Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Dabney Family Papers, Accession #7690-ah, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This accession was given to the Library by Mr. Virginius Dabney of Richmond, Virginia, on September 19, 1983.

Scope and Content Information

The papers of Virginius Dabney contain extensive correspondence carried on by Dabney as editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch , in his personal life, and as a Pulitzer Prize- winning author. Other materials deal with his books such as Below the Potomac , The Dry Messiah , and Liberalism in the South , and much useful material collected as research material for these books is present. There is extensive material on the American Society of Newspaper Editors which Dabney served in various capacities including president  . A great deal of useful material on race relations, African Americans, the N.A.A.C.P., etc., is present. Recent political history of Virginia is strongly represented in Dabney's correspondence as editor of Virginia's leading newspaper, and in his personal correspondence with figures such as Senator A. Willis Robinson, Francis Pickens Miller, and Senator Carter Glass.

This collection consists of ca. 600 items, 1735-1982, papers of the Dabney and related families of Virginia. Included in the collection are correspondence, manuscripts of books and articles, a diary and a journal, legal papers, printed material, memorabilia, and photographs.

The first series of papers, 1735 and 1790-1918, 269 items, includes papers of the Dabney and the related Carr, Davis, and Terrell families. The correspondence, 1790-1908, is between various members of the Dabney family and their relatives concerning various topics. Correspondence of the Davis, Terrell, and Carr families, 1790-1892, is primarily Civil War correspondence. Pre-Civil War correspondents include Samuel Terrell (d. 1798), [Lucy Ann?] Terrell (fl. 1812), Eugene Davis (1822-1894), and Lucy Davis (1827-1859). The earliest letter, July 7, Kentucky and opportunities there, Indians, and a convention to be held in Danville regarding separation of the Lower Mississippi Valley from the United States in response to the possible ratification of the Jay-Cardoqui Treaty (August 29, 1787). Another letter from Lucy Ann Terrell to Virginia Terrell, July 18, 1812, concerns the choice of "Uncle Carr" as president of the College of William and Mary. Another letter, from Lucy Davis to her mother, Mary B. Blackford, November 5, 1848, describes in detail the death of twenty-three year-old Patsy Davis, wife of Eugene Davis, and her burial in the University of Virginia cemetery. Fifteen letters in the Carr, Davis, and Terrell correspondence date from the Civil War and include letters written by Captain Eugene Davis; Mary Jane Terrell Davis (1803-1879), mother of Eugene Davis; Richard Terrell Davis (1830-1892), a Confederate Eugene Davis; and F.E.G. Carr, lieutenant Commander, Company K, 30th Regiment, Virginia Volunteers. Topics mentioned in these letters include news of the deaths of acquaintances and relatives; family matters; the hiring out of slaves; slaves who served as personal servants to men in the army; Captain Eugene Davis' command by F.E.G. Carr; the procurement of clothes and shoes for soldiers; a Union army charge on Fort Harrison; a hasty Confederate retreat following a Union attack; desolation around Fredericksburg in 1863; and Henry Wise. Several letters mention life in Charlottesville of Virginia for the wounded; the use of Alexander Garrett's house as a hospital for typhoid patients; and the burial of seventy-five dead in a trench outside the University cemetery. The post-Civil War letters in the Carr, Davis, and Terrell correspondence, 1888-1892, are from A. Moore, Jr., E.W. Saunders, and Joseph Bryan to Eugene Davis. The letters from Bryan to Davis mention family matters, an invitation to visit the Richmond exposition where the Charlottesville Woolen Mills had a loom in operation, and an invitation to stay with Bryan during the unveiling of the statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond.

Correspondence of the Dabney family, 1856-1908, follows, and includes letters of Virginius Dabney (1835-1894), Maria (Heath) Dabney, Dabney's first wife; Elizabeth Anna Heath, mother of Maria (Heath) Dabney. Topics discussed in these letters include the marriage of Virginius Dabney and Maria Heath; their library of over 600 volumes; Dabney's New York Latin School; the publication of Virginius Dabney's Don Miff and Gold That Did Not Glitter ; Susan Dabney Smedes' Memorials of a Southern Planter ; and Richard Heath Dabney's The Causes of the French Revolution ; efforts to remove Latin as a requirement for the B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of Virginia; and the appointment of Richard Heath Dabney as full professor of historical science at the University of Virginia. A letter from Woodrow Wilson to Dabney, December 5, 1897, regarding the letter's promotion is present as well. A 144-page transcript of the letters to Virginius Dabney and his family, 1886, regarding the publication of his book, Don Miff , completes the correspondence.

The manuscripts include a draft of Don Miff and a copy of an article, "A Mighty Hunter Before the Lord," by Virginius Dabney; three manuscripts regarding the Civil War and bird life by Susan Dabney Smedes; and four manuscripts by Richard Heath Dabney on various topics.

In addition, there is a diary, 1882-1883, kept by Richard Heath Dabney while studying in Germany at the Universities of Munich and Berlin, in which he records descriptions of his studies and his professors and friends. Another journal, August, 1890, titled "Notes on the life of Virginius Dabney" records Dabney's memories of growing up at "Burleigh", his parents Mississippi home, before the Civil War.

The legal papers include documents regarding Memorials of a Southern Planter , Don Miff , and The Causes of the French Revolution . Also included are a petition supporting Richard Heath Dabney's appointment as professor of historical science and Thomas Carr's will, May 25, 1735.

The printed material includes several advertisements for schools and books, 1871-1899, and numerous newspaper clippings, 1835-1909, regarding the Dabney family and the University of Virginia. This series concludes with memorabilia and photographs. Among the photographs are pictures of various members of the Dabney family as well as of Woodrow Wilson and Jack Eggleston. A scrapbook, 1887-1891, containing newspaper clippings regarding Don Miff and Gold That did Not Glitter completes this series.

The second series, papers of Virginius Dabney (1901- ) includes correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and miscellaneous items. The correspondence, 1909-1917, is comprised of letters written by Dabney to his family while visiting relatives and while visiting his uncle, Thomas S. Dabney (Lloyd d'Aubigné) in Sèvres, France. Also included are numerous letters written by Dabney while a student at Episcopal High School The manuscripts include numerous articles by Dabney published in journals and magazines as well as the final drafts of a bicentennial history of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati and Richmond: The Story of a City . Miscellaneous material includes: Dabney's student reports from Episcopal High School, 1914-1917; genealogical material regarding the Dabney family; printed articles by Dabney; an award presented to Dabney in 1975; programs; a poster; and newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Dabney. Photographs of Dabney, 1901-1982, including some of him with Winston Churchill, Richard Nixon, Dean Acheson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas S. Freeman, and Harry F. Byrd, Sr., follow the miscellaneous material. An oversize copy of a survey of "Burleigh", Dabney's great- grandparents' home, completes the collection.

Organization

The collection has been divided into two series: I.) Papers of the Dabney family, 1735 (1790-1918), and II.) Papers of Virginius Dabney, 1901-1982. Series I has been divided into the following subseries: correspondecne; manuscripts; diaries; legal papers; printed material; and memorabilia and photographs. Series II has been dvided into correspondence, manuscripts, miscellaneous, and photographs. Each subseries is in chronological order except for the manuscripts and photographs which are in alphabetical order by titile and/or name.