Collections

Papers of the administration of the Foulke family's lands on the Meadow River, principally in Fayette County but also including land in Nicholas and Greenbrier counties. The acquisition of large tracts of land by this prominent Philadelphia family in what is now southern West Virginia began in the 1780s with the partnership of Jeremiah Warder and Richard Parker. In the 1840s, nearly 3/4 of this land (estimated at around 40,000 acres) came under the control of William Parker and later his nephew, William Parker Foulke. The collection, which contains correspondence, deeds, agreements, land surveys and descriptions, and legal documents dating primarily from the 1840s and 1850s, concerns the Foulke family's efforts to protect its claims and to sell or lease tracts of land. The period from 1845 to 1854 appears to have been an especially contentious one for competing land claims in the area. Much of the administration of this land was undertaken by the family's agents, especially James C. Warren, or through correspondence with such lawyers as Samuel Price.

Photocopies of documents and manuscripts compiled by the Fowler family regarding their ancestry. Includes correspondence; court documents; certificates of birth, death, and marriage; genealogy; and miscellaneous notes and poetry. Much of the material regards the Fowlers' ancestors in England, including those who lived in the county of Kent in the south-east of the country.

Letters and business papers of the Fox family, centered on William and Vause Fox; there are accounts showing prices for goods and services in the first decades of the nineteenth century, including hides and leather, surveying, field labor, and weaving; items on Negroes and slavery, the Literary Society of Romney; and letters from Virginians who had taken up western lands.

The Francis H. Fife papers (1947-2015; 168.4 cubic feet) document the personal and professional life of Mr. Fife with an emphasis on his civic and community interests. Types of materials include reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, memoranda, journals, and some family documents. The collection is organized into three series: Oak Lawn 1, Oak Lawn 2, and Westview.

An artificial collection of manuscripts collected by Francis Little. Includes contract, 1770, binding William Byrd III to payment of money in a case involving Robert Carter (signed by William Byrd, John Jameson, George Wythe and Thomas Walne); letter, 1812, of William Henry Harrison to Return Jonathan Meigs concerning an expedition against Tecumseh; grant, 1822, for land in Ohio signed by James Monroe; grant, 1837, for land in Ohio; and two Civil War letters.

Papers, 1727-1866, of Francis Prioleau Lee, his wife Sara Ann (Cooper) Lee, and her family. Chiefly papers, 1830-1850, of Francis P. Lee and concerning his estate. The papers reflect his education at Princeton University and at the General Theological Seminary, New York, New York. They cover his career as an Episcopal minister serving churches in Camden, New Jersey; Tallahassee, Florida; Camden, South Carolina; and Mobile, Alabama (Christ Church); and his trying to obtain an appointment to the faculty of the College of South Carolina. A major portion of the papers consist of manuscript sermons by Lee. The collection also includes wills and estate papers of Joseph Cooper and Benjamin Cooper; correspondence concerning lands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania inherited from Benjamin B. Cooper; and the financial problems of Sarah Ann (Cooper) Lee's brother, Ralph V. M. Cooper.

Accounts and a signed check, 1832-1842, of Francis Scott Key. Papers also include a letter, 22 August 1779, from Levin Handy, Paramus, N. J. to George Handy, Snow Hill, Md. describing the battle of Paulus Hook, N.J.; and notes, n.d., concerning the Revolutionary War claim of [?] Cazeau.

The account book, bound in leather, is approximately 372 pages of handwritten accounting between Francis Watkins and several associates in the environs of Prince Edward County, including Benjamin Haskins, Smith Blakey, Jacob Woodson, M. William Bibb, and Col. John Clarke.