Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4477
GEORGE HAIRSTON PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: George Hairston, tobacco planter of Pittsylvania
County, Va.; his wife, Anne Elizabeth Hairston George
(1834-1925), who, after Hairston's death, married
Forney George; George and Anne Elizabeth Hairston's
son Samuel (1865-1933); George's first cousin, Louisa
H. Watkins (fl. 1851-1872), and her husband, Peter
Wilson Watkins (fl. 1851-1865), of Henry County, Va.;
and their son Hairston Watkins (fl. 1864-1865).
Chiefly correspondence and business papers of
George Hairston, 1850 to 1860, and his estate papers,
1866 to 1898. There are also correspondence and
financial papers of Peter and Louisa Watkins, as well
as scattered papers of Anne Elizabeth Hairston George;
Samuel Hairston; Major Peter Hairston (1752-1832); and
George's father-in-law William Lash (fl. 1834-1896).
George Hairston's correspondence comprises mostly
letters from his older brother, Peter W. Hairston
(1819-1886). Topics discussed include family and
neighborhood life; plantation affairs, including
conditions among the slaves; Virginia politics; estate
settlements; civilian and military experiences during
the Civil War, including the service of
African-American soldiers and the service of Hairston
Watkins with the 24th Virginia Cavalry Regiment and as
a prisoner at Point Lookout, Md.; the work of freedmen
in Virginia; and postwar finances. Of note is a
series of letters in the 1850s concerning Robert
Hairston's estate in Mississippi, which he tried to
leave to his child by a slave. Family plantations in
Pittsylvania and Henry counties, Va., and Davie and Stokes
counties, N.C., are documented. Business papers
include deeds and land surveys, accounts, receipts,
wills, land rental agreements, slave lists, and a
slave bill of sale. Other papers, mostly postwar,
include clippings, advertising circulars, programs,
poems, school grade reports, calling cards, and line
drawings.
Online Catalog Terms:
Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Cavalry, 24th.
Davie County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Estates (Law)--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Estates (Law)--Virginia--History--19th century.
Family--Virginia--Social life and customs--19th century.
Freedmen--Virginia.
George, Anne Elizabeth Hairston, 1834-1925.
Hairston family.
Hairston, George, 1822-1866.
Hairston, Peter, 1752-1832.
Hairston, Peter W., 1819-1886.
Hairston, Samuel, 1865-1933.
Henry County (Va.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Lash, William (fl. 1834-1896).
Miscegenation--Mississippi.
Mississippi--Social life and customs--19th century.
Pittsylvania County (Va.)--Social life and customs--19th
century.
Plantations--North Carolina.
Plantations--Virginia.
Slavery--North Carolina.
Slavery--Virginia.
Slaves--Mississippi--Legal status, laws, etc.
Stokes County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century.
Tobacco farmers--Virginia--History--19th century.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Participation,
Afro-American.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and
prisons.
Virginia--Politics and government--1775-1865.
Watkins family.
Size: About 480 items (0.5 linear feet).
Provenance: The bulk of the papers were received from Rufus T.
Hairston, of Bristol, Va., through his cousin,
Peter W. Hairston, of Advance, N.C. An addition,
containing mostly papers related to the Watkins
family, was received from Louisa H. Breeden of
Roanoke, Va., in July 1990.
Access: No restrictions.
Related Collections: Elizbeth Seawell Hairston Papers (#1518);
George Hairston Books (#2476);
Hairston and Wilson Family Papers (#3149);
John Tyler Hairston Papers (#1836);
Peter Wilson Hairston Papers (#299);
Robert Hairston Papers (#1148);
Samuel Hairston Papers (#3820);
Robert Wilson Business Records (#1882,
#1896).
Copyright: Retained by authors of items in these papers, or their
descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright
law.
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
Born in Pittsylvania County, Va., in 1822, tobacco planter
George Hairston (1822-1866) was the second of Agnes John Peter
(Wilson) and Samuel Hairston's seven children. In 1823, Samuel
Hairston (1784-1880), who in the 1850s became known as the
"richest man in Virginia," built Oak Hill plantation in
Pittsylvania County. George spent his early years at Oak Hill
and attended the plantation school along with his brother Peter's
future wife, Columbia Stuart, and her brother, the future
Confederate general, James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart. Like his
brother Peter, George attended the University of North Carolina
in Chapel Hill, but, unlike the former, George performed poorly
and left the University after several incidents.
In 1855, George Hairston married Anne Elizabeth Lash
(1834-1925), the daughter of William and Anne Powell Hughes Lash
of Bethany, N.C. Between 1855 and George's death in 1866, the
couple and their two children, William and Samuel, lived at Berry
Hill, the Pittsylvania County plantation of George's grandmother,
Ruth Stovall Hairston. In 1875, Anne Hairston (often called
Lizzie) married Colonel Forney George, with whom she had one
child, Elizabeth Lash George (the future Mrs. Spencer James).
Widowed again in 1877, Mrs. George returned to Oak Hill to live
with her son Samuel. She died in Danville, Va., in 1925.
Louisa Hardyman Hairston was George Hairston's first cousin by
his paternal uncle, George Hairston (1784-1863). Louisa married
Peter Wilson Watkins (fl. 1846-1865) and had three children:
Hairston, Nannie, and Loulie. Hairston Watkins served in the
Civil War in the 24th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, and, in 1864,
was held prisoner for a time at Point Lookout, Md. His first
cousin, Orren W. Barrow, served as a company commander in the
24th Virginia Infantry Regiment.
Collection Overview
Chiefly the correspondence and business papers of George
Hairston, with significant correspondence of Peter and Louisa
Watkins. The bulk of George Hairston's papers appear between
1850 and 1860. His estate papers, kept by William Lash, cover
the period from 1866 to 1898. Hairston's correspondence consists
mostly of letters from his older brother, Peter. Correspondence
for the Watkins family is scattered between 1851 and 1872, with
the bulk found in 1858 and 1864. Most of the letters are
addressed to Louisa Watkins. A considerable number of Civil War
items appear.
The best opportunities to be found in this collection are for
the study of family and neighborhood life, estate settlements,
Civil War civilian and military experiences, and postwar finances
in Virginia and North Carolina. Locations best documented
include Pittsylvania and Henry counties, Va., and Stokes and
Davie counties, N.C. Many of the Civil War letters pertain to
soldiers in Virginia's 24th Cavalry Regiment, including Hairston
Watkins. His captivity at Point Lookout, Md., in 1864 is also
documented. A few scattered items relate to the North Carolina
9th Brigade. The papers provide little information on
individuals, other than George Hairston and Peter Watkins, for
whom financial and legal papers appear.
Although information on slaves and free blacks is not
extensive, what appears is of particular interest. Letters touch
on antebellum free blacks in Philadelphia; the participation of
African-Americans in the Union Army; and the social life of
freedmen in Stokes County. Slave lists and a slave bill of sale
are also included, as are receipts for crops from freedmen.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence
Subseries 1.1. 1842-March 1861
Subseries 1.2. Undated Antebellum Letters
Subseries 1.3. April 1861-1865
Subseries 1.4. 1866-1901
Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers
Subseries 2.1. Major Peter Hairston
Subseries 2.2. Alfred Smith
Subseries 2.3. George Hairston
Subseries 2.4. Peter Wilson Watkins
Subseries 2.5. William Lash
Subseries 2.6. Samuel Hairston
Series 3. Other Papers
Series 4. Pictures
Correspondence, stretching from 1842 to 1901, consists mostly
of family letters to George Hairston and his widow, Anne
Elizabeth Hairston (later George), and business letters to their
son, Samuel Hairston. Scattered business letters also appear for
George Hairston. Letters dated between 1858 and 1865 mostly
relate to the Watkins family. Topics include family and
plantation affairs; internal improvements; politics; travel in
New York, Philadelphia, and abroad; Civil War civilian and
military life; and postwar financial arrangements. Note that the
only materials relating to Jeb Stuart are clippings about his
career in Series 3.
Financial and legal papers include deeds and land surveys,
accounts, receipts, wills, loan notes, land rental agreements,
slave lists, and a slave bill of sale, mostly relating to the
plantation and legal affairs of George Hairston. The bulk of the
papers belonging to others concern land acquisitions and
plantation and household accounts. A few Civil War items appear
in Subseries 2.4 (Peter Watkins).
Other papers, mostly postbellum, include clippings,
advertising circulars, programs, poems, school grade reports,
calling cards, and miscellaneous items collected by members of
the Hairston and Watkins families.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1842-1901 and undated. About 240 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Antebellum correspondence of George Hairston; antebellum,
Civil War, and postwar correspondence of the Peter and Louisa
Watkins family and postwar correspondence of George Hairston's
widow, Anne Elizabeth (Lizzie) (later Mrs. Forney George), and
son Samuel. Over two-thirds of the items are family letters, but
scattered business letters are also included. Major
correspondents are Peter W. Hairston, Orren Wilson Barrow, and
Louisa Smith. Topics include family life, plantation affairs,
internal improvements, politics, travel, free blacks, Civil War
camp life and prisons, and postwar financial arrangements.
