Colonial Williamsburg Research Division Web Site

Special Collections, Finding Aids and Indexes

Manuscript Collections Guide
This includes detailed inventories and descriptions of all processed manuscript items owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and housed at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library.
Robert Anderson Papers
The Robert Anderson Papers contain the business, political, and legal papers; business and personal correspondence; and daybooks and ledgers for the varied interests and ventures of Robert Anderson (1781-1859), a Williamsburg and Yorktown merchant, Whig politician, agent for the Mutual Assurance Society and the Aetna Insurance Company, director of the James City Steamboat Company, and holder of extensive real estate in Williamsburg and Yorktown.
Major-Marable Papers
The Major-Marable Papers contain plantation, business and personal papers (1703-1929) of the Major and Marable families of Charles City and Sussex Counties (Virginia). The papers document the economic life of planters and merchants in colonial, post-revolutionary and antebellum Virginia. Subjects include plantation management and overseers; estate administration; litigation over delinquent accounts; family medicine; school tuition; tobacco and corn crops; shoe making; management, sale and ownership of slaves; and runaway slaves.
John Norton and Sons Papers
The John Norton and Sons Papers include letters, bills, accounts, receipts, and bills of lading of this mercantile firm. The majority of the letters were written to John Norton (1719-1777), of London, or his son, John Hatley Norton (1745-1797), the firm's representative in Yorktown, Virginia, during the period 1766-1798.
Robinson Papers
The Robinson Papers, 1684-1915 includes original seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century manuscripts, official documents, sketches, and photographs, as well as copies of original letters and documents relating to Charles W. Robinson and his ancestors. His ancestor, Christopher Robinson arrived in Virginia, from England, in approximately 1668 and built a plantation, Hewick. The bulk of the material relates to Charles W. Robinson's efforts to trace and register his family pedigree with London's Herald's College.
Shirley Plantation Collection
The Shirley Plantation Collection includes an inventory and descriptions of the plantation and family papers (1650-1989) of the Carter family of Shirley Plantation located on the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Included are 16,000 items, 93 volumes, 1,400 photographs, and 1,000 books. The original documents are on deposit with Colonial Williamsburg.
Photocopied Manuscript Collections Guide
This includes listings and inventories of all processed photocopies housed at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library. Not all original manuscripts used for these photocopies belong to Colonial Williamsburg.
Transcript Collections Guide
This includes listings and inventories of all processed transcripts housed at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library. Not all original manuscripts used for these transcriptions are owned by Colonial Williamsburg.
Microforms Short Title/Subject Catalog
This provides title and subject access to a portion (as of 1996) of the processed microfilm and microfiche collections owned by Colonial Williamsburg and housed at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library with the exception of the Virginia Colonial Records Project microfilm. Not all original manuscripts filmed belong to Colonial Williamsburg.