The Mary Fairfax family papers and Louis R. Stockstill papers

This collection is divided into two distinct parts that in most ways are unconnected collections. They were donated together by the same donor and one of the record creators is present in both collections. For these reasons these two collections were retained as one unified collection as separate series.

The Louis Stockstill personal papers contain biographical materials, war medals, correspondence, scrapbooks, articles, and photographs related to the life of Louis R. Stockstill, especially concerning his work as a journalist. The Louis Stockstill records date from 1920-2004.

The Cook/Fairfax family letters and papers are primarily composed of correspondence much of which has been transcribed. The Cook Fairfax family records date from 1823-1905. The Cook Fairfax papers also include government documents as well as several artifacts related to the life of Mary Allen Cook Fairfax. There are letters from before Mary Fairfax’s birth that are part of the Cook family history. The letters written and received by Mary Fairfax date from 1847-1898 and are to her brothers before the American Civil War about her life in DC and then to her cousin Rachel in New Jersey during the Civil War and also to and from Confederate veterans following the death of Jefferson Davis. Most of these letters relate to the history of Washington DC during the Civil War and years after from the perspective of a supporter of the Confederacy. The series also includes research materials added to the collection by Louis Stockstill for the writing of a book that planned to publish the Mary Fairfax letters. If produced, the manuscript is not in the collection. The Cook family materials date from 1823-1905.

The American Civil War era correspondence was primarily written by Mary Fairfax (at the time her name was Mary Cook) and reveals her activity as a Southern sympathizer during the war. Mary Fairfax grew up on Capitol Hill in an historic DC residence. The letters describe her family and associates as well as information about Washington prior to and during the Civil War. Fairfax writes about the city of Washington, political figures, and President Lincoln with detailed descriptions of battles, she likely gleaned from newspaper coverage. There are a few letters to Belle Boyd, the Southern spy who Fairfax encountered while a prisoner herself at the Old Capitol Prison. Fairfax’s letters are a record of other prisoners and the circumstances of their arrests in the panic and martial law which followed the Lincoln assassination. Fairfax provided a first-hand account of the public celebrations in Washington following the fall of Richmond.

Upon the death of Jefferson Davis in 1889, Fairfax draped her house in black and received ovations from the Southern press, Southern legislatures, and numerous associations of former Confederate soldiers. There is also a letter from a group of local DC citizens rebuking her actions and calling on her to remove the draping from her house.

Within the letters written by Mary Fairfax is the history of enslaved and free Black people who lived in Washington DC. This history is seen through the descriptive lens of a White Supremacist and is replete with racist beliefs and harmful language. The gains for Black people during this time in Washington are not portrayed positively, but are, nonetheless, descriptions of Black history in Washington DC. This scope and content note includes some, but not nearly all, of the examples of Black history found in this collection.

In her letter from November 8 1862, Mary Fairfax wrote about visiting the “contraband camp” with the intent of selecting a girl and boy to work as servants. This letter provides one example of how White people considered and interacted with the people living at the camps.

In her letter from March 17 1863, Mary Fairfax wrote of walking past Duff Green’s Row which she identified as being a place to house stolen enslaved people, but by 1863 was used to house Confederate prisoners. The factual aspects of this letter are that Duff Green’s Row served as a space where Black people lived during the Civil War. “Duff Green’s Row, an imposing row of five brick townhouses across the street from the east front of the Capitol at the current site of the Library of Congress, was a refuge for runaway slaves newly arrived in D.C.” The Guide to Black Washington website of the United State Senate. URL. accessed 12/8/2022

In her letter from April 10 1865, Mary Fairfax describes the public celebration in the streets of Washington DC following the retreat of the Confederate army from Richmond Va. on April 2, 1865. Her description includes Black and White celebrants on Pennsylvania Avenue. This celebration included flying flags, cannon’s being fired, and bands playing.

In her letter from May 29 1862, Mary Fairfax described Black people being admitted to the grounds of the US Capitol beyond those who served as the nurses of White children. Fairfax identified the previous winter as the time when this inclusion began, describing when Hessian officers escorted Black women to hear the debates and those Black women sitting in the galleries of Congress. Also in this letter, Fairfax described at length and with detail a lecture presented by John S. Rock. A lecture supposed to have taken place at the Smithsonian Institution as part of the abolitionist lectures series. The lecture took place at the Fifteenth-street Presbyterian Church and was described in the Washington Evening Star on May 24 1862. The article includes numerous quotes from Dr. Rock’s lecture. There are several brief online biographies of Dr. Rock, but none mention this lecture. The article “The Smithsonian Abolition Lecture Controversy: The Clash of AntiSlavery Politics with American Science In Wartime Washington” by Michael F. Conlin does not mention John Rock, but provides historical background about the lecture series. Conlin, Michael F. (Civil War History 46, no. 4 (2000): 301-323. doi:10.1353/cwh.2000.0002). John S. Rock (1825–1866) born to free Black parents had numerous careers including as a grammar school teacher, a dentist, a doctor, and a lawyer. Considered during his life as a gifted orator, Dr. Rock lectured on behalf of the abolitionist cause, voting rights for free Black people, and the newly formed Republican Party. Throughout the Civil War, Rock worked tirelessly as an advocate for the abolition of slavery. He died of tuberculosis in December 1866. The Library of Congress The Civil War in America Biography of John S. Rock