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Gift of Col. Harvey E. Sheppard in 1962.
[Identification of item], James McDowell Correspondence (WLU Coll. 0449), Special Collections and Archives, James G. Leyburn Library, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
WLU Coll. 0045 James McDowell Papers, 1795-1816
This collection contains two letters written to James McDowell while he was a Congressman. One letter is dated May 16, 1848 and was written by James Paxton. He writes that he is not sure if the administration of Washington College needs changes, discusses the pay of the professors, which varied from $800 to $1300 per year, and Governor William Smith's recent appointment of George H. Lee to fill a vacant judgeship. The other letter is from C. S. M. Lee, J. S. Fishburn, and W. P. Wharton and dated December 6, 1848. They ask him to deliver a speech for two literary societies at Washington College during its upcoming commencement ceremony. There is a typed transcription for each letter.