Collection Summary
Nelson W. Jordan Family Papers
1864-2003
1881-1949
1864-2003
1881-1949
MSS86086
Jordan, Nelson W., 1842-1922
1,100 items
15 containers plus 15 oversize
9.6 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Freedman, soldier, and clergyman.
Photographs, correspondence, personal and family Bibles, family trees and other
genealogical information, scrapbooks, diaries, speeches and writings, sermons,
notebooks, school work, school publications, diplomas, posters, printed matter, and
personal objects documenting Jordan family members and in-laws in Virgina and New Jersey
in the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Johns, Vernon, 1892-1965.
Jordan family.
Jordan, Carrie, 1862-1945.
Jordan, D. Mozella, 1882-1971.
Jordan, Julia D., 1881-1942.
Jordan, Nelson R., 1889-1958.
Jordan, Nelson W., 1842-1922.
Jordan, Walker Harrison, 1890-1951.
Price, Peter W., 1876-1944.
Turner, Ruth, 1920-1991.
Womack, G. H. (General Henry), 1873-1911.
Organizations
Saint Paul's College (Lawrenceville, Va.)--Students.
United States. Army. Field Artillery, 351st.
Subjects
African American families--New Jersey.
African American families--Virginia.
African Americans--Education.
African Americans--Genealogy.
African Americans--New Jersey.
African Americans--Segregation.
African Americans--Virginia.
Baptists--Virginia.
Education--Virginia--Prince Edward County.
Education--Virginia.
High school students--New Jersey--Jersey City.
Nightlife--New Jersey.
Nightlife--New York (State)
Segregation in education--Virginia.
World War, 1914-1918--France.
World War, 1914-1918--Participation, African American.
World War, 1914-1918--United States.
Places
New Jersey--Genealogy.
New Jersey--Social life and customs.
New York (State)--Social life and customs.
Virginia--Genealogy.
Virginia--Social life and customs.
Titles
Jordan family papers
Occupations
Clergy.
Freedmen.
Soldiers.
Acquisition Information
The papers of the Nelson W. Jordan family were purchased by the Library of Congress in
2016. Elizabeth Carroll Vannoy donated more material in 2017.
Processing History
The papers of the Nelson W. Jordan family were arranged and described by Joseph K.
Brooks in 2017. The finding aid was revised by Matthew Darby in 2023 to clarify
description and incorporate oversize items from the original purchase.
Transfers
Four tintypes have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they
are identified as part of the Nelson W. Jordan Family Papers. Patrons are encouraged to
contact the Prints and Photographs Division in advance of a research visit.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of the Nelson W. Jordan family is
governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, Nelson W. Jordan Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Nelson W. Jordan (1842-1922) was born with slave status in Albermarle County, Virginia.
In 1863 he enlisted with the 1st Alabama (African Descent) Regiment in Corinth,
Mississippi. Shortly after his enlistment, this unit was reorganized into the 55th
Regiment, United States Colored Troops. Jordan campaigned with the 55th in Tennesee,
Mississippi, and Louisiana. After Civil War military service, Jordan became a Baptist
minister, settled in Farmville, Virginia, the county seat of Prince Edward County, and
served four rural congregations in that county as pastor for approximately sixty years.
In 1879 he married Carrie Walker (1862-1945), daughter of William Walker and Julia
Spencer Walker. Carrie Jordan was active in church and denominational organizations,
such as the Women's Baptist State Educational Conference. She bore ten children, nine of
whom lived to adulthood to become ministers, teachers, principals, school system
administrators, soldiers, a musician, an author, and a domestic labor contractor.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Nelson W. Jordan family span the years circa 1864-2003, with the bulk
of the material focused on the period 1881-1949. The papers include photographs,
correspondence, family and personal Bibles, vital records, diplomas, posters, books,
genealogical material, and printed matter. The largest grouping in the papers is the
family members file, which documents clergyman Nelson W. Jordan and his wife Carrie
Jordan, their ten children (born 1881-1900), and four of their grandchildren. Nelson W.
Jordan served with the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. Carrie Jordan
was an active Baptist churchwoman.
The first- and secondborn of Nelson's daughters, Julia D. Jordan (1881-1942) and D.
Mozella Jordan (1882-1971) were both teachers in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Both of
them taught Vernon Johns, later a pastor, scholar, and pioneering civil rights activist.
Johns's correspondence with his former teacher Julia Jordan during her last illness in
1942 is part of the papers. She married G. H. (General Henry) Womack (1873-1911) in
1908. He was a domestic servant and professional lecturer on such topics as
"intemperance" and "businessmen of the race," and he is well-documented in
correspondence with Julia and others, and in miscellany, speeches, and writings. D.
Mozella Jordan married Peter W. Price, a clergyman, and went on to become a longtime
supervisor of schools in Appomattox County, Virginia, a tenure that included the
desegregation of African American and white schools. With her husband she started Camp
Winonah, a summer camp for children in Appomattox County.
