Checklist of documents in the Watts Collection at the
Historical Society of Western Virginia, Roanoke, Virginia. To consult these documents,
go to http://www.vahistorymuseum.org/ and move the cursor to the “Virtual
Museum” tile at the top. Then click “Virtual Collections” on the menu that
appears. The documents can be found by a keyword search, or by catalog number
using “Click and Search”. Some or all of the documents described here may not
yet be available online, but all may be consulted on site.
This set of documents is relatively coherent
chronologically, but reflects the diversity of William Watts’s activities. The
group begins with 4 documents from 1847, the first of which accompanied the
last letter in the previous group, and the other three of which relate to
Fleming James and his long-standing affairs. The next item, 1998.26.455, in
fact contains 20 documents, all of them brief account statements from local
sheriffs, relating to law cases handled by the Wattses in the 1840s. The next
item, 1998.26.456, is an account statement prepared by Edward Watts regarding
the administration of the estate of his father, William Watts, who died in
1797. The remaining 19 items are letters from almost as many different writers,
involving legal business like giving and taking depositions; family business,
like the sale of James Breckinridge’s lots in Washington, DC; the opening a
branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia in Salem, of which William Watts was
president; William Watts’s absence during the fall for the Virginia
Constitutional Convention of 1850-51; and requests from recommendations and
advice.
doc #
date
abstract
1998.26.451
August 30, 1847
Copy of an account
statement of the debts of James McClanahan to Harrison Carter France and Edmund
Thomas Starling of $198 and $74.51 respectively, sent by William Watts to James
Moss Smith with 1998.26.450
1998.26.452
October 12, 1847
Letter from Fleming
James, in Richmond, Virginia, to William Watts, in Big Lick, Roanoke County,
Virginia, explaining that he has delayed his trip to Roanoke County to
accommodate Landon Cabell Read, but will depart soon and be at Stoner’s Store
in six days; asking Watts to collect debts from Captain Nelmes and Abraham
Carney, and have his account of charges against James ready to be settled;
giving news of Alice Matilda Watts
1998.26.453
December 7, 1847
Letter from Fleming
James, in Richmond, Virginia, to William Watts, in Big Lick, Roanoke County,
Virginia, lamenting the lack of a letter from Watts for the past month and
asking for news about rents owed by William C. Langhorne and William McDermid;
also sending news of William’s sisters Alice Watts and Ann Selden (Watts)
Holcombe, Thomas Philemon Holcombe and William J. Holcombe, called Willie,
saying that the Holcombes have gone to Charleston, South Carolina
1998.26.454
August 24, 1847
Account statement
from Jeremiah Kyle Pitzer, deputy sheriff of Roanoke County of the claims of David Gish, James Howell and
others against Fleming James and William McDermid, showing an initial debt of
$197.36, with interest, costs, and commissions bringing the total to $270.17,
and credits for payments by to Hiram Haydon, by McDermid, and by William Watts
to Gish leaving $70.19 due to Howell
1998.26.455
1842-1848
Twenty account
statements from sheriffs and clerks of courts in Bedford, Franklin, and Roanoke
Counties, for charges related to executions of court orders in the 1840s, all
presumably involving William Watts as lawyer although he is not always
mentioned. Names of the court officers include Green B. Board, Moses Greer Carper, M. Davis, John Hook
Griffin, Frederick Johnston, James Kyle, Nathaniel J. Manson, Armistead Otey,
Jeremiah Kyle Pitzer, John R. Steptoe, and Caleb Tate. Names of parties include
Nathaniel Burwell, Thomas Saunders Gholson, William Gish, William R. Jones,
James McClanahan, William S. Minor, Maclin S. Stith, Samuel Stoner, John W.
Thompson, Thomas S. Walton, John E. Watkins, Hugh A. Watt, John F. J. White,
Joseph Wilson, and the firms Eskridge and Holcombe, Gaynor Wood and Company,
and Peck White and Company.
1998.26.456
about 1849
Account statement of
the estate of William Watts, prepared by Edward Watts, showing amounts paid and
due to himself and to his sisters, Anna Maria (Watts) Gwathmey, Mary (Watts)
Morris, Martha Watts, Alice (Watts) Saunders, Elizabeth (Watts) Brown, or to
their heirs and representatives; among the latter, Robert Carter Gwathmey,
William Watts Gwathmey, and P. B. Winston are mentioned by name.
