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Galt Family Papers(1847–1941)

  • MS 1978.3
  • Microfilm: M-1585
  • 50 items

Miscellaneous papers relating to the Galt family, especially Dr. John Minson Galt II (1819–1862), superintendent of Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, VA, and his sister, Sarah Maria Galt (1822–1880). Includes personal letters, architectural notes and rough sketches, newspaper clippings, genealogical information, and other miscellany. Contains information on Eastern State Hospital; attitudes toward the mentally ill; Williamsburg, VA, and its inhabitants; the disruptions of the Civil War; the Galt family; and the sculptor Alexander Galt.

Names appearing in the collection include John Minson Galt II, Sarah Maria Galt, Alexander Galt, Lucy B. Saunders, Mary McCabe, and Margaret M. Raum.


Inventory

Date Description
Folder 1
n.d. Drawing of Egyptian mummy given to Massachusetts General Hospital and its description by Dr. Warren taken from Norfolk Beacon.
n.d. General Laws of Motion.
n.d. List of items sent to the Eastern State Asylum by Sally M. [Sarah Maria] Galt. Includes marble bust of Dr. Galt and 28 pictures.
n.d. Memo. Definitions.
n.d. Memo. King David as seen through the Psalms, taken from Hazlitt.
n.d. Richmond Medical Journal. Obituary of John M. Galt, M.D, 1862.
n.d. Letter to Alice re Lissie’s illness, Carter Randolph mentioned.
Folder 2
29 January 1847 Letter. G. Grimes, Williamsburg, to Dr. John M. Galt, Williamsburg, re good work of Eastern Asylum and Dr. Galt in caring for those afflicted with insanity.
11 May [1865] Letter. L[ucy] B. Saunders, Chatham, to Sally, Williamsburg, re Saunders’ return to “old home” in Williamsburg following the War. Family news.
6 July 1865 Letter. Mary McCabe, Anne Arundel Co., MD, to Cousin Sally, Williamsburg, re family news, fear of childbearing, business disruptions of war, irregularity of mails to Williamsburg.
24 September 1865 Letter. Margaret M. Raum, Charlestown, West Virginia, to Miss Sallie Galt re condition of her sister, a patient in the Asylum. Family news.
September 1941 Reprint: P.G. Hamlin, M.D., “Dr. John Minson Galt and the Williamsburg Asylum.” Virginia Medical Monthly, 68, pp. 502–509.
Folder 3 (18 pieces)
n.d. Architectural notes and sketches evidently re plans for asylum additions. Memo for Mr. Barziza.
Folder 4 (14 items)
n.d. Galt family genealogical information for 1769–1836, from Galt Bible.
Folder 5
n.d. Miscellany from the Galt Family Bible. 6 items and other fragments.
Folder 6 (9 pieces)
1875 Newspaper clippings. Includes: Courier-Journal, August 23, 1875, “Virginia’s First Capital: Some Historical Reminiscences of Williamsburg …” Also references to Alexander Galt, sculptor.