By Sarah Osorio
Collection Overview
Title: Seawell, Edwards, and Wilson Families Papers, 1815-1817, 1833-1874
ID: 001/01/MSS 0000-117
Creator: Wilson, Benjamin Franklin (1834-1909)
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Arrangement: Arranged in original order. Oversized materials and loose items have been separated by record type.
Date Acquired: 04/06/2004
Languages: English [eng]
Scope and Contents of the Materials
One volume originally used as a ledger between 1815 and 1817 listing names of individuals followed by account information of sundries. It appears the volume was then used by several individuals, primarily in 1842, and includes autographs, poetry, and various miscellaneous lines, many of which are written upside down in the ledger. Prominent surnames listed inside the volume include Seawell, Edwards, Wilson, Tyler, Page, Hogg, Carter, Howard, Jones, Hairston, and Claiborne. Geographic areas identified focus primarily on Gloucester, Norfolk, and Richmond, Virginia. The middle of the volume appears to have sewn pages written by Sarah Wilson and Benjamin Franklin Wilson II in 1844 at Fairmount School House. Repeated names throughout the volume include Maria Louisa Seawell, Virginia Edwards, Benjamin Franklin Wilson, Albert Sterling Edwards, John Boswell Seawell, Jane Rebecca Seawell, and Watt Washington Contesse Seawell.
Biographical Note
Benjamin Franklin Wilson was born on December 9, 1834 in Adams County, Pennsylvania. He married Maria Frances Edwards on June 6, 1865 in Surry, Virginia. Wilson married Maria Mildred "Maud" Seawell on October 18, 1876 in Gloucester, Virginia. He moved to the Norfolk, Virginia area around 1869-1870 and spent many years as a trucker in Norfolk County. He died on May 26, 1909 and was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
Use Restrictions:
The status of copyright for these materials is governed by Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. C.). Copyright restrictions may apply.
Acquisition Source:
N. G. Wilson III by donation
Preferred Citation:
Seawell, Edwards, and Wilson Families Papers, MSS 0000-117, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia.
Processing Information:
Processed March 22, 2018.
Box and Folder Listing
- Box 1: Ledger/Notebook, 1815-1844
- Item 1: Book, Seawell, Edwards, and Wilson Families Papers, 1815-1844
- Box 2: Loose Materials, circa 1815-1880s
- These materials were found loose within the pages of the ledger/notebook. Folders 6 and 7 are oversized materials.
- Folder 1: Correspondence, 1874, undated
- Several letters primarily sent from family members to Maria Louisa Seawell Edwards.
- Folder 2: Davis and Wilson's Chestnut Farm Accounts, 1860-1861, 1865
- Folder 3: Writings of Benjamin Franklin Wilson and Sarah Wilson, 1844-1855, undated
- Folder 4: Torn and cut pages, circa 1815-1850
- Folder 5: Printed Materials, circa 1880s
- Primarily advertisements from Wilson, Burns & Co.; L. Tudor & Co., Proprietors; Johnson, Wilson & Co., Publishers; and Norfolk Light-Artillery Blues.
- Folder 6: Newspaper, The Daily Richmond Enquirer, 1861 September 24
- Volume 34, Number 201. Richmond, Virginia. Located in Map Drawer 15.
- Folder 7: Map, Richardsons New Map of the State of Texas Including Part of Mexico, 1859
- Compiled from Government Surveys and Other Authentic Documents. Published by Charles Desilver, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Located in Map Drawer 16.