Assets
receivd on account of land 3078.
deduct
for commissions _153.90
subject to distribution 2924.10
Having
no interests in this fund each share one fifth is 584.82
of
the above R. C. and W. W. Gwathmey have receivd in advance 980. excess 395.18
The
heirs of Mrs Morris through P. B. Winston 480.
def 104.82
Mrs
Brown has recd 550.
def 34.82
To
be paid to the committee of Martha Watts 584.82
To
be settled with F. Saunders on account of his land _584.82
3179.64
deduct excess to Gwathmeys _395.18
2784.46
add deficiency to Mrs M. & Mrs
B. _139.64
2924.10
This
account, presumably prepared by Edward Watts to be copied and circulated to the
other heirs, must have been prepared in early 1849, soon after the death on 26
December 1848 of Temple Gwathmey, whose two surviving sons – Robert Carter
Gwathmey and William Watts Gwathmey – are listed among the heirs. William Watts
died 20 December 1797, leaving six children: one son, Edward; and five
daughters: Elizabeth (c.
1781-1843), married Preston W. Brown; Martha (1783-1853), never married; Mary (1784-1835),
married Richard Morris; Alice (c. 1793-1867), married Fleming Saunders; and Anna Maria (1794-1819),
married Temple Gwathmey.
1998.26.457
April 18, 1850
Letter from H. G.
Richardson, in Farmville, Virginia, to William Watts and Edward Watts Saunders,
at Big Lick, Virginia, stating that he will pay a bond within the next three months
1998.26.458
September 25, 1850
Letter from Gustavus
Adolphus Wingfield in Liberty (Bedford), Virginia, to Edward Watts, in Big Lick
(Roanoke), Virginia, making arrangements to take a deposition from Watts and
providing a letter for him to communicate to William Madison Peyton, who was a
party to the suit
1998.26.459
September 25, 1850
Letter from Gustavus
Adolphus Wingfield in Liberty (Bedford), Virginia, to Edward Watts, in Big Lick
(Roanoke), Virginia, explaining why his client Matthew Pate wishes to obtain a
deposition from Watts in the case of Peyton and Bailey, claiming under McClure,
versus Pate, regarding a marshal’s sale of land in Big Lick belonging to John
Pate and Edmund Pate in 1826, in which both Watts and James Breckinridge played
a part; the letter is extremely deferential, and asks Watts as a personal favor
to find it convenient to attend the taking of the deposition at Neal’s Tavern
at the Lick on October 3
1998.26.460
October 12, 1850
Letter from Abraham
Hupp, in Salem, Virginia, to William Watts, in Richmond, Virginia, informing
him that he has been appointed to represent the Light Infantry Grays at a
convention in Richmond, and asking him to attend
Salem Va Oct 12th 1850
Dear Sir, Our company the “Light Infantry Grays”
at the Sept muster appointed you among other members to attend a volunteer
convention to be held in Richmond I believe the 17th inst. Believing that you
have not been informed of the fact, and that none of the other members
appointed will attend, I take the liberty of writing to you, and at the same
time insist on your representing us in that convention, and go for anything
that will be of interest to volunteer companies.
Abraham Hupp (1826-1864)
ran a tin shop in Salem, VA; he organized the first volunteer military company
in Roanoke County, Virginia, in the early 1840s, “The Yellow Jackets”; after it
disbanded, he organized the “Salem Light Infantry Grays”, which disbanded after
a few years. Following John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, he organized
the “Salem Flying Artillery” which fought throughout the Civil War. Hupp
himself became ill in 1862 and had to return home, where he died of cancer.
1998.26.461
October 26, 1850
Letter from William
Richard Galt, in Norfolk, Virginia, to William Watts, in Richmond, Virginia, at
the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850, asking permission to use his
name as a reference in a prospectus for a new school in Buchanan, Virginia; he
cites his own references as William Willoughby Sharp, president of the Exchange
Bank of Virginia in Norfolk; Jordan Anthony, who forwarded Sharp’s letter to
Watts; and Tazewell Taylor, a Norfolk delegate to the convention. He also
invokes a slight acquaintance with Watts when they were students at the
University of Virginia around 1840, mentioning that he has recommendations from
the faculty there
Dear Sir, I take the liberty of addressing
you on a subject of much importance to myself, and in which you can be of
essential service to me. About two months since I was in the town of Buchanan,
Botetourt Co. endeavoring to ascertain what prospects there were of my
succeeding in opening a male boarding-school there.
William
Richard Galt (1818-1892) was a noted educator. He came from a distinguished
family, originally from Williamsburg, Virginia. Watts’s favorable answer to
this letter, dated 31 October 1850, is in the Galt family papers in the special
collections of the library at William and Mary University, along with copies of
the recommendations from faculty and numerous other letters from individuals
agreeing to serve as references. He published a
prospectus for the “Mountain Home School”, and was living in Botetourt County,
Virginia, at the 1860 census, so that one can assume that this project came to
fruition. After 1860, however, the census located him in Norfolk, Virginia,
where he became head of the Norfolk Academy.
1998.26.462
October 28, 1850
Letter from William
G. Peck, at Big Lick (Roanoke), Virginia, to William Watts, in Richmond,
Virginia, giving news on the state of his farm under Walker’s supervision, on
his father Edward Watts’s hunting trip to Greasy Creek, on the deer killed by
Colonel Oliver, A. White and John Lewis, on preparations for a wedding at
Colonel Peyton’s; wishing Watts and his new wife happiness and asking for news
about the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850
1998.26.463
October 28, 1850
Letter from Philip
J. Ellicott, in Baltimore, Maryland, to William Watts, in Big Lick, Roanoke
County, Virginia (forwarded to Richmond, Virginia), asking about progress in an
effort to recover a debt from Oliver, who failed to appear in court in
Washington in a case in which Ellicott had stood as his security
1998.26.464
November 4, 1850
Circular letter from
William Willoughby Sharp, president of the Exchange Bank of Virginia, at
Norfolk, Virginia, to William Watts, George W. Shanks, Powell A. Huff, Abram
Hupp, Charles L. Snyder, Robert Craig, and George Plater Tayloe, directors of
the branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia at Salem, Virginia, stating that
the stock subscription for the Salem branch of the bank has been fulfilled, and
giving instructions for putting the branch into operation
Messrs Wm Watts, Geo. W. Shanks, Powell A.
Huff, Abram Hupp, Chs L. Snyder, Robert Craig, & G. P. Tayloe, Directors
Br. Exch. Bank Va at Salem
Gentlemen, The amount of stock subscribed
here and at other points, together with the subscriptions reported by you on
the 4th ulto being nearly equal to your proposed capital, it is proper that
arrangements be made, without further delay, to put your Branch into operation.
William
Willoughby Sharp (1801-1871) lived in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was head of
the Exchange Bank of Virginia. It was organized in 1837 and had branches in
Richmond and Lynchburg. William Watts served as the first president of the
newly organized Salem branch of the bank, which was authorized by an act of the
General Assembly of Virginia on 15 March 1849. The other addressees of the
letter, who were directors of the bank, were among the leading businessmen of
the region: George W. Shanks (1809-1876) was a merchant; Powell A. Huff owned a
hat factory; Abram Hupp (1826-1864) ran a tin shop; Charles L. Snyder (c.
1815-1863) was a tanner and farmer; Robert Craig (1792-1852) was a planter and
had served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the U. S. House of
Representatives; George Plater Tayloe (1804-1897) was a major landowner and
businessman.
1998.26.465
November 12, 1850
Letter from Morris
and Brother, booksellers, signed by A. Morris, in Richmond, Virginia, to
William Watts, in Big Lick, Roanoke County, Virginia, informing him that the
$10 note on the Bank of Virginia with which he paid for two copies of Hugh
Alfred Garland’s The Life of John
Randolph of Roanoke, for himself and for James Philemon Holcombe, was a
counterfeit, and giving details about the appearance of the note and the way in
which the forgery was discovered
1998.26.466
November 15, 1850
Letter from John T.
Anderson, in Fincastle, Virginia, to William Watts, at Oaklands, in Roanoke
County, Virginia, saying that he has $2450 to pay off a bond on James Shanks,
which he had hoped to give Watts when he passed through Fincastle returning
from Richmond, but now knows that Watts returned by Lynchburg and so he
proposes to bring or send the money to Salem, Virginia; also expresses a wish
to change the date of the case of Francis vs White in Roanoke County Court
1998.26.467
November 29, 1850
Letter from Walter
S. Leon to Cary Breckinridge, in Fincastle, Virginia, repeating an offer from
Mr Corcoran to buy lots
1998.26.468
December 6, 1850
Letter from William
Ransom Johnson Jr, in Petersburg, Virginia, to William Watts, in Big Lick,
Roanoke County, Virginia, expressing satisfaction that Watts has sold a slave
mother and child and adding his confirmation to the sale; also congratulating
Watts on recent honors
1998.26.469
December 10, 1850
Letter from Jordan
Anthony, at the Bank of Virginia in Buchanan, Virginia, to William Watts,
presumably at home in Big Lick, Roanoke County, Virginia, transferring his
money to the new Exchange Bank of Virginia branch in Salem, Virginia
Dear Sir, I have received your favor of the
9th instant. There is a balance of $1053.30 standing to the credit of your
account on the Books of this Office. I am happy to hear you have been placed at
the head of the Banking institution to be put in operation in Salem. We must
when necessary confer with each other and harmonize.
Jordan
Anthony (1788-after 1866) was a cashier at the Bank of Virginia branch at
Buchanan, Virginia; his niece Julia Anthony Breckinridge married Peachy Gilmer
Breckinridge, an attorney and a cousin of William Watts. In the 1860 census,
Julia and her husband were living in her uncle’s household.
1998.26.470
December 13, 1850
Letter from Green
James, in Fincastle, Virginia, to William Watts, in Big Lick (Roanoke),
Virginia, asking him for a letter of introduction to assist in his application
to obtain the advertising of the United States mail routes in Virginia for his
newspaper, the Valley Whig; he explains that he does not know the Postmaster
General Nathan Kelsey Hall or any other member of the Cabinet, but knows that
Watts is acquainted with Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart, Secretary of the
Interior; he notes further that General Augustus Alexandria Chapman gained the
contract for the Fincastle Democrat under the previous presidency, and hopes
that the current administration (under Millard Fillmore) will be favorable to a
Whig editor
1998.26.471
December 14, 1850
Letter from John
Thomas Anderson, in Fincastle, Virginia, to William Watts, in Salem, Roanoke
County, Virginia, asking Watts to attend, on behalf of client Noah S. Brown, to
the taking of depositions from Roberts and Ballard by Alfred Terrell Dillard;
Anderson thinks both deponents are interested in the outcome of the suit and
therefore incompetent to give testimony; he also says that he will leave for
Richmond on January 2, 1851, traveling by way of Lynchburg, and hopes to have
Watts’s company
1998.26.472
December 13, 1850
Letter from William
Coleman Campbell, in Salem, Virginia, to William Watts, in Big Lick (Roanoke),
Virginia, requesting a letter of recommendation from Watts in support of his
application to the Virginia Military Institute, on which he has sought advice
from John William Tayloe, Madison Pitzer, and Benjamin Harrison Smith
Mr Wm Watts
Dear Sir, In accordance with your suggestion,
I wrote to Mr J. W. Tayloe of the V. M. I. in relation to the appointment of
State Cadets, and recei[ve]d an answer on the 10th inst stating, that there was
a vacancy in this Gen[era]l District, and advising me to send on my
recommendations immediately.
William
Coleman Campbell (1832-1873) was a Salem, Virginia, native; he graduated from
V.M.I. in the class of 1855, never married, made his career in mining and
writing for newspapers. He died in
Salt Lake City, Utah. John William Tayloe (1831-1904) was born in Big Lick
(Roanoke). He entered V.M.I. in 1849 as a member of the class of 1852, but
resigned in 1851. He moved to Alabama, where he enlisted as an officer in the
Confederate army in 1861. After the war, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where
he died. Further information on both men may be found in the online archives of V.M.I.
1998.26.473
December 16, 1850
Letter from Kent,
Kendall & Atwater, in Richmond, Virginia, to William Watts, presumably at
home in Big Lick (Roanoke), Virginia, discussing options for recovering a debt
from George Callaway Langhorne, for which Tayloe has proposed notes from Samuel
P. Holt which he, Tayloe, will endorse, this arrangement being contingent on
the sale of property by Langhorne to Holt; otherwise Watts is to have the
execution against Langhorne levied; Rass will carry the letter to Watts, and
consult with him about Langhorne, and about a debt of Edmund Penn White
1998.26.474
December 19, 1850
Letter from William
Langhorne, at Cloverdale, Virginia, to William Watts, at home (at Oaklands,
Roanoke County, Virginia), asking to be excused from attending a taking of
depositions at Bedford County Court because of his rheumatism, and giving
advice about points on which to question others who may attend, mentioning his son George Callaway
Langhorne and brothers Maurice Langhorne and Henry Scarsbrook Langhorne, Mr
Tompkins, Mr Otey, Mr Radford, and Dad Hanes
1998.26.475
December 24, 1850
Letter from William
Willoughby Sharp, in Norfolk, Virginia, to William Watts, in Salem, Roanoke
County, Virginia, informing him that John Benjamin Irwin Logan has resigned as
cashier of the planned Salem branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia, and
suggesting Robert McCandlish as a replacement; mentioning also the problem of
any delay because the stock has already been issued
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