Several letters appear between 1852 and 1859 on the settlement of
Robert Hairston's estate.
Subseries 1.1. 1842-March 1861
1842-March 1861. About 120 items.
Family and business correspondence, chiefly of George Hairston
of Pittsylvania County, plus about 30 letters for Peter and
Louisa Watkins of Henry County. Many letters are between George
and his brother Peter. He also received letters from his mother,
wife, several Wilson, Hairston, and Stuart relatives, and various
friends. Business correspondence is chiefly with merchants and
lawyers. Letters relating to the Watkinses are from Hairston and
Barrow relatives and business associates. The first Watkins item
appears in 1851; most are in 1858. Topics include family and
plantation affairs, land acquisitions, politics, and the estate
of Robert Hairston.
Peter W. Hairston wrote George frequently between 1846 and
1860. Early letters from White Sulphur Springs, Philadelphia,
New York, and Oak Hill, discuss family activities, his travels,
and the Mexican War (see 8 April 1847). Of particular interest
is a letter from Philadelphia in April 1847, relating the story
of an African-American barber who invited Peter to the dedication
of a new Negro church in the city. Peter attended the dedication
and wrote that the sermon he heard there was superior to those he
had heard in the North Carolina backcountry.
After 1849, Peter wrote most often from his home, Cooleemee
Hill, in Davie County, N.C., and from Columbus in Lowndes County,
Miss. Between 1850 and 1852, his letters focus on land
purchases; crops; affairs at Cooleemee Hill, Shoe Buckle, Old
Town, and Home House plantations; and internal improvements.
Between 1852 and 1856, he wrote from Columbus about his efforts
to challenge and settle the last will and testament of their
step-grandfather, Robert Hairston. Letters from Robert A.
Hairston in Lowndes County, Miss., from lawyer James M. Whittle
in Pittsylvania County, and from Jesse Wootton in 1852 and 1853
also discuss Robert Hairston's will. Peter's letters after 1858
describe a trip abroad he took with his wife, Fanny.
Letters to George from his mother, Agnes Hairston at Oak Hill,
and his wife, Lizzie, discuss family events, illnesses, crops,
church affairs, an operation George underwent in Philadelphia in
1859, and Lizzie's deep unhappiness at Berry Hill (see 4 February
1859). Of note is a letter, dated 28 February 1846, in which
George's mother revealed her displeasure with Southern girls
being educated in the North and discussed how the death of a
young son had affected her attitudes toward child rearing.
George received a number of letters from other relatives and
friends. Of interest among these is one from his cousin Sammie
of Wytheville, in August 1844, mentioning a phrenologist, a
costumed Scottish Highlander playing the bagpipes, and the
well-attended execution of a black man for murdering another
black man. Also of note is a letter from his cousin, Robert A.
Hairston, a student at the University of North Carolina, in 1848,
who wrote concerning his studies and the upcoming commencement.
A distant relative, Nicholas P. Scales of Taladega, Ala., wrote
in 1854 explaining how they were related and requesting financial
assistance from Hairston. A friend, J. O. Leary of Cascade, Va.,
wrote in July 1859 concerning plantation affairs and his desire
to marry a wealthy older woman: "Being afraid to assume the yoke
for life I prefer making a short experiment of wedded life."
The bulk of the letters of the Watkins family are addressed to
Louisa Watkins at "Shawnee" in Henry County from her husband,
Peter; her father, George Hairston (d. 1863); and other
relatives. Peter wrote Louisa several times in 1858 from Rome,
Ga., and Taladega, Ala., where he seems to have had plantation
business, discussing the illness and death of his sister Letitia,
the cotton market, money affairs, and his return travel plans.
George Hairston wrote Louisa between 1855 and 1858 from
Hordsville, mentioning internal improvements, banking, and other
issues before the legislature in Richmond (see 29 January 1856)
and Lou's taking care of Letitia's children (see 1 December
1858). Lou also received letters from her nieces Lizzie and Joe
Hairston, her aunt Ann Hairston, and others concerning family
news and housekeeping. Peter Watkins received two letters from
his brother T. H. (probably Thomas), discussing tobacco prices
and family illnesses. He also received a number of miscellaneous
business letters.
