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Loughborough Family Papers 3

 Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS296

Scope and Contents

The Loughborough Family Papers 3 contain materials related to the Loughborough family, which was prominent in the neighborhood of Georgetown in the 1800s and into the 1900s. Included are letters from William Cabell Bruce to his cousin Margaret C. Loughborough regarding family and other matters. Also, poetry and writings of Caroline Loughborough are preserved in the collection. Similarly, correspondence and manuscripts by Margaret C. Loughborough are retained. Documents to and from other members of the Loughborough family round out the papers. Margaret's typed manuscript "Personal Experiences in Richmond During the Civil War" is also within the collection.

Dates

  • 1800 - 1962
  • Majority of material found within 1900 - 1939

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Biographical Notes

William Cabell Bruce (1860-1946) was born on March 12, 1860 in Staunton Hill, Charlotte County, Virginia, the son of Charles and Sarah (Seddon) Bruce. William attended Norwood High School from 1875-1878. From 1879 to 1880, he was enrolled in the University of Virginia. Bruce received an L.L.B. from the University of Maryland, an L.L.D. from Hampden-Sydney College, and another L.L.D. from Loyola College in Baltimore. William Cabell Bruce married Louise E. Fisher in 1887. He was a member of the law firm of Fisher, Bruce & Fisher in Baltimore from 1887 to 1903 and a member of the Maryland State Senate from 1894 to 1896. He became head of the Baltimore Law Department in 1903, serving until 1908. Next, he was a member of the Baltimore Charter Commission in 1910, and he was general consul for the Public Service Commission of Maryland from 1910-1922. Bruce served as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate from 1923 to 1929. Bruce won the Pulitzer prize for his book "Benjamin Franklin: Self-Revealed" (1918). He is also the author of "Below the James" (1918), "John Randolph of Roanoke" (1923), "Seven Great Baltimore Lawyers" (1931), "Recollections" (1931), "Imaginary Conversations with Franklin" (1933), and "The Inn of Existence" (1941). William Cabell Bruce died on May 9, 1946, and he is buried in St. Thomas Churchyard, Garrison Forest, Maryland.

Margaret C. Loughborough was born in 1839 at "Montezuma" in Nelson County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Richmond Civil engineer Ludwell Harrison Brown and Margaret Cabell McClelland Brown. She was educated in Richmond, and she married Confederate soldier James Henry Loughborough in Richmond in 1862. Mrs. Varina (Jefferson) Davis attended the wedding. Margaret C. Loughborough served as a secretary to the auditor of the Confederacy during the Civil War. During that conflict, Margaret received special permission to go to the house of her husband's parents. In 1866, they went to live at the family estate "Milton" in Montgomery County, Maryland. After he husband died in 1921, Margaret went to live with her daughters Caroline Loughborough and Margaret McClelland Loughborough in Georgetown. Margaret C. Loughborough died at age 100 in 1939.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

Title
Loughborough Family Papers 3
Status
Completed
Author
Scott S. Taylor
Description rules
Local Practice
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057