounts of battles and campaigns; and experiences in hospitals and camps, including a few pencil-drawn maps of Stonewall Brigade camps (1861-1862). Volume 6 includes a month-long dream journal that Paxton kept in 1864. The collection also includes correspondence between Paxton's second wife, Mary Frances Tapscott Paxton, and her family; ten pre and post-war photographs of Paxton, his brother, Joseph McClung Paxton and other family members (Tapscott family and Lilley family of Augusta County, Va.); and a ca.1860 fraternity/secret society bylaws document handwritten by Paxton.

This collection contains the papers, dated 1859-1934, but mainly 1862-1864, of Augustus C. Golding (also spelled as Goldin and , Golden). It includes letters, a letterbook, diaries, documents, pension papers, printed materials, and photographs. All items relate to Golding's service in the Union Army, 1861-1864, in Northern Virginia, on the Virginia peninsula, and in Maryland. Golding's letters to family and friends describe troop movements, battles, camp conditions, his health, a hospital, and the weather. Golding describes his participation in the following battles or their aftermath: Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Mechanicsville, 2nd Bull Run or Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He occasionally presents his views on war, politics, and the destruction of Virginia's cities and countryside. He also gives financial and practical advice. The collection contains genealogical data on Golding's immediate family.

Correspondence and other papers, mostly 1810-1860, of the Barraud family of Norfolk, Virginia.

Diaries and legal documents, 1810-1896, written by Benjamin Thompson (1810-1870) and Otis Thompson (1879-1896) of Topsham, Maine. Diaries include description of his life as a teenager working on a farm, people with whom he interacted, towns he visited, and the sermons at his church. There are also diaries of his life as a teacher, which include daily notes on what he taught. There are also descriptions of a trip that Thompson took to Ohio.

Diaries and letters, 1860-1878, of Celia Birdsall and her uncle Ephraim Lockman. Diaries date from 1872 and 1878 and were written by Celia Birdsall; in them, she details her personal life, funerals, what she did each day, and friends with which she met. The letters date 1860-1870 and were written by Ephraim Lockman. In them, he discusses his work, opening his own doctor's practice, and his location in the city of Buffalo, New York. Lockman graduated from Western Reserve Medical School. There are also cut out dolls with faces and clothes drawn on them.

Papers, 1780-1929, of the Brown, Coalter, Tucker families including the papers of John Coalter (1769-1838), Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, and John Thompson Brown (1802-1836), member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

Papers of four generations of the Campbell family of Orange Co., Va. including correspondence of William Campbell (1755-1823). His papers pertain to Revolutionary pensions, bounty land claims, the War of 1812, his superintendency of the Virginia State Penitentary, and his estate and includes a diary of a trip to Kentucky in 1798. There are also papers (correspondence and accounts) of his wife, Mrs. Susan Campbell and their children. The collection includes papers of the Graves family and correspondence, medical accounts, military orders and reports of Dr. William S. Parran who served in the 13th Virginia Regiment of Confederate States Army at the battles of Bull Run, Cedar Mountain and who was killed at Antietam. Correspondents of Parran include A. P. Hill and John Letcher and there is one letter, 1861, concerning Thomas Jonathan Jackson.