Agriculture]]> Local/Regional History and Appalachian South]]> Slavery--United States]]> Edmiston, Robert]]> See the finding aid for the Robert Edmiston Inventory.]]> 1815]]> https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/]]> Ms1988-077]]> Account books]]> Civil War]]> Slavery--United States]]> Wood, Lewis]]> See the finding aid for the Lewis Wood Letters]]> 1862-02-16]]> Letters]]> Civil War]]> Virginia--History]]> Slavery--United States]]> African American history]]>
According to his obituary, he learned to read and write in secret. Based on his diary, he was the body servant of A[lexander]. P. Grice, likely the son of his owner, who served with Company A, Cohoon's Battalion, Virginia Infantry, at least during a part of 1862. In 1866, after being freed, Wilson enlisted and went to Europe with the U.S. Navy. When he returned home, he lived in the house he inherited from his mother. Wilson worked at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, as a laborer, and as a bailiff for the Federal Court at Norfolk. In his later years, from 1924 until his death in 1929, he wrote a column called "Colored Notes" for The Portsmouth Star. The column included social news, Wilson's political views, and issues of race relations--all themes that occur throughout his diaries. Wilson was active in the Emmanuel AME Church in Portsmouth, where he taught Sunday school. In June of 1929, Wilson was hit by a car. He died at his son's home, two months later, on August 25, 1929.

Entries for the 1913 diary were kept in a Wanamaker's Diary (produced by the department store chain) actually designed for 1911. As a result, Wilson has hand-corrected the days of the week throughout to reflect 1913. The diary includes advertisements, as well as a history of the Wanamaker stores.

In addition to the entries recorded (two to a page), throughout the year, Wilson attached additional pages to continue writing. Many of these consists of reminiscences of his life in previous years on topics from the Civil War, his service in the U. S. Navy, segregation and race issues in Portsmouth and Norfolk, and local news. He also writes of daily events: his family's health, church events, the weather, and his frequent concerns about money. ]]>
available online. ]]> Wilson, Jeffrey Thomas, 1843-1929]]> See the Finding Aid for Jeffrey T. Wilson Diaries]]> 1913]]> Permission to publish material from the Jeffrey Thomas Wilson Diary must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.]]> ]]> Diaries]]> Memoirs]]> ]]> Special Collections, University Libraries, Virginia Tech]]>
Montgomery County (Va.)]]> Local/Regional History and Appalachian South]]> Slavery--United States]]> Barnett, James]]> See the Finding Aid for the James Barnett Inventory]]> Special Collections, University Libraries, Virginia Tech]]> 1811]]> Permission to publish material from the James Barnett Inventory must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.]]>