Inventory of the Fannie B. Rosser Papers, [1860s]-1973

The papers of Fannie B. Rosser, [1860s]-1973, document the personal and professional life of a black business woman within a fiscally sound African American community. Correspondence, legal and financial papers, and photographs reflect both her business activities and her relationships with close friends and family members from the turn of the century to the 1960s.

The bulk of the correspondence until the 1950s pertains to Rosser's business ventures in regard to the maintenance of her property, personal loans made to family and friends, and her investments in government stocks and bonds. Letters from her lifelong friend and business partner, Virginia Randolf of Lynchburg, Va., document the process of maintaining Rosser's rental property over the course of thirty years. They highlight, among other things, the apparent ghettoization of the neighborhood in which her houses were situated, and Randolf's personal and financial response to that process.

Friends and family members often deferred financial matters to Rosser, a careful and respected business woman, and were often dependent on her for monetary support. The correspondence illustrates Rosser's financial acumen and demonstrates the extent to which her personal relationships and business activities overlapped. Of particular interest is an exchange with the Wilhoite's, a couple to whom she loaned $1000, during the Depression. Their correspondence illustrates the personal nature of her business dealings and the difficulties Rosser had in balancing finances and friendships.

Later correspondence centers around Rosser's relationships with her daughter Mattie and niece June. There are scattered references to the political climate of the 1960s, and correspondence from Mattie mentions her work with the NAACP. However, the letters perhaps are more valuable in providing a window to the relationships between these women.

The series of photographs in the collection date back to the early 1860s and are mostly individual portraits and group photographs of the family members and friends. An unidentified ambrotype of an African American woman dated prior to the Civil War indicates that the family might have been free.

• African Americans--Virginia.
• African American businesspeople.
• African Americans--Correspondence.
• African American families.
• African Americans--Housing--North Carolina.
• African Americans--Housing--Virginia.
• African American business enterprises.
• African American women--Virginia.
• African American women--North Carolina.
• African American women--California.
• Businesswomen.
• Mothers and daughters.
• Self-employed women.
• Real estate management--Virginia.
• Real estate management--North Carolina.
• Women--Correspondence.
• Women--Photographs.
• African Americans--Photographs.
• Interpersonal relations.
• Single women.
• Photographs.

[Identification of item], Fannie B. Rosser Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

The Fannie B. Rosser Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1976.

Processed by Ginny Daley; Jennifer Morgan

Completed January 3, 1991

Encoded by Joshua A. Kaiser

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.