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:

Alexander Brown Papers (II), Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

1,434 items purchased from Alfred Mongin, Brooklyn, New York, 10/1962.

Biographical Information:

Born at Glenwood, Nelson County, Virginia, Alexander Brown was deafened while serving in the Confederate Army in the explosion of a powder-boat near Fort Fisher, N.C. He married Caroline Augusta Cabell and after her death, Sarah Randolph Cabell. He was the author of The Genesis of the United States, The First Republic in America, The Cabells and Their Kin and other works.

Scope and Contents

Papers of Alexander Brown relating to the writings of his books, including notes, transcripts, drafts and correspondence with publisher Houghton, Mifflin & Co. and with members of his family requesting genealogical information.

Collection includes letters of Benson J. Lossing concerning his "Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution"; and "Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812"; and part of an agreement between the Mexican government and American capitalists drafted in the autumn of 1865 by Lew Wallace.

Alexander Brown made a "List of Early Settlers", that is often cited on the internet and in reports.  It is filed in Box 5, Folder 99.  The Alexander Brown list of early settlers appears to be a key that Alexander Brown made to some sources that he was using in the late 19th century. The current location of many of these sources is unknown. Some of the records were public, some may have been documents that he owned or to which he had access at that time. 

The document has value because it may provide a researcher with a clue to use in genealogy research but will need to do their own investigation into extant records.

Related Material

See also Alexander Brown Papers (I) and Cabell-Brown Letters, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Authors, American--19th century
• Correspondence
• Genealogy
• Manuscripts (document genre)
• Mexico--History--19th century