Colonial Williamsburg Research Division Web Site

Updated June 2008

New Acquisitions

The items shown below are among the many manuscripts and rare books acquired by Special Collections each year. These manuscripts may be viewed by visiting the Special Collections department of the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library. Complete transcripts and images will soon be accessible online through the Digital Library.

Appraisement of that part of the negroes and personal estate of the late Doctor Pasteur which is in Williamsburg, 26 July 1791 (MS 2007.1)
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  The appraisement contains a listing of individual personal property items, itemized by description and value, as well as the signatures of appraisers Gabriel Maupin, James Wood, and Matt Pearson. Individual slaves are identified and valued by name. One of the slaves, Jemmy, is mentioned in an advertisement Pasteur posted in the Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser on May 20, 1790.
William Howe signed military commission, 1776 (MS 2007.3)
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  British military commission issued in America, signed by Gen. Howe, appointing Richard St. George, Mansergh St George Gent, to the rank of Lieutenant, 52d Regiment of Foot, headquartered in New York.
Letter from Ann Cary Nicholas to Sarah (Sally) Cary Fairfax, 1760 January 16 (MS2007.4)
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  This letter from Mrs. Nicholas of Williamsburg, to her sister in England, contains a variety of Williamsburg social news. Also of interest is mention of a small pox outbreak in London.
Thomas Crowley Letter to Lord Bute, 1766 February 1 (MS 2007.5)
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  The Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765 is the subject of this manuscript letter to an unidentified lord, possibly Lord Bute. The author describes the act, and the colonial response to it, as "the most important affair that has happened in more than half a century within the King's Dominions." He appeals to the lord for help raising "good out of evil." He suggests the colonies be allowed to raise taxes in their own manner. The letter is signed "Amor Patriae" and, based on the signature and address, is assumed to have been written by Thomas Crowley. Crowley used the same signature and address on a later publication.
Letter: Arrival of Rochambeau's army at Newport, RI, 1780 (MS 2007.6)
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  In this letter dating to early July 1780, an unidentified correspondent reports the latest developments in British-occupied New York City. This document provided significant intelligence to Washington's army based in New Jersey. The account reports upon the arrival of Rochambeau and thousands of French troops that would figure prominently in the 1781 siege of Yorktown.
George William Fairfax letters, 1779-1780 (MS 2008.1)
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  The letter shown gives George Nicholas power of attorney over the Virginia estates of George William Fairfax. Another written by Nicholas authorizes Craven Peyton to collect the rents due on Fairfax's land in Fairfax, Fauquier, Culpeper, Berkeley, Frederick, and Loudoun counties.