Finding Aid to the James Peter Williams (1844-1893) Papers

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
JAMES PETER WILLIAMS (1844-1893) PAPERS
The collection includes letters written to James Peter WILLIAMS, who was
superintendent for the James River and Kanawha Canal in Lynchburg, Virginia. Also
included is a contract for repairs on Daniels Island and a timetable (1881) for the
Richmond and Allegheny Railroad.

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JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24501
(434) 846-0501
JAMES PETER WILLIAMS (1844-1893)
James Peter WILLIAMS, son of Thomas J. WILLIAMS and Mary S. LEIGH, was
born 28 January 1844, at Mt. Laurel, Halifax County, Virginia. By 1860, he had moved
with his family to Hanover County, where his father was physician and farmer.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, J. Peter WILLIAMS enlisted 21 April 1861, in
Richmond, Virginia, as a private in 1st Company, Richmond Howitzers. He was
transferred on 30 June 1862 to the Chesapeake Artillery, under the command of Capt.
William D. BROWN. He served in that unit until the Battle of Gettysburg, when he was
transferred to 2nd Company, Richmond Howitzers. According to his service record, he
was captured 14 May 1865 [sic] and was a prisoner of the Sixth Army Corps.
Following the Civil War, J. Peter WILLIAMS worked as an agent for the James River
and Kanawha Canal Company in Lynchburg. He married 5 December 1872 Anna Page
KINCKLE, daughter of Rev. William H. KINCKLE and Maria Willis PAGE, of
Lynchburg.
By 1885, James Peter WILLIAMS had become Secretary-Treasurer of the Virginia
Nail and Iron Works Company of Lynchburg.
James Peter WILLIAMS died 22 January 1893 and was buried in the Spring Hill
Cemetery in Lynchburg.
["Marriage of T. J. Williams and M. S. Leigh, 4 June 1839," Wirt Johnson Carrington, A History of Halifax
County (Richmond: Appeals Press, 1924), p. 508; 1850 Census, Halifax County, VA, National Archives &
Records Service, M-432, Roll 948, p. 13, Dwelling 201, Family 202; "Letters of James Peter Williams
1861-1865," Mss., FF2007, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, VA; Lee A. Wallace, Jr., Richmond
Howitzers (Lynchburg: H. E. Howard, 1993), p. 148; Lee A. Wallace, A Guide to Virginia Military
Organizations 1861-1865, Rev. 2nd ed. (Lynchburg: H. E. Howard, 1986), p. 20; 1870 Census, Campbell
County, VA, National Archives & Records Service, M-593, Roll 1638, p. 465, Dwelling 2, Family 2;
Marriage Register, Lynchburg, VA, Book 2, p. 95; Lynchburg Daily Virginian, 9 December 1872, p. 3 col.
3; Richard Channing Moore Page, Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia, 2nd ed. (Bridgewater, C. J.
Carrier, 1965), p. 116; Lynchburg City Directory for 1885-86 (Lynchburg: J. P. Bell, 1885), p. 193.]

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