Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Browse Items (63 total)

  • D2012-Copy-0717-1005.jpg

    Military commission signed by John Hancock appointing George Weedon Lieutenant Colonel in the 3rd Virginia Regiment. George Weedon (1734-1793) was a businessman, landholder and tavern keeper of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He served in George Washington’s Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War. By the end of the war, Weedon had risen to the rank of Captain Lieutenant and had eight years of military experience under his belt. Following the war, Weedon ran his mother-in-law’s tavern and sold meat in partnership with Washington’s brother Charles. While not taking a leading political role in the controversy with Great Britain, Weedon was active in the patriot cause. In December, 1774, he was made a captain in the Spotsylvania Independent Company under Colonels Hugh Mercer and Alexander Spotswood. With the outbreak of war in 1775, Weedon put his tavern up for lease in anticipation of active service. The Virginia Convention which met in Richmond in July, 1775 created two regiments under Patrick Henry and William Woodford but decided against a third which was to be commanded by Hugh Mercer with Weedon as his second in command. The Virginia Convention of December, 1775 added several more regiments including the Third which was designated for Continental service. George Weedon was in Williamsburg, Virginia when he received this commission on March 5th, 1776. With Mercer’s promotion to brigadier general, Congress promoted Weedon to colonel. Weedon was involved in the Virginia campaign against Governor Dunmore including the action at Gwynn’s Island. Following Dunmore’s exit from Virginia, Weedon went north to serve in the Continental Army under Washington. In February, 1777, Congress elected Weedon to the rank of brigadier general. While in Fredericksburg on furlough from the American encampment at Valley Forge, Weedon learned that a board of officers had decided to reinstate William Woodford’s seniority over Weedon. Though both brigadier generals, Weedon originally was granted seniority over Woodford because the latter had resigned his colonelcy for a time. With this reversal in seniority, Weedon sought his release from active service. Weedon remained on the sidelines until British forces under Arnold and Phillips brought the threat of invasion home to Virginia in 1780. He was active in raising, equipping and leading militia against British forces. At the siege of Yorktown, Weedon commanded American forces at Gloucester Point opposite the main British force under Cornwallis.
  • D2011-COPY-0916-1070.jpg

    William Howe signed military commission dated December 23, 1776 appointing Richard St. George Mansergh St. George lieutenant in the 52nd Regiment of Foot. The British Army under Howe was at that time stationed in New York City.

    Mansergh was horribly wounded at the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777. A surgeon removed a portion of his skull which was then covered with a silver plate. Mansergh retired from the military in 1785. We was killed in Ireland during the uprising in 1798.

    The commission was on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia as part of the exhibit: Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier from September 28, 2019 through March 17, 2020.

  • D2004-TEG-1202-009d.jpg

    Commission appointing Daniel Parke Custis Lieutenant and commander of milita for New Kent County, Virginia. The commission is signed by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, dated December 13, 1754.

    Custis was a wealthy planter and politician who owned several properties including one in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was the first husband of Martha Dandridge who married George Washington after Custis's death.

    The commission was displayed in the Clash of Empires exhibit, an NEH supported exhibition at the Senator John Heinz Regional History Center, from May, 2005 to July, 2007.

  • MS2004-02-001.jpg

    The petition of Norborne Berkeley for the barony of Botetourt which had been in abeyance since the 15th-century. Berkeley, who had been elected to the House of Commons in 1741, became a member of the House of Lords when his petition was granted in 1764. The petition includes a genealogical chart demonstrating Berkeley's descent from John the First Lord Botetourt who was summoned to Parliament during the thirty third year of the reign of Edward I. A manuscript addition on the final page reads "Die Lunae 0/9 Aprilis 1764. Resolved that it appears to the Committee that the Barony of Bottetourt is in Abeysence and that the petitioner is one of the Coheirs of the said John Lord Bottetourt." Four years after becoming Lord Botetourt, Berkeley was appointed Governor of Virginia. He served there until his death on October, 15, 1770.
  • D2009-COPY-1005-6074.jpg

    Apprenticeship indenture of Thomas Callahan with William Webber of Campbell County, Va. dated 1793. Callahan apprentices himself to Webber for a term of 8 years and 10 months to learn the trade of blacksmithing.
  • D2011-BTL-0223-2013.jpg

