Summerfield Smith autograph album
Content Description
This collection contains the autograph album of Summerfield Smith (1836-1864), compiled while he was a student at the University of Virginia. Smith collected fifty-eight autographs of peers and professors at the University between 1856 and 1858. The red leather-bound autograph book contains entries that list a student’s name, the date of entry, their location, where they lived away from the University, the “session” (i.e. 1857-58), and a personal note to Summerfield (referred to as “Summerfield”, “S”, or “Smith” throughout). Inscriptions include well-wishes for careers and family life, references to jokes between Summerfield and his friends, and descriptions of student life at the University of Virginia in the middle nineteenth century. Some entries did not include personal notes. Alongside the autographs of five men is their date of death during the Civil War, written in pencil.
Dates
- Creation: 1856 - 1858
Creator
- Smith, Summerfield, 1836-1864 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is minimally processed and open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.
Biographical / Historical Description
Born in Leesburg, Virginia, on August 6, 1836, Smith enrolled at the University of Virginia in the 1855-1856 session and graduated in 1858. Smith enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. He served in the 1st Regiment, Confederate Engineer Troops, Company I, and rose to the rank of Captain in 1863. Almost a year after his appointment as Captain, in early 1864, Smith was taken to the University of Virginia Hospital, where he died of typhoid fever on March 2, 1864. He was interred at the University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium.
Extent
0.03 Cubic Feet (One letter-sized file folder)
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
This collection was a gift from James Wayman to the Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia on 2 December 2024.
Cultural context
Genre / Form
Geographic
Temporal
- Title
- Guide to the Summerfield Smith autograph album
- Author
- Eric Willersdorf, Student Accessioning Archivist Assistant
- Date
- 6 March 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
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