Folder 1 1842, 1844, 1846-1849
2 1850-1853
3 1854-1855
4 1856-1858
5 1859-March 1861
Subseries 1.2. Undated Antebellum Letters
28 items.
About half of the undated letters were received by Louisa H.
Watkins from relatives, with the bulk of the remainder addressed
to her cousin George Hairston. Scattered items appear for Peter
Watkins, Lizzie Hairston, and others. The letters focus on
family and neighborhood news, including discussion of illnesses,
weddings, visits, deaths, and gardening. A few business letters
to George Hairston discuss the operation of his mill and his
financial arrangements.
Folder 6
Subseries 1.3. April 1861-1865
About 50 items.
Civil War letters, mostly 1864, exchanged by members and
relatives of the Watkins family at "Horse Pasture" in Henry
County. The bulk of the correspondence is addressed to Louisa
Watkins from her nephew, Orren Wilson Barrow, a company commander
in the 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment, and to her son, Hairston
Watkins, while he served in the Virginia Cavalry and was held
prisoner at Point Lookout, Md. Private Watkins's mother, father,
sister Nannie, cousin Orren, and aunt Louisa R. Smith wrote him
often during his stay at Point Lookout. Scattered correspondence
appears for Nannie Watkins, Peter Watkins, George Hairston, and a
Colonel George Wortham of the North Carolina Brigade's 9th
Regiment.
Orren Barrow's letters, written from near Taylorsville and
Hanover Junction, Va., and from his regiment's headquarters on
the Appomattox and James rivers, are informative and detailed,
describing camp life, troop morale, skirmishes, the treatment of
Confederate prisoners, and news of family members. He frequently
reported on the whereabouts and activities of Hairston Watkins;
Wat Barrow (his brother); and John Armstead, a friend who was
being held prisoner in Elmira, N.Y. Barrow wrote from near
Taylorsville on 22 December 1863 concerning strong abolitionist
sentiment in Henry County, and from "the Trenches" on 26 August
1864 concerning engaging African-American soldiers in battle,
reporting "great indignation felt in the Brigade at the idea of
[N]egro soldiers being any ways near us."
A few letters from Hairston Watkins to his family discuss camp
life near Richmond, visitors to Point Lookout, and relatives held
there, including Hairston Seawell. Letters from home and from
his aunt Louisa Smith of Baltimore give mostly family and
neighborhood news and often express anxiety over his well-being.
Two additional letters appear from soldiers. One, dated 4
February 1862, is from P. F. Shelton of Co. A, 42nd Regiment,
Virginia Volunteers, to his cousin, complaining of how the
volunteers fight while members of the militia stay home. The
other, dated 29 September 1864, is from Wat W. Barrow at
Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond to Louisa Watkins, describing his
injuries, expressing his worries about brother Orren, and giving
news of Hairston Watkins at Point Lookout.
Letters to Nannie Watkins from her cousins Louly and M. S.
Seawell at "The Shelter" appear in 1863 and 1864 and discuss news
of fighting near them, their brother Hairston's capture, and the
enrollment of African-American soldiers by Yankee forces (see 10
February 1864). Of special note is a letter, probably 1863,
describing the explosion of two powder magazines, after which the
writer exclaimed, "The servants were greatly excited and some
people thought Judgement day had surely come."
Scattered letters to Peter Watkins and George Hairston discuss
mostly the war and business affairs. In February 1865, several
items appear for a Colonel George Wortham, including orders and a
letter. H. M. Corbet of Rutherfordton, N.C., wrote to the
colonel on 7 February about his brother William's death and
complaining of the manner in which his body was returned. Orders
Wortham received from Colonel William Hardy concern monthly
reports and troop movements.
Folder 7 April 1861-1863
8 1864
9 1865
Subseries 1.4. 1866-1901
About 40 items.
Chiefly correspondence of George Hairston's widow Elizabeth
("Lizzie," "Sister" and, after she remarried, Mrs. Forney George)
with various members of the Lash and Hairston families and with
her sons William and Samuel. A few items also appear for Louisa
Watkins of Ridgeway, Va.
In the fall of 1876, Elizabeth's father, William A. Lash,
wrote of politics and a "Negro tournament" in Stokes County, N.C.
