Scope and Content Note
The family papers of William Dawson (1705[?]-1752) span the years 1728-1775. William Dawson was an Anglican clergymen in Virginia who served as second president of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1743-1752. The collection consists of correspondence, financial and administrative records, certificates, commissions, ecclesiastical papers, sermons, addresses, poetry, and other material concerning the ecclesiastical affairs of the Anglican Church in Virginia and administrative matters of the College of William and Mary. Included are papers of William's brother, Thomas Dawson, also an Anglican clergyman, commissary of Virginia, and the fourth president of the College of William and Mary, 1755-1760.
Correspondents include Thomas Bacon, Philip Bearcroft, John Blair, Thomas Broughton, Edwin Conway, Samuel Davies, Robert Dinwiddie, Benjamin Dodd, George Fothergill, Edmund Gibson, Rebecca Staunton Gooch, Sir William Gooch, Patrick Henry (died 1777), Patrick Henry (1736-1799), Philip Ludwell, John Potter, James Scott, Alexander White, and Thomas Wilson.