Title: James D. Davidson Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1805-1910

Creator:

• Davidson, James D. (James Dorman), 1810-1882

Call Number: McCormick Mss 1AH-2AH; M95-277

Quantity: 31.4 c.f. (74 archives boxes and 13 volumes); plus additions of 0.4 c.f.

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of James Davidson, a lawyer in Lexington, Virginia, including correspondence, personal financial records, legal accounts, travel diaries, and memoranda concerning his court cases. Also included are correspondence and records of members of his immediate family, especially two of his sons who practiced with their father until Greenlee was killed at Chancellorsville in 1863 and Charles A. died in 1879; and ledgers of Dorman and Davidson, kept by Davidson and his cousin, Charles P. Dorman, while they were partners, 1832-1841.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mcc001ah

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As a busy county-seat lawyer, Davidson dealt with a wide variety of matters, giving assistance to local businessmen and ironmasters; representing clients in civil suits, collection of debts, rental of slaves, and sale of lands; administering amnesty oaths and purchasing supplies for the Home Guard during the Civil War; and assisting soldiers in securing paroles and claiming pensions. Correspondence is concerned in large part with his legal work in the settlement of estates, including those of many families whose names were well known in the area.

To a much lesser extent the correspondence, receipts, and memoranda reflect his interest in public works, land speculation, and education. References are found to the James River and Kanawha Company; the North River Navigation Company; the Howardsville and Rockfish Turnpike Company; lands in Alabama, Mississippi, and Missouri; and Washington College and its successor, Washington and Lee University, of which he was a trustee. In addition, letters often contain observations on social affairs and politics.

As an old-line Whig, Davidson's interest and influence in politics account for many letters relating to slavery, the approaching clouds of war, Virginia's secession convention of 1861, the conduct of war, and reactions to the Confederate government. For example, he corresponded with political leaders Samuel McDowell Moore, Charles P. Dorman, John Letcher, and Alexander H.H. Stuart and with old Whig friends such as Daniel D. Waite.

Davidson's personal life is revealed in communications from relatives, his account of a trip to Europe in 1851 and son Greenlee's diary of a journey to Chicago and the Northwest in 1857, his political essays written under the pseudonym Robert of Rockbridge, and financial records. Descriptions of army life appear in letters from his sons. In contrast to letters from his brother in Virginia, Henry G. Davidson, those from his other brothers in Indiana, Alexander H. and Charles B. Davidson, reveal reactions of Virginians in the North as war affected the nation. The correspondence also contains the original General Order No. 43 respecting paroles for the Army of Northern Virginia agreed upon by Grant and Lee at Appomattox, April 11, 1865.

Filed as Series 2AH are papers, 1856-1880, of his son, Charles A. Davidson, primarily concerning legal work as a Lexington attorney. Correspondence, case books, legal accounts, and other items are included.

James D. Davidson papers at the Rubenstein Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

This collection was received in multiple parts from the donor(s) and is organized into 2 major parts. These materials have not been physically interfiled and researchers might need to consult more than one part to locate similar materials.

• Part 1 (McCormick Mss 1AH-2AH): Original Collection, 1805-1910
• Part 2 (M95-277): Additions, 1860-1874

