Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book, Ms1968-010, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Harvey, J. P. (James Patton), d. 1915
Abstract:
The collection contains a ledger recording daily transactions of an unidentified Blacksburg, Virginia general mercantile business, possibly that of James P. Harvey.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book, Ms1968-010, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of a single day book from an unidentified general store. The names of the customers would seem place the business in the Blacksburg, Virginia area. The ledger includes customer names, dates of purchase, goods purchased, and prices. Among the customers are a number of students and professors from the Virginia Agriculatural & Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech).

Biographical / historical:

Evidence suggests that this ledger may have been maintained by Blacksburg merchant James P. Harvey. While the great majority of transactions in the day book identify customers by full name, a number are marked to the account of an individual with initials "J. P. H.," indicating that the store owner felt comfortable in not providing the entire name and would immediately recognize the initials.

Various sources note that J. P. Harvey was a store merchant in Blacksburg during the 1890s, and the 1900 census describes 39-year-old Blacksburg resident James P. Harvey as a merchant. He is listed again as a dry goods merchant in the 1910 census. An obituary for James P. Harvey, appearing in the June 15, 1915 edition of the Lynchburg News, states that he had been a lifelong Blacksburg resident, was married with two sons, and served as director of the Virginia Tech band. He is listed as musical director or director of the band in the university catalog intermittenly from 1893 until 1914.

There is also a Harvey family buried in Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg: James Patton Templeton Harvey (1861-1915), Margie S. Effinger Harvey (1860-1928), Jerry Effinger Harvey (1893-1915), and James Richard Harvey (1896-1916).

Sources:

U.S. Censuses, 1900, 1910.

University Catalogs, 1893/1894-1913/1914.

"James Patton Templeton Harvey" entry, Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74334899/james-patton_templeton-harvey, accessed Nov. 29, 2022.

Obituary for James P. Harvey, Lynchburg News, June 15, 1915.

Acquisition information:
The Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book was acquired by Newman Library in 1968.
Processing information:

The processing and description of the Blacksburg, Virginia, General Store Day Book commenced and was completed in April, 2011.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard