The collection consists of letters of the children of Grief Barksdale (1774-1850), merchant and planter of Rough Creek, Charlotte County, Virginia, including Charlotte (1813-1886), Claiborne (1820-1883), Nancy (1829-1904), and Susan (1832- 1863). One letter form an unnamed correspondent includes a statement from C. R. Barksdale to Joseph B. Friend concerning the sale of tobacco for Friend, which was negotiated by C. R. Barksdale and Co. Additional materials include business and personal correspondence of Charlotte's husband, Samuel Hannah (1796-1859), of Charleston, Kanawha County; Charlotte County; and Lynchburg. Topics include business conditions and interests, especially relating to tobacco and cotton; slave hiring in Richmond, 1827; schooling of the Barksdale children; and conditions in Arkansas, 1870. Two letters from Hannah's agent in Liverpool, England, 1828-1829, concern British import duties.
