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

Search Constraints

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Search Results

"A Card to the People of Rockbridge County," broadside

1 Item
Abstract Or Scope

Candidate James B. Dorman appeals to Rockbridge County's voters for support as candidate for the Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney General . He outlines his platform and explains his voting record on key issues during his previous political appointments.

1 result

"A Card to the People of Rockbridge County," broadside 1 Item

Alexander Sterrett Paxton Papers

.4 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

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.

1 result

Alexander Sterrett Paxton Papers .4 Linear Feet

Rockbridge Historical Society files on Houses

1 Linear Feet Two boxes each measuring 7inches.
Abstract Or Scope

This collection consists of essays, reports, financial documentation, and other historic records documenting the presence, arcitecture, development, or evolution of local houses in and around Rockbridge County and Lexington, Virginia.

Top 3 results view all 15

Alexander-Withrow House 1 Item Box 1, Folder 11

Alexander-Withrow House 1 Item Box 1, Folder 13

Barclay House Box 1, Folder 19

Reid Family papers

14 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

Series 1 of this collection primarily covers the period from 1763 through Samuel McDowell Reid's death in 1869. There are also a few later items dealing chiefly with his estate. The bulk of the papers deals with business matters. Documents concern such matters as the James River and Kanawha Company, the North River Navigation Company, Washington College's relationship with the Society of the Cincinnati, slavery, and the financial dealings of John Robinson and the Hare family. Series 2 is comprised of a second set of materials received at a later date. The correspondence supplements that found in Series 1. The other materials consist chiefly of court and other legal records during the 74-year period (1778-1852) in which Andrew and his son, Samuel McDowell Reid, were clerks of the court of Rockbridge County: tavern licenses, taxation lists, apprenticeship deeds, voter lists, militia rolls, invoices, etc. There are also some Washington College papers.

3 results

Reid Family papers 14 Linear Feet

Washington and Lee University and Regional Virginia History Research Collection

12 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

Published lecture by retired professor John McKenzie Gunn, dated April 25, 1994; "Can Economics be Both Relevant and 'good'?"

Top 3 results view all 20

Alone Mill Box 1, Folder 11

Anderson Family papers

13.25 Linear Feet Six document cases, three half-size document cases, 9 flat boxes
Abstract Or Scope

This collection contains items of the Anderson and Alexander families including correspondence dealing with legal business, family matters, and Lexington, Virginia affairs. Consists largely of the family correspondence of William Alexander Anderson, Francis T. Anderson, and Mary Anne Alexander Anderson; includes letters to and from Virginia Governor John Letcher, and two letters from Mildred Lee, daughter of Robert E. Lee. Other correspondents include William A. Glasgow, George Hutcheson Denny, Charles Alfred Graves, Henry Holstine, George Junkin, George Bolling Lee, William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, James McDowell, Samuel McDowell Moore, and Walter LeConte Stevens. Also includes legal and business correspondence of Francis T. Anderson; letters and diary of William D. Alexander dated 1858-1859; business accounts, wills, obituaries, including Mary Anne Alexander Anderson's obituary as a pamphlet titled In Memoriam, November 27, 1881; and genealogies of the McNutt, Anderson, and Thomas families. Includes copies of speeches of William A. Anderson dated 1842-1930 and a few photographs.

1 result

Anderson Family papers 13.25 Linear Feet Six document cases, three half-size document cases, 9 flat boxes

Anderson Family photograph albums

2.0 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

This collection contains two photograph albums created by the Anderson family of the City of Lexington and Rockbridge County, Virginia. The albums house photographs taken during the late 19th century and the very early 20th century of the extended Anderson family. They include photos taken in Rockbridge County and Lexington, Virginia and across the United States during road trips. Several Lexington community members are included in the photographs.

1 result

Anderson Family photograph albums 2.0 Linear Feet

Land Grants

14 folders in RHS-Coll-0067 Files
Abstract Or Scope

This collection includes copies and originals of 18th and 19th century land grants for acreage in Rockbridge County, Augusta County, Bath County, and other areas in southwestern Virginia. Three folders relate to the Borden land grant, which established Rockbridge County. There is a fragment of an undated, handwritten copy of the Borden land grant. Other folders related to the Borden grant include historical analysis and recounting of the development of the grant by E.P. Tompkins. Some land grants pre-date the Borden grant. Folders with the parenthetical note of "Copy" only include photocopies of the original land grants. The Trimble land grants can be found in oversized drawer 33.

Top 3 results view all 9

Anderson, William A. RHS Collections #0060 - #0076, Folder 1

Borden RHS Collections #0060 - #0076, Folder 5

Borden (Fragment) RHS Collections #0060 - #0076, Folder 6

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities records

18.5 Linear Feet
Abstract Or Scope

This collection contains records of the association, such as meeting minutes, budget information, membership records, constitution and bylaws, as well as information about preservation easements and county mills, the organization's promotional materials, newsletter, publications, photographs, and a survey, by questionaire, of the portraits painted before 1914 that are owned and located in Rockbridge County and Lexington, Virginia. The survey was conducted under the auspices of the APVA. Eighteen questionaires have photographs attached. Survey includes the following artists; Ellen Graham Anderson and Charles Willson Peale.

1 result

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities records 18.5 Linear Feet

Bank of Rockbridge Currency and Lexington Lottery Ticket collection

0.01 Linear Feet 1 folder
Abstract Or Scope

This collection consists of ten pieces of Bank of Rockbridge currency dated 1857-1862 and one Lexington lottery ticket dated 1803. The currency includes bills in the amount of five, ten, and twenty dollars between 1857-1859. The 1861 bill is for two dollars, and the 1862 bill is for one dollar and twenty-five cents.

1 result

Bank of Rockbridge Currency and Lexington Lottery Ticket collection 0.01 Linear Feet 1 folder

Content Warning

ARVAS is an aggregator of archival resources. ARVAS does not have control of the descriptive language used in our members’ finding aids.

Finding aids may contain historical terms and phrases, reflecting the shared attitudes and values of the community from which they were collected, but are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical or mental ability; religion; sex; and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Many institutions and organizations are in the process of reviewing and revising their descriptive language, with the intent to describe materials in more humanizing, inclusive, and harm-reductive ways. As members revise their descriptive language, their changes will eventually be reflected in their ARVAS finding aids.