This collection consists of the Wyllie, Allen and Noble Family Papers (1808-1893) of Danville, Virginia. The Wyllie family group is divided into three distinct sections. These sections consist of personal correspondence, land records and financial records.
Personal correspondence of the Wyllie family begins in 1825 when George Wyllie writes his brother Allan from Liverpool, England. He includes comments on the people, their life style and the condition of their city. There are several letters from George to Allan regarding their Grandfather John Holcombe's Revolutionary War pension. (Proof of his military service is located in the Allen Family Papers within this collection.) Letters in this section contain references to pork, corn and wheat prices around Gallatin, Tennessee (1853-1855, 1856); railraod and stage coach transportation between Richmond and Nashville (1853,1855); and educational possibilities in Danville, Virginia during the 1850's.Other comments concern the practice of hiring out enslaved persons and problems of forcibly transporting them from one section of the country to another *The Hiring-out system allowed a hirer to temporarily lease an enslaved person from an enslaver, generating revenue for the enslaver through the labor of the enslaved people completing the work.*; Virginia newspapers in the 1850's; and epidemics of typhoid fever in Gallatin, Tennessee in 1855 and 1856. Also of interest are commentaries on Lincoln's pursuance of the Civil War and how the South will fight back (April 27, 1861); "Stonewall" Jackson's appointment as General (June 2, 1862); additional comments on "Old Stonewall" (June 19, 1862); and comments on ladies' fashions in New England (June 1, 1866).
Land records (1822-1881) of the Wyllie family consist primarily of deeds held by Allan L. Wyllie in Danville and surrounding Campbell County, Virginia. The children of Allan and Frances Noble Wyllie, John Noble Wyllie and Frances Payne Wyllie inherited this property and thus some of the latter deeds relate to their holdings. Several survey maps of the Danville area are included in this section.
The third section contains financial records primarily of Allan L. Wyllie and his son John Noble Wyllie from 1808 to 1893. The bulk of material consists of inventories, bills of sale, Confederate bonds and insurance policies.
The second group of papers relate to business matters of the Allen family from 1811 to 1853. This material consists of land records and estates papers of James and Elizabeth Allen with Allan L. Wyllie as executor. Of particular interest in this group of papers is the documented proof of Captain John Holcombe's service in the Revolutionary War.
The third group of papers consists of land records and financial records of the Noble family from 1816 to 1878. These papers primarily relate to the estates of John Noble and his daughters Frances, wife of Allan L. Wyllie and Sallie, wife of William E. Shepherd. Of specific interest is a certificate (September, 1855) entitling John Noble to 80 acres of land in return for his military service in the War of 1812.
Gift of Mrs. Kate LePine
Processed by E. Oliver, June 1976
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Descriptions updated by Ashlyn Racine, May 2023
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.