(VIRGINIA) Papers of the Maury family of Virginia

Sale 2324 - Lot 338

Price Realized: $ 18,750

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Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

(VIRGINIA.) Papers of the Maury family of Virginia. Approximately 275 items (1.5 linear feet), including 73 letters to James Maury, 1816 and 1831-39; 190 to Ann Maury, 1834-53; a first edition of cousin Matthew Fontaine Maury's Physical Geography of the Seas, and other papers. Various sizes and conditions, most letters in strong condition with philatelic covers. More than half of the letters are accompanied by modern typed or manuscript transcripts. Vp, bulk 1831-47

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James Maury (1746-1840) came from a distinguished Virginia family; his father had been Thomas Jefferson's teacher. Maury was a merchant until 1790, when he was named United States Consul to Liverpool, an important trading destination. Maury served there for almost 40 years, retiring to Virginia in 1829. His correspondence is dated after his retirement, but includes numerous letters from his sons Matthew and Rutson Maury, who remained active in the Liverpool trade.
Consul Maury's daughter Ann Maury (1803-1876) was author of Memoirs of a Huguenot Family (1838). She divided her time between New York and Fredericksburg, VA. Among her regular correspondents was Ellen Mordecai, of one of Richmond's prominent Jewish families. As an active genealogist, Maury also corresponded with numerous cousins, including young Dabney H. Maury (1822-1900), later a Confederate Major General. Dabney wrote in 1841, shortly after graduating from the University of Virginia. He discusses at length the recent murder of faculty member John Anthony Gardiner Davis in a student riot: "Mr. Davis' office was near my dormitory and I was among the first at the spot. He was just being carried into the house when I came over." Davis had been groaning on the ground for some time, but nearby students thought the sounds were a prank.
A handful of letters are addressed to James Maury's sons, including one 1842 letter from cousin Butler Maury of the USS Constellation in Canton, China, discussing the abuse of the American flag there and an incident where the Chinese fired upon an American boat. This letter suffers from separations along the folds. with--36 letters to various unrelated correspondents, most in original postmarked covers, circa 1802-50, presumably collected for philatelic interest.