Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Lawrence B. Taylor. Letter, 11 September 1847. Accession 23478d. Personal papers collection. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Schindler's Antique Shop, Charleston, South Carolina, 12 January 1950.

Biographical Information

Born 3 August 1818 in Alexandria, Virginia, Lawrence B. Taylor graduated from Princeton College at age 17. He then studied law at the University of Virginia, before practicing in Alexandria. Taylor served as attorney for the commonwealth in the circuit court, and as mayor of Alexandria from 1850 to 1853. He was an officer in the quartermaster's department during the Civil War. At the request of Robert E. Lee (1807- 1870), Taylor was appointed judge advocate for the Army of Northern Virginia with the rank of colonel. However, the war ended before he could take up his duties. Taylor and his wife, Virginia Powell Taylor (b. ca. 1823) had three children. He died in Alexandria 16 November 1873.

Scope and Content Information

Letter, dated 11 September 1847, from Lawrence B. Taylor (1818-1873) of Alexandria, Virginia, to Richard Wallach (ca. 1818-1881) of Washington, D.C., stating that the bearer of the letter, an African American named Dennis Johnson (ca. 1785-by 1860), wants a writ of habeas corpus to regain custody of his son William Johnson (b. ca. 1832) from his wife Patsy Johnson who has left him.