Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, 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.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source: Purchase--Gloucester County Friends of the Museum

Processing Information

This collection was previously known as the Thomas Calhoun Walker Manuscript. The title was changed to the Thomas Calhoun Walker Autobiography to more accurately reflect the content of material, 2020 June.

Scope and Contents

Typed carbon copy autobiography of Lawyer Walker of Gloucester, entitled "Lawyer Walker of Gloucester (as told to two Northern friends)." There is a dedication page to Walker's wife. Carbon version used for the autobiography "The Honey-Pod Tree: The Life Story of Thomas Calhoun Walker," which was published in 1958. Includes a photograph and sheet music for "De Ole Sheep Done Know de Road." As a lawyer, he defended many African Americans in Gloucester County, Virginia, and eventually served as the Administrator and Consultant in Negro Affairs for the New Deal's Emergency Relief Administration in the 1930s. 350 pages.

Related Material

"The honey-pod tree : the life story of Thomas Calhoun Walker," Swem Special Collections Research Center, Rare Books: E185.97.W133 A3.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans -- Virginia
• African Americans--Education--Virginia
• African Americans--Virginia--Gloucester County
• Autobiographies
• Education--Virginia--Gloucester County--History
• Gloucester County (Va.)--History--20th century
• Lawyers--Virginia--Gloucester County