Acquisition Information

Accession Number: M90-048, M95-277

	Part 1 (McCormick Mss 1AH-2AH): Original Collection, 1805-1910 Physical Description: 31.4 c.f. (74 archives boxes and 13 volumes)
McCormick Mss 1AH Box   1	1805-1828
Box   2	1828-1831
Box   3	1832-1833
Box   4	1834
Box   5	1835
Box   6	1836
Box   7	1837
Box   8	1838
Box   9	1838-1839
Box   10	1839
Box   11	1840
Box   12	1841
Box   13	1843-1843
Box   14	1843-1844
Box   15	1844-1845
Box   16	1846-1848
Box   17	1848-1849
Box   18	1849-1851
Box   19	1851-1852
Box   20	1853
Box   21	1854-1855
Box   22	1855-1856
Box   23	1856-1857
Box   24	1857-1858
Box   25	1858
Box   26	1859
Box   27	1859-1860
Box   28	1860
Box   29	1860-1861
Box   30	1861
Box   31	1862
Box   32	1863-1864
Box   33	1865
Box   34	1866
Box   35	1867
Box   36	1867
Box   37	1868
Box   38	1868
Box   39	1869
Box   40	1869
Box   41	1869-1870
Box   42	1870
Box   43	1870-1871
Box   44	1871
Box   45	1871
Box   46	1871-1872
Box   47	1872
Box   48	1872
Box   49	1873
Box   50	1873
Box   51	1873
Box   52	1874
Box   53	1874
Box   54	1875
Box   55	1875
Box   56	1876
Box   57	1876
Box   58	1877
Box   59	1877
Box   60	1878
Box   61	1878-1879
Box   62	1880-1881
Box   63	1881-1882
Box   64	1883-1910
Box   65-70	undated
Box   71 Volume   1	James D. Davidson scrapbook of newspaper clippings, 1831
Box   71 Volume   2	James D. Davidson travel book, 1851
Box   71 Volume   3	Greenlee Davidson diary of trip to the Northwest, 1857
Box   71 Volume   4	James D. Davidson bank book, 1857-1862
Box   71 Volume   5	James D. Davidson docket book of law suits, 1858-1881
Box   71 Volume   6	Greenlee Davidson bank book, 1859-1861
Box   71 Volume   7	Cadet W.W. Davidson account book, 1866-1869
Box   71 Volume   8	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1868-1871
Box   71 Volume   9	James D. Davidson bank book, 1870-1782
Box   71 Volume   10	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1871-1874
Box   71 Volume   11	James D. Davidson bank book, 1874-1878
Box   71 Volume   12	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1875
Box   71 Volume   13	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1876-1878
Box   72 Volume   14	James D. Davidson bank book, 1878-1880
Box   72 Volume   15	W.W. Lewis property sale book, circa 1880
Box   72 Volume   16	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1880-1881
Box   72 Volume   17	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1880-1881
Box   72 Volume   18	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1881-1882
Box   72 Volume   19	Greenlee Davidson account book, 1857-1858
Box   72 Volume   20	Greenlee Davidson ledger, 1858-1861
Box   72 Volume   21	Washington College address by Reverend C.B. Davidson, 1869
Box   72 Volume   22	“A Curiosity in Chancery” by J.D. Davidson, circa 1874
Volume   23	Charles P. Dorman legal? ledger, 1840-1849 Note: Oversize on shelf
Box   72 Volume   24	James D. Davidson address to Grangers, circa 1874
Volume   25	Dorman and Davidson legal ledger, 1832-1837
Volume   26	Dorman and Davidson account book, 1837
Volume   27	Dorman and Davidson legal ledger, 1837-1842
Volume   28	James D. Davidson ledger of legal accounts, 1840-1844
Volume   29	James D. Davidson financial account book, 1840-1880
Volume   30	James D. Davidson ledger of legal accounts, 1844-1848
Volume   31	James D. Davidson check stubs, 1855-1860
Volume   32	James D. Davidson/Francis Anderson general store accounting book, 1857
Volume   33	Amnesty oaths administered by James D. and Charles A. Davidson, 1865-1866 Note: The name Robert E. Lee appears.
Box   72 Volume   34	Purchases made by Davidson for the county Home Guard, 1863
Box   72 Volume   35	Purchases made by Davidson for the county Home Guard, 1863
McCormick Mss 2AH Box   1 Volume   1	Charles A. Davidson letterpress book, 1868-1872
Box   1 Volume   2	Charles A. Davidson letterpress book, 1868-1872
Box   1 Volume   3	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1869-1870
Box   1 Volume   4	Charles A. Davidson private ledger, 1869-1880
Box   1 Volume   5	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1870
Box   2 Volume   6	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1870-1872
Box   2 Volume   7	Charles A. Davidson letterpress book, 1872
Box   2 Volume   8	Charles A. Davidson diary, 1872
Box   2 Volume   9	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1872
Box   2 Volume   10	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1873-1874
Box   2 Volume   11	Charles A. Davidson check stubs, 1874
Volume   12	Charles A. Davidson day book, 1856
Volume   13	Charles A. Davidson case book, 1866-1877
Volume   14	Charles A. Davidson case book, 1866-1877
Volume   15	Charles A. Davidson legal accounts, 1872-1879
M95-277	Part 2 (M95-277): Additions, 1860-1874 Physical Description: 0.4 c.f. (1 flat box)	⇧
Box   1	Diplomas and certificate Physical Description: 5 oversize documents in one flat (1 1/2 inches high) box