Education & Teaching: Resources in Special Collections

Papers of William Henry DeBell, teacher in Staunton, Va. and Fairfax County, Va.; and deputy superintendent of schools in San Francisco, Calif., 1914-1931. Includes congratulatory letters and testimonials upon his retirement in 1931.

Letters, primarily 1867-1880, written to Thomas Taylor of "Woodlawn," Goochland Co., Va., from his daughter Sarah C. (Taylor) Hatcher and son-in-law David A. Hatcher of Missouri. The letters concern family business and reflect financial difficulties. Includes reports and correspondence, 1877- 1888, of Taylor who served as the clerk of the First School District in Goochland County. Includes letter from Hugh Davis Ragland, superintendent, Goochland County free public schools, at Hadensville,Va., to A. V. Taylor, March 6, 1888.

Collection includes papers, 1656-1848, concerning Essex County, Va. including land records and wills, many of which relate to the Rowzee family. Many of the records date from the seventeenth century. The collection also includes correspondence, 1830-1920, of members of the Baird family including letters, 1859-1911, of Edward R. Baird while attending the University of Virginia, serving in Pickett's Division and as superintendent of schools in Essex County. There are also letters of William Baird while attending the University of Virginia and business correspondence of the family with publishers and with cigar manufacturers.

Papers, 1765 (1800-1890) 1939, of the Austin, Twyman, Spiller and Horsley families of Amherst and Buckingham counties, Va. The papers include correspondence, accounts, legal papers and manuscript volumes. Includes papers of Archibald Austin (1772-1837), member of Congress, 1817-1819, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1815-1816, 1835-1837, his wife, Grace R. (Booker) Austin and their children, James M. Austin, John Austin and Bernard Austin, Grace Austin and Frances (Austin) Wright. Papers include correspondence of Archibald Austin's son-in-law, Doctor Iverson Lewis Twyman (1810-1864) who married first, Mary Lavinia Horsley and second, Martha E. Austin. His correspondence concerns enslavement, farm management, the study and practice of medicine and the education of his children whose letters are also part of the collection.

Letter, 6 Sept[ember] 1860, written by Francis H. Smith, to Ja[me]s T. Ames, concerning Armory, "model musket," and swords; and letter, 7 March 1888, concerning his resignation as superintendent of Virginia Military Institute in 1886 which was withdrawn and an investigation into his period of service by the Virginia General Assembly.

Diary, undated, of Olive Baldwin of Honolulu, Hawaii. Baldwin was the wife of Charles Baldwin, principal of Kaahumanu School. She describes her social life and life at the school.

Correspondence, diaries, and papers of Thompson Hoadley Landon (1830-1917) and his son Thomas Durland Landon (1865-1934). Several of the papers and correspondence relate to the Bordentown Military Institute of Bordentown, New Jersey of which both Thompson and Thomas were part of the senior administration for several years. Thompson Landon became the principal of the newly established Bordentown Military Institute in Bordentown, NJ. Thompson's son, Thomas Durland Landon, served as the commandant of the Bordentown Military Institute.