Conditions Governing Use

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation

Richard Parker Correspondence, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased with the John M. Presson Estate Fund.

Processing Information

The collection received container level processing. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions and acquisitions to the collection.

Biographical / Historical

Richard Parker (1810-1893) served as a congressman and judge in Virginia. In 1859, Parker was the judge for the trial of the participants in John Brown's Raid. He sentenced John Brown and other participants to death. John W. Luke (1815-1896) served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1852-1853 and recommended Richard Parker to be the judge for the Thirteenth Circuit Court.

Content Description

This collection consists of two letters from Richard Parker of Harper's Ferry to John W. Luke of Snickersville, Virginia. In the first letter, dated April 17, 1845, Richard Parker writes that he was sorry that Betsy, the woman he enslaved, was a trouble to Luke. Parker wrote that he did not have a place to board Betsy during her confinement. In the second letter, written December 29, 1846, Parker wrote to Luke requesting that he hire out a number of enslaved persons he owned including a man named Webb & his wife, Betsey, and Juliana.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• Harpers Ferry (W. Va.)
• Harpers Ferry (W. Va.)--History--John Brown's Raid, 1859
• Snickersville (Va.)