Alexandria (Va.) Business Records, 1804-1942

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. Please handle with extreme care.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Alexandria (Va.) Business Records, 1804-1942. Local government records collection, Alexandria (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Summary

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

Alexandria (Va.) Business Records, 1804-1942. Local government records collection, Alexandria (Va.) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Background

Scope and content:

Alexandria (Va.) Business Records, 1804-1942, are comprised of various records created by individuals in pursuit of documenting business activities in and around Alexandria (Va.) Represented records consist of bound volumes such an account book, a subscription list and registers.

Historical Information:The Alexandria Canal played a brief, but significant, part in the history of commercial navigation on the Potomac River. After the charter of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which ran from Cumberland, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., Alexandria merchants proposed in 1830 that a canal be constructed linking their city to Georgetown. Congress granted a charter to the Alexandria Canal Company on 26 May 1830. Construction on the aqueduct bridge and canal began in 1833 and was completed a decade later. The Potomac Aqueduct Bridge, which spanned 1000 feet between Georgetown and Rosslyn, allowed boats to cross the Potomac without first unloading in Georgetown. Boats would then continue their trips downstream on the seven-mile canal leading to Alexandria's seaport. The canal officially opened on 2 December 1843 with the arrival of the first canal boat in Alexandria. In 1850, when the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was completed to Cumberland, Maryland, coal from Maryland's mines became the most important commodity shipped to Alexandria along with wheat, corn, whiskey, corn meal, and flour. Important exports from Alexandria included fish, salt, plaster, and lumber.

The only interruption in service on the Alexandria Canal came during the Civil War when the canal was used to transfer Federal troops and supplies. But in 1886, a break in the aqueduct coincided with the demand for a toll-free bridge across the Potomac River and service on the canal came to an end. The canal structure was abandoned, and, finally, in 1923, the aqueduct bridge was removed. During the 1980s, Alexandria archaeologists discovered and restored the tidal basin and lift lock in Alexandria.

Scope and Content:Alexandria (Va.) Canal Company Account of Tolls Collected, 1845-1853, records the tolls received at Alexandria and Washington, D.C. for both ascending and descending trade. Information found in each entry includes the number and date of the way bill, name of the boat master, boat name, name and quantity of items on board, total amount of freight, number of weekly receipts, and the total toll received. Items shipped on the descending trade included wood, wheat, flour, corn, seed, apples, whiskey, lime, pork, coal, and iron. Fish, salt, plaster, and lumber were among the exports shipped out of Alexandria on the ascending trade.

Historical Information:The unidentified newspaper agent conducted business in Alexandria, Va., during the early nineteenth century.

Scope and Content:Unidentified Agent's Account of Newspaper Subscribers, 1804-1808, records a list of subscribers to various newspapers compiled by an agent operating in Alexandria, Va. Information found in each entry includes the subscriber name, date subscription commenced, and payments made on accounts. Entries are organized by the various newspaper titles. Newspaper titles represented in the volume include Baltimore Federal Gazette, Virginia Herald, Boston Gazette, National Intelligencer, and Washington Federalist.

Historical Information:United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company (US F & G) was a prominent American insurance company founded in 1896 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was known for its extensive range of insurance products and significant historical impact in the industry. The company operated until 1998. Along with the home office, the company maintained many branches operating in other states--such as Alexandria and Richmond in Virginia.

Scope and Content:United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company Registers of Bonds and Policies, consist of three volumes recorded in City of Alexandria. The bulk of the bonds and/or policies date from 1920-1941. Each book contains a standardized form including information such as the number of the policy or bond, the date of the bond or policy, the name of the assured or principal, location of risk, the character of the risk (title of person taking out policy--includes notaries, contractors, clerks, receivers, trustees, guardians, etc.), amount of bond or policy, the date premium paid to agent and the date premium paid to company. The first two volumes contain and alphabetical index. Representatives of the company and/or accredited traveling representatives recorded all the entries in each volume.

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:: Alexandria in Fairfax and Arlington Counties, was named for John Alexander, an early owner of the tract in Fairfax County on which the town was located. The act to establish Alexandria was passed in 1749. Its site had previously been known as Hunting Creek Warehouse and as Belhaven. Alexandria was incorporated as a town in 1779 and was ceded to the federal government in 1789 for use as part of the site of the new national capital. It officially became part of the District of Columbia in 1801 and was renamed Alexandria County by Congress. By an act of 9 July 1846, Alexandria County, including the town of Alexandria, was retroceded to Virginia, which took jurisdiction over the area on 20 March 1847. The town was incorporated as a city in 1852. Area: 15.2 square miles. Population: 128,283 (2000), 135,200 (2005 estimate.)

Acquisition information:

Series I and II came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers in 1957 from Alexandria under the accession number 24665d.

Series III came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Alexandria 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, 2025

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged

  • Series I: Alexandria (Va.) Canal Company Account of Tolls Collected, 1845-1853
  • Series II: Unidentified Agent's Account of Newspaper Subscribers, 1804-1808
  • Series III: United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company Registers of Bonds and Policies, 1912-1942

Physical location:
State Records Center - Archives Annex, Library of Virginia
Physical description:
5 volumes