Manuscripts
The mission of the Manuscripts area of Special Collections is to provide primary source material for the College of William and Mary faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and visiting scholars and researchers. Information about finding materials is available here.
The Manuscripts Collections are primarily focused on Virginia history from the 17th to the 21st centuries. They include the papers of many famous alumni and individuals who have shaped the course of Virginia and the nation. Among them are:
- Virginia Family Papers including the Blows, the Galts, the Taliaferros, the Tylers, the Blairs, the Robbs, the Carters, and the Armisteads
- The Tucker - Coleman Collection
- Local History and Genealogy Collections including the Williamsburg Historic Records Association and the Tyree Collection
- Distinguished Alumni Papers that include those of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Marshall, and John Tyler
- Twentieth Century Political Papers including those of Governor Mills E. Godwin and Governor and Congressman William Munford Tuck
- Business Papers including 18th and 19th century account books
- Sheet Music from the late 18th, 19th and 20th centuries
- Newspapers numbering over 750 titles mainly Virginian
- Maps including the famed "Frenchman's Map" of Williamsburg in 1782
- Artifacts
- Military Papers including those of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and colonial Colonel Leven Powell of Loudon County