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W. H. Wright wrote under the pen name, S. S. Van Dine, and created the detective character, Philo Vance. Most of the collection consists of correspondence between Wright, and his wife, Katherine Boynton Wright, and their daughter Beverley. Due to his work and their fragile health, mental and physical, the Wrights spent most of their 23-year marriage apart. They eventually divorced in 1930. These letters reflect a troubled marriage and a dysfunctional family. Toward the end of their marriage and Wright's life, letters between him and Katherine primarily concerned money disputes and the life of their wayward daughter, Beverley, who led a bohemian lifestyle. Correspondence, 1928, strongly indicates Beverley had lesbian tendencies which upset her mother, but not her father. #9701-a

Correspondence of the Rives family during the Civil War. Of interest are the touching letters of Mrs. Rives to her son, Afred Landon Rives, and his wife Sadie. #38-348

Correspondence, diaries, and other papers of Mary Virginia Ellet Cabell, her father, Charles Ellet, Jr., civil engineer, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her husband William D. Cabell of Norwood, Nelson County, Virginia, relating primarily to Mrs. Cabell's career as author and civic leader. Collection includes a thousand letters from Mrs. Cabell to her children, material on Norwood school, data on the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mary Ellet was William Daniel Cabell's second wife, and the letters he wrote to her during their courtship are very passionate in nature. Mary, however, is practical in her responses, perhaps because she had responsibility for her younger siblings, Willie and Nina, and marriage was not on her mind. The letters between husband and wife reflect the structure of a 19th century marriage, however, Mary Cabell comes across strongly as an independent thinker and her husband very reliant on her. Correspondence touches on almost every issue from literature to politics. #276-a

Papers of William H. Laird of Charlottesville, Virginia, consisting of correspondence among Laird and family members when he was serving as chaplain for the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Europe. Also included are photographs, diaries, and maps. Bulk of the correspondence is between Laird and his wife, Constance and their children. Topics discussed include Arab women (May 23, 1843), the argument over the necessity of nurses in the unit (June 8, 1943), and the promotion of nurses (August 15, 1943). Letters from home provide insight into the effects of the second World War upon family members left behind. #999-a

The correspondence of William King of Saltville, Virginia, chiefly war letters to his wife Anne (Nannie) Leftwich King, at Lynchburg and Richmond, Virginia, concerning his camp and battle experiences as a Confederate artilleryman at Manassas Junction, Centerville, and Fairfax Court house, Virginia. #2798

Papers concerning William Meade Dame of Danville, Virginia. Letters concern his time spent as a Confederate soldier, a seminarian in the Episcopal Seminary in Alexandria, and as a Episcopalian minister. Very strong on religious issues, social life of Danville (and Virginia) after the War, and family activities. Correspondence of Susie Meade (William's wife), his mother, Mary Dame, and his sister Ellen. #2145.

Of interest is a sale document, December 5, 1843, for a slave girl named Henrietta, aged fourteen years. #2480

The papers of Dean William Thornton of the University of Virginia, including the letters of the Janet Thornton, one of the pioneers in the field of medical social work. Also included are her recollections and newspapers clippings about her. In addition there are the diaries, notebooks, and passport of Eliza Carter Thurman. #2077-e

Papers of the Cary family, especially that of Wilson Miles Cary (1806-1877) of Charlottesville, Virginia, and later of Maryland, and that of Archibald Cary (1815-1854), of Cumberland County, Maryland. Highlights include letters between Jane Margaret Carr Cary (Mrs. Wilson Miles Cary) and her mother, Hetty Carr (1829-1832), and between Jane Margaret and her cousin Dabney Carr Terrell, who traveled extensively in Kentucky and who describes a reception for Lafayette. Also of interest are the Civil War letters. Jennie and Hetty, daughters of W.M.C. and Constance, daughter of Archibald Cary, frequently crossed into Confederate territory, and detailed these crossings in letters. Some of the correspondence relates to the house searches to which the Carys were subject as Southern sympathizers. #1415

A 300-page volume containing typescript letters from Laura H. Wirt, daughter of William Wirt, Attorney General of the United States, to Louisa Cabell Carrington, Laura Wirt's mother, Elizabeth Wirt, was the sister of Louisa Cabell Carrington's step-mother, Agnes S. B. Gamble Cabell. Louisa married Henry Carrington in 1820, bore eight children and died January 8, 1865. Laura Wirt married Thomas Randall in 1827, bore four daughters and died in Florida in 1834. They shared confidences and gossip. Laura's letters are sparkling and witty and touch upon all the current events, music, literature, health, romance, and family. Her letters are extremely frank in nature. For example in writing to Louisa after her marriage and after her move to Florida, she writes "it requires some time, however, for a nouvelle mariee to learn to be happy under the change of circumstances...I never was less happy in my life than the two first two months of my marriage...I love him [Thomas Randall, her husband] very much, Louisa. Even more than when he was my lover...a lover is more charming than a husband, but not so dear. No doubt it is the same case with us women, and perhaps we gain as much as we lose by the exchange" (March 6, 1828). A strong collection which reflects relationships which women had with each other. #2546