Philip Williams Family Papers

172 WFCHS

Inventory created by Archives Staff 05/1989. Last revised 11/2020.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Collection is open to all researchers.

USE RESTRICTIONS: Restrictions may apply concerning the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a member of the archives staff for information concerning these restrictions. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright.

EXTENT: 2.6 linear feet

DATE: 1802-1942

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Philip Williams Family Papers collection contains personal correspondence of Philip Williams II written from 1817 to 1898. It also contains correspondence to John J. Williams, personal correspondence of Philip Williams III, and miscellaneous papers such as receipts, school papers, and brochures concerning the Williams family. The collection also includes materials concerning several Civil War units.

Some folders of correspondence have been itemized and are listed in tables below.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL:  Philip Williams II was born on Sept. 15, 1802 in Woodstock, VA to Philip Williams I and Sarah Croudson. Williams left school when he was 15 and worked as a deputy clerk for his father who was Clerk of the County of Shenandoah. Later he studied law in Richmond and was admitted to the bar in 1823. Eventually, he became the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Shenandoah County, VA, and in 1831 became its representative in the Virginia House of Delegates. On February 9, 1826, Williams married Anne Maury Hite, daughter of Major Isaac Hite of Belle Grove. They had two children. She died on March 21, 1833. In 1834, Williams moved to Winchester, VA and married Mary Louise Lillis Dunbar, daughter of Dr. Robert Dunbar of Winchester. They had nine children. Williams successfully practiced law as a partner to David W. Barton and was the first president of the Shenandoah Valley Bank. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Philip Williams II died from a stroke on April 2, 1868, in the middle of a trial. He is buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Winchester, VA.

John James Williams was born in 1842 in Winchester, VA to Philip Williams II and Mary Louise L. Dunbar.  He attended the University of Virginia law school and was a student there when the Civil War broke out.  Williams transferred to the Virginia Military Institute and became a member of the Frederick County militia and of the Rockbridge Artillery.  After the war, he returned to legal studies under Judge Richard Parker and began to practice law, first with his father and then in his own practice.  Williams later became Grand Commander of Confederate Veterans of the Department of Virginia.  In 1877, Williams married Emilie Waterman Gray, daughter of Robert W. Gray of Leesburg.  They had three children.  Williams was President of the Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Society, the YMCA, General Counsel of the Shenandoah Valley Bank, and served as Mayor of the City of Winchester. He was serving his fourth term at the time of his death.  John James Williams failed to recover from an operation to remove gallstones and died on October 15, 1899.  He is buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery.

Philip Williams III was born in 1888 in Winchester, VA to John James Williams and Emilie Waterman Gray.  He attended the University of Virginia law school and practiced with Beverly Strauss in Winston-Salem, NC until the outbreak of World War I.  Williams enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps and trained at Kelly Field in Texas.  At the close of the war he opened a successful law office in Winchester and in 1927 was appointed Judge of the 17^th Judicial Circuit containing the City of Winchester and Clarke, Warren, Frederick, and Shenandoah Counties.  He maintained a keen interest in local history and secured the services of historian Frederic Morton to produce The Story of Winchester in Virginia.  Williams married Gladys George of Winston-Salem, NC.  They had three children.  Williams died at the University of Virginia Hospital in the fall of 1942.  He is buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery.

RELATED MATERIAL: Correspondence to Ann Maury Hite Williams can also be found in Hite‑Bowman‑Hall Family Papers, 168 WFCHS.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Quarles, Garland R. Some Worthy Lives. Winchester, VA: Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, 1988.

CITE AS: Philip Williams Family Papers, 172 WFCHS, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, VA, USA.

ACQUISITION INFORMATION: Acquired as a gift.

