This collection contains the papers of the family of Martha L. Robinson Johnson, nineteenth-century matriarch of a Carroll County, Virginia family. The collection consists largely of correspondence to Johnson from various family members and friends, providing a chronicle of the life of a Southwest Virginia family during the mid-nineteenth century, mostly from a feminine perspective. The letters focus on childbirth, death, illness, folk medicine, fashion, sewing, knitting, quilting, gardening, food, spirituality and the Civil War. The letters were mailed from various locales--mostly in Virginia--including Hillsville, Copper Mines, Orange Court House, Lynchburg, Texas House, Chatham Hill, Coal Hill, Warm Springs, Red Sulphur Springs, Spring Valley, Grayson County, Cove and Hickory Grove. Though the majority of the correspondence is addressed to Martha Johnson, the collection also contains correspondence to and from her husband, Robert C. Johnson, a Carroll County tavern keeper, postmaster and commissioner of revenue.

Significant among the letters from extended family are those of William Lithgow Robinson, nephew of Martha Johnson and a soldier in Company A, 18th Virginia Infantry ("Danville Blues"). Robinson's letters, which focus on accounts of camp life and battles, include references to Harpers Ferry, Vienna, Fairfax Court House, Germantown, Manassas, Richmond, Centreville, Leesburg, Gordonsville, General Johnson, food, sickness (typhoid fever) and clothing. Robinson describes battle scenes in which he saw dead Yankees "piled up 15-20 to a grave." He reports the Danville Blues fought at Bull Run and lost 41 men. Robinson also mentions alcohol use among his fellow soldiers. On December 3, 1861, Robinson wrote a moving letter to Martha Johnson describing how he witnessed the execution of two men for attempting to kill an officer.

The collection also includes the Johnsons' legal and financial papers. Significant among the legal papers is the 1848 will of Valentine Johnson, of Orange County. The financial records include mostly personal receipts, account statements, and promissory notes but also include several items which appear to be subscription fee bills to local residents from the Hillsville post office. Also among the financial records are several of the Johnsons' account books, including two that were apparently kept by Robert Johnson acting in the capacity of commissioner of revenue. The books list, among other things, resident names and numbers of white tithes, slaves between 12 and 16, slaves over the age of 16, watches, clocks, 2- and 4-wheel carriages, etc.

Among other miscellaneous materials in the collection are a subscription/promotional booklet for Fitch W. Taylor's Voyage Round the World and Visits to Various Foreign Countries of the United States Squadron, a handwritten cure for dysentery, a petition-letter of recommendation for Robert C. Johnson, an obituary for Martha Ann Hounshell, and a canvas pocket document organizer used by Robert Johnson.