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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Robert Lively Note to Walter Herron, 1826, Ms2023-034, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Robert Lively Note to Walter Herron was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in April 2017.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Robert Lively Note to Robert Herron was completed in June 2023.

Biographical Note - Robert Lively

The Robert Lively of this collection may be the Robert Lively of Hampton, Elizabeth City, Virginia. According to the 1810 and 1820 censuses, he enslaved 12 and 19 people, respectively, including 4 children under 10 years old in 1820. In the 1830 census, he enslaved 25 people, including 2 children under 10. Six free people of color and 13 white people also lived in his household.

No other information could be found.

External sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1810-1830

Biographical Note - Walter Herron

The Walter Herron of Norfolk, Virginia, in the collection is likely Walter Herron, an Irish immigrant born around 1773. He settled in Norfolk, manufactured rope, supplying the local navy yard, and had a tannery.

Herron married Anne Plume (d. 1833) and adopted her daughter, Anna Plume Bohan Herron (d. 1855), who founded the St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Norfolk.

According to the 1830 census, Herron enslaved 59 people, including 3 under the age of 10. Four free people of color and 13 white people were also part of his household.

Herron died on April 18, 1838, at the age of 65 and is buried with his wife in Basilica of Saint Mary Curchyard in Norfolk.

External sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1830

"Walter Herron", findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101903727/walter-herron/ , accessed on June 1, 2023.

Natalie Sumner Lincoln, "Engraved Portraits of American Patriots Made by Saint Memin in 1796-1810", Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Vol. XLIX, No. 2, August 1916 (Whole No. 289), pp. 100-103, https://archive.org/details/daughtersofameriv49daug/page/104/mode/1up?q=herron , accessed December 11, 2023.

"Walter Herron" in the 1830 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/913621:8058 , accessed December 11, 2023.

Scope and Content

This note from Robert Lively to Walter Herron of Norfolk, Virginia, discusses payment to Herron for four unnamed, enslaved children, and collection of the children by a Mr. Armistead.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Herron, Walter, ca. 1773-1838
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Slavery -- United States

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Robert Lively Note to Walter Herron by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).