A Guide to the Letters from Laurence Berry to John Campbell 1805-1846 Berry, Laurence 11328

A Guide to the Letters from Laurence Berry to John Campbell 1805-1846

A Collection in
The Special Collections Department
Accession number 11328


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Processed by: Special Collections Department

Repository
Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Collection number
11328
Title
Letters from Laurence Berry to John Campbell 1805-1846
Physical Characteristics
There are twenty-one letters.
Language
English
Abstract
There are twenty-one letters, 1805-1846, chiefly from Laurence Berry, from Portroyal, Fredericksburg, and King George County, Virginia, to John Campbell, London, pertaining to the estate of his father, Duncan Campbell.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

Duncan Campbell Estate Letters, 1805-1846, Accession #11328, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlotttesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

These letters were purchased by the Library from Julian Browning of London, England, on the 28th of July, 1997.

Scope and Content Information

Berry was acting as agent for John Campbell, having continued the work commenced by Duncan Campbell's agent John Rose. The letters recount Berry's efforts to obtain payment of debts owed to Duncan Campbell at the time of the Revolutionary War, explaining the progress of their claims through the courts. They discuss the sale of cargo to settle some debts, land sales in Kentucky and Ohio, and the farm economy, and mention several debtors in the families of Matthews, Murdock, Page, Stewart/Stuart, and Tayloe. A letter of June 10, 1810 relates aspects of Duncan Campbell's case, indicating that most claims appear to have been contracted in the years 1774 and 1775, after which time no payments were made to British creditors, and maintaining that there was no inaccuracy in the records of the claims kept by Campbell's agent Thomas Hodge. There is a letter, December 2, 1810, from Thomas Swann to Benjamin Botts, concerning the Page estate as related to Campbell. A letter of December 6,1813, relates the progress of the sale of lands in Kentucky and mentions the death of Benjamin Botts the previous December. A letter of May 12, 1817 mentions the sale of lands in Kentucky. The destruction of wheat crops by worms or Hessian flies was mentioned in letters of June 8, 1806 and May 12, 1817. On August 22, 1822, Laurence W. Berry writes concerning the death of his father and promises to acquaint himself with the state of his father's transactions as Campbell's agent; he quotes a portion of Laurence Berry's will relating to the affairs of Duncan Campbell, such negotiations commenced by John Rose as agent for Campbell. A letter of July 28, 1832 pertains to the sale of land in Ohio. There is a copy of a letter, March 10, 1846, from John Scott to William Campbell concerning the affairs of the Campbell estate. John Scott gives the news of the death of his son-in-law, Laurence W. Berry, to Campbell, nephew of John Campbell and grandson of Duncan Campbell. He relates in detail the progress of the affairs upon examination of the papers of Berry as agent in winding up the business of his uncle and grandfather. Also included as a copy of a letter, June 12, 1847, from John Scott to Folly, Smith, Hunter, and Grattan, solicitors for the late William Campbell, relating the affairs of the Campbell estate. Related letters from John Rose to Duncan Campbell are located in accession #11327.