Two of Nelson W. Jordan's sons, Nelson R. Jordan (1889-1958) and Walker Harrison Jordan
(1890-1951), served with the 351st Field Artillery Regiment, 92nd Division in France
during World War I. Walker wrote about the regiment's war service in his book
With Old Eph in the Army
, published in 1919. Nelson R. Jordan was a musician during his military service
and in civilian life pastor of three Baptist churches in central Virginia, including
fifteen years at First Baptist Church in Bedford where he organized a youth orchestra.
Walker was a regimental clerk and in civilian life contracted domestic staff for resorts
and wealthy clients' summer homes.
The elder Nelson's youngest child, Elizabeth Hayes Jordan (1900-1988) taught high school
in Lynchburg, Virginia. for many years. She was known in the Jordan family for her
creatively compiled photo albums. Numerous photographs, professionally produced images
and snapshots spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are a prominent feature of
the family members file. Additional images in the photographs file cover the same time
span.
Nelson W. and Carrie's most documented grandchild in these papers is Ruth Turner
(1920-1991), daughter of Anna Viola Jordan (1886-1949), who moved from Virginia to her
husband's hometown, Jersey City, New Jersey. Turner, a government worker and telephone
company supervisor, created files documenting high school in Jersey City and student
life at Saint Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Virginia, during the 1930s. She also
compiled a scrapbook with life at Saint Paul's College and nightlife in New York and New
Jersey as the major themes.
Arrangement of the Collection
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material or subject. The family
members file is arranged in a parent-child-grandchild generational order, under which
Nelson's children are grouped and arranged in birth order, and grandchildren are grouped
and ordered alphabetically.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2016086086]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Books, undated
undated
(2 folders)
2
Books, undated
undated
(2 folders)
3
Family members
3
Jordan, Nelson W. (1842-1922), and Carrie Jordan
(1862-1945), parents
OV 10
Bowler hat, John B. Stetson Co., circa
1900
1900
OV 9
Family Bible, 1883-2002
1883-2002
3
Miscellany, circa 1864-1935
circa 1864-1935
3
Photographs
3
Jordan, Carrie, undated
undated
OV 1
Jordan, Carrie, undated
undated
OV 15
Jordan, Carrie, undated
undated
3
Jordan, Nelson W., undated
undated
OV 2
Jordan, Nelson W., undated
undated
3
Walker, Julia Spencer (mother of Carrie),
undated
undated
3
Children
3
Jordan, Julia D. (1881-1942) (married G. H.
Womack)
3
Bible, undated
undated
3
Correspondence
3
Womack, G. H. (husband)
[
See also Container 7, same heading
](gen7)
3
Letters
3
1906-1907
1906-1907
(4 folders)
4
1908
1908
(8 folders)
5
1909-1910
1909-1910
(2 folders)
5
Postcards, 1906-1910, undated
1906-1910, undated
(2 folders)
5
Others 1912-1915
1912-1915
5
Letters, 1906-1915,
1942
1906-1915, 1942
(2 folders)
6
Postcards, 1907-1913, undated
1907-1913, undated
(3 folders)
6
Johns, Vernon, 1906, 1953
1906, 1953
OV 3
"Jubilee Chart, Officers of the Women's
Baptist State Educational Convention of Virginia," 1917
1917
6
Marriage and death, 1908,
1942
1908, 1942
6
Miscellany, undated
undated
6
Photographs, undated
undated
OV 3
Photographs, undated
undated
6
Postcards, undated
undated
6
Womack, G. H. (husband)
(1873-1911) [
See also Container 4, same heading
](general)
6
Correspondence
6
Letters, 1909-1911
1909-1911
6
Postcards, 1909-1910
1909-1910
6
Miscellany, 1897-1911
1897-1911
6
Speeches and writings, undated
undated
7
Jordan, D. Mozella (1882-1971) (married P. W.
Price)
7
Bible, undated
undated
7
Camp Winonah, Appomattox, Va.,
undated
undated
7
Carver-Price High School, Appomattox, Va.
