Series 5. Personal Ephemera

The Barrow and Davey collection contains over 500 family letters about early twentieth century life in Brunswick County, Virginia (1902-1977),(3 document boxes, 1.5 cubic feet) and family records including military records of Dr. Bernard Barrow (1874-1954), who served in World War I (1917-1918); business receipts, prohibition permits, scrapbooks and other personal ephemera.

The Barrow family were plantation owners and had the social position and influence of the extended family that had flourished within Brunswick County, Virginia, which has its borders on Virginia and North Carolina and has more in common with rural areas in the Deep South. As such they owned enslaved persons, although further research is needed to identify specific African Americans that were enslaved and lived in houses on the Barrow property.

Topics include African Americans, Indigenous children (child named Eddie King), World War I, Smallpox, agriculture, moonshine, politics (Harry S. Truman and Republican Administration, and labor and transportation strikes) and brief mention of alcohol abuse and divorce. Many of these topics are in the family letters of Sallie Barrow where she shared news with her daughter Sarah Barrow Davey. Sarah Barrow married Philip Davey and his letters are included in the collection.

The famly letters contain some descriptions of indigenous persons and many descriptions of African Americans. There is language involving racism. The purpose of this note is to give users the opportunity to decide whether they need or want to view these materials, or at least, to mentally or emotionally prepare themselves to view the materials.