Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Elizabeth Wilkinson letters, 1943-1961. Accession 53125. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Purchased.

Biographical Information

Ruth Elizabeth Wilkinson was born 4 March 1922 in Richmond, Virginia, to Herbert W. Wilkinson (1885-1975) and Ruth Watkins Wilkinson (1892-1973). She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and worked as a stock assistant and clerk at Thalhimer's. Wilkinson attended Averett College in Danville Virginia, graduating in 1948. She taught school in Buckingham County, Virginia, during the 1948-1949 school year and in Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia, during the 1949-1950 school year. Wilkinson then attended Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, graduating in 1952. She returned to Richmond to teach, then spent at least a year teaching in Nyack, New York, in 1960-1961. Wilkinson returned to Richmond and taught at Holladay Elementary School in Henrico County, Virginia. Wilkinson died 2 April 1996 in Henrico County and was buried in Westhampton Memorial Park.

Scope and Content

Letters, 1943-1961, to Elizabeth Wilkinson (1922-1996) while attending school at Averett College (Danville, Va.) and Longwood College (Farmville, Va.), and teaching in Buckingham and Clarke Counties, Virginia, and Nyack, New York, mainly from her mother Ruth Watkins Wilkinson (1892-1973) and her sister Helen Judson Wilkinson (1923-2002) of Richmond, Virginia, offering encouragement and support toward her education and career, and providing news of family, friends, and events in Richmond. Letters also include correspondence from Averett College and from the Charles B. Keesee Education Fund regarding loans for school, and correspondence from students she taught in Berryville in Clarke County. Collection also includes birthday cards, Christmas cards, and greeting cards, as well as newspaper clippings.