A Guide to the Papers of William B. Blair 1860-1914 Blair, William B. 1860-1914, Papers of 11314

A Guide to the Papers of William B. Blair 1860-1914

A Collection in
The Special Collections Department
Accession number 11314


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Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Processed by: Sharon Defibaugh

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Accession number
11314
Title
Papers of William B. Blair 1860-1914
Physical Characteristics
ca. 160 items
Language
English
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of Virginia Military Institute professor, William B. Blair (1817-1883), of Lexington, Virginia, a U.S. Army officer, 1838-1861, who was cited for gallantry at the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican War and who served as a major in the commissary service of the Confederate States of America Army, 1861-1865, and his family, ca. 160 items, ranging in date from 1860-1914.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

The collection is without restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of William B. Blair, Accession # 11314, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased by the University of Virginia Library on May 21, 1997, from L & T Respess Books, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Scope and Content Information

This collection consists of the papers of Virginia Military Institute professor, William B. Blair (1817-1883), of Lexington, Virginia, a U.S. Army officer, 1838-1861, who was cited for gallantry at the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican War and who served as a major in the commissary service of the Confederate States of America Army, 1861-1865, and his family, ca. 160 items, ranging in date from 1860-1914.

The papers contain business correspondence, financial, and legal papers, chiefly pertaining to the business affairs and the settling of the estates of William B. Blair and his brother, Henry W. Blair. The correspondence includes several letters from his friend, F. McC. Newton, San Antonio, Texas, about Blair's business affairs in Texas, 1870-1877; a reference to the Presidential election, predicting Texas would go for Horace Greeley (1872 Jul 17); the estate of Mr. Barret (1873 Dec 18); and a plea from an old class mate, Dr. John T. Metcalf, of New York City, asking Blair to take an interest in his relative, Sherburne Choppin, attending the Virginia Military Institute, and mentioning that he had "many utterly impoverished kinfolk to provide for, in my destitute portion of the South" (1876 Oct 30).

Also present are military documents signed by Blair as a U.S. commissary officer stationed in San Antonio, Texas, in 1860, authorizing payments for supplies, labor, and other items, and also signed by other junior officers in southern Texas. These documents were used in evidence in a longevity pay claim made by his descendants in 1914.

Financial and legal papers contain accounts, receipts, tax receipts, and bills, of William B. Blair, and of his wife, Judith C. Blair, and the account of William A. Anderson, executor of the estate of Henry W. Blair, the brother of William B. Blair (1885 Mar 6 & May 20).