Newbern (Va.) Stagecoach Daybook, 1838-1841

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

Creator:
Pulaski County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

Newbern (Va.) Stagecoach Daybook, 1838-1841, records the stage fares charged to passengers departing from Newbern. Transactions were entered as they occurred and document the passenger name, destination, and the fares charged. Notes were also used to indicate charges for trunks and extra baggage. The front of the daybook lists the standard fares charged for travel to Wythe County, Montgomery County, Salem, Fincastle County, and Buchanan County.

Several pages located in the back of the volume were used as a ledger and cashbook for an unidentified business. Transactions were recorded for 1810 and document the accounts of individual customers. Information found under each account include the date, the notation "to sundries," and the monies debited or credited to the account. Each transaction was recorded under the customer's name in the corresponding cashbook. It is possible that the ledger was used by Jacob Sadler, a merchant in Pulaski County in the early nineteenth century.

Biographical / historical:

The city of Newbern traces its beginnings to 3 March 1810 when Adam Hance laid off 28 lots fronting the Wilderness Road. Newbern was the county seat of Pulaski County through much of the 1800s and served as a stagecoach stop on the Wilderness Road. The Wilderness Road was the principle route used by settlers to reach Kentucky. In Virginia, the Wilderness Road ran from Frederick County south to Lee County and the Cumberland Gap.

Acquisition information:
This item came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Pulaski County under the accession number 43684.
Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
1 v. and 1 microfilm reel