Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Manuscripts and Rare Books Librarian, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library. 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.

Acquisition Information:

The Charles Washington Coleman, Sr. papers were donated over a period of time by his daughter-in-law, Mary Haldane Begg Coleman, granddaughter, Janet Kimbrough, and great-granddaughter, Cynthia Barlowe.

Processing Information:

Processed by Kimberly Sims, University Archivist, June 2015.

Administrative History:

Charles Washington Coleman, Sr., Williamsburg physician and long-time member of Bruton Parish Church, was born to Thomas and Frances C. Coleman in 1826.  He married Cynthia Beverley Tucker Washington in 1861 and served in the 3rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War.  Together, he and Cynthia had six children, though only 4 survived into adulthood: Charles, Jr., George, Elizabeth, and Beverley.  Coleman died in 1894 and is buried alongside his wife in the Bruton Parish Churchyard.

Scope and Contents

The collection is arranged into three series and includes correspondence, receipts, insurance documents, and photographs.  Series 1 contains correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically by the surname of the sender. Series 2 contains financial papers and largely includes bills and receipts for the estate of Coleman's father, Thomas.  Series 3 contains general subject/miscellaneous files and covers topics such as the Shelton-Laurel Massacre, Coleman's friend Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, and papers related to the Confederacy. Some items of note include a letter written to Coleman by a colleague which describes a severe case of frostbite suffered by a Coleman family slave named Ben, as well as a letter written to Coleman by another family slave named Ann, and other items related to slavery. The collection also includes a list of wounded Confederate soldiers left at the Baptist Church Hospital after the Battle of Williamsburg.

Related Material

Tucker-Coleman Papers (Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library)

Cynthia Beverley Tucker Washington Coleman Papers (Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library)

Charles Washington Coleman, Jr. Papers (Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library)

Phi Beta Kappa Records of John Lesslie Hall and Charles Washington Coleman (Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library)

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Coleman family
• Shelton Laurel Valley (N.C.)--Massacre, 1863
• Slavery--United States--History--19th century
• United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
• Williamsburg (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865