Bland County (Va.) Business Records, 1880-1923

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:

Bland County (Va.) Business Records, 1880-1923, Local government records collection, Bland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

Creator:
Bland County (Va.) Circuit Court
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Bland County (Va.) Business Records, 1880-1923, Local government records collection, Bland County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Bland County (Va.) Business Records, 1880-1923, are comprised of various records created by individuals and companies in pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Bland County (Va.) Represented records consist of bound volumes such as ledgers, a daybook and an account book.

Historical Information:D. M. Bailey and Son was a retail business in Bland County during the late 19th century.

Scope and Content:D. M. Bailey and Son Records consist of a ledger and daybook.

Ledger, 1886-1898, records the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in each entry includes date of transaction, amount owed, form of payment, and amount paid.

Daybook C, 1890-1893, records daily company transactions. Information includes name of customer, dates of transactions, items purchased, quantity of items purchased, price of each item, form of payment, and amount owed and paid. Merchandise sold includes nails, shoes, candy, dry goods, tobacco, bacon, and clothing. Payments are made by cash, credit, barter, and labor. Entries can be found in Ledger, 1886-1898.

Historical Information:Barclay Dodd opearated a general store in Bland County during the late 19th century.

Scope and Content:Barclay Dodd Records consist of a ledger and an account book.

Ledger, 1880-1890, and Account Book 1, 1889-1890, record the individual accounts of customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order, items purchased, cost per item, amount owed, amount paid, and form of payment. Items sold include dry goods, toiletries, food, cigars, and watches. Forms of payment include cash, credit, labor, and barter of items such as eggs, flour, and coal.

Historical Information:Newberry, Finley, and Company was a retail business in Bland County during the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Scope and Content:Newberry, Finley, and Company Ledgers, 1899-1908, record the accounts of individual customers. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in each entry includes name of customer, date of transaction, amount owed, form of payment, and amount paid. Volume does not contain detailed information regarding items sold by general store. Rather, it uses the general term "merchandise." Volume also includes miscellaneous loose papers. Both volumes have an index.

Historical Information:G. W. Thompson and Son operated a retail business in Hicksville in the 20th century.

Scope and Content:G. W. Thompson and Son Ledger, April 1915-November 1923, gives a detailed account of individual customers. Accounts are found in volume's index, in front of volume, alphabetically by last name. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in each entry includes date of transaction, itemization of individual items with exact date of purchase noted in parentheses, amount owed which is noted in a separate column, amount paid and form of payment. Merchandise sold included staples such as eggs, sugar and coffee, shoes, denim, tobacco, leather, meat, curtains, oil, soap, fresh fruit, vegetables, candy, medicine and cheese. Volume also includes letters, advertisements and a mini ledger with various measurements and prices. Pages 170-172 indicate the partnership may have managed an estate account and guardian accounts for the Newberry family.

Historical Information:An Unidentified General Store operated in Bland County in the early 20th century.

Scope and Content:Unidentified General Store Ledger, 15 Oct 1906-24 March 1908, records a quick account of individual transactions by date and account number. Each entry includes items purchased, amount owed, interest owed, amount paid and form of payment usually cash or check. Items sold included shoes, pants and shirts, tobacco, cheese, syrup, cigars, matches and eggs.

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, debt suits, and contract disputes.

Locality History:Bland County is said to have been named for Richard Bland, a leader of colonial Virginia's resistance to Great Britain in the 1760s and 1770s. It was formed from Giles, Wythe, and Tazewell Counties in 1861, and another part of Giles was added in 1900. The county seat is Bland. Area: 358.7 square miles. Population: 6,871 (2000), 7,100 (2005 estimate.)

Lost Records Locality: Created in 1861. Most loose records were destroyed by fire in 1888. All volumes and part of the chancery papers were saved.

Acquisition information:
These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Bland 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.

Encoded by C. Freed, October 2024

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: D. M. Bailey and Son Records, 1886-1898
  • Series II: Barclay Dodd Records, 1880-1890
  • Series III: Newberry, Finley, and Company Ledgers, 1899-1908
  • Series IV: G. W. Thompson and Son Ledger, 1915-1923
  • Series V: Unidentified General Store Ledger, 1906-1908

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex
Physical description:
8 volumes; 1 microfilm reel