Series X: Business Records of an Unidentified Merchant, 1796-1801

Extent:

3 volumes

Scope and content:

Historical Information: The unidentified merchant conducted business in Lancaster County, Virginia during the late 18th century.

Scope and Content: The business records of the unidentified merchant consist of three ledgers. They record the accounts of individual customers and the merchant's controlling accounts. Each account lists transactions in chronological order. Information found in each entry includes date of transaction, form of transaction, page number of transaction found in corresponding journal or daybook, amount owed, form of payment, and amount paid. Volume does not contain detailed information regarding items sold by the merchant. Rather, it uses the general terms "sundries" and "merchandise." The merchant also hired out enslaved people to customers. Payments made by cash, credit, labor, hire of enslaved people, or barter of items such as corn, wheat, tobacco, chickens, fodder, and brandy. The merchant's controlling accounts include merchandise account, corn account, expenses account, cash account, wheat account, and beans account. Ledger F includes an index at the front that lists customers' names in alphabetical order. All three volumes are in poor condition. Ledgers C and E have pages missing.

Physical location:

State Records Center

Access and use

Contents