Papers of the Massie Family of Virginia
Scope and Contents
The Massie family papers contain letters, 1858-1859, from E.B. Massie at the Brookland School, Greenwood Depot, Albemarle County, Va., to his mother, Mrs. E. F. Massie. He requests items; and mentions examinations, the acceptance of Christianity by boys at the school, a visit by Launcelot Blackford, and his election as president of the Piedmont Literary Society; and sends news of classmates and principal William Dinwiddie.
John Livingston Massie, a student at the University of Virginia, writes to Mrs. E. F. Massie about exams, the marriage of John Barbee Minor and the death of C.C. Lewis from typhoid fever. With these is a grade report signed by Socrates Maupin.
The papers also contain a letter, 1859, from Charles M. Massie describing attempts to establish a business in New Orleans; and a letter, September 9, 1862, N.H. Massie to his sister on the death of her husband at Manassas, and several cases of scarlet fever among white and colored children in Charlottesville, Va.
A letter, 1857, from the Western Lunatic Asylum in Waynesboro, reports on the imminent death of a patient.
Other letters convey family news; explain how to can tomatoes; and discuss religion and salvation. A 1905 form letter from Fishburne and Son, Waynesboro, describes varieties of seed for sale.
Dates
- Creation: 1850-1905
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection, which were created between 1850-1905, are in the public domain. Permission to publish or reproduce is not required.
Biographical / Historical
The Massie Family was a Virginia family. The family was established in Nelson County, Virginia by Revolutionary War officer, plantation owner, and enslaver Thomas Massie (1747-1834).
Full Extent
31 items (1 folder housed within 1 document box)
Language of Materials
English
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license. The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library of the University of Virginia makes its bibliographic records and the metadata contained therein available for public use under the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Designation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession #11485, purchased 21 March 1999, C. Venable Minor Endowment Fund, 1998/1999.
Cultural context
- Religious awakening -- Christianity -- United States -- History -- 19th century
- Religious awakening--Christianity
Geographic
- Albemarle County (Va.) -- History -- 19th Century
- Brookland School (Greenwood Depot, VA.)
- Charlottesville (Va.) -- History -- 19th Century
- Louisiana -- New Orleans
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives, Confederate
- Waynesboro (Va.) -- History
Topical
- African Americans -- Virginia
- Canning and preserving--History--19th century
- Massey family
- Piedmont Literary Society
- Private schools--Virginia
- Scarlatina
- Scarlatina -- Virginia -- Charlottesville
- Teenagers -- Religious life -- Personal narratives
- Tomatoes -- Preservation -- History -- 19th century
- University of Virginia--Students
- Western State Hospital (Va.)
- Title
- Papers of the Massie Family of Virginia
- Author
- Anastasia Scholze-Wang
- Date
- 4 June 2026
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2026-06: Collection-level metadata transferred from library catalog to ArchivesSpace and item level inventory created by Anastasia Scholze-Wang.
Repository Details
Part of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library Repository
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
P.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22904-4110 United States