Somerville family papers

The Somerville family papers (1821-2013) consists of correspondence, photographs, printed materials, and extensive genealogical files. The papers and research detailing the history of the Somerville family, mainly in America, range from its colonial background to contemporary times. The extensive genealogical research is comprised of notes and charts, along with correspondence, photographs, military records, personal notes, clippings, and printed materials. The collection also includes records detailing financial history of family assets, including wills, estates, and records of the sale of enslaved laborers and land. Scattered throughout the collection are photographs, negatives, and daguerreotypes of many Somerville family members, as well as some sheet music, and artifacts. Part of the collection also details the backgrounds of other families genealogically related to the Somervilles, such as the Stringfellow and Nottingham families.

The collection contains a Civil War memoir of Fletcher Harris Archer, Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate Army and Mayor of Petersburg, Va. Also present are notes and documents about Archer's service during the Mexican-American War, possibly for a memoir that was never completed. The collection also includes letters of Atwell W. Somerville while a student and cadet at Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina. Other topics include, Atwell Somerville’s studies, athletic events, and church services and work. Of note is a letter of 1940 November 12 in which Somerville mentions he has had a recurrence of malaria. Of interest are letters of Atwell W. Somerville during his service in World War II as a member of the 90th bomber squadron (a.k.a. "The Jolly Rogers") in the South Pacific. There is also a ledger (1830s) from a store at Racoon Ford, near the Culpeper and Orange counties border.

References:

Somerville, James. The Baronial House of Somerville: An Abridged and Condensed Narrative of the Principal Branches of the Ancient Family. Glasgow: Maclehose, Jackson and Co., 1920.

McGhan, Judith, comp. Genealogies of Virginia Families: from Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine. Baltimore: Clearfield Company, 2007.

“Somerville, Atwell.” The Daily Progress, 27 Feb. 2014, https://www.dailyprogress.com/orangenews/obituaries/somerville-atwell/article_da96d574-9202-5dac-b5f5-422dc47206dc.html.