    Apprenticeship indenture of Thomas Clayton of Richmond County, Virginia. Clayton, with his remarried mother's consent, apprenticed himself to James Griffin to learn the trades of joiner and house carpenter.
  • MS2012-10-001.jpg

    By this indenture John Franklin and William Roper, overseers of the poor for Campbell County, Virginia, apprentice Polley Marten, bastard of Molley Marten, to Francis Perdue. Polley Marten, three years of age at the time of her apprenticeship was to serve Francis Perdue until the age of eighteen. Polley was to be taught "spinning weaveing sewing and niting."
  • MS2012-16-001.jpg

    Apprenticeship indenture for Alley Anthony a free African American woman of Norfolk, Virginia. The indenture was arranged by Robert Brough at the request of the court. Anthony, who was 18 at the time, was indentured to Thomas McDorman for a term of 3 years to learn the trade of a seamstress. Robert Brough as Chamberlain of Norfolk was responsible for binding out orphans in accordance with an ordinance of 1791. Chamberlain was the term Norfolk used for its treasurer.
  • MS2014-10-001.jpg

    An indenture contract binding William Cutrell, orphaned son of William Cutrell, as an apprentice to James Abbot, a boot and shoe maker. Signed on 6 January 1800 by the above parties, and Robert Brough, Chamberlain of Norfolk.
  • MS2014-11-001.jpg

    A copy of the Norfolk, VA district court order to bind the orphans William Cutrell, Joseph Richardson, and Philip Murphy as apprentices to John Abbot, a boot and shoe maker, in 1799.
  • D2011-BTL-0223-2059.jpg

    By this document, James Williams, orphan, is indentured to George Suggs of Norfolk to serve an apprenticeship as a tailor. Williams was bound to Suggs by James Boyce, Chamberlain for Norfolk Borough, pursuant to an order of the court.
  • MS2014-08-001.jpg

    An indenture contract binding John Harvey, orphaned son of John Harvey, as an apprentice to Richard Latimer, a
    shoe and boot maker. Signed on 3 August 1799 by the above parties, and Robert Brough.
  • MS2014-09-001.jpg

    A copy of the Norfolk, VA district court order to bind the orphan John Harvey as an apprentice to Richard Latimer, a shoe and boot maker, in 1799.
  • MS2014-07-001.jpg

    Indenture by which the orphan John Smith of Norfolk, Virginia was bound an apprentice to John Latham, ship captain of Norfolk, to learn the trade of mariner or seaman.
  • 2001-230.jpg

    The Petition Memorial and Remonstrance is actually three separate addresses intended for the King, the Lords and the Commons in response to the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in the summer of 1767. This copy bears the signature of George William Fairfax.
  • D2009-COPY-0602-1021.jpg

    Probably a British weaver's notebook signed by Benjamin Daves (1774) and mentions Birmingham, England. Includes weaver's drafts, names of patterns, directions, some descriptions of patterns, details of pricings, and how much thread needed to be used. Also includes an account of fabrics purchased with cost and recipes to cure Kings Evil, shortness of breath, ague, collick, fever, and rheumatism.

    Bound in a wallet style vellum binding with metal catch and clasp.

    Also includes five pieces of cloth.

  • D2011-COPY-0712-1095.jpg

    Estate inventory of Hannah Robinson of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The inventory includes an extensive list of clothing including shifts, cloaks, stockings, calico and silk gowns, hats, stays etc. Also included are household goods and ten enslaved persons listed by name. Robinson left her estate to her sister Apphia Dangerfield and her nephew John Pettit. Beckwith Butler and John Pettit served as executors. There are no values associated with the inventory.
  • D2010-COPY-0504-1084.jpg

    Manuscript amulet, or precept, containing a prayer for deliverance from witchcraft for the wearer.
  • ms1938-7_vol. 1, page 001.jpg

    Anonymous 18th-century manuscript cookbook and book of medical formulas. The medical formulas are drawn from several sources including the works of Richard Mead (1673-1754), a famous English medical practitioner of his day. Mead's cures for the bite of a mad dog are included. Also included is Joanna Stephens' (d. 1774) cure for the stone and gravel. This was first printed in 1739 and earned Stephens an award of £5,000 from the British Parliament. This occured despite the objections of many respected medical practitioners who believed the only cure for stones involved surgery. Parliament was convinced of the value of the medicine by David Hartley who published the testimonials of patients claiming to be cured by the formula. Hartley also conducted experiments proving the ability of the formula to reduce stones. The manuscript also contains a cure for heartburn attributed to Dr. Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) the famous Dutch botanist, physician and medical instructor.

