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Conditions Governing Access:

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Preferred Citation:

William K. Perrin Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

Gift

Biographical Information:

William K. Perrin was the son of John and Elizabeth Carter Perrin. In 1833, he married Mrs. Sarah T. Nicolson, daughter of Ralph Wormeley of Middlesex County, Virginia and widow of George D. Nicolson. (Their children were Robert W., George Lewellyn, Andrew T. and James Monroe Nicolson.) The children of William K. Perrin and Sarah T. Nicolson were William Kennon Perrin (1834-1904) and John Tayloe Perrin (b. 1836).

Wyndham Kemp was married to Ann L. Perrin, a daughter of William K. Perrin. She was deceased by 1854. Their children were Perrin Kemp, Wyndham Kemp and Emily Kemp who married Peyton N. Page.

Scope and Contents

Business letters, 1833-1839, to Major William K. Perrin and 1855, 1860, to his son-in-law Wyndham Kemp, both of Gloucester County, Virginia from Perrin's step-son Robert W. Nicolson in Uniontown, Perry County, Alabama, about the management of a cotton plantation. Letters mention purchasing land, growing and selling cotton, and the management of the enslaved, legal and banking matters and uprising of the Creek Indians. Papers, 1800-1855 and undated, relating to the hiring out and management of enslaved persons in Gloucester County, Virginia by William K. Perrin. Legal papers, 1723-1895 and undated, include indentures, agreements, and lists of debts of William K. Perrin, George D. Nicolson, Sarah T. Nicolson, and descendants of William K. Perrin. Also accounts and receipts, 1806-1902, and undated.

Arrangement of Materials:

Organization: This collection is organized into 4 Series. Series 1 contains business papers; Series 2 contains legal papers; Series 3 contains accounts and receipts; Series 4 contains miscellaneous material. Arrangement: This collection is arranged into series which are then arranged chronologically by date.

Related Material

There are five collections that relate to the William K. Perrin Papers and are located at Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

John T. Perrin Papers, 1770-1931. 11 boxes. Collection number: Mss. 65 P42

Perrin Family Bibles Collection, ca. 1740-1938. 3 items. Collection number: Mss. 93 P42

Eleanor W. Perrin Diaries  Mss. 96 P42.

James Monroe Nicolson Manuscript Volumes, 1853-1870. 4 items. Collection number: Mss. 76 N52

James Monroe Nicolson Account Books and Papers, 1802-1852. 38 items. Collection number: Mss. 93 N52

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• Creek Indians
• Financial records
• Gloucester County (Va.)--History--18th century
• Gloucester County (Va.)--History--19th century
• Indentures
• Indians of North America--Virginia
• Legal documents
• Merchants--Virginia--History--18th century
• Merchants--Virginia--History--19th century
• Perrin family
• Plantation life
• Plantations
• Slavery--Virginia--18th century
• Slavery--Virginia--19th century
• Virginia--Cotton Farms--19th century

General

Other Information:

Additional information may be found at http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/wm/viw00056.frame