Collections : [Alexandria Library]

The bulk of these papers are correspondence (letters) between Lucius Bellinger Northrop (Charleston, SC and Anne Arundel County, MD) and R. Jones, Adjutant General of the United States Army (Washington, DC). The correspondence refers to Northrop's inability to perform military duty due to his knee wound and to the desire of the Adjutant General's Office for Northrop to return to his post. Included are doctor's statements reporting on Northrop's physical condition, as well as the army's orders to release Northrop from the service in 1848. His attempts to obtain another government position and the reinstatement orders of Jefferson Davis are included in the collection, as well.

Notes and reminiscences of Mrs. Benham's life from her childhood and youth in Alexandria to her adult travels along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Also covers the settlement of Oregon (through her brother William's experiences there), the careers of her siblings and her elderly musings. Alexandria sections include materials on Mrs. Benham's family life, the Potomac River, Monsieur Generis' dancing school, the Woods and Warren Play Actors (the summer theater), Parson Muir, Bishop Meade, Christ Church, Mount Vernon, Washington Lodge, Washington City and President Monroe's daughter's wedding. Also highlighted are many prominent Virginia and Washington D.C. families such as the Washington's, Lewis', Moore's, McCormick's, Meade's and Vowell's. Local customs, social life and institutions are discussed.

This collection consists of three series related to the McKnight, Piercy, and Jacobs families. In each series there are sub-series of letters, legal documents, and genealogical materials. Contents also include military records, harbor and ballast master papers, an 1849 inaugural ball invitation, and miniature portraits of William P. McKnight and Margaret Jacobs. McKnight correspondence relates to the Civil War.