Letters from Lash at Walnut Cove, N.C., and J. P. Dillard at
Leaksville, N.C., in 1877 and 1878 offer their comments on the
economic distress of their areas, tobacco crop losses, and the
increasing costs of labor. A letter of note is one to Elizabeth
from her brother, Powell (Powie) Lash in Walnut Cove, dated 20
April 1870, in which he discussed their brother's nomination to
the Senate and his opening a new store. Other letters concern
Elizabeth's finances, the settlement of her husband's estate, the
education of her sons, and family news. Letters in 1884 appear
from Elizabeth, now Mrs. George, at Oak Hill, Va., to Samuel
Hairston, who was away at school, giving family and neighborhood
news and advising him to use his time wisely. In November 1884,
she wrote about black voting in the area, the murder trial of a
George Hairston (relationship unknown), and talk of lynching the
latter.
Letters to Louisa Watkins in 1866, 1870, and 1872 are from
Susie B. Bockins of Richmond, Orren W. Barrow in Baltimore, aunt
Harriet in Martinsville, and others. The letters discuss plans
for teaching the Watkins children, news of family and
neighborhood illnesses and weddings, and recipes. Of interest is
a letter written in February 1866 from Martha A. Zenliniger of
Mayo Forge to Louisa, begging her to prevail upon Mr. Watkins to
pay a debt owed the Zenlinigers to prevent their financial ruin.
Scattered letters after 1892 are primarily those of Samuel
Hairston and discuss his business and land affairs and family.
Of interest is an 1896 letter to William Lash from H. R. Semly of
Key West, Fla., concerning the free silver movement and Semly's
request for advice on what to do with gold-based mortgages and
railroad bonds.
Folder 10 1866-1869
11 1870, 1872, 1876-1878
12 1884, 1887, 1889
13 1891-1892, 1896, 1901, and undated
Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers
1779-1919 and undated. About 210 items.
Arrangement: chronological by individual.
Chiefly financial and legal papers of George Hairston and
William Lash, his estate administrator. Papers also appear
pertaining to the landholdings and/or finances of Major Peter
Hairston (1752-1832); Alfred Smith (fl. 1833-1862); Peter Wilson
Watkins (fl. 1851-1865); and Samuel Hairston (1865-1933).
Included are deeds and land surveys, accounts, receipts, wills,
loan notes, land rental agreements, a slave bill of sale, and
slave lists.
Subseries 2.1. Major Peter Hairston
1779-1827 and undated. 8 items.
Deeds for lands owned by Peter Hairston in Surry, Stokes, and
Bladen counties, N.C.
Folder 14
Subseries 2.2. Alfred Smith
1833-1862. 25 items.
Chiefly deeds and surveys for lands owned by Alfred Smith in
Columbus County, N.C. Also appearing are "A List of the
Valuation and Division of the Estate of Henry Boswell, Deceas'd,"
dated 1796, and a certification of receipt of estate shares
signed by Boswell's assignees, dated 1802. Smith purchased land
from Cornelius Boswell, executor of Henry Boswell's estate, in
1843. One slave bill of sale, witnessed by Alfred Smith in 1840,
appears for a slave child sold by Josiah Powell of Columbus
County to Richard L. Byrne.
Folder 15 1833, 1838, 1843, 1847-1848, 1851-1852
16 1862
Subseries 2.3. George Hairston
1844-1865 and undated. 41 items.
Principally receipts of George Hairston with scattered
accounts and other financial items. About half the receipts are
for lawyers fees and the expenses of witnesses in the case of
Robert Hairston and George Hairston vs. Ruth Stovall Hairston et
al., concerning the disposition of lands in Lowndes County,
Miss., which George's step-grandfather, Robert Hairston
(1782-1852), had tried to will to a slave child he had fathered.
The remainder of the receipts are for taxes, tobacco sold, and
dry goods, blacksmith services, and hardware items purchased.
Other individual items include slave lists; an 1855 deed for land
owned by Hairston in Rockingham County, N.C.; a bill of lading;
and a loan note. Slave lists include one for an unidentified
location and one giving names of slaves at Jesse Gileses,
Shelton's Place, and Walker's. This list also contains "A List
of Negroes in Patrick [Co., Va.] Belonging to the Sauratown
Estate." One receipt, dated 21 July 1865, appears for dry goods
purchased by a Mr. Barrow from R. P. Spiers & Co. of Greensboro,
N.C. Papers relating to George Hairston's estate appear in
Series 2.5.
