Collection contains a diary, 1858 July 1-1864 May 31, of John Armistead Selden of "Westover," Charles City County, Va., that provides extensive details of weather conditions, the cultivation of wheat and corn, the arrivals and departures of family and friends, activities of slaves and hired hands, and monies paid out for the purchases of goods and services and the payment of taxes and tithes. From January until April 1860 Selden records his movement and expenses during a trip to visit his son Joseph in Union Town, Ala., with visits to Charleston, S.C., Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La., along the way. In 1861 he describes the rising tensions as the Civil War commences, and in in 1862 he moves a significant portion of his slaves and livestock to Amelia Springs to protect them from the encroaching armies embroiled in the Peninsula Campaign. Returning to "Westover" in September 1862, he finds it in ruins, with the majority of his slaves having run away to follow the Union army. The collection also includes an account book, 1811-1862, concerning, in part, the sale of personal property of the estate of Selden's father Miles Cary Selden (1777-1814) and the purchase of "Westover"; and loose accounts, 1829-1862, concerning bonds and Miles Cary Selden's estate. Also present are an architectural drawing of an ice house, lists of Selden's African American slaves, and recipes for glue, whitewash, mending chinaware, and tanning leather.
