Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Papers of William Cabell Rives, 1860-1882, Accession #10596-a , Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection of letters was a gift to the Library from Laurens H. Rhinelander of Charlottesville, Virginia, on November 1, 1985.

Scope and Content Information

This addition to the Rives Family Papers contains 55 letters, 1860-1882, written to William Cabell Rives, Jr., by J. D. Osborne, John Coles (1825-1866) and Ann Seddon Rutherfoord, John Rutherfoord (1792- 1866), Charles Morris, and Francis Robert Rives (1792-1891).

Rives, Osborne, and Rutherfoord enjoyed a "triangular friendly correspondence," exchanging thoughts and observations on events of the world, as well as current writtings.

J. D. Osborne wrote from Paris and nearby cities, commenting of Paris churches (1860), living in Paris and Tours (December 1863), life during the siege of Paris and Commune (August 1871), and the death of Princess de la Moskowa and its consequences (February 1881). Osborne also gives his thoughts on the Civil War (January and December 1863) and reminisces about places in Virginia, including "Castle Hill," the Rivanna River, Silver Spring, and Gordonsville (January 1881), and past friends, such as Roscoe B. Heath, E. Pendleton Gaines (February 1881), and Rives' mother, Judith Pager Walker Rives (February 1882).

John Coles Rutherfoord wrote news of the Rives family and Albemarle County during the Civil War, as well as his opinions concerning the war and the possible consequences of the Battle of Manassas (August 1861). After the war, he wrote about the behavior of blacks and the effects of the "new labor system" on farming (January 1866). After Rutherfoord's illness and subsequent death, his wife Ann continued the correspondence.

Charles Morris wrote seeking educational assistance from the Peabody fund for General Reuben Lindsay Walker's son, and commented on the efforts to unite blacks and whites, the effects of the abolition of slavery, and the upcoming constitutional convention (October 1867). He also expressed his thoughts on the free blacks and their education, and mentioned the successful school established by the Freedom's Commssion (December 1867).

Francis Robert Rives' correspondence is concerned with the 1882 controversy regarding the Grace Episcopal Church rectory, and relates to various aspects thereof, such as the need for a copy of the deed and plot, trustees' obligations, funds, Virginia laws, individual rights, and the resolutions.