ORGANIZATION: 

BOX 1 

News articles printed (photocopy), unnumbered

Williams, Philip, 1802-1868, biographical data, 1 leaf, 35 x 21.5 cm. typescript, photocopy

Business and Legal Records, 1849 -1868, 1 volume, manuscript               
Section 1, Invoices from Oct. 1849-March 1950, shows unit costs, purchases from Winchester, VA and Baltimore, MD. Items include books, paper, shoes, hats, dry goods, hardware, candy, chemicals, bulk food stuffs, tobacco, etc.     
Section 2 January 1, 1866 – June 4, 1868 legal suits brought by P. Williams and Son and defended by them.
Section 3  Inventory of household furnishings; possibly an Estate Inventory of “H.M. Brunt/Brown?

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1834-1849, 14 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1852-1860, 9 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1861-1865, 15 items, manuscript (See table below: Correspondence is listed by recipient or greeting, author, date written, and place or origin)

Recipient or Greeting	Author	Date written	Place of origin
WM & Clayton Williams	[unknown]	4/26/1861	Baltimore
Martin	James B. Avirett	3/11/1862	[unknown]
Philip Williams	Sam H. Alexander	9/16/1862	[unknown]
Philip Williams	Margaret Russell	11/18/1862	[unknown] (attached receipt from John H. Kimmel)
My dear Pa	John Mackey Dunbar	4/20/1862	Woodstock, VA
My own dear one	[unknown]	3/24/1863	Winchester, VA
My dear son	Mrs. Philip Williams	4/18/1864	[unknown]
Philip Williams	Philippa Williams	6/26/1864	[unknown]
Mr. Williams	M	9/29/1865	Winchester, VA
My dear Mother	T.C. Williams	6/30/1865	Winchester, VA
My dear Mother	T.C. Williams	8/18/1865	Baltimore
Mrs. Williams	C.W. Andrews	2/18/1865	Shepherdstown
Dear Sister Mary	Philippa Williams	6/25/18--	[unknown]
Dear Mama	Lucy	1/22/18--	Winchester, VA
[unknown]	Philippa Williams	4/18/18--	Winchester, VA

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1866, 28 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1867-1870, 16 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1871-1876, 6 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, 1883-1896, 7 items, manuscript

Correspondence—Philip Williams, undated, 28 items, manuscript, typescript

Reminiscences—Philip Williams, “Candid reminiscences of a Comfortable Life, n.d., typescript published in Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society Journal, v.6, p67-92, 1991.

Reminiscences—Philip Williams, “Candid reminiscences of a Comfortable Life, n.d., manuscript

Correspondence—Ann Hite Williams, 1817-1832, 26 items, manuscript

BOX 2 

Correspondence—John J. Williams, 1855-1860, 20 items, manuscript

Correspondence—John J. Williams, 1861-1865, 11 items, manuscript

Recipient or Greeting	Author	Date written	Place of origin
John	Balmain (?)	2/3/1862	Richmond
John	Balmain	1/1/1862	Richmond
Johnny	T.C.W.	12/16/1863	Orange Court House
Dear Johnny	T.C. Williams	12/--/1863	[unknown]
John	L.B.P.	11/21/1863	Richmond
My dear friend	Hortensia H. Lee	9/6/1865	Clarksburg
My dear John	H.H. Lee	9/19/1865	Clarksburg
John	Hortensia H. Lee	12/7/1865	Clarksburg
[unknown]	Hortensia H. Lee	12/25/1865	Cherry Hill
[unknown]	L.D.P.	10/27/1865	Bleak House
Dear John	L.D.P.	11/27/1865	Bleak House

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1866, 18 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1867‑1869, 12 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1870‑1871, 16 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1872‑1877, 19 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1878‑1879, 9 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, 1880, 1887‑1899, incomplete, 16 items, manuscript

Correspondence ‑ John J. Williams, undated, 32 items, manuscript

Confederate Army Memorabilia, Private John J. Williams, 1864‑1865, 4 items, manuscript, printed, typescript; furlough request to go to Richmond on behalf of his father who was imprisoned in Wheeling.

