http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c83r1029 Online items available R. A. Brock Collection and Papers: Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Manuscripts Staff (1932, November); re-keyed by Brooke M. Black (2013, January) and encoded by Diann Benti in September 2017. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © 2013 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. R. A. Brock Collection and Papers: mssBR Boxes 1-397 1 Finding Aid Overview of the Collection Title: R. A. Brock Collection Dates (inclusive): 1582-1914 Bulk dates: 1800-1900 Collection Number: mssBR Boxes 1-397 Creator: Brock, R. A. (Robert Alonzo), 1839-1914. Extent: Approximately 50,700 pieces in 397 boxes and approx. 700 bound volumes Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2129 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: This collection consists of papers and manuscripts chiefly related to the history of Virginia, which were collected by historian R. A. Brock (1839-1914), as well as his own private and official correspondence. The materials cover a period from 1582-1914 and include papers of prominent Virginia families, business firms and businessmen, religious and fraternal organizations, government offices and departments, politicians, statesmen, and administrators. Language: English. Access Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services. Publication Rights The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item]. R. A. Brock Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Provenance Purchased from Elizabeth Brock, through the agency of Robert O. Schad, 1922. Cataloger's Notes Some BR numbers were skipped and some of the volumes are actually housed in the BR Boxes and map cases. See also individual Summary Reports for Daniel Family and Fairfax Family. At the beginning of the Brock section of the chronological file (of the manuscripts catalog) there are collection cards for each sub-collection within the Brock Collection. These often given more information about the individual groupings than will be found in the Summary Reports or finding aid. A group of unidentified photographs presumably from the Brock Collection were transferred from the Rare Book Department to the Manuscripts Department in November 1973. They are located in Box 397, marked “Brock Collection-Unidentified Photographs.” Physical description of collection: • Originals or copies: the contemporary material is largely original, but there are a great many 19th century copies scattered through. • Condition of the manuscripts: the early papers are in a very fragile condition, and almost all the bindings are broken and worn. Many repairs are needed. Microfilm copy A microfilm copy of the collection is held by: The Library of Virginia (800 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000) http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ Biographical Note Robert Alonzo Brock (1839-1914), historian, antiquarian, and collector, was born in Richmond, Virginia. He left school at thirteen and entered his uncles’ business; on the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the 21st Virginia Regiment, and later was transferred to a hospital unit with which he served for the duration of the war. R. A. Brock Collection and Papers: mssBR Boxes 1-397 2 Finding Aid He is best known for his valuable contribution in the editing of source materials for Virginia history, as well as for his activities as corresponding secretary of the Virginia Historical Society (1875-1893), and secretary of the Southern Historical Society (1887-1914). In the field of manuscripts alone, Brock accumulated some 50,000 pieces having to do with Virginia and the South. The collection consists of many groups of family papers, business and legal material, Civil War correspondence and documents, land papers, religious and fraternal society records, literary manuscripts, scattered county records, and quantities of miscellaneous Virginiana, nondescript as well as rare, together with his own voluminous correspondence. Scope and Content This collection consists of papers and manuscripts chiefly related to the history of Virginia, which were collected by historian R. A. Brock (1839-1914). The materials cover a period from 1582-1914, although the main bulk of the manuscripts come between 1780 and 1900 Brock's collection of papers and manuscripts relating to political, military, economic, religious, social, and genealogical history of the state of Virginia. Included are papers of prominent Virginia families, business firms and businessmen, religious and fraternal organizations, government offices and departments, politicians, statesmen, and administrators. The large group of individual items described by a misnomer Miscellaneous File and Miscellaneous Manuscripts apparently constituted the core of Mr. Brock's collection. Most materials concern history of Virginia, with items relating to other Southern States, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, etc. Brock's own voluminous private and official correspondence, and papers of the Virginia Historical Society and the Southern Historical Society. The volumes are mostly: • Account books, including a copy of George Washington’s ledger • Letter books • Diaries • Orderly books • Sermons • Parish records, including the original Mannakin Town register The single letters and documents are of all types – personal, commercial and political. They have been divided into sub-collections wherever there were enough papers of one individual, one family, or one institution, to justify such division. These sub-collections include about 25,000 manuscripts. Correspondence of Mr. Brock and other officers of the Virginia Historical Society, amounting to at least 15,000 pieces, has been arranged in a rough chronological order. A group of several hundred pieces of literary material is sorted alphabetically. The rest of the manuscripts have been arranged chronologically in a miscellaneous file of about 7,000 to 8,000 pieces. Subject matter consists of: A. The Land 1. Northern Neck Proprietary: 1721-1776 a. Rent rolls for the following counties: Berkeley (3 pieces); Culpepper (3 pieces); Dunmore (3 pieces); Fairfax (5 pieces); Fauquier (3 pieces); Frederick (4 pieces); King George (3 pieces); Lancaster (4 pieces); Loudoun (3 pieces); Northumberland (3 pieces); Prince William (11 pieces); Richmond (12 pieces); Stafford (6 pieces); Westmoreland (3 pieces) b. Survey warrants issued by Robert Carter, 1722-1730; William Fairfax, 1739-1752; Thomas Bryan Martin, 1760-1761 c. Correspondence of the Fairfax family 2. Other counties: grants, deeds, of sale, etc. 3. Virginia land office a. Survey warrants issued for bounty lands b. Correspondence of William Price, register of the land office B. Government and civil authority 1. State, county, and U.S. district court records 2. Board of trade 3. Treasury C. Military affairs 1. Board of war R. A. Brock Collection and Papers: mssBR Boxes 1-397 3 Finding Aid a. Scattered official papers b. Correspondence of William Davies, commissioner of the War office 2. Virginia regiments: orderly books, returns, lists, accounts, pay-rolls, muster rolls, etc. D. Business firms represented by 20 or more pieces (before 1800): Donald & Burton & James Brown (20 pieces); Freeland & Gillies (25 pieces); John Cunliffe (58 pieces); John Norton & Sons (225 pieces); Micajah Crew (150 pieces); Mutual Assurance Society (44 pieces); Robson & Harford (30 pieces); Williams Cuninghame & Company (100 pieces); William Prentiss & Company (20 pieces) E. Virginia families represented by 20 or more pieces (before 1800): Fairfax (100 pieces); Harrison (41 pieces); Lee (30 pieces); Pleasants (104 pieces); Randolph (27 pieces); Scott (Charles & Daniel) (20 pieces) F. Society of Friends: records and correspondence G. Freemasons (Virginia Grand Lodge): records and correspondence Some notable items include: • Virginia. Council. Patent (with seal) to Richard Kempe for 840 acres of land called “The Meadows.” 1638/9, Mar. 4. • Byrd, William II. Notebook containing drafts of addresses, petitions, etc., representative of Byrd’s activities in London while agent for the colony of Virginia, 1697-1702. • -----. Journal, in shorthand, 1709-1712. • -----. Secret history of the Dividing Line, 1726-1729. • -----. Description of the Dismal Swamp, and proposals for draining the swamp, 1729. • “Registre Contenant le Baptesme qui se sont fait Dans L’Eglise Des francois Refugiée a Mennekintown,” 1721-1754. The Mannakin Town Register. • Virginia. Proprietors Office. To George Washington: Warrants to survey certain lands. (27 pieces, mostly signed by George William Fairfax; nearly all endorsed by Washington, and many in his handwriting), 1749-1752. • Rose, Robert. Diary of Reverend Robert Rose, 1746-1751. (Note: this manuscript is a copy made ca. 1850; the original was destroyed by fire in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War). • “Dinwiddianae; or, Select Poems