Summary Information
James McDowell Papers
1739-1849
- McDowell, James, 1770-1835
McCormick Mss BE
5.2 c.f. (12 archives boxes and 2 volumes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of James McDowell, a Rockbridge County, Virginia, planter and distiller, and father of James McDowell Jr., who was governor of Virginia from 1843 to 1846. These are composed of correspondence, indentures, promissory notes, charges for general merchandise and medical care, account books, and records of the 8th Regiment of Virginia Militia commanded by Colonel McDowell. Land transfers and descriptions appear throughout, first concerning large acquisitions from the Borden Tract along the James River, and after 1800 concerning speculations of McDowell and his partner, Andrew Reid, in Ohio lands, and McDowell's own holdings in Kentucky. His years as justice of the peace account for the presence of numerous documents relating to small claims and estate settlements.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mcc000be ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Scope and Content Note
Although few of McDowell's own letters are present, he received many from friends. For instance, Congressman James Breckinridge kept him informed on national banking and foreign affairs both before and after the War of 1812; his agents in Ohio, Nathaniel Pope and W.A. Trimble, and his agent in Kentucky, Nathaniel Hart, wrote him of conditions in those states; and letters from John H. Peyton, Francis Preston, and Jonn Preston discuss business and politics in Virginia.
In addition, the papers contain a complete inventory of his estate, 1835, including the age and reputed value of each of his forty-one slaves; and an 1824 manuscript plat map of Pattonsburg, Virginia. In three volumes McDowell recorded sales of produce, livestock, and whiskey from his plantations; and the sale of internal revenue stamps, 1796-1801.
Related Material
Papers of James McDowell: University of Virginia Library, Special Collections Department; collection of circa 600 items largely consisting of the papers of Colonel James McDowell of Rockbridge County, Virginia.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Accession Number: M90-048
Contents List
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McCormick Mss BE
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Papers
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Box
1
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1739-1799
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Box
2
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1800-1805
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Box
3
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1806-1808
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Box
4
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1808-1811
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Box
5
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1811-1814
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Box
6
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1814-1816
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Box
7
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1816-1819
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Box
8
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1819-1822
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Box
9
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1822-1824
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Box
10
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1824-1826
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Box
11
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1826-1828
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Box
12
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1829-1849
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Volumes
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Volume
1
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James McDowell account book, 1769-1835
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Volume
1
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Continuation of accounts by James McDowell, 1847-1849
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Volume
2
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James McDowell daybook, 1797-1804 and 1827-1835
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Box
12
Volume
3
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James McDowell daybook, 1808-1812
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