William Wilburn

• formal_name:
• first_date: 1813
• last_date: 1813
• function: Carrier
• locales: Richmond
• precis: Carrier for the Virginia Argus in December 1813
• notes: Newspaper Carrier
  Richmond
  Carrier for the Virginia Argus in December 1813.
  William Wilburn is now known to have been a part of the Virginia print trade from a single manuscript annotation on an 1813 broadside. That imprint was The News Carriers' Address to the Patrons of the Virginia Argus, December 25, 1813 (1813.056) and the only surviving copy of that sheet – held by the Library Company of Philadelphia – bears an inscription on the blank, verso side stating "Please exchange & director yours to Wm. Wilburn Argus office Richmond." Unfortunately, that directive is the only evidence of Wilburn's involvement in the entire American print trade.
  The 1810 federal census recorded a "Simon Wilburn" living in Richmond that year; he was a white man more than 44 years of age with two sons between ages 10 and 25. So it seems likely that this news-carrier was one of those two siblings; however, the absence of given names in these records before 1850 (other than that of the head of household) makes such an identification speculative. Regrettably, their father is not recorded in the 1820 Virginia census, while dozens of William Wilburns were listed both within and without Virginia then. Hence, while the origin of this Wilburn can be reasonably surmised, his fate is unknown and unknowable. The numerous occurrences of his name in contemporaneous records make a viable identification of this person impracticable without more evidence.
  
  
  
  No Personal Data yet discovered.
  
  Sources: Imprint; Federal Decennial Census, 1810 & 1820.
  
• Related Bios:
  • Samuel Pleasants, Jr.

This version of the Index of Virginia Printing was a gift from the estate of the site's creator, David Rawson. The content contained herein will not be updated, as it is part of the Library of Virginia's personal papers collection. For more information, please see David Rawson Index of Virginia Printing website. Accession 53067. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.