Dates: 2024

Collection Number: MS 726

Physical Location: Archive Room File Cabinet

Extent: 1 folder.

Creators/Collectors: Dickens, Michael.

Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.

User Restrictions: No restrictions.

Preferred Citation: Letters Via Hardin's Tavern: 19th Century Slavery in Albemarle and Botetourt Counties, the Gilmer-Breckinridge Correspondence, MS 726, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information: Gift of Michael Dickens, September 2024.

Biographical/Historical Information: The Gilmer and Breckinridge families were prominent enslavers and landholders in Albemarle and Botetourt Counties, Virginia. The families retained their connections despite the geographic distance between the two counties after the 1830 marriage of Emma Walker Gilmer and Cary Breckinridge. The written records of the family document 248 enslaved individuals residing on the various family plantations; Pen Park, Leigh, Farmington, and Ivy Creek in Albemarle County, and Catawba and Grove Hill in Botetourt County.

Scope and Content: This essay details the people enslaved by the Gilmer and Breckinridge families. Included is a name index with biographical facts of those enslaved.

Family Names:

  • Breckinridge family.
  • Gilmer family.

Subjects:

  • Plantation life--Virginia--History--19th century
  • Enslaved persons--Virginia--Albemarle County
  • Enslaved persons--Virginia--Botetourt County
  • Slavery--Virginia--Albemarle County
  • Slavery--Virginia--Botetourt County

Geographical Names:

  • Albemarle County (Va.)
  • Botetourt County (Va.)

Record Types: Reports.