The Jan. 19, 1864, letter penned by Georgia Gov. Brown’s daughter, Mary Virginia Brown, arrived at the Governor’s Mansion through the mail while the Civil War raged
across the South.

Mary Virginia wrote the letter to her brother Joseph Mackey Brown after she left for school in Athens. Joseph, who later became governor of Georgia in the late 1800s, remained at home in the Governor’s Mansion with his family.

The words between the governor’s children appeared on white, lined stationary sealed in a white envelope addressed to “Master Joseph M. Brown, Milledgeville, Georgia – Leave of Gov. Brown.”

And some 145 years later, that letter has made its way back to the Old Governor’s Mansion.

"Through the generosity of a direct descendant of Gov. Brown’s family, this letter and a number of other Brown treasures have made their way home,” said Old Governor’s Mansion Curator Matt Davis.

Gov. Joseph Emerson Brown and his family lived in the Governor’s Mansion from 1857 to 1865.

Their descendant, Mary Virginia Davis of Atlanta, recently donated her great-great-grandmother’s 1864 letter along with her namesake’s life quilt, pieces of the Brown china, and a handmade doll chest to the mansion.

Mary Virginia used dress material to hand-stitch the patchwork quilt. Burgundy silk, royal blue velvet and brown gingham- check connected with crisscrossed slip-stitches tell the stories of her life. Intricate, colorful hand-embroidery dragonflies, flags, flowers and farm animals mark her life’s milestones.

“The quilt, with all its fine cloth and stitch work, offers a
glimpse of Mary Virginia Brown’s life,” Davis said.
“The earliest date on the quilt is stitched as ‘1859’
and continues her life’s journey through presidential
inauguration and personal events.”

The donation included several pieces of the Brown family
china.

The hand-painted bone china features scalloped edges and flowers, blocks and swirls in hues of brown, blue, yellow and rose. The design appears to dance on the plates, cups and saucers.

And a small, pinewood chest with wooden knobs now sits in its former home in the children’s nursery of the Governor’s Mansion. Originally, it held the clothes of Mary Virginia’s prize doll, Jack Jones.

Prisoners at the state penitentiary located in Milledgeville crafted the three-drawer chest between 1850 and 1860, Davis said.

“This piece helps reconnect the children’s toys while the Brown family lived in the Governor’s Mansion,” Davis said. “It is much more valuable because prisoners built it like they did many other pieces of furniture in the Governor’s Mansion.”

These Brown family treasures are not the first returned to the Governor’s Mansion.

Earlier the same donor returned the silver shaving mirror Gov. Brown was using when Union soldiers arrested him during their march through Milledgeville during the Civil War. That mirror stands proudly on the washstand in the governor’s upstairs bedroom.

“We continue to bring historical pieces back to the Governor’s Mansion,” Davis said. “More and more things are making their way home.”

The Governor’s Mansion completed in 1839 served as the home to Georgia’s governors for more than 30 years before Gen. William T. Sherman set up his headquarters in the building on Nov. 22, 1864. The building later served as the founding building of what is now Georgia College & State University.

The Old Governor’s Mansion now serves as a historic house museum and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

Original items returned to the Mansion greatly enhance the educational experience of its visitors, said Old Governor’s Mansion Director Jim Turner.

“In museums, particularly historic house museums, the collection and its interpretation are key,” Turner said. “The impact of the object is much greater if the object is an original or associated with the former occupants of the house. I am absolutely delighted that Gov. Brown’s, great-, great-daughter has donated these pieces.”