Folder 17
Subseries 2.4. Peter Wilson Watkins
1857-1865. 17 items.
Accounts of Peter Wilson Watkins with Sigmund Putzel; James
Rangeley, Jr.; Redd & Co.; Johnston, Clark & Co.; and John H.
Schoolfield, locations unspecified. There are also accounts with
Richardson & Co. of Richmond. Accounts are for clothing, dry
goods, groceries, stationery, and hardware items. Four Civil War
items are a travel pass (1862) and an order of impressment by the
Confederacy of a mule belonging to Peter Wilson Watkins, and a
furlough and furlough extension granted to Watkins' son, Private
Hairston Watkins, of Co. H, 24th Virginia Calvary Regiment, in
1865.
Folder 18
Subseries 2.5. William Lash
1866-1898 and undated. 95 items.
Estate papers of George Hairston (1822-1866) kept by his
father-in-law and administrator, William Lash, with scattered
items pertaining to Hairston's wife, Anne Elizabeth Hairston
(later Mrs. Forney George); to Hairston's minor sons, William and
Samuel, for whom Lash was guardian; and to Lash himself. The
bulk of the papers are receipts made out to Lash and to Charlie
G. Freeman, the estate's agent, for amounts paid to creditors and
merchants, for property taxes, and for crops produced by freedmen
and other tenants. An undated list of tenants bears many of the
same names as the receipts. A handful of receipts also appear
for Mrs. Anne E. Hairston with Danville and Richmond dry goods
and clothing merchants, grocers, and Dr. James D. Estes.
Accounts for George Hairston's estate are with blacksmith E. Dean
and doctors George P. Dillard and James Estes. Dillard's
accounts are for treatment of slaves during the Civil War period.
"An account of the receipts and disbursements of William A. Lash,
Admr. of George Hairston dec'd" appears in August 1868.
Other items of interest are deeds for land purchased by
William Lash in Stokes County, N.C., in 1871 and 1890; land
rental agreements for the Misher Place Plantation in Pittsylvania
County (1871) and Morgan Plantation in Henry County (1873, 1875,
and 1881); a deed for land purchased by Mrs. A. E. George for her
sons, William and Samuel (1881); and the will of Ruth Stovall
Hairston, George's grandmother, dated 7 April 1866.
Folder 19 1866-1868
20 1869-1873, 1875-1876, 1881, 1887, 1890, 1898,
and undated
Subseries 2.6. Samuel Hairston
1886-1919 and undated. 25 items.
Accounts, receipts, deeds, and miscellaneous papers of Samuel
Hairston (1865-1933), with scattered items of his brother,
William L. Hairston, and mother, Mrs. A. E. George. Accounts and
receipts are mostly for dry goods and hardware items bought from
Danville and Martinsville merchants. Two sheets of accounts
appear in 1891 for the estate of Colonel Forney George. Deeds
are for land Samuel Hairston owned in Columbus County and for
land he sold in Pittsylvania County. Of particular interest is
an abstract from tax lists of properties owned by Samuel Hairston
(1788-1875) and Robert Hairston (1782-1852) in Pittsylvania
County in 1860.
Folder 21
Series 3. Other Papers
1853-1922, 1950 and undated. 29 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Clippings, advertising circulars, programs, poems, grade
reports, invitations, calling cards, and miscellaneous items
collected by members of the Hairston and Watkins families. Most
of the items are from the post-Civil War period. Clippings
chiefly cover the lives and careers of noted political and
military figures, including Jeb Stuart. Advertising circulars
are for Richmond dry goods merchants, grocers, and clothiers, and
for land dealers in Rockbridge County and Gordonsville, Va.
Programs appear for events at Hampden Sidney College, Danville
Female College, and the Episcopal High School, Alexandria,
Virginia. Two handwritten poems are included: one, entitled
"Stonewall Jackson's Way," was written in 1864; and the other is
undated and untitled. Grade reports are for Hairston and Loulie
Watkins in 1859. Also included are a geological description of
Luray Cave by Wat Hairston; a line drawing of Peekskill Military
Academy; and a 1922 railroad pass for Samuel Hairston, director
of the Danville and Western Railway Company.
Folder 22 1853, 1858-1859, 1864, 1873-1874, 1890, 1899, 1922,
1950
23 Undated
Series 4. Pictures
Undated. 2 items.
Two undated, unidentified portraits, probably of the same man.
SHELF LIST
Box 1 (only)
Items separated:
P-4477/1-2