The Reverend Drury Lacy (1802-1884) was president of Davidson College from 1855 to 1860. He had four children by his first wife: Elizabeth, Drury, William, and Singleton. He married Mary Ritchie Rice in 1849 and had three more children: Agnes, Benjamin Rice, and John Holt. During Lacy's tenure at Davidson College, the college received the Maxwell Chambers bequest and the building known as Old Chambers was constructed.

Added by NCCU intern, Colby Katz, on 4/14/24

- Reverend Dr. Drury Lacy (1802-1884) was president of Davidson College from 1855 to 1860. He had four children by his first wife: Elizabeth, Drury, William, and Singleton. He married Mary Ritchie Rice in 1849 and had three more children: Agnes, Benjamin Rice, and John Holt. During Lacy's tenure at Davidson College, the college received the Maxwell Chambers bequest, and the building known as Old Chambers was constructed.

This collection of letters penned over 168 years ago, offers a window into the daily life and concerns of an upper-class (white) woman in the mid-19th century, particularly within the sphere of Davidson College and its local community. Through her correspondence with her step-daughter, Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Dewey, who lived in Charlotte, a much bigger city than Davidson, Mary discusses a myriad of topics. This includes interactions with college trustees, her disappointment over Mr. Lacy not receiving a pay raise, details of a dorm room break-in, and a local merchant accused of selling alcohol to college students, as well as struggles acquiring commodities such as sugar and fabric while living in a rural location. Mary also writes about negotiating prices of goods, social engagements, gardening, the health of relatives and friends, gossip about other women, the management of their bound and enslaved workers, as well as the abuse an enslaved man suffered from a nearby family.

* The names of most of the enslaved are typed out at the bottom of the transcript pages.