1934-1952, 1962, 2003
1934-1952, 1962, 2003
7
Class notebooks, 1930
1930
7
Correspondence, 1929-1971
1929-1971
7
Death and funeral, 1971
1971
7
Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va.,
1968
1968
7
Newspaper clippings, undated
undated
OV 3
Panoramic photograph, Tuskegee Institute,
Tuskegee, Ala., 1930
1930
7
Photographs, undated
undated
8
Price, P. W. (husband), 1903-1927
1903-1927
8
Hasadiah Baptist Association, 1947
1947
8
Jordan, Anna Viola (1886-1949) (married Otis
Turner)
8
Correspondence with
8
Turner, Ruth Carolyn (daughter),
1943-1946
1943-1946
(2 folders)
8
Others
8
Get-well cards, 1937-1938
1937-1938
8
Letters, 1918-1937
1918-1937
8
Post and greeting cards,
1907-1908
1907-1908
8
Marriage and death records, 1918,
1949
1918, 1949
8
Miscellany, undated
undated
8
Notebook, 1916-1917
1916-1917
OV 3
Photograph, color portrait of Anna Viola
Jordan, undated
undated
8
Photographs, undated
undated
9
Turner, Sebastian D. (father-in-law),
1917-1918, 1927, 1931
1917-1918, 1927, 1931
9
Jordan, Nelson R. (1889-1958) and
family
9
Bible, undated
undated
OV 3
Diploma, Howard University School of
Religion, 1925
1925
9
Miscellany, 1925-1999
1925-1999
9
Photographs, undated
undated
OV 4
Howard University, military training,
panorama, 1918
1918
OV 5
Portrait with violin, undated
undated
OV 5
Youth orchestra, Bedford, Va.,
undated
undated
9
Jordan, Walker Harrison
(1890-1951)
9
Book,
With Old Eph in the Army,
Baltimore: H. E. Houk and Company, 1919
1919
OV 5
Diploma, Virginia Normal and Industrial
Institute, 1908
1908
OV 11
German military helmet, World War I,
circa 1915
1915
9
Miscellany, 1908-1951
1908-1951
9
Jordan, Arthur E. (1893-1959), and family,
1925-2015
1925-2015
9
Jordan, Elsie Mae (1894-1990) (married Frank
Carroll), undated
undated
OV 5
Diploma, Virginia Normal and Technical
Institute, Petersburg, Va., 1913
1913
9
Miscellany, undated
undated
9
Jordan, Joseph D. (1896-1929),
1920-1929
1920-1929
9
Jordan, Elizabeth Hayes (1900-1988)
9
Correspondence, 1940-1941
1940-1941
OV 5
Diploma, Howard University, Washington,
D.C., 1928
1928
9
Miscellany, 1926-1980
1926-1980
9
Notebooks, diaries, and calendars
9
1918
1918
10
1929-1982
1929-1982
10
Photographs
10
Albums, 1915
1915
10
Miscellaneous, 1911-1988
1911-1988
10
Printed matter
10
Articles about Elizabeth Hayes Jordan,
1984-1989
1984-1989
10
Miscellaneous, 1922-1984
1922-1984
10
Plays, undated
undated
11
Grandchildren
11
Carroll, Caroline Lorraine, Frank, and Sally
(children of Elsie Mae Jordan), undated
undated
11
Carroll, Elizabeth Josephine (Vannoy)
(daughter of Elsie Mae Jordan), documents regarding 311 Franklin Street,
Farmville, Va., 1989, 2003
1989, 2003
11
Carroll, Rodman (son of Elsie Mae Jordan),
World War II scrapbook, undated
undated
11
Turner, Ruth (daughter of Anna Viola
Jordan)
11
Correspondence
11
Greeting cards, 1920,
1937-1941, undated
1920, 1937-1941, undated
(4 folders)
11
Letters, 1937-1941, 1952
1937-1941, 1952
12
Death and funeral, 1991
1991
12
Five-year diary, 1936-1940
1936-1940
12
Henry Snyder High School, Jersey City,
N.J.
12
Miscellany, 1933-1938
1933-1938
(2 folders)
12
The Scroll
, yearbook, 1938
1938
12
Snyder Life
, newspaper, 1936
1936
12
Micheaux, Oscar,
The Wind from Nowhere
. New York, N.Y.: Book Supply Company, inscribed novel,
1943
1943
13
Miscellany, 1936-1944, 1962
1936-1944, 1962
13
Photographs, undated
undated
(3 folders)
13
Printed matter, undated
undated
13
Scrapbook, 1938-1939
1938-1939
(2 folders)
14
Scrapbook, 1938-1939
1938-1939
(2 folders)
14
Saint Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Va.
14
Correspondence, circa
1938
circa 1938
(3 folders)
14
Miscellany, 1939
1939
OV 6
Family tree, undated
undated
14
Lists and miscellaneous material,
undated
undated
15
Miscellany, undated
undated
OV 7
Cannon, George E., obituary poster,
1927
1927
OV 16
General, undated
undated
OV 12
Tablecloth, undated
undated
OV 13
Woman's hat, undated
undated
OV 14
Woman's hat, undated
undated
15
Photographs
15
Album, undated
undated
(3 folders)
15
Other photographs
15
Five Jordan daughters, undated
undated
15
Miscellaneous, undated
undated
15
Teachers and students, rural school,
undated
undated
15
Unidentifed women and girls, group portrait,
undated
undated
15
Printed matter, 1918-1919, 1946-1948
1918-1919, 1946-1948
15
Virginia Baptist State conventions, 1899,
1927
1899, 1927
OV 8
Virginia Seminary, Lynchburg, Va., fundraising
poster, 1941
1941