    Also included are numerous recipes for foods and beverages some attributed to a Miss Bathurst and S. Bathurst, Mrs. Beck, Lady Englefield and others.

  • MS1941-08-001.jpg

    The last will and testament of Richard Randolph of Curles Neck Plantation in Henrico County, Virginia.
  • MS1999-09-001.jpg

    Estate appraisal of the property of William Smith of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The appraisal was conducted on December 7, 1782 and is signed by James Muse, Anthony Peyton and Thomas Muse. The estate was valued at £1498..5..3. The bulk of the estate's value was in the more than twenty five enslaved persons listed at the top of the appraisal. The appraisal also lists livestock in the form of horses, cattle and hogs. Among the household furniture is listed a desk, chairs, tables and bed furniture. Spinning and flax wheels as well as cards and a loom are listed in the appraisal. Kitchen implements listed in the appraisal include knives, pots, pans, a tea kettle, china plates, pewter plates a delft bowl and a salt cellar. A looking glass and brass candlesticks, box heater and snuffers are listed. Three books, the Bible, a dictionary and a "Bray book" are the only reading materials listed. Farming equipment listed in the appraisal includes hoes, axes, plows, saddles, wedge and froe, a beehive and drawing knife.

  • MS2000-08-001.jpg

    Copy of an amendment to Governor Francis Fauquier's estate inventory, enclosed in his son Francis Fauquier, Esquire's letter sent from England to George Wythe, dated June 21, 1773. The inventory for items at the Governor's Palace includes household furnishings, food supplies, globes and money scales.
  • MS1996-09-001.jpg

    Appraisal, January 17, 1780, of the estate, of Richard Charlton, barber and tavernkeeper of Williamsburg, Virginia for his property in York County. The appraisal was conducted by Humphrey Harwood, James Craig and William Nicolson and recorded in the York County Court by Thomas Everard. The estate was valued at £14,419..14. Seven enslaved African Americans accounted for £10,464 of the value of the estate. The remainder of the estate consisted of a large amount of household items, a stage wagon, several horses and a valuable collection of books worth over £150s. Included amongst the books are Voltaire's Works, Ferguson's Astronomy, Cicero's Orations, Goldsmith's Roman History, A Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Robertson's History of Charles V and Smollett's History of England.

  • MS1929-02-001.jpg

    Following the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed the Boston Port Act which authorized the closing of that town’s port on June 1, 1774. When news of the Boston Port Act reached Virginia, the General Assembly was sitting in Williamsburg. It responded to the news by passing a resolution setting aside June 1st as a “Day of Fasting, Humiliation, and Prayer …” The resolution demonstrated the Burgesses support for the people of Boston linking their cause with the rights of all Americans. Governor Dunmore responded to the resolution by dissolving the Burgesses on May 26. The following day, the former Burgesses met in the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern where they adopted an Association calling for a Boycott of East India Company goods and the meeting of a general congress.

    The Association is signed in print by eighty-nine of the former Burgesses known to have attended that body's most recent session. The document also bears the names of twenty-one men from the Williamsburg area who joined the Association following its adoption by the former Burgesses.

    The broadside was most likely printed by Clementina Rind.

  • MS1934-06-001.jpg

    Surveyor's commission of Richard P. Clements appointing him surveyor of Southampton County, Virginia. Clements was certified to be qualified for the post by the College of William and Mary and his commission bears the signatures of its President, James Madison, and Professors Robert Andrews, St. George Tucker, John Bracken and James Henderson. It is also signed by Virginia Governor James Monroe.

    Printed document completed in manuscript.

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