Biographical and Historical Note

George William Bagby was doctor, editor, and writer. He was born on August 13, 1828, in Buckingham County, Virginia, and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from University of Pennsylvania (1846, 1849), although he may have never practiced medicine.

Along with work as a lecturer and humorist, Bagby spent his career as a journalist, writer, and editor, with a brief period as a soldier in the Confederate Army (April-September 1861). His many jobs included include co-owner and write for Lynchburg Express (1853-1856); editor of the  Southern Literary Messenger (1860-1864), where his writing was in favor of succession; editor of the  Native Virginian (1867-1870); and later, as an assistant to the secretary of the Commonwealth, head of the Virginia State Library (1870-1878). Overall, Bagby and his work were intertwined enough with the Conderate States of America that when Jefferson Davis fled Richmond for Danville, Virginia, in April 1865, Bagby was on the same train.

Bagby married Lucy Parke Chamberlayne Bagby on February 16, 1863, and together they had six sons and four daughters. He died in Richmond, Virginia, on November 29, 1883.

Source: Watson, Ritchie Devon, Jr. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "George William Bagby (1828–1883)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2013 July 8. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Bagby_George_William_1828-1883

Collection Overview

This collection contains 5 broadsides, printed circa 1870s, that advertise lectures by George Bagby. Lecture titles advertised on the posters include "Bacon and Greens, or the Native Virginian," "The Disease Called Love," "Plantation Life in Slave Times," and "The Virginia Negro, Past and Present."

Summary Information

Repository

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives

Title

George William Bagby Collection

ID

MS884

Date [inclusive]

circa 1870s

Extent

3.0 linear feet  1 oversize folder

Text [Oversize]

1

Container

1-5

Administrative Information

Publication Information

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives 2018 January

Preferred Citation

George Bagby Collection (MS884), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. 

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