Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Shipman-Wills Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, 1833-1856, between the Shipman family of Rockingham County, Va. and the Wills family of Fluvanna County, Va. There are letters, 1838-1840, between James C. Shipman while serving in the Virginia House of Delegates and his wife Mary Minor Wills Shipman. Many letters are written by women. The collection includes letters of Jane R. Riordan discussing her going to Richmond to learn the millinery trade and starting in business; letters concerning marriage and courtship; letters describing stagecoach rides as well as a pass, 1839, for a slave to go from Fluvanna County to Rockingham County; and a printed circular, 1870, advising southerners to take advantage of the United States Bankruptcy Act.

See Also: Southern Women and their Families in the 19 th Century Papers and Diaries Series C Reel 9 in Swem Library's microforms area, call number HQ1438 .V5 S68.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Bankruptcy--United States
• Coaching--United States--History--19th century
• Correspondence
• Fluvanna County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Marriage--Virginia
• Millinery--Virginia
• Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
• Rockingham County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Slavery--Virginia--19th century
• Women--History--Virginia
• Women--Virginia--Social life and customs