Immediate Source of Acquisition

Judge John W. Woolsey donated this collection to the UVA Law Library in honor of T. Catesby Jones (UVA Law Alumni, Class of 1903), who was Chairman of the Alumni Fund for the Department of Law "in 1941 or ealier."

Scope and Contents

The John M. Woolsey Collection is comprised of 15 historically significant legal documents from 1790 to 1844.

The papers contain the records of two cases signed by Samuel Chase, Justice of the United States Supreme Court and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This information was recorded when Justice Chase presided over the Supreme Court of Maryland. Six papers are entirely in James Monroe's handwriting and form an agreement of arbitration between James Monroe (5th president of the United States) and Nathan Skinner.

George Wythe is the author of several of the early documents in this collection. An appeal written by John Marshall and signed by George Wythe is included, as is an April 30, 1790, letter signed by Charles Lee, brother of Light Horse Harry. Edmund Randolph wrote an opinion, dated April 14, 1805, which is included in this collection and written entirely in Randolph's hand.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848
• Chase, Samuel, 1741-1811
• Lee, Charles Carter, 1798-1871
• Legal documents
• Marshall, John, 1755-1835
• Monroe, James, 1758-1831
• Randolph, Edmund, 1753-1813
• Tucker, Henry St. George, 1780-1848
• Virginia -- History -- 19th Century
• Whythe, George, 1726-1806
• lawyers