Administrative Information

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See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Papers of Virginius Dabney, 1936-1994, Accession #7690-am, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was a gift of James D. Watkinson, Library of Virginia, 800 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23219 August 12, 1999.

Biographical/Historical Information

Virginius Dabney was editor of The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Scope and Content Information

The papers contain some family correspondence and correspondence generated by his books, friendships, and memberships in various organizations. Much is of a routine or social nature.

Frequent or notable correspondents include Thomas P. Abernethy; James Lindsay Almond, Jr.; the American Society of Newspaper Editors; Arthur Ashe, Jr.; James Henry Bailey; Gerald L. Baliles; William B. Bean; James A. Bear; Francis L. Berkeley, Jr.; Thomas J. Bliley, Jrl; Albert Sidney Britt, Jr.; Staige Blackford; Tom Boushall; and Harry F. Byrd, Jr..

Also J. Rives Childs; Thomas D. Clark; John N. Dalton; Jonathan Daniels; Colgate W. Darden, Jr.; Dr. John Staige Davis; Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr.; Alonzo Thomas Dill; Hardy Cross Dillard, Murrell Edmunds; Ernest McNeill Eller; Junius R. Fishburne, Jr.; Guy Friddell; Alexander G. Gilliam, Jr.; Mills E. Godwin, Jr.; George W. Grayson and William Hershey Greer, Jr.

Also Charles J. Harkrader; Albertis S. Harrison, Jr.; Frank L. Hereford, Jr.; Linwood Holton; William S. Howland; Jenkin Lloyd Jones; Albert S. Kemper, Jr.; James J. Kilpatrick; Arthur L. Kinsolving; John T. Kneebone; John S. Knight; Theodore Fred Kuper; Jeff MacNelly; Dumas Malone; Alf J. Mapp, Jr.; John O. Marsh, Jr.; Charles McDowell; and Harry M. Meacham.

Also William Shands Meacham, Elizabeth Copeland Norfleet; Richard D. Obenshain, William Offley; Charlton Ogburn; Robert M. O'Neil, Dr. Peter N. Pastore, Fred G. Pollard, Lewis Powell, Jr.; Sir Peter Ramsbotham; Frank G. Rankin, Jr.; Davis T. Ratcliffe; James Reston, Charles S. Robb; Joseph C. Robert; James I. Robertson, Jr.; Paul Rockwell; John C. rogers, Parke Rouse, Jr.; and Louis D. Rubin.

Also David E. Satterfield; T. J. Sellers; Edgar F. Shannon, Jr.; C. Alphonoso Smith, Charles Smith, William B. Spong, Jr.; John C. Stennis; Lewis L. Strauss; Emory M. Thomas; Thomas H. Thompson; Paul Trible; Barbara Tuchman; William M. Tuck; George H. Tucker; Edward Weeks; Sir John Wheeler-Bennett; Bell Wiley, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr.; Langbourne M. Williams; Robert Archer Wilson; Henry Alexander Wise, Jr.; Tom Wolfe; and Louis B. Wright.

There is also a letter from Dabney to Eudora Welty. With the Davis T. Ratcliffe letters are letters to him from Frank Harris.

Specific topics include Harry Byrd and the Byrd machine particularly in the 9th Congressional District; University of Virginia controversies including membership in Farmington Country Club and Olden Polynice; James McConnell; presidential impeachment; race relations including growing up as an African-American in Charlottesville, Va. in the 1930s; modernization in the Episcopal Church; Episcopal High School; the United States Historical Society; and his books "The Jefferson Scandals," "The Last Review," Mr. Jefferson's University," "Pistols and Pointed Pens," "Richmond," "Virginia Commonwealth University," and "Virginius Dabney's Virginia."

A few snapshots include one of the Shah of Iran in 1960.