Virden family papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0489

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The Virden family papers, spanning the years 1783-1901, consist of thirty-six letters, receipts, deeds, accounts, and other documents, mostly relating to the family of Samuel Virden of Kent County. Although the papers do not provide a well-rounded portrait of the Virden family, some of the estate papers, receipts, and letters can provide a rough estimation of Samuel Virden's business and financial dealings when considered together.

Some of the most noteworthy documents in the collection, however, have a historical significance discrete from the Virden family. These include an anonymous Revolutionary War era account book of household earnings and expenditures; several expressive letters written by the young Virden sisters and their friends between 1840-1862; an 1864 letter to John W. Hall detailing Civil War hostilities near City Point, Virginia; Edwin Virden's 1865 letter regarding life in post-Civil War Jackson, Mississippi; and a letter to Peter Lowber Smock Virden regarding Delaware politics during the free silver controversy of 1896.

The collection came to the University of Delaware in 1963 from Mrs. Samuel Sloan, a descendant of Samuel Virden through Blanche Virden Brown. Several items in this collection bear no obvious relation to the Virden family, and may have been grouped with the collection after its donation. Records indicate that the Virden family papers originally consisted of just twenty items, dating from 1820-1866.

Dates

Creation: 1783-1901
Creation: Majority of material found within 1820s-1860s

Creator

Virden family (Family)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Biographical / Historical

This collection relates to the Virden (or Virdin) family of Delaware, specifically Samuel Virden (1793-1876) of Kent County and his descendants, including Edwin Virden, Sarah Elizabeth Virden Hall, and her husband John W. Hall, Jr. The Brown family, connected by marriage to the Virdens, is also represented.

Samuel Virden's great-grandfather, John Virdin (d. 1769), was among the earliest Virdens in Delaware. Samuel was born on June 21, 1793, the only child of Peter Lowber Virden and Elizabeth (Lowber) Virden. His first wife was Anne McKimmey Smock Virden (1797-1841), with whom he had eleven children. The family lived near Frederica on a farm called Lexington Mills, and later moved to a home on David Street in Frederica. In October 1842, ten months after Anne's death, Samuel married Eliza Anne Warren (d. 1878). He died in July of 1876 and was buried in a family cemetery at Lexington Mills.

Samuel's children and their spouses also figure prominently in this collection, particularly John W. Hall, Jr., the husband of Samuel's daughter, Sarah Elizabeth ("Lizzie"). John W. Hall, Jr., son of Delaware governor John Wood Hall (1817-1892, served as governor 1879-1883), became a successful businessman after taking over his father's mercantile firm in 1867. Records from the Hall family's shipping firm can be found among the collections of the University of Delaware Library (MSS 116).

The Brown family also appears in this collection. Samuel Virden's granddaughter, Blanche Virden, married Dr. Thomas A. Brown, and perhaps this is the source of the Brown family material. Their daughter was the renowned Delaware artist Ethel Penniwell Brown Leach, whose niece, Mrs. Samuel Sloan, donated this collection to the University.

Donald Odell Virden,The Virdens of Delaware and Related Families. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1991. "Hon. John Wood Hall," in Historical and Biographical Encyclopedia of Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Aldine Publishing and Engraving Company, 1882.

Virden family

Selected Virden Family Genealogy

Samuel Virden and Anne McKimmey Smock had the eleven children listed below.

I. Samuel Virden (1793–1876) m.1 Anne McKimmey Smock (1797-1841)
Samuel Virden (1793–1876) m.2 Eliza Anne Warren (d. 1878)
I.A. McKimmey Smock Virden (1818-1849)
I.B. Peter Lowber Smock Virden (b. 1818) m. Emma Closey (The couple had five children, including Blanche Virden, listed below.)
I.B.1. Blanche Virden m. Dr. Thomas Brown. (The couple had three children, including Delaware artist Ethel Penniwell Brown Leach.)
C. Elizabeth Lowber Virden (1820-1823)
D. Luiza Morris Virden (1823-1823)
E. Edwin Virden (1823-1899)
F. Anna Smock Virden (1824-1892) m. George Sullivan
G. Ruth Anna Virden (1826-1916) m. Alexander Virden (cousin)
H. Samuel Virden (1829-1902)
I. Sarah Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Virden (b. 1833) m. John W. Hall, Jr. (son of the Delaware Governor)
J. James Alexander Virden (1836-1837)
K. Adaline Lowber Virden (1838-1838)

Extent

.33 linear foot (1 box)

1 oversize removal

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection relates to the Virden (or Virdin) family of Delaware, specifically Samuel Virden (1793-1876) of Kent County and his descendants. Samuel's children and their spouses also figure prominently in this collection. The Virden family papers, spanning the years 1783-1901, consist of thirty-six letters, receipts, deeds, accounts, and other documents.

Arrangement

The materials in the collection are organized in chronological order.

Source

Gift of Mrs. Samuel M. Sloan, 1963.

Existence and Location of Copies

A digital copy of material in this collection is available at the University of Delaware Digital Institutional Repository.

Related Materials in this Repository

MSS 0116, John Wood Hall shipping papers: Business papers of Delaware governor and lumber merchant John Wood Hall and his son, John Wood Hall, Jr. John W. Hall, Jr. married Sarah Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Virden in 1877. Like the Virden family papers, this collection came to the University in 1963 from Mrs. Samuel Sloan.