"Some Modern Instances of a Wise Saw," paper read by John J. Williams, Virginia Bar Association, 1898,1 booklet, printed

BOX 3

John J. Williams’s notebook from Judge Parker's class, 1865‑1866, 1 item, manuscript

John J. Williams’s letterbook, 1902‑1904, 1 item, manuscript

"Out of Chaos," by John J. Williams, 339 leaves, typescript

Fort Frederick booklet, by W. McCulloh Brown, 1 item, 24 pages, printed

One Hundred Fourteenth Regimental Association Annual Reunion brochure, 1898, 11 items, printed

Receipts, 1819‑1837, 6 items, manuscript

"Trial Bibliography of Colonial Virginia, 1754‑1776,” 1 item, 94 pages, printed

Confederate note with poem, by Major Jonas, 1865, 1 item, printed

BOX 4

Eighteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers Reunion Badge, 1895, 1 item, 23 x 6 cm., cloth, celluloid, metal, printed

Cards - Winchester Light Infantry, Capt. Jno. J. Williams, 10 items, print

BOX 5

Correspondence—Philip Williams III, August 1916, 8 items, manuscript

Recipient or Greeting	Author	Date written	Place of origin
Phil Dearest	Gladys George	8/2/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
Phil Dear	Gladys George	8/3/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
My dearest Philip	Gladys George	8/16/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
My dearest Phil	Gladys George	8/17/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
My darling	Gladys George	8/20/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
My dearest	Gladys George	8/21/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
Phil	Gladys George	8/22/1916	Winston-Salem, NC
Philip Williams	Gladys George	8/24/1916	Winston-Salem, NC

Correspondence—Philip Williams III, 1918, 12 items, manuscript

Recipient or Greeting	Author	Date written	Place of origin
Philip Williams	Gladys George	2/1/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
My darling Philip	Emilie Waterman Gray	2/6/1918	Winchester, VA
My dearest Philip	Gladys George	2/10/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
Philip Williams	Gladys George	3/27/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
My sweetest piddie widdy	Gladys George	4/--/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
Philip dearest	Gladys George	[unknown]	Winston-Salem, NC
Philip Williams	Gladys George	5/17/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
Sweetest piddie widdy	Gladys George	6/23/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
My sweetest Philip	Gladys George	7/16/1918	Winston-Salem, NC
My darling baby	Emilie Waterman Gray	8/19/1918	Winchester, VA
Philip Williams	Gladys George	9/20/1918	Winston-Salem, NC

Correspondence—Philip Williams III, 1920-1926, 8 items, manuscript

Recipient or Greeting	Author	Date written	Place of origin
Mrs. Phily Williams	Philip Williams	11/16/1920	Winchester, VA
Mrs. Phily Williams	Philip Williams	11/18/1920	Winchester, VA
My dearest sweetheart	Gladys George Williams	9/29/1922	Dublin, VA
Dearest piddie	Gladys George Williams	10/28/1922	Winston-Salem, VA
Dearest piddie	Gladys George Williams	10/30/1922	Winston-Salem, VA
My dearest	Philip Williams	4/24/1926	Winchester, VA
Dearest	Philip Williams	4/24/1926	Winchester, VA
My dearest	Philip Williams	4/26/1926	Winchester, VA

Ledger—Philip Williams III, Examination marks and notes from the University of Virginia, 1907- 1908, 2 items, manuscript

Ledger—Philip Williams III, Personal Expenses and Disbursements, March 1911-August 1921, 80 items, manuscript

Ledger—Philip Williams III, Financial Audits, 1924-1932, 24 items, manuscript

Correspondence—O.F. Morton, Regarding history of Rockbridge County, August 3 1918, 7 items, manuscript

Miscellaneous—Philip Williams III and family, 5 items, manuscript

OVERSIZE

MAPCASE 3, DRAWER 11

Williams, John - Descriptive list and pay account with photograph of Private John J. Williams, Company E, Eleventh Virginia Cavalry

Williams, John, 1842 – 1899, Portrait

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs and other images belonging to this collection may be accessed online through http://handley.pastperfectonline.com/