John and Richard Shelton Ellis Journals and Ledgers, 1804-1835

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

Summary

Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

John and Richard Shelton Ellis Journals and Ledgers, 1804-1835, consist of eight journals and eight ledgers. It records the company's activities in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Journals C-H, L, and M, 1804-1814 are daybooks that record transactions on a daily basis as they occurred. Each entry includes the page number of the customer's individual account found in corresponding ledgers C and F. Ledgers E, H, L, and M are missing. Information found in each entry includes name of customer, the amount owed and paid, and merchandise purchased. Merchandise sold included whiskey, clothing, dry-goods (linen, needles, thread, buttons, etc.), spices, gunpowder, dishes, and knives.

Ledgers C, D, F, G, H, I, K, and O, 1804-1835, record the accounts of individual customers. Beside each entry is the page number of the customer's individual account found in journals C and F. Journals I, K, and O are missing. Each account lists transactions in chronological order and the amount owed and paid. Also records store's controlling accounts including cash account, property account, interest account, batteau account, distillery account, etc. Also found in ledgers is a list of debts due to and owed by John and Richard Shelton Ellis. A few ledgers include a list of wheat received by Pedlar Mills. Information found in list includes dates when mill received wheat, name of individual who delivered wheat, and amount and weight of bushels delivered. Ledgers include an index that records accounts in alphabetical order and the page number where the accounts can be found.

Biographical / historical:

Richard Shelton Ellis was a large property owner and businessman who lived in the Pedlar Mills, Amherst County, Virginia. Ellis, as a sole proprietor and in partnership with his brother John, owned mercantile businesses in Pedlar Mills, Richmond, and Wheeling during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He also owned a plantation named Red Hill.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Amherst County.
Physical description:
16 vol. (5784 p.)