Charles City County (Va.) Business Records, 1866-1879

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

Many of the business volumes are fragile and should not be handled, please check alternative formats for volumes that have been microfilmed. Please use microfilm if available.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Charles City County (Va.) Business Records, 1866-1879. [include volume title]. Local government records collection, Charles City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Extent:
11 volumes
Creator:
Charles City County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Charles City County (Va.) Business Records, 1866-1879. [include volume title]. Local government records collection, Charles City County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Charles City County (Va.) Business Records, 1866-1898 is comprised of various records created by individuals and companies is pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Charles City County (Va.). Represented records largely consists of daybooks, ledgers, and an account book.

Scope and Content:The business records of Neston General Store consist of daybooks and a ledger. The daybooks recorded on a daily basis the name of customer, merchandise purchased, and the amount owed or paid. Merchandise sold include whiskey, mackeral, molasses, fabric, and sugar.

The ledger recorded the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists page numbers to daybooks that contain relative information to transactions between customer and merchant or store. Each account also lists amount of payment made. Payments were made by cash, barter such as watermelon and fish, or labor such as cutting wood. Merchandise sold include whiskey, mackeral, molasses, fabric, and sugar.

Scope and Content: The business records of R.L. Adams consist of a ledger. The volume doubled as a daybook and an accounts ledger. Daybook portion records transactions on a daily basis from January to August 1866. Information includes name of customer, merchandise purchased, and amount owed and paid. Merchandise sold include oysters, ham, whiskey, corn, and fish. The accounts ledger portion lists the accounts of individual customers from 1872 to 1878. Each account lists page numbers to daybooks or journals that contain relative information to transactions between customer and merchant or store. Each account also lists amount of payment made. Payments were made by cash, barter such as wine and birds, or labor such as plowing and cutting oats.

Scope and Content: The business records of the unidentified general store consist of a ledger. The volume recorded the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order, items purchased, the amount owed, and the amount paid. Payments were made by cash, labor, and barter such as wood. Merchandise sold include whiskey, looking glasses, soap, food, jewelry and clothes.

Scope and Content: The business records of Willcox and Graves consist of a ledger. The volume recorded the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order, items purchased, the amount owed, and the amount paid. Payments were made by cash, labor such as loading vessel wood and cleaning out wells, and barter such as wood and meal. Merchandise sold include meal, molasses, bacon, and tobacco.

Biographical / historical:

Context for Record Type: Business Records, both volumes and loose records, are in some cases transferred to the Library of Virginia as components of court record transfers. These business records in some cases were simply stored in the local court building for safe keeping by business owners. In other cases, business records (particularly ledgers, account books, etc.) may have been filed in a court case as an exhibit. These business record exhibits appeared both in chancery causes and in judgments, these records serving as exhibits for business dissolution cases, debut suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History:Charles City County was named for King Charles I and was one of the original shires, or counties, first enumerated in 1634. The county seat is Charles City. Part of James City County was added to Charles City in 1721.

Lost Locality Notes:Records have been destroyed at various times. The most damage occurred during the Civil War when the records were strewn through the woods in a rainstorm. A few pre-Civil War volumes such as deed books, will books, minute books, and order books exist.

Acquisition information:
These records came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Charles City County in an undated accession
Processing information:

Prior to 2024, the various business records in this collection were originally described as individual records, but they have been consolidated into one large business record for the locality.

These records were processed by Greg Crawford in 2001.

Encoded by J. Taylor: February 2025

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into four series:

  • Series I: Business Records of the Neston General Store, 1870-1879
  • Series II: Business Records of R.L. Adams, 1866-1878
  • Series III: Business Records of an Unidentified General Store, 1871-1878
  • Series IV: Business Records of Willcox and Graves, 1873-1875

Physical location:
Library of Virginia
Physical description:
.