Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

Original owned by the Library of Congress. Must obtain permission to publish.

Preferred Citation

Robert Beverley. Letter book, 1761-1793. Accession 29108, Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Lent for copying by Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C., 6 October 1950.

Biographical/Historical Information

Robert Beverley (d. 1800) was the first son of Col. William Beverley of "Blandfield", Essex County, Virginia. He had been sent by his father to school in England where he attended Trinity College, Cambridge. Upon the death of his father, he returned to Virginia to take up his estate. In 1763 he married Maria Carter, daughter of Col. Landon and Maria Carter of Sabine Hall. Unlike other sons of prominent families, he sought no political post. In 1780 he was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, but declined to take his seat. In addition to "Blandfield", Beverley owned "Elkwood", a 13,000 acre tract in Culpeper County, Virginia.

Scope and Content Information

The early letters of Robert Beverley discuss tobacco trade with several London merchants, especially John Bland, William Hunter and the Athawes family. In addition, there are significant letters which deal with Revolutionary War affairs, particularly the non-importation issue and the American constitutional position. Until the time of the first Continental Congress in 1774, Beverley went along with the Patriots, when they moved too far for him. Several letters are written to Beverley's oldest son who was sent to England for his education before the war had started. The last group of letters concern the revival of the tobacco trade. See also William Beverley Records, 1655-1749 (acc. 29634).

Correspondents include William Anderson and Company, Edward and Samuel Athawes, Backhouse and Ruston and Company, John Bland, Hamlet Fairchild, William Fitzhugh, William Hunter, and John M. Jordan, and other merchants in Alexandria (Va.), Baltimore (Md.), Fredericksburg (Va.), and